A Short Tour of Holy Joy Center's Picturesque View Overlooking the Water

STRUGGLING TO STAY AWAKE DURING SERVICE
I came out here after the message to wake myself up, gulp down some fresh air, and lean out against the railings to get a better view of the water. It was a perfect sunny day, with only white puffy clouds dotting the blue skies.

This view looks away from the island and towards the rest of Busan

GETTING BEAT UP BY ABNORMALLY STRONG GUSTS OF WIND
I didn't expect the wind to be so intense. It beat me up in the few minutes I stubbornly refused to back down and take cover inside. When I was finally awake enough to join the rest for refreshments and conversation, it felt like my face had been slapped raw.

I turned my back on this view, content that I had seen a beautiful day, had struggled against a mighty invisible force, and had ruminated partially on the message, and largely about why I was there.

Let's just say I am still very much adjusting to the pastor's different preaching style here.

I don't mean to twist the knife, but I am not the only one struggling to stay awake. When I have dared to look around, some of the adults are out like a light: asleep, with their heads down, and chins tucked against their chests.

You can see Lotte Department Store across the water, as well as the bridge that connects Yeong Island to the rest of the metropolis

CONSIDERING CHECKING OUT OTHER CHURCHES
During these moments, I think: I don't have to go here! There are other churches around. Next week, I will go and see how they are. 

Even though this is only my second week of attendance, an irrational sense of loyalty has already taken a hold of me, and I cannot help but feel a twinge of guilt when I consider checking out another church in Busan. My great reluctance is not because of my attachment to the church itself (though everyone has been absolutely kind and welcoming to me), but because of the great lengths Sookhee and my host parents went to arrange this opportunity for me.

...OR NOT - I WILL GIVE IT TIME
Because of this, I will certainly give it time, give myself time. I will keep going. My aim is not to be entertained at church, but to spend my energy getting to know God instead of using most of it to merely stay awake.

Korean language class after church service and fellowship 

Yes, it's a three-to-four-hour church day, Mimi, but it's only an hour of service. For crying out loud, stay awake!

LEARNING KOREAN OUTSIDE OF JUNGWON
One of the women from church is a Korean professor, who gives free Korean language lessons after Sunday fellowship. Wonderful lady. She even brought us bound copies of the same Korean textbook I used during Orientation, making it very convenient for me to continue learning the language, should I find the time, will, and energy.

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Have you ever nodded off during a public event? What do you do to stay awake, especially during a church service? Is there an experience that makes you feel alert and alive that doesn't involve leaning against the railings of a very tall building with the wind pummeling you in the face? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

First Day at Yeongdo Girls' High School | Observation Day

Today is Observation Day, so I am to head to my school and do just that: observe classes in progress. I am not to teach. However, I have been trained to expect any and all kinds of schedule changes, so I prepared my gifts for my Fulbright co-teacher, principal, and vice-principal, polished up my First Day lesson plan, and dressed for business. 

And luckily so. 

The view of the school grounds from the main entrance. There are trees, then mountains, then the ocean.

HECK YES #1: MY SCHOOL IS A MERE 10-MINUTE WALK FROM OUR APARTMENT

I walked to school with Juhyeon, my host sister (who also just happens to be one of my first year students). It has been very sunny and hot in Busan so I was soaked in just the 10-minute walk. There were students and teachers by the school gates so I copied my host sister as she gave courteous bows to every teacher we passed. One teacher was helping direct traffic, and the others were there, apparently, to check students' uniforms, shoes (sneakers), and faces (no make-up). 

HECK YES #2: MY OFFICE HAS A LEGIT VIEW OF THE OCEAN

I headed to the fourth floor, just like my Fulbright co-teacher had instructed me the day before, and met her in an air-conditioned room overlooking trees, mountains, and the ocean. 

INTRODUCING MYSELF TO THE TEACHERS

She shuffled me to the first Teachers' Meeting of the semester, where I did not understand anything that was said, except for one part where I was very clearly asked to introduce myself. I was not told this would happen but, fortunately, the previous night, I had asked my host family to help me fine tune my introductory speech in Korean. My host father was all too happy to assist me in speaking Korean and affecting a Busan accent, so I ended up impressing many of the Korean teachers with my very simple and very basic self-introduction. 

I was shuffled back to my seat. 

My school is one of three high schools on the island. It is five stories high. I occupy a desk next to my Fulbright co-teacher on the fourth floor.

