It's a little late, but... I decided to roll my "Holy shit I've been in Korea for 2 years!" and "Hey, it's Thanksgiving back in America!" posts into one. Basically, I'm thankful for:
- the fact I can live in Korea, on my own, doing what I want, without really having to worry about money. I was lucky enough to get a couple well-paying jobs after college. I paid off all my student debt in a year, sold my old car & bought a new car, and still managed to save enough in 5 years that I can live comfortably here in Korea (not completely carefree, mind you, but...well enough). I know lots of people struggling to find a job, or to pay back student loans... so I'm glad I was able to do that.
- my new friends in Korea. I'd be lost without my roommates, in particular. We've been living together about 21 months, but it feels like so much longer. They're really like family. But, I'm also happy to have met my other friends as well, including my new ones from grad school. When I'm feeling down, they make me laugh or take me out for dinner or a drink (or both). I'm especially thankful for all the Koreans that either suffer speaking English with me, or suffer listening to my attempts at speaking Korean. (I'm really not sure which is worse for you guys.)
- did I mention the fact that I *can* live half a world away from my hometown? Honestly, I knew growing up that I didn't want to stay in Smalltown USA forever, but Korea? I didn't see that coming, but it's worked out well. Sometimes it sucks (mainly due to differences in cultural expectations), but it's starting to feel like home.. But, I'm glad my parents are supportive. I probably would've moved to Korea even if they hadn't approved, but I don't know that I could've stayed here so long without their support. It's nice to know I have a place to come back to, should things not work out here in Seoul.
- my boyfriend. Oh wait, I don't have one. Going to work on that this year, I think, finally. One thing I'm not thankful for: terrible, terrible eyesight. So... step one: contacts. They're really not as bad as I remember, though I suppose it has been 20 years since I last tried to wear them.^^ I think it gives me slightly more confidence, so we'll see how that goes.
But, basically, if you're reading this, and you know me in person... well, thanks for being my friend^^ Sadly, I only see most of you on Facebook these days, but it's still nice to see what people are up to. Keep in touch^^
Friday, November 28, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
한국에 온 지 거의 2년 되었다 (I've been in Korea almost 2 years.)
The title of this post still confuses me. How has it been 2 years??? (Almost. It's Nov 21, 2014, and I arrived Nov 26, 2012.) I really wanted to do a "things I've learned (about myself)" post, but I'm not sure I can put it into words. hah.
When I came here initially, I planned to learn Korean for a while, then go to grad school. Luckily, I've been able to do that. But I'm really disappointed with my Korean skills these days. I hardly speak Korean at all. I feel like I've reverted to level 1 or 2. There's another American in my 연구실 (research lab). We both have the same TOPIK level (5), but no one would ever believe it... because speaking skills are all that others really evaluate you on, and there's no speaking section on the test (thankfully). I don't know that he's better than me, but he's more confident. I get so nervous... nothing comes out. It's still interesting to me, though... when I do speak in Korean, my Korean classmates are like "You know Korean?!" ...What did you think I was doing during these many hours we've been in class (a class taught entirely in Korean!) together? I guess because I don't speak much, everyone assumes I don't know anything. The other day, one guy was actually talking about me in Korean to someone else, like I didn't understand. His conversation partner then pointed out that I understood Korean, and you could see his "oh shit" face forming. Sigh. It's my own fault for never having the confidence to speak in Korean... I really need to work on that. I really want to try only (mostly) speaking in Korean during the vacation, which is coming up soon.
Speaking of vacation... In the US, the "main" semester starts in September, but there are a few students that apply/enroll in the spring. In Korea, it's the opposite. The "main" semester is the spring semester. I started in the fall semester, so I was the backwards one. But maybe this was a good idea, because there was probably a lower application/competition rate. Most Koreans graduate HS/undergrad in Feb, and so many apply for Spring semester. Anyway -- in the US, we get 2-3 weeks off at Christmas, then early May-late Aug/early Sept for summer break. Here, we get mid Dec-early March and mid June-early Sept for breaks... so ~10 weeks each time. SNU offers shorter duration classes during these times... but nothing really worth taking this Winter session. Still, I have a huge list of things to do --- learn IPA, learn more linguistics terms in Korean, preview phonology (mainly the points of articulation), read a bunch of Comp Ling papers, practice Korean, learn to program in Python more "pythonically" (instead of my current Java-style code). I'd also like to GO somewhere... but where? I still want to go to Macau, Hong Kong, and Australia/New Zealand before I leave Asia. And Maldives^^ It's 16* Celsius right now in Seoul...and 26* in HK. That might not be a bad long weekend. And Macau is right there... but... money. Sigh. I'll probably be unable to decide on anything, and just stay at home (or worse, the lab!) for 2.5 months, heh.
Anyway, that self-reflection post may still be coming... but.. probably not.^^
When I came here initially, I planned to learn Korean for a while, then go to grad school. Luckily, I've been able to do that. But I'm really disappointed with my Korean skills these days. I hardly speak Korean at all. I feel like I've reverted to level 1 or 2. There's another American in my 연구실 (research lab). We both have the same TOPIK level (5), but no one would ever believe it... because speaking skills are all that others really evaluate you on, and there's no speaking section on the test (thankfully). I don't know that he's better than me, but he's more confident. I get so nervous... nothing comes out. It's still interesting to me, though... when I do speak in Korean, my Korean classmates are like "You know Korean?!" ...What did you think I was doing during these many hours we've been in class (a class taught entirely in Korean!) together? I guess because I don't speak much, everyone assumes I don't know anything. The other day, one guy was actually talking about me in Korean to someone else, like I didn't understand. His conversation partner then pointed out that I understood Korean, and you could see his "oh shit" face forming. Sigh. It's my own fault for never having the confidence to speak in Korean... I really need to work on that. I really want to try only (mostly) speaking in Korean during the vacation, which is coming up soon.
Speaking of vacation... In the US, the "main" semester starts in September, but there are a few students that apply/enroll in the spring. In Korea, it's the opposite. The "main" semester is the spring semester. I started in the fall semester, so I was the backwards one. But maybe this was a good idea, because there was probably a lower application/competition rate. Most Koreans graduate HS/undergrad in Feb, and so many apply for Spring semester. Anyway -- in the US, we get 2-3 weeks off at Christmas, then early May-late Aug/early Sept for summer break. Here, we get mid Dec-early March and mid June-early Sept for breaks... so ~10 weeks each time. SNU offers shorter duration classes during these times... but nothing really worth taking this Winter session. Still, I have a huge list of things to do --- learn IPA, learn more linguistics terms in Korean, preview phonology (mainly the points of articulation), read a bunch of Comp Ling papers, practice Korean, learn to program in Python more "pythonically" (instead of my current Java-style code). I'd also like to GO somewhere... but where? I still want to go to Macau, Hong Kong, and Australia/New Zealand before I leave Asia. And Maldives^^ It's 16* Celsius right now in Seoul...and 26* in HK. That might not be a bad long weekend. And Macau is right there... but... money. Sigh. I'll probably be unable to decide on anything, and just stay at home (or worse, the lab!) for 2.5 months, heh.
Anyway, that self-reflection post may still be coming... but.. probably not.^^
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