It's hard to believe, but midterms are next week! I can't believe that the semester is halfway through, it seems like I just got here. I guess that's the way life is: Time can suddenly move very rapid or drag along. I definately feel like time is trying to dash faster than Usain Bolt or something.
On Sunday, I went hiking in Gyeryongsan National Park with two of my Chinese friends: Yun Yue and Hong. They attend a school in Beijing, although Yun Yue is originally from Nanjing. Hong is in my Korean drumming class, and we have been talking about touring somewhere together since the beginning of the semester. It was quite an adventure trying to navigate the bus system in the town of Daejon, which is the closest town to the park. We took a bus from our town to Daejon and then tried to find the right city bus that would take us to Gyeryongsan. We got lost a few times, but we made it to the park. In Korea, many people are hard core hikers. We walked by several hiking supplies stores as we got closer to the park entrance. When we began our hike, I was surprised by the amount of hikers in the park. Not only that, but all of the hikers were dressed like they just left an LL Bean magazine: The hiking clothes, hiking stick, and the boots made for mountain climbing. I felt so underdressed in my jeans and T shirt. The park was so peaceful and beautiful. We hiked to a temple and a small waterfall. There is a trail up the mountain that we are planning to hike in a few weeks (now that we know how to get to the park).
After a great weekend filled with two great trips, I have to focus on studying for midterms. I have two Korean language tests next week, along with two papers due in two other classes. In Korea, midterm tests are as important as the final exam. Many of my suitemates have been busy studying for midterms, one of my suitemates has eight tests next week, so stressful! I have been making vocabulary flashcards for my language tests today, hoping that studying with flashcards might help me remember the 75+ words I need to know for my midterms. I will be spending the weekend studying Korean style: study from morning until night.
The exciting news is that after my midterm exams, I have a four day break! A few of my teachers cancelled Friday classes because our exam is earlier in the week. I am hoping to go to Pusan to see the ocean. But first, I need to focus on these exams. Argh!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Field Trip!
Today was the first of several highly anticipated field trips that the school plans for the international students. A large part of the study abroad program at Soonchunhyang (or SCH) is to provide international students with the ability to see as much of Korea as possible. They provide several trips for all of the international students to see parts of Korea as a group.
Today we went to the southern part of our province (Chungcheongnam-Do) to see the Baekje festival. The Baekje dynasty was a kingdom in Chungcheongnam-Do from 18 BC to AD 660. It is an ancient kingdom that many people in Chungcheongnam-Do take pride in. For the entire month of October, there are many festivals and celebrations to commemorate this dynasty. We went to the town of Buyeo, which is about an hour by bus from school. In Buyeo, we went to a replica of the palace that was in Buyeo. Many of the palaces and temples in Korea were destroyed when Japan occupied Korea. Japan claimed that they were modernizing Korea, but they destroyed the majority of the historical and cultural buildings, which to me looks like an attempt to remove two thousand years of Korean history. They built the replica with the tools that they would have used when the original was built. It was nice to see that Korea is restoring the historical sites that are still standing and building replicas of the buildings that were destroyed. I have been amazed by the Korean peoples ability to bounce back. It is hard to imagine that only about sixty years ago, Korea was in poverty because of the Korean war. Today it is a powerful force in the world because of the determination of the Korean people to move past their struggles.
For lunch, we went to eat Samgyetamng, which is a whole young chicken stuffed with an assortment of vegetables and rice. It was really good. One of the vegetables that is in the soup is the healthy but bitter tasting ginseng. It is a root that is used in energy drinks and it is said in Korea if you eat ginseng, you will live a long life. I hadn't tried ginseng whole here in Korea, so it was my chance to try it. When I picked up the root, everyone at my table stared in shock because they told me that it is the most disgusting thing I will ever eat in my life. Having already tried squid head, I thought that a root wouldn't be too bad. I took a bite...it wasn't too bad. It tasted like an unsweetened carrot. I finished my ginseng to everyone's amazement. two of the guys I was sitting with, Malik (from California) and Shauqi(from Indonesia) decided they would try is as well. They could only take one bite, it tasted too horrible. Malik told me that he has never tasted something so disgusting in his life. It had a strong bitter taste, but I didn't think it was too bad.
After lunch, we went to a festival that celebrates the Baekje dynasty. It is a month long festival with traditional music, food, and crafts. I got to see several performances: traditional Korean music, break dancing, and part of a Korean opera. It was great to see so much history and culture in one place.
Tomorrow, I am planning to go to Daejon with a few of my Chinese friends. We are going to try to navigate the buses, so it should be quite an adventure! We are planning to go hiking at a nearby national park and possibly visit a temple.