INTRODUCING MYSELF TO THE STUDENT BODY

After this, my Fulbright co-teacher took me by the elbow again and led me to the main auditorium, where the entire student body was in the process of lining up and quieting down. The principal gave what I presumed to be a welcome address, and then called me on stage to give my self-introduction again. 

I said the same speech over again (though, this time, with many of the honorifics removed), much to the amazement of the students, who cheered and clapped at the end. 

PRESENTING MY GIFTS TO THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, V-PRINCIPAL, & CO-TEACHER

I brought UW cards with me to Korea, and used a handful of
them for my homestay and my school - an opportunity to show
some Husky pride and tell them about my beautiful campus!

After I basically introduced myself to everyone, I gave my Fulbright co-teacher her gift bag and then found the principal and the vice principal to also give them their gift bags. They smiled and thanked me - meanwhile, I was just very relieved to have passed the gift-giving hurdle with both my homestay family and my school.

This all happened within the first hour of me arriving at the school! I thought the rest of the day would be similarly busy for me, but it wasn't.

HECK NO #1: DESK WARMING FOR THE REST OF THE DAY
Everyone else was busy running around, but my Fulbright co-teacher basically deposited me in the Teachers' Office on the fourth floor, and left me there for the whole day. I was given a desk right next to hers, and I prettified this space as much as I could with the little bit of teacher stuff I had brought along with me. I was issued a laptop and promised my own copy of the first-grade English textbook.

HECK NO #2: DID NOT GET TO OBSERVE ANY CLASSES ON "OBSERVATION DAY"
Later, when I asked my co-teacher if I could do some actual observing of classes, like, perhaps, her class - she looked horrified, then embarrassed. Sheepishly, she told me that the day was very hectic for her and that she didn't want me to see her classes the way they were that day.

I nodded and sank back in my seat, letting her save face and trying to mask my disappointment with a smile. I also tried very hard not to look like I was just surfing Facebook and checking my email the whole day, which was kind of hard - since that was exactly what I did...

My school entrance

Everyone was concerned about me getting home by myself, but I assured them that since there was only one road - one straight road, I may add - there was really no way for me to get lost. I found my way back to our apartment, and discovered that I literally live right behind the school. It just takes me 10 minutes to walk because I have to circle all around to the front gate.

Overall, I was pleased with how today went. My host mom greeted me warmly when I got home, and showed concern that I was perspiring. She drew close to me and, without warning, had her hand on my forehead and neck checking my body temperature. I assured her over and over that I was fine, and just needed to cool off.

I cooled off by taking a three-hour nap.

Seoul Day 4 | 2013 ETA Graduation Ceremony at Korea University

Today is the official culmination of our Korean language courses. It was wake up early, pack up, check out of our hotel rooms, board the buses, and drive to Korea University, where our graduation ceremony would be held. 

Here is our day in photos.

2013-2014 ETAs and our Korean language instructors posing for photos at the end of the ceremony

A couple of very important people said a few words to open the ceremony. It began with the granting of certificates, and was followed up by students performing skits or sharing their class videos.

The 90-degree bow as modeled by Mr. Tarnowsky

Class photo on stage with our certificates and gifts from Korea University

The mart scene

The whole skit may or may not have centered around the idea of Brendan here looking like Hugh Jackman (class inside joke) 

So many cameras at the event

After the ceremony, we ate a light lunch. Then, our final grades were given to us by our instructors.

Seonsaengnim handing out papers containing our grades

 We all passed! (Of course).

Class Photo: Classy Edition

Class Photo 2: With both seonsaengnims!

I will miss my teachers, but what a huge relief to be done with Korean classes! Many ETAs plan on continuing their language acquisition by signing up for more classes throughout the year. I am still undecided whether or not I want to go this route. We'll see in the coming days. Hopefully the little that I know now will suffice as far as self-introductions at my school placement goes, and will continue to grow as I begin to interact with my host family!

Post-Finals | Showing Our Appreciation For Our Main Seonsaengnim

EARLIER THIS MORNING:

Earlier this morning: Our seonsaengnim opening our humble gifts in class. The pricelessness of his expressions of gratitude is compounded, for me, by Tara's laughing face.

We have some incredibly organized people in our class that put their heads and hands together to create a memorable thank-you/goodbye party for our main seonsaengnim (teacher). We pooled some money together and, as a class, presented these final thank-you gifts for the amazing instructor who has been with us these past six weeks.

He has been incredibly patient, organized, perceptive of our needs, and funny - there are many reasons to love him! When he saw that we were about to present him with gifts, he started shaking his head sharply and looked almost displeased or embarrassed that we had bothered to give him gifts. We insisted that he open his box and, seeing that we weren't going to leave him alone, began to smile and slowly take out each item from the box: candy, chocolates, whiskey (?), and some other things the other ETAs thought were fitting gifts for the seonsaengnim.

