Final Celebration!

안녕하세요 여러분 (ann-yeong-ha-se-yo yeo-reo-boon)
Hello Everyone!!


First off, I wanted to just say thank you for having me visit your class and allow me to share my experiences in Korea with you all these past months. Although I was a little nervous when I first arrived in your class on Thursday, your energy and spirit caused all my nervousness to instantly vanish.



I had a great time sharing my power point, playing the quiz game, eating the 달고나/뽑기 (dal-go-na/bbop-gi) snack, and doing the Korean name activity with you all! I also loved your enthusiasm with asking questions and involving yourselves with all the activities. I hope that you had just as fun a time as I did and I was so so happy to hear that so many of you would like to visit Korea and/or travel the world (especially the slime cafe)! I made so many amazing experiences in Korea while studying abroad and creating this blog was such a fun way to reflect on my time there.

Korean  Name Activity

Also I cannot forget to mention how much I enjoyed hearing your song. I totally had La Bamba stuck in my head the entire rest of the day.

In addition, I was so grateful and happy reading all of your thank you notes. Your words and cute pictures just made my day.

Overall, I am honestly so thankful  that I had the opportunity to create and share these blog posts, and being  able to finally  meet you all was just the icing on top of the cake for  such a wonderful project.  I really  hope  that  through this project you all became  more  curious about  the  world around  you and are  inspired to  maybe travel/study  abroad yourselves one day!

Finally, I just want  to say thank you or 감사합니다 (gam-sa-ham-ni-da)  one  last time, and  wish you all well into whatever future  endeavors you choose  to take! 

안녕!  (an-nyeong)
Goodbye!

Photo of the Week # 10

For the last photo here is a picture of me and my friend at the LINE store in Seoul. The LINE bear
is definitely the most iconic mascot of this brand, so I was excited to take a picture next to it. LINE bears
name is Brown! Isn't he cute? 

다시 만날 날까지~ (da-she man-nal nal-gga-jji) Until We Meet Again!

 이번이 마지막이네요.. ㅠㅠ 안녕하세요 여러분!
( ee-beon-ee ma-jee-mak-ee-ne-yo... yu-yu ann-yeong-ha-se-yo yeo-ro-bun)
 For the last time.. :'( :'( Hello Everyone!


I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break this last week. I'm a bit sad to say, but this will be our last post (aside from the photo of the week). Fortunately, we will get to meet again when I come visit next month! I'm so excited to share with you in person about South Korea. By the way, I am so curious! What was your favorite blog posts from the past 10 weeks? What was your favorite thing you learned? Also, do you think you would like to visit South Korea if you had the chance?

During this last post, I am going to tell you four reasons why you should consider studying abroad when you get older!

Number 1: Learning about a different culture and history! 

 

Photos of historical and cultural things I took in Korea. Top
left: A tower known as a Sok-tap where ancient Koreans
would pray to free their worries. Top Right: Picture of wishing
rocks. (Remember the hiking blog?), Bottom photo: Picture
of one of the traditional buildings from the Buddhist Temple, Sudeoksa.

When you visit or study abroad you have the unique opportunity to learn about a new culture and history different from your own. I know you all seem to enjoy Korean history, so I thought I'd tell you a very quick history lesson before this blog ends. I asked my Korean friend Jiyeong, to explain this story to me.

Creation of Korea: The Story of Dangun

Legend has it that a long time ago there lived a tiger and a bear. The tiger and bear went to the God of Sun (Hwan-eung) and asked to become human. Hwan-eung said if they could stay in a cave for 100 days and only eat mugwort and garlic they could become a human. The tiger couldn't stay in the cave but the bear was strong and endured! When the bear came out of the cave, Hwan-eung had made her into a beautiful woman named Ung-nyeo. Hwan-eung and Ung-nyeo become married and had a baby named Dangun (The First Korean) who grew up to be a powerful Shaman. Thus, the land of Korea was created with Dangun as its first member.

Picture Depicting the Story of Dangun

If you'd like to learn more, I invite you to watch this short video about the history of Korea from YouTuber Billy GO! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbhZ0RapV4U (Also if you ever want to learn Korean, Billy makes great educational videos and books about the Korean language!)

 Number 2: Try and eat delicious foods! 

Pics I took of a bunch of delicious food! In order: Patbingu, Haejangguk, Honey Butter Chicken, Jjimdalk, Ddukbukki, Choco Chex Bingsu, Mango Bingsu, Honey Macaron, Bungeobang, ddong (poop) bread, Yukgaejang (best I've ever had!!!), full course ddeokgalbi meal, and different yummy drinks. 

Studying abroad allows you to try and eat all sorts of yummy foods you can't easily get in America! During my study abroad these past three months, I have had the chance to eat so many delicious foods that I will really miss when I go back home. I plan to come back to Korea next August and a large reason for that is definitely the food!! Whether Korea, Japan, Mexico, or The Netherlands; each country has their own unique foods that studying abroad will give the chance to try!

Number 3: It's Cheaper Than You Think!