Today we went to the southern part of our province (Chungcheongnam-Do) to see the Baekje festival. The Baekje dynasty was a kingdom in Chungcheongnam-Do from 18 BC to AD 660. It is an ancient kingdom that many people in Chungcheongnam-Do take pride in. For the entire month of October, there are many festivals and celebrations to commemorate this dynasty. We went to the town of Buyeo, which is about an hour by bus from school. In Buyeo, we went to a replica of the palace that was in Buyeo. Many of the palaces and temples in Korea were destroyed when Japan occupied Korea. Japan claimed that they were modernizing Korea, but they destroyed the majority of the historical and cultural buildings, which to me looks like an attempt to remove two thousand years of Korean history. They built the replica with the tools that they would have used when the original was built. It was nice to see that Korea is restoring the historical sites that are still standing and building replicas of the buildings that were destroyed. I have been amazed by the Korean peoples ability to bounce back. It is hard to imagine that only about sixty years ago, Korea was in poverty because of the Korean war. Today it is a powerful force in the world because of the determination of the Korean people to move past their struggles.
For lunch, we went to eat Samgyetamng, which is a whole young chicken stuffed with an assortment of vegetables and rice. It was really good. One of the vegetables that is in the soup is the healthy but bitter tasting ginseng. It is a root that is used in energy drinks and it is said in Korea if you eat ginseng, you will live a long life. I hadn't tried ginseng whole here in Korea, so it was my chance to try it. When I picked up the root, everyone at my table stared in shock because they told me that it is the most disgusting thing I will ever eat in my life. Having already tried squid head, I thought that a root wouldn't be too bad. I took a bite...it wasn't too bad. It tasted like an unsweetened carrot. I finished my ginseng to everyone's amazement. two of the guys I was sitting with, Malik (from California) and Shauqi(from Indonesia) decided they would try is as well. They could only take one bite, it tasted too horrible. Malik told me that he has never tasted something so disgusting in his life. It had a strong bitter taste, but I didn't think it was too bad.
After lunch, we went to a festival that celebrates the Baekje dynasty. It is a month long festival with traditional music, food, and crafts. I got to see several performances: traditional Korean music, break dancing, and part of a Korean opera. It was great to see so much history and culture in one place.
Tomorrow, I am planning to go to Daejon with a few of my Chinese friends. We are going to try to navigate the buses, so it should be quite an adventure! We are planning to go hiking at a nearby national park and possibly visit a temple.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
A week in October
I can't believe it's already October. I can see the signs of the season: going outside wearing a jacket, the leaves falling, and Korean students already talking about midterm tests. The amount of pressure on the students to do well is astounding. One of my suitemates will study for at least four or five hours everyday outside of her classes. I think studying is a good thing, but I worry about the Korean students when I learned that the suicide rate in Korea is increasing because of academic expectations. I had noticed that all of the apartments in Korea did not have balconies. When I asked one of my Korean friends, she explained that because of the high suicide rate, the apartment owners do not build balconies.
This weekend, I went to Cheonan to see a movie with two of my friends. The theater was in a four story shopping center. In this kind of center, there are many individual salespeople all sharing the space. It is like a mall without the individual shops. We had time before the movie to walk around this center. We also went shopping in one of the nearby markets after the movie.
Today, I had two exchanges in the morning. I then had a two hour break before my afternoon class. I had the chance during this time to meet two Korean students. I taught them how to play "Go Fish" and "BS" (aka "Chicken"). After a while a few of the international students joined in, making the game very exciting. We had about six or seven people playing, which was a ton of fun.
This weekend, all of the international students will be going to a nearby town for a festival celebrating the Baekje dynasty, a kingdom that was located in this provence. I am very excited to see all of the cultural festivities and to learn more about this dynasty.
This weekend, I went to Cheonan to see a movie with two of my friends. The theater was in a four story shopping center. In this kind of center, there are many individual salespeople all sharing the space. It is like a mall without the individual shops. We had time before the movie to walk around this center. We also went shopping in one of the nearby markets after the movie.
Today, I had two exchanges in the morning. I then had a two hour break before my afternoon class. I had the chance during this time to meet two Korean students. I taught them how to play "Go Fish" and "BS" (aka "Chicken"). After a while a few of the international students joined in, making the game very exciting. We had about six or seven people playing, which was a ton of fun.
This weekend, all of the international students will be going to a nearby town for a festival celebrating the Baekje dynasty, a kingdom that was located in this provence. I am very excited to see all of the cultural festivities and to learn more about this dynasty.
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