LATER THIS EVENING:

Later this evening: Our class treating our seonsaengnim to spicy BBQ chicken and a variety of pizza!

We were going to take him out to dinner tonight, but he had a lot of Final Exam grading left to do so we settled for ordering these delicious American food to Jungwon. Seonsaengnim's favorite food is spicy chicken, apparently, so that's what we ordered. Thankfully, there was one side of the box with non-spicy chicken, so I was able to enjoy really crispy, really delicious fried chicken!

The pizza was also delicious. There were pizza flavors I had never even dreamed existed (like spaghetti-flavored pizza!). The one I had four slices of was so delicious I didn't even have time to ask what flavor it was!

As we ate, a couple of ETAs played the role of DJ and mixed Abba, and K-Pop songs over the speakers. Seonsaengnim had a special request though, so we ended up also listening to his favorite artists. They sang sad-sounding songs very, very well and changed the class party atmosphere rather quickly.

Already, I am thinking back to the six weeks with nostalgia. My class and my instructor(s) have been wonderful companions in this journey.

Practicing Our Basic Korean in Mock Korean Establishments

Our classroom transformed into the Jungwon Restaurant. Here you can see the menu, some customers waiting in line for some tables to clear, and one of my classmates arriving early to order a meal in Korean!

Today is the day before our Korean Language Final Exam. The language instructors arranged for us to practice our newly-acquired language skills by transforming each of their classrooms into either a restaurant, a movie theater, a taxi cab, or a coffee shop. We had to navigate our way through all of them using the Korean that we know.

It was quite fun and, as you will see below, also quite comical.

An ETA is playing the taxi cab driver/taxi itself here. Students hail a cab and practice giving directions in Korean to the destination of their choice.

Sign to the Jungwon Movie Theatre

Coffee shop. Beginner students come in and practice ordering items from a menu in Korean while Advanced students interact with them and give them their orders.

Everything is slowly but surely wrapping up. There will be a time when this present reality will be nothing but a blog post entry, and a nostalgia-inducing memory once I am in Busan.

I am trying to enjoy as much of it all as I can, but everything is going by so quickly! Breathe.

Korean Language Class: Beginner Students Giving Our Speeches

This is everyone giving their speeches in front of the room - except Tara, whose speech I video recorded. 

This morning, each of us gave our speeches. I fell asleep trying to memorize mine last night, but fortunately woke up early enough to do some more memorizing. Mine was 16 lines long, and contained a self-introduction and a description of what I did last weekend. It was a practice on using the past and present tense, and would constitute a portion of our Final Exam grade.

I'm proud of everyone in my class. We went from struggling to sound out the vowels and consonants on Day 1 to giving a speech not more than five weeks later!

My goal was not to look at my notes during my speech, but midway through I got too nervous and looked down instead of just pausing to remember.

Major work needs to be done in the intonation department here, folks. There are certain words that I know how to say in a "Korean-sounding" way, but it's all over when it comes to uttering whole sentences in Korean. It sounds silly in my ear, and, while practicing, all I can think about is how no one I have met so far sound the way I sound when practicing. I know that the instructors might be asking us to exaggerate a little though so I just need to go for it, no matter how ridiculous I currently sound.

Our instructor sat behind me and assessed our speeches. She was also taking photos of everyone. I turned around and snapped a couple of shots of her. This series of photos captured her reactions. Very camera-shy!

Our class has many funny characters. I love this shot of Christina Ssi's reaction to Brendan's speech! This guy knows how to entertain :)

 

Rachael, Tara, my roommate!, and Patrick attentively listening to someone's speech. 

Pretty soon, I won't have this class, or these other ETAs around me to encourage me to keep learning Korean. In a week or so I will have to take an honest assessment of how much Korean I want to learn by the end of the year, and create a plan that will help me meet that goal. 

Surprise Celebrations for the "Half Birthdays" of Our Language Instructors!

Our first instructor for the first two hours of language instruction. I love everyone's expression here!

LANGUAGE CLASS THIS PAST WEEK: THE GOOD AND THE BAD

It's been a good week in class because I got a 20/20 on the second quiz we took on Monday! It's been a not-so-good week because we've been covering a lot of grammar. Although one of my majors is in English Language & Literature, I have to admit that grammar has always been my weakest point. It is most evident in my speech, but I can usually catch it in my writing. 