 
I think that one reason a lot of people don't study abroad, is that it can be really expensive. However, that is not always the case. Most schools offer scholarships you can apply to that will really help with the cost. I have been really fortunate that I have had to pay little to no money to study abroad. During the summer of 2018, I received the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) for Korean. Through CLS, I was able to study Korean in Korea for two months all expenses paid for plus money for food and travel. For the program I am doing currently at Soonchunhyang University, not only is housing free, the school actually pays me over $100 a week and paid for my airfare!

Of course, not all study abroad programs are like this but if you are worried you can't study abroad because of money, definitely look into similar programs! Actually, theres even a high school program called NSLI-Y that pays everything for students to study abroad for 2 months or even a year. Of course, you all are still young but just know there are lots of opportunities out there!

Number 4: Make Friends From All Over The World!

 

Finally, studying abroad gives you the opportunity to make friends from all over the world. At my school not only are there Koreans, but there are people studying abroad here from the United States, Canada, France, China, Japan, Uzbekistan, Germany, Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Vietnam, and Mongolia!

 I've been able to meet and make friends with so many people I could have never met without studying abroad. Some of which, I will be friends with for a lifetime!

I hope these reasons make you consider studying abroad in the future and of course there are so many other reasons I did not even touch. I have not only made new friends, gone on cool trips, etc., but, I have truly learned a lot about myself  as a person as well! I truly think this study abroad program has pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me a more confident person. I am so thankful for these experiences and very grateful that I was able to share them with all of you!

Again, I would love to hear about which blog post was your favorite, or any other fun facts or things about Korea that you remember learning! Also, if you have any suggestions for fun  stuff we can do during our celebration next month let me know (like maybe I can give a little Korean lesson!).

Until we meet again,
안녕! (Ann-nyeong)!

Happy Thanksgiving! *gobble gobble*

Happy Thanksgiving friends!
행복한 추수감사절  보내세요! (haeng-bok -han chu-su-gam-sa-jeol bo-nae-se-yo)

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving and ate lots of food with
your families! Although, Korean "Thanksgiving" (Chuseok) happened a
few months back, my friends and I did get together and made our own
little American Thanksgiving this week. We had tasty breadrolls, corn, pickles, and chicken!
(Couldn't find any turkey in Korea sadly...). What was your favorite food you ate for
Thanksgiving this year?

Student Interview: Meet Jimin and Cleo!

안녕하세요 여러분!
Hello Everyone!

I really hope you enjoyed learning a little about school life in Korea last week. I am super excited for this week, because I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview two Korean students who are about the same age as you all! They were both really excited to know that you all will be reading it and hope that you enjoy what they have to say.

Anyhow without further delay, let me introduce you to the two students Jimin and Cleo! Jimin and Cleo both go to an international school (where they use a lot of English) so their experience might be a little different than some other kids their age but definitely not too different.

Jimin (left), and Cleo (right)

I asked both girls the same questions so I will write down their answers below. Jimin answered my questions in Korean so I did my best to translate! 

Me: What is your name? 

Jimin: My name is Jimin. (제 이름은  지민입니다.)

Cleo: My name is Cleo Kim and my Korean name is 김태이 (Kim Tae-Ee)

Me: How old are you? (몇 살이에요?)

Jimin: I am 10 years old in Korean age. (10한국나이로)

Cleo: My age is 11 and I was born in 2009. 

You might be wondering what Jimin means by "Korean age". Actually, in Korea age works
differently. In Korea, when you are born you are considered to be one years old. Also, in Korea
everyone turns the next age on New Years Day!  This means if you were born on Dec 31st, you
would be TWO years old the very next day! Of course, you still celebrate your birthday here but
technically you are considered to be the same age as everyone who was born in the same year as you.
So that means, all kids born in 2009 are 11 in Korea even if their birthday isn't until December.
Can you figure out what your Korean age is?

Me: What grade are you in? 

Jimin: I am in grade three in Korea. (3학년한국으로)

Cleo: I'm now in 4th grade actually in my school I should be 5th grade but I came late so now I'm in 4th grade.

Me: What are your favorite things to do for fun? 

Jimin: Gymnastics! (체조)

Cleo: My favorite fun's are texting with my friends  and watching Tik Tok and recording my videos at Tik Tok. I like to collect some K-pop good, I like collecting Red Velvet's Goods. 

Have any of you used Tik Tok? I
have heard its a pretty popular app
for kids these days.

Red Velvet is a Korean pop group! Actually, I showed you one of
their songs in my "Riding the Hallyu Wave" post from earlier this month!

Me: What does your usual school day look like? 

Jimin: I go to school from 8am to 3pm, but school gets out at 4pm. After school finishes, I go to academy (after school-school)... ummm then I come home and do homework, then I play on my phone, and then go to sleep! (학교가 8시부터 3시까짛하고 방과후하면 4시에 끝나고... 끝나면 학원가고  학원 같다오면  숙제하고 숙제하고 핸드포하다가 자요!)

Cleo: I go to school and go to academy (sometimes), and go to home. 

 

Me: What do you usually do when you meet your friends? 

Jimin: I play board games or play outside!! (보드게임하거나 뛰어놀아요!)

Cleo: I watch movies and drink Gongcha (bubble tea), go to friends house or my house. 

