after the month or so long break in December, i started the 2nd semester at Yonsei. i wish i had studied more during the first semester and the break, because it’s been very tough. mainly because i’m still not yet thinking in Korean… and it shows because i have trouble most of the time understanding what the teacher says. that, and i failed two of my mid-terms so, i’m pushing myself to study more and memorize more of the phrases and vocabulary we learn better. i have found myself getting a little better at understanding and memorizing the words. the more i use them and hear them, the better it sticks in my head. i have 5 weeks until finals, so hopefully i’ll get better before then and ace them
the weather here has been warming up into the mid 40′s and sometimes low 50′s which has been a lot nicer than the cold 20′s and below that it was a few weeks ago.
the picture is just a random shop in Korea that uses English almost correctly
Christmas here in Korea was enjoyable. it went by about as quickly as it does in the US which is always too fast. on Christmas Eve, i went to a Christmas Party at my church which was a lot of fun. we had Korean food for dinner, watched a video about Christmas which happened to be in English and had no subtitles, so most of the people ended up just talking to each other, then there were many different performances regarding the story of Christmas and also other interesting things, including a traditional Korean dance by a girl decked out in the fancy traditional clothing. some of the people at church somehow talked me into participating, so i became shephard #4. we had to make our own costumes, and i had nothing to use to make a shephard outfit, so i just looked like one of the few foreigners standing there reading his one line to the crowd XD we didn’t practice much, and so we got the audience laughing a lot… all unintentionally. someone dressed up in a santa outfit and gave gifts to all the children–they seemed to enjoy it a lot.
i spent Christmas day opening gifts my family sent me in the morning–my parents even sent me a tiny plastic Christmas tree after that, i was invited a gathering with all of the English speaking foreign single adults in Seoul from my church. not sure how many there are total, but there was about 25 people there. we played games and talked and had a turkey dinner. it was nice, since i’ve yet to find turkey here in Seoul (though i haven’t set out to really search for it), and it also reminded me of home with everyone getting together and having fun and eating a lot
last saturday night was a church Dance Party which was a lot o fun, but defintely too short. the organizers meant well, but too much time was spent in various activities to try to get all of us to socialize and get to know each other better. it’s strange, but i’ve found myself much much less shy here than when i’ve been in the US. but i think most Koreans seem to either be very shy around foreigners, or they’re very outgoing and walk right up to talk to you. many of them know English in varying degrees, so i can still communicate with them. i try to speak to them in Korean, but still have troubles with the speed in which they speak–too fast!
not sure what i’ll be doing on New Year’s Eve/Day here. it’s another holiday that’s not as big here as it is in the US. the Lunar New Year is very big here though, so that should be fun (unless i’m home alone for the 3 day event :p)
i finished up the first semester a week or so ago. the finals were tough. i didn’t study as much as i should have, and the listening and speaking tests showed that… and that which i did study i seemed to have forgotten during the tests also… overall i passed the 1st semester with a 75%. not horrible, but i would have been happier with a B. i’m now a week into my month long vacation before the 2nd semester starts. all the other students in Seoul are in the middle of their finals right now. i’ve been attempting to study alone at home, but have found myself easily distracted by computer, games and tv. i’m slowly getting into a routine. i’m hoping soon i can get some practice with speaking and listening with some of the Korean friends i’ve made here. most are pretty busy with school or work right now though.
the weather here has been getting colder. the saturday before last it dropped to 10° F! too cold for my tastes XD but, i went out anyway with some classmates to my teacher’s wedding. the wedding was nice and some of her older students showed up too. they had a big 4 course meal which was all western food (seafood appetizers, cream soup, rolls, roast beef, mashed potatoes and veggies. and fruit for dessert). there seemed to be over 200 people from my quick estimate, so it must have cost them a lot to provide all of the food for everyone. the wedding was held at a wedding hall, so i’m guessing they just paid a (large) fee and let the staff handle everything.
i may be learning some ballroom dances soon i’ve been wanting to learn more swing dance as well as other ballroom dances for a long time now, and today i met someone at church who knows many ballroom dances and is in need of a practice partner for the classes she’ll be teaching. it should be fun i hope
i just finished my midterms last thursday and friday. we had 4 tests; reading, writing, speaking, and listening. i did well on the writing and reading, but averaged a C for the speaking and listening… those two are the toughest for me. i understand the grammar so far, but putting together sentences quickly is tough. and trying to understand what people say when they speak very quickly is also very hard. i just need to practice more and more.
today we got 2 new 선생님 (teachers). during the 3rd hour of class, a second teacher comes in to teach us reading. the new teachers seem great.
hmm, what else is new… oh yeah, i’ve had a few chances to get some one on one speaking practice with some friends. this has been helpful, but i need to do it a lot moreso–daily even. many times when i see my Korean friends, we seem to only speak in English. and if there are groups talking, i have a hard time trying to say something in Korean since i’m slow at it. i also worry (which i shouldn’t) that i may be interupting a deep conversation amongst them with some question like “what kind of food do you like?” i think i will try to set up more language practice meetings with my friends so i can get better at it. i have two set for this week, and am going to try to only speak in Korean.
not much else has been going on here. the weather has been getting colder, and i’m in need of getting some more sweaters and a scarf or two. the mornings walking to school is much colder than in the afternoons. but i remember in february it got very cold here!
well, before i left for Korea, i told many people how i hoped to update my website very often with stories of living here, but i haven’t done a very good job at that yet XD
so it’s been over a month living here. i started school a few weeks ago and really like it! there are over 1000 students here at Yonsei University trying to learn Korean. they split everyone up into 12-13 students per class. the class is 4 hours per day with 3 breaks in between. during the 3rd hour, a different teacher comes in to teach reading. the toughest part of the class for me is memorizing the vocabulary and understanding the speaking parts because it is spoken very fast. i think with more vocab knowledge, as well as practice, i’ll be able to understand the speaking better. my class is a mix of American, Japanese, Mongolian, Spanish, German and Italian. the teacher tries to keep everything spoken in the class in Korean, but sometimes she has to briefly explain things in English. she knows a bit of Japanese too. the Mongolian guys have difficulty with both the Korean and the English… and those without English as their first language have to do some double translating when the teacher explains something in English. the class is very fast-paced, and i worry about even missing a few minutes of the class or i’ll fall behind.
my small Korean (one room) apartment XD i miss some of the conveniences from home; oven, dryer, larger bathroom… but this is actually a larger size apartment than others i saw. it’s also a short 20 minute walk from my school, 10 minute walk to the subway and a 20 minute walk to my church. there are tons of places to eat at and shop at around here. and also tons of people–they like to drive much faster than i do, and tend to walk much slower than i do XD
so, i’m pushing myself to study more and memorize more of the phrases and vocabulary we learn better. i have found myself getting a little better at understanding and memorizing the words. the more i use them and hear them, the better it sticks in my head. i have 5 weeks until finals, so hopefully i’ll get better before then and ace them 