Most of this week, our class has alternated between sliding back in our chairs in exhaustion and/or resignation, or straining forward on our desks to understand a grammar rule being scrawled on the board. 

THE INNER THESPIAN IN EVERY TEACHER

Our instructors write in Hangul but supplement their teaching with English words to help us understand. They also draw in the air, act out sentences, and sometimes dance - all in order to enhance student comprehension. 

They're pretty incredible! 

On certain days, and even through my exhaustion, I can still muster a weak, internal giggle when I see them perform in front of the class because that's what they do - they perform! 

I know that I will also be called to do the same in front of my Korean students, thus me giggling. I can only hope to look as cute and adorable as them when it comes my turn! 

One of two small cakes for the instructors

DISCOVERING THAT "HALF BIRTHDAYS" EXIST

However tough, this week ended on a very good note! Our class pooled enough money together to throw surprise "half birthday" parties for both of our instructors. Apparently half birthdays are a thing. 

Me: Are half birthdays a thing??

Another ETA: [Laughs] I think the other ETAs may just really want to have a class party. 

Me: Ah...more party, less grammar lessons. I get it now...

And so it was that on Friday, our sonsaengnims (teachers) walked into class and were each greeted by a party hat, a candle-laden cake, and a happy birthday song in Korean. They seemed very pleased by our efforts, but I could see their minds whirring in the background trying to maybe figure out how to show appreciation for the surprise half-birthday parties, but also transition smoothly into the day's lesson.

Both of them were very smooth about these transitions, so we actually didn't even cut off too much time from our grammar lessons. They are so darn efficient with class time! 

Instructor putting on his birthday hat

INSTRUCTOR APOLOGIZES FOR ENGLISH ABILITY

Yesterday though, our first instructor got side-tracked (for the first time ever) discussing fun games we could play to learn how to count in Korean. We were all laughing and having a great time, when, still smiling, he began to apologize to us.

Instructor [in English]: I'm so sorry. I cannot speak English very well.

Our class: Oh! No, no! You are great! Your English is very good, sonsaengnim!

Instructor [still in English]: When I was a student, I didn't study English. I regret." 

He then proceeds to make us all very sad. Meanwhile, I am scrawling this dialogue as quickly as I can on my notebook because it just broke my heart to hear him apologize to us over and over. Our instructor, who teaches graduate students at one of Korea's top universities, apologized to us (a group of American students stumbling through Korean) for not being fluent in English. There was something definitely heartbreaking and troubling about this but I couldn't pinpoint why. Maybe it was especially painful for me to hear because he was smiling the entire time that he was apologizing. 

QUICK THOUGHTS ON LANGUAGE HIERARCHY

Our second instructor for the third and fourth hour of
language instruction. Yes, our days are quite long.

Instead of learning English, he said that he studied Japanese and knows how to speak both Korean and Japanese - pretty darn impressive! There seems to be an hierarchy of languages (and identities) here that manage to create feelings of inadequacy in not only the American students (who are grappling with an "immense loss of power" in learning Korean), but also in the Korean instructors (who may feel extremely self-conscious about their fluency in English). There's a lot to unpack here, but I did say that we ended the week on a very good note, so...

...we partied! And it was definitely a welcome break from the usual order of things. 

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Have you ever apologized for not being able to communicate well in a different language? If you have never felt the need to, why is that? Who were you talking to and what was the language in question? If you have, what compelled you to apologize? Again, who were you talking to, and what was the language in question?

Do you think anyone should ever apologize for not being able to communicate (speak/read/write) well in a different language? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below.

Discovered My Favorite Korean Snack Just in Time for My Study Session!

Mrs. Shim wasn't kidding. Our Donghae trip really was the only time we would get to relax before being hit by the two-week tidal wave that is Camp Fulbright. Camp Fulbright is described on the Fulbright website as "Korea's most comprehensive, dynamic, and exciting" English camp, bringing together young people from all over Korea who are interested in receiving deep immersion in the English language and in making friends from the United States. The campers attend classes and play in and around Jungwon, communicating with each other in nothing but English (or so they agreed to do when they signed their contracts). Meanwhile, the ETAs are given the opportunity to teach a total of three classes during these two weeks, giving us the chance to engage with and teach Korean students before being placed in our schools. The program is designed to be a win-win situation. 

With all that said, tomorrow is a very big day and I have to pick up a lot of work that I left unattended during the weekend. 

REASONS WHY TOMORROW IS A BIG DAY:

• My Lesson Plan #2 is due at 11:59 p.m. tonight.
• I am scheduled to observe someone else's class at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
• My Korean language quiz #2 is immediately after at 11:00 a.m. and
• I teach my first class tomorrow at 2:25 p.m., right after observing and evaluating another ETA's teaching performance. 