Gong cha is a famous bubble tea shop in Korea! Have you ever had bubble tea?

Me: What is your favorite food? 

Jimin: Ramen!! (라면)

Cleo: My favorite foods are Korean foods example: I like meat! I like American foods too!

Me:Do you like learning English? 

Jimin: Yes! (네!)

Cleo: I like learning English from kindergarten. I was in international school because I like learning English and I went to America at summer vacation. It was pretty god because I like to communicate with many Americans.

Me: What is your favorite subject at school?

Jimin: Math or science. (수학아니면 과학)

Cleo: My favorite school subject is always changing but my most favorite is L.A. (Language Arts) because I like to spell the word and  pronunciation the words. I had many hard time to learn vowels, adjectives, and nouns. 

Me:Do you want to tell anything else to the American fourth graders? Maybe do you have questions for them that you are curious about? 

Jimin: Is school in America hard or difficult? (미국 학교 힘들어요?)

Cleo: Do many American students learn about Koreans?

The American flag next to the Korean flag.

What did you all think of the interview? I had so much fun asking Jimin and Cleo questions and I hope you all feel like you learned a lot about kids in Korea these past few weeks. Is there anything else about kids in Korea you'd like to know?  Maybe more questions you have for Jimin and Cleo? What do you think about Cleo and Jimin's questions for you? Do you think American school is hard? What about learning about Koreans in school? Definitely, leave your answers below and I will share them with Jimin and Cleo! Also let me know if you have any questions about their answers. 

Also, I kinda can't believe it but next week I will be writing my last blog post for you all!!! :'( So please do let me know if there are any questions you still have about Korea that you'd like me to answer that week. Although it will be our last post, it won't be our last time talking! In January I will be coming by to throw a little celebration with you all. I am hoping to bring you all some fun treats and share about my experiences, so let me know either this week or next if there are any sort of treats or things you want me to bring back for you! 

Till next week! 다음에 봐요!

Photo of the Week #8

Hello class! The photo this week is one I took at the entrance of a Buddhist temple near my school. We did a temple stay at Sudeoksa with one of my classes where we learned about Buddhism, drank tea and talked with a monk, and had a traditional Buddhist lunch. This entrance is called the one pillar gate, and is the first gate you will see at all Buddhist temples across Korea! 

Let's go to school in Korea!

안녕하세요 여러분! (Annyeonghaseyo Yeorobun)

Hello everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed last weekend's post on activities for kids in Korea! I think it's pretty neat to see how daily lives for Korean kids are different from America. In relation, this week I am going to discuss education in Korea! Next week I will be interviewing a kid here in Korea to get an even closer look at life in Korea as a kid so be on the lookout!

To start, let's look at how education is laid out. Kids typically start school at 5 years old for 유치원 (yu-chi-won) or kindergarten. Next they go to elementary school (초등학교- cho-deung-hak-gyo) until 6th grade. After this, kids will go to middle school (중학교-jung-hak-gyo) until 9th grade and then high school (고등학교- go-deung-hak-gyo) for three years, from 10th grade to 12th. Notice any differences from America yet? 

Typical classroom of elementary schoolers.

In America the school year starts in September right? In Korea, they actually start in March and end the year in December! This means that everyone in your grade will have been born the same year as you. Age is really important in Korea due to the system of respect here. In fact, in Korea you can technically only be true "friends" or 친구 (cheen-goo) with people who are your same age. Of course you can be friendly and close with people of different ages but they won't technically be your "cheen-goo". Actually when I met my roommate Jiwon, the first thing she asked me when I arrived was my age. When we found out we were born the same year, she said that made us "cheen-goo"! 

My friend Eunji and I! She was born in 1995 and I was born
in 1997. So what do you think? Would that make us cheen-goo's?

Anyhow, I am curious how what does a typical day of school look like for you all? What time do you go to school and what time do you go home? In Korea, elementary kids go to school at 9am and the younger kids (grades 1-4) will go home after lunch. Older kids (5th and 6th grade) stay a little later. However, this doesn’t mean the school day is done. Many elementary kids will go to a  학원 (hak-won) or after school-school until late at night (my friend Jiyeong said that she would go to hak-won until as late as 10pm!) Hak-won is where students go to study English and other subjects. In high school it is most important since it is where kids study for their college entrance exams! What do you guys do after school? 

What do kids in Korea wear? Although, elementary students
can wear what they want usually, middle and high school students
have to wear uniforms like this. Would you like to wear a uniform?

Now that I’ve told you a bit about  Korean education I wonder if you have any questions about education in Korea I can ask the kids. If you have any other questions for the Korean kids let me know, and I can try to ask them! 

By the  way, this weekend I went with my friends to a green tea field, bamboo forest, and the  6th largest city in Korea- Gwangju. I picked up some delicious green-tea caramel that I  hope to share with you all when I come back. Do you like green tea?

Picture I took at the Boseong Green Tea fields. Boseong creates 30% of Korea's green tea.

Bamboo Icecream!

Bamboo forest. This was me next to a statue
from the Korean story "The King's  Ears are Donkey Ears."