Slow and Steady

So I've made it through week one of living and studying in Korea.  It's hard to believe I've made it this far!  Everyday so far has presented a challenge in one form or another.  It's not the easiest thing having to wake up early in the morning and go out into a world that still feels unfamiliar to you.  But I'm doing my best to welcome the challenges, and know that they are only toughening my resolve and opening up new opportunities to meet people and see the world in a new light.

I'm enjoying my classes thus far.  I have three different professors--one for writing, speaking, and listening/reading--who are all really kind and energetic.  They really care about furthering our language skills as well as the well-being of each student, which I appreciate.  The pace and work load are definitely challenging, but they have been pushing me and my language skills in a positive direction.  The students in my class come from across the world.  Many are from Japan, but others represent China, France, Australia and Germany.  It's cool to see all of these different people coming to Sogang with the same purpose of learning Korean.

I think one thing that will really speed up my learning is the fact that none of the students in my class (besides the American students) speak English very well.  Thus, we are forced to speak with each other in Korean.  I've had to do this with a couple of my Japanese classmates already.  Whether it's figuring out a place to eat for lunch or trying to describe our interests, the language of communication is Korean.  This can be a challenge sometimes, and we have reached many roadblocks in or conversations due to my shortage of vocabulary.  But through a continual desire to improve our language skills as well as deepen our care for each other, these obstacles are very easy to overcome.  There is one Japanese student named Hwa Gi who has been really patient with me and helps me whenever I don't understand something.  We've made a good connection over this past week, and I'm grateful for his friendship.  He is also eager to learn English, which I gladly help him with too.

So I sort of feel like I've been living two separate lives this past week--my life as a student at Sogang and my life at the hasukjib.  While both provide great learning opportunities, they are very different in what they teach and how they teach it.  As a student at Sogang, I am not around Korean students but rather other international students learning Korean.  At the hasukjib, however, I am one of two foreign students living with seven other Korean students.  Thus, my time at the hasukjib provides more opportunities to interact with and learn from native Korean speakers.  

Additionally, there is no Nuna at Sogang University.  Only at the hasukjib.  I have learned things from her that the professors at the university don't teach.  First of all, she works really hard to make sure that we are well fed every morning and evening, never asking for anything in return.  Second of all, she has taught me a lot about proper dining etiquette and introduced me to a wide assortment of different Korean food (everyday there's something different!).  Although I probably understand about 16% of what she is saying, we've managed to get along.  She doesn't seem to want to slow down when she speaks to me, and doesn't realize that I can't understand her when she talks really fast.  Either that or she's just impatient.  Most of the time I usually am able to greet her and say thank you for the meal.  However, there was one night where we actually held a conversation about the bi bim bap she made.  During that meal she apparently thought that I had put to much spicy sauce in my dish, and proceeded to put more rice in my bowl to make it less spicy.  I told her it was okay but she insisted to make it better for me.  I guess you could call it bonding.

I think I have eaten more spicy food here than I ever had in my whole life.  I haven't gone a meal yet without something spicy.  It's unbelievable!  And very delicious!  I wonder if I'll ever get tired of it.  I naturally love to eat so it shouldn't be a problem I don't think.  Hwa Gi, Mikiko (another Japanese student) and I recently went to eat Naeng Myeon and a restaurant nearby campus.  It's a spicy noodle dish and especially good to eat in the heat of the summer because it is cold.  My Japanese friends taught me how to slurp up my noodles vigorously which is good manners in Japan, and I taught them how to do a shaka sign.  In the end, we were all very content and only spent about $4 each!

Although studying and living in Korea have been good so far, I still hope to get out and run around somehow.  I really enjoy playing sports, and hope I can find some outlet to engage in physical activity.  Sogang has a lot of sports clubs and good facilities including a bunch of really nice clay tennis courts.  Maybe this can be a goal for next week to find some sort of group or people who I can play sports with, which would also be a great way to improve my language skills.