No big deal. 

I wandered into the university mart and looked for something I could snack on while studying a hundred vocab words. This is what I found:

Round, chocolate-covered crackers!

I ate an entire box tonight and didn't even get through all of the vocab! I will have to avoid the mart for a few days to recuperate from all of this unhealthy goodness...

"Your Best Bet is to Head South" - Public Affairs Officer, On What We Should Do in the Unlikely Event that the North Does Strike the South

I write in Hangul and then romanize it in English to help me read and recall the information quicker. 

RESULTS OF THE FIRST KOREAN LANGUAGE QUIZ

I got a 17/20 on the quiz! Not bad, especially considering the fact that the three points I missed were all under the listening part. Most ETAs in the class encountered similar problems differentiating between the different sounds our instructor was making. One of the things I got wrong was putting an "m" for an "m" sound that is actually spelled with a "b" (again - don't ask). The whole class probably missed this question because we were all just dumbfounded. 

FIGURING OUT THE MYSTERIES OF HANGUL

How can an "m"-sounding letter at the beginning of a word be spelled with a "b"??? He spent about 5 minutes of class just re-sounding out "m"s and "b"s for us. This didn't help very much since I already know what Korean "m"s and "b"s sound like. Alone, the "m"s and "b"s sound like how they should. However, when the one letter "m" comes to be paired with the rest of the word given to us on the quiz, it somehow magically sounds like a word that starts with a "b." 

The other two mistakes I made were on word order. Hangul is composed of an initial consonant (on top), followed by a vowel (on top), and a final optional consonant (on the bottom). What got me were the dipthongs - vowels that made the "eu" or "wo" or "ia" sounds. Apparently, when there's a dipthong, one of the vowels can be at the bottom while the other one stays in its original position to the right of the initial consonant. (I apologize if that was confusing).

I was still slowly processing the mysteries of Hangul when the teacher started re-collecting our quizzes. I asked if we would get them back to help us study for next Monday's quiz, and he said no. 

THE BEST PERFORMING CLASS - SO FAR

He did say though that, out of all of the beginner's classes, our class performed the best. I take this compliment with a grain of salt, knowing that we are the Beginner A class (out of Beginner B and C, which are more "advanced"). I was tempted to ask who scored the highest, but didn't. And, by "didn't," I mean that I did but that he misunderstood my question and was on a roll explaining something else to me. I didn't want to interrupt or disrupt his energy so I just left it alone. He was trying so hard to articulate his responses in English!

Class ended two hours early due to a visit by the Public Affairs Office.

VISIT BY REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE
During this visit, ETAs brought up some important questions for the reps to answer, such as:

• How are the relations between North and South Korea progressing? 
• What is the likelihood that major conflict will arise between the two countries, especially while we are here? 
• Does the U.S. government have a plan in place to keep Americans in Korea safe in the case of such an event? 

The representative's responses were thorough, though not definitive for obvious reasons. He said that:

• North Korea does not have the capability to stand up to South Korea. SK is still interested in and attempting to build positive relations with NK but that the latter has not been "as sincere of a partner as they would like." 
• He doesn't foresee the place falling apart, but that the international community is still trying to "assess" Kim Jong-un, and the kind of control and influence he has over NK. The country up north poses a very small threat to the county down south. However, a threat is still a threat and it is being addressed accordingly.
• In the very unlikely case that NK makes a move against Korea, we should all "Head south towards Busan." He said that the farther south we are, the less likely any kind of anything will hit us from North Korea. 

"Don't be in Seoul." 

He then added, "I don't think there will be any kind of major incident or anything like that," and apologized that what he had just shared was probably not as comforting as we may have wanted to hear.

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU

What do you know about North-South Korean relations? Do you think the two countries will ever be reunited? What leads you to believe yes or no? What other question(s) would you have asked the representative during his visit? Share your thoughts and questions in the comment box below. 

"To Learn a New Language is to Lose an Immense Amount of Power"

Mr. Thomas Santos providing a workshop on "Teaching in the Target Language Without Translation."

THE AMERICAN EMBASSY'S REGIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE OFFICER

After Korean language classes, we attended a workshop by a guest speaker named Thomas Santos. He is the Regional English Language Officer (RELO) from the American embassy, and will be with us for a two-part workshop on teaching English in English in a Korean classroom. 

While it may seem like an obvious concept at first, there is apparently a huge debate right now about teaching in the target language without any translation. I remember my four years of Spanish classes in high school, where my teachers would speak in English to teach Spanish. I never thought about it much - how in/effective this approach may be, or whether there were other strategies for teaching a foreign language - until I went to college and took more Spanish courses. 

LEARNING SPANISH WITHOUT TRANSLATION

At UW, I experienced firsthand what it means to be taught a language by only hearing, speaking, and writing in that language. Although college-level Spanish was difficult, I was still able to derive comfort in how familiar this foreign language was to me. My "r"s rolled in a way that made me the envy of most of my classmates, and my pronunciations were diamond-cut in their precision. 

LANGUAGES & SHARED HISTORIES OF COLONIZATION

In elementary (still living in the Philippines), I heard stories about how my mother's side of the family had Spanish blood. In junior high (once in the U.S.), I quickly developed a passion for learning more about Spanish-speaking countries - especially those in the Americas. It wasn't until college that I came to understand more that my affinity for things Spanish was historically-based. 

My "r"s rolled enviably and my pronunciations were diamond-cut thanks to 333 years of Spanish colonization of the island-nation of the Philippines. My passion fixated more on the Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas because most shared a common history of being colonized by Spain. Language-learning, first with English, then with Spanish, and now with Korean, started on a thought-provoking note for me from the very start. 

LEARNING KOREAN WITHOUT TRANSLATION

Our Korean language classes here in Jungwon are taught by professors from Korea University, one of the three "SKY" schools (Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei). They speak to us only in Korean - thereby providing a demonstration for those of us who have not yet experienced what it looks like to teach a language in the target language. Despite my sneaky little complaints over the length of class-time and the mind-numbing amount of memorization we have to do, at the end of the day, I recognize that receiving such a high-quality (and free) language instruction is an immense privilege - something that other Fulbright programs do not provide, but something which the Korean Fulbright program has ensured was included in our training. 

Back to Mr. Santos. His workshop was very informative and very interactive, but one thing he said that has really impressed itself on my mind is this:

"To learn a new language is to lose an immense amount of power." 

People around the room slowly nodded in agreement. Mr. Santos continued by saying that being a beginner can be especially infantilizing. More nods as minds everywhere connected what he was saying to our classroom experience, where teachers talk very. slowly. with. us. Just because they need to in order for us to understand! Since I have experience learning a foreign language myself, I feel more equipped for the job that's ahead of me. However, there is more equipping to be had and, even before this, maybe more experiences up ahead involving the loss of "an immense amount of power" before I can re-learn to place myself where my Korean students will be in my English classroom. 

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Do you speak another language? If so, how did you learn? Did you experience the immense loss of power that Mr. Santos talked about at the beginning of your journey to learn the language? If you don't speak another language, what is preventing you from doing so? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Hearty Encouragements Before Taking Our First Korean Language Quizzes

Our seven amazing OCs giving each elevator-full of people a hearty morning pre-quiz cheer.

OUR OC CHEER SQUAD
As we were headed to our classes this morning, we were met by this extremely enthusiastic cheer squad right as the elevator opened. It was our OCs giving us a noisy encouragement to do well on our quizzes, complete with hand-drawn cartoons and colored-in signs. Everyone inside the elevator jumped back in surprise and alarm.

It was a really thoughtful thing to do. I was definitely smiling/laughing nervously as I headed to class.

STILL THINKING LIKE AN RA
As some of my classmates were talking about how that episode nearly scared them to death, I was thinking about how that could have been a great thing to do for my residents as they headed for their midterms and finals. I got a bit sad thinking through the details and knowing that I was no longer a Resident Adviser, and that I could have done so much more for my residents. Even little things like these!

TAKING THE QUIZ
I headed to class and discovered that the quiz was going to be given during the first 15 minutes of class. There were groans everywhere, but I suppose this eliminated unnecessarily extending my anxieties over a quiz that only had 10 questions. The quiz only had 10 questions, yet it seemed like we studied a ton of vocabulary and simple dialogue. There was a listening and writing portion, a fill-in-the-missing-part-of-the-dialogue portion, and multiple choice. It was quite reasonable, though I did have trouble with the listening and writing part. It is not enough to listen to the Korean instructor's pronunciations because there are multiple subtle variations on how to say "o"s and "e"s. Consonants, which you'd think would hardly give anyone trouble, are also pretty tricky in Korean. For example "m"s can sound like "b"s, and "g"s can sound like "k"s, and so on. Let's not even mention the fact that, in Korean, double consonants exist, such as dd, gg, ss, which change the pronunciation and meaning of words. Don't ask.

But if you insist, I could probably explain it later or over Skype, or later.

In any case, I found that I had to look up at the instructor and zero in on the extremely-exaggerated way he was pronouncing each word to feel like I even had a standing chance. He repeated every word four times, and no more. Everything was going well until he realized that I/we were looking at his mouth and proceeded to pronounce the rest with a notebook covering his lips.

THE LONG MORNING HOURS OF KOREAN LANGUAGE LEARNING
There was a collective groan as he collected the quiz sheets. Post-quiz, I felt like all my brain power had been disproportionately allocated to the successful taking of the quiz and so I was a bit incredulous remembering that there was another three hours and 45 minutes of Korean language class ahead of me. Many yawns, back stretches, new dialogue material, and vocab words later, we were free!

Some of the ETAs who were cheer-attacked as we were getting out of the elevator. One of them said that they were even more nervous about taking the quiz now that the OCs had gone and encouraged them. 

We will find out how we did on the quiz by tomorrow's class. Stay tuned.

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU
Has someone ever cheered you on before a major event (quiz, test, competition, performance, graduation,...)? What did they do that left an impression on you? Were you encouraged by their thoughtful efforts, or were you made even more nervous/anxious to perform? Perhaps you were the one who did the encouraging and cheering. Share your experience in the comment box below.

Attending Bible Study & Studying for My First Quiz on the Korean Language

Mama let me borrow her favorite Bible just so I could have a lighter one while traveling.

The days are blurring together, especially with how quickly we have settled into a routine of meal, language classes, meal, workshops, meal, study/hangout, sleep.

FINDING A CHURCH
As the weekend approached, I noticed a few ETAs asking if anyone else was interested in going to find a church for Sunday. They were doing this on our Facebook Group, and there were separate posts by those wanting to go to a Catholic church and those wanting to go to a Protestant Christian church. I was very pleased to see that there were other Christians in our group, and was excited to join them for church.

Unfortunately, a talk with the OCs revealed that even if a group of us went to a Korean service with English translation, it would still be difficult for us to follow along the entire time. It was decided that we would have Bible study and fellowship in one of Jungwon's classrooms instead.

I took Mama's Bible off the shelf before I left the room, quite excited to see who else would be there, what they would bring up for discussion, and how we might be able to support each other during the Orientation, if not the year. Everyone was invited so anything was possible!

THE NEED TO PRIORITIZE
On the elevator, there was a young woman and a young man.

Me: [to the young man with what looked like a Bible] Are you headed for the Bible study?
Young man: Yes, I am. Are you? 
Me: Yep. [And to the young woman] How about you? Will you also be joining us? 
Young woman: Joining you where?
Me: We're going to Room 302 for Bible study
Young woman: Oh, nooo! I'm going to study some Korean. Priorities!
Me: Ah, yeah. I have to do that right after this, too...

Priorities, her words reminded me of how deliberate I will have to be in my efforts to grow in the spiritual as much as in the cultural, linguistic, and professional.

THE BIBLE STUDY GROUP
There were nine of us in Room 302, which was a lot more than I expected. We went around and re-introduced ourselves, prayed, and then talked about if/how God was involved in our journey. It was very interesting listening to the others share what their application process had been like, how much they wanted the Fulbright, how anxious they were over the thought of being selected, and how inadequate and unprepared they felt for the job once they got it. I could relate to most of these sentiments.

As I looked around the room, I could feel my eyes drooping from exhaustion, but I was very happy to see what I was seeing and to be where I was at that moment. I felt like a parched plant that was being watered by the half-reluctant, half-eager conversations around me.

We closed in prayer, and some of us sat together for dinner right after. I could have not eaten any of tonight's dinner but still felt full from the deep conversations we continued to have over mealtime. I hope this Bible study group continues to meet in the coming weeks because it's an answer to so many of my prayers for community, family, and fellowship!

This is my notebook. Try to see if you can read some of the Korean!

 STUDYING FOR MY FIRST QUIZ
After dinner, it was serious study time. I wrote out, memorized, sounded out, and stared at Korean words for school supplies, occupations, countries, and common introductory phrases. These are some of my notes (in inverted color so you can see my handwriting better).

The left-hand column has the English words, the middle has the word in Hangeul, and the right-hand column has a phonetic key I've developed to help me sound out words and spell them later.

Like I've said before, I'm at the very Beginner's level. It's interesting how many times I revert to Spanish in my Korean classroom just to avoid speaking in English. I'm not even going to mention the fact that I often use a couple of dialects from the Philippines as mnemonic devices to help me remember Hangeul!

I studied in my room alone and with my roommate Tara this evening. She laid across the bottom half of the bed with books strewn on top of my blankets as we went back and forth quizzing each other on simple vocab and testing each other on the dialogues.

I must have looked really tired because she kept making comments like, "...but we don't have to if you don't want to" and "...but I don't want to keep you up too long" etc (she's seriously very sweet, not to mention thoughtful!). I explained to her that my eyes usually look more sleepy and tired than I actually feel, and so we kept studying until 1:30 a.m.

It's 2:00 a.m. now. Time for me to go to bed. I am forcing myself to blog now in order to avoid writing eight blog posts in one day like what may or may not have happened this past weekend.

Buenas noches, chin gu!

Check out this masterpiece. I feel like framing any piece of paper that has my Hangeul lettering on it!

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU

Have you ever struggled to find or build community? What did you do to join one or create one? What are some tips you might have for me as far as community-building (in my home-stay, my classrooms, my faith, etc.). Share your experiences and suggestions in the comment box below.

First Day of Korean Language Classes & KAEC Site Visit

Today is a big day for two reasons:

1. We begin Korean language classes and
2. We are meeting Mrs. Jai Ok Shim, Executive Director of the Korean-American Educational Commission (KAEC), which operates the Fulbright Program here in Korea!

DRESS TO IMPRESS

Everyone was told to dress up in our nicest, most business-looking attires today (no skirts above the knee, if wearing skirts also wear a pantyhose or tights, and absolutely no cleavages and shoulders showing). Apparently shoulders are on the same level as cleavages here! We were only required to really dress up for Mrs. Shim's visit, but since it was also the first day of Korean language classes, most ETAs decided to dress up for the whole day. 

Fun! Fun! Korean is the title of our textbook and workbook. We also have a blue workbook for practicing our writing.

FIRST DAY OF KOREAN LANGUAGE CLASSES
Our Korean language classes run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (4 hours each day) and are usually followed by teaching workshops. We have two teachers: a man and a young woman. I like the man better because he talks to us in slow-to-normal Korean while he teaches, while the young woman doesn't - usually just making a lot of awkward noises like, "Oh!" or "Ohhh" or "Ohhhh..." or "OHHhhh" or some kind of variety of "Oh" applied to basically every situation, which can get old pretty quickly. I think this annoys me because it doesn't seem natural. On the positive side,  I can tell that these two teachers coordinate very well because when the first teacher leaves, the second one picks up right where the first one left off lesson-wise. They definitely know what they're doing. 

We were told that our Korean language teachers are from some of the most prestigious universities from Korea. Kind of awesome. 

PREPARING OUR GREETING AND PRACTICING OUR BOWS
Before Mrs. Shim's arrival, the OCs reminded us what the appropriate, formal greeting to give her in Korean, and rehearsed with us how to give our 90 degree bows. I usually am seated at the very front of the room, but, today, the front was already taken up. I found myself seated in the middle right, closest to where Mrs. Shim would be entering the room.

Even though I knew she wouldn't specifically remember me, the fact that I would be one of the first faces she'd see made me feel a bit self-conscious about my greeting and bow. Fortunately when the time came, everyone else's voices drowned out my own as we all pretty-impressively greeted her with a very polite "Annyeong ha shimnikka."

MRS. SHIM'S WORDS OF WISDOM
The OCs, especially Anthony, had really thought-provoking things to say. When he finally introduced Mrs. Shim, she joked that he had said everything she had to say and that we didn't need her at the Opening Ceremony after all. This was completely untrue however. Mrs. Shim, with her over 30 years of experience working with Fulbright, had so much to offer us in terms of practical wisdom during our stay in Korea.

One of her most important piece of advice to us as ETAs was: Do Not Compare Yourself and Your Situation to Those of Other ETAs.

This definitely resonated with me as someone who has often been plagued by the crippling effects of comparing myself and my achievements to my peers in an academic setting. Knowing how competitive I am in basically all areas of life, I know that I will need this piece of advice to apply even in this setting, and will be making a concerted effort to avoid devaluing my experiences.

Over the years, I have slowly but surely learned to deploy the amazing powers of counting my blessings, of being grateful to help attenuate the frustrations that come with not being first, not being the best, not being perfect.

Mrs. Shim's talk reminded us that we are all unique, and that our assigned locations, schools, administrations, co-teachers, students, and homestay families will all be different, too. This, of course, makes a lot of sense, but it helps to have someone verbalize it.

From Day 1, I have had the sense that we're in very good hands here.