March 8th, 2015
Host Rotary Club: District 3661 – Ballston Spa
Sponsor Rotary Club: District 7190 – Busan
Current Host Family: Kim HyeonOak, Sohng BongSu 김현옥, 성봉수
Counselor Name: Ooh JinLee 우진리
During the shortest month of the year, I experienced the
biggest changes of my exchange. At the beginning of February I was aimless and
clueless- wondering what I was doing in school during the awkward two weeks
after winter break and before spring break. After the unnerving days of leisure
during the last two weeks of the school year at the beginning of the month, it
took me a while to find purpose again. So I devoted Spring break to going out
nearly everyday and having fun. I did my best to explore Busan as deeply as I
could. But in the midst of it all I realized that soon it was time to get back
to business. On the 25th I registered for the Korean language
proficiency test called TOPIK. So in Korean High School student fashion, I've
buckled down and scheduled my days full of studying. With the return of school,
I find it refreshing to put my mind to something again. I've decided that the
final half of my exchange is about evaluating myself based on what I can
finally output after 7 months of input.
Aside from a renewed enthusiasm for academia, I
encountered one of the most cultural experiences of my exchange: 설날, the Lunar New Year. Coming from an Asian
background, there are many parts of Korean culture that are familiar to me. But
Lunar New Year was something I've never done before. I was able to participate
in all the preparation by cleaning the house, helping make assorted deep-fried
foods, and stacking the foods for the ritual table. The ritual table custom
wasn't a large event, so to my host parents it was an ordinary thing they did
every year. But to me it was quite mysterious and left me with an indescribable
feeling after pseudo-participating in something I didn't fully understand.
After that event we dressed nicely and went out to visit the family on my host
dad's side. We did a New Year's bow to the grandparents and conversed for about
half an hour until it was time to visit my host mom's father in the hospital.
I had met my host grandfather during 추석(Korean Thanksgiving) last year and visited him
a couple times more while he was still well. But when he saw me in the hospital
he didn't remember me. I expected this, so when I felt sad it wasn't because he
forgot me but because he wasn't able to be with his family during a special
holiday. Despite that fact, the family continued their celebrations. My host
mom's family all gathered at our house to basically eat and lay around all day.
The holiday lasted from the 18th to the 20th so for three
days the house was full of adults and children playing games or talking or
watching TV. Even though it was a wonderful time, by Saturday I was happy to
leave the house.
That weekend I had somewhat of a continuation of 설날when I went to 여수 with my first host family. I pretty much did the same thing twice and when
the adults got drunk at dinner time I went to the roof and contemplated life a
bit. At that time I was happy to go back to 여수 because this time I would able to understand more and communicate better.
But I became distressed because I found out that even if you change, it's hard for
people to realize it. My relatives were still trying their broken English on me
and treating me like I've been in Korea for less than a week. I am very aware
of how tiring it is to sustain a conversation with someone who doesn't
completely speak your language, so if they just want to relax and talk with
their relatives that's fine. I just don't enjoy being treated like an idiot.
Partially because of this I have resolved to study very hard for the TOPIK test
so that I can prove to myself how far I've come. Even if I fail the test, I
will have learned so much anyway.
As I enter the new school year I am now a 2nd
year student (equivalent of an American Junior) even though I am now older than
all of the 3rd year students. It has been most entertaining to see
new the terrified faces of 1st years who weren't aware that their
international High School actually has foreigners in it. It's strange and
exciting to be on a new floor and in a new dorm room as well. But what is most
bizarre are the perks of being an upperclassman. Suddenly a new set of stairs
are available to me, underclassmen wait for us to eat meals before they enter
the cafeteria, and they bow to me in the hallway. Instead of confusing everyone
by telling them they don't have to bow to me, I just smile to acknowledge their
politeness. I'm sure that as the semester progresses they will become more
comfortable. I have certainly become most content with my life here and will
continue to make the most of my limited time here before I must return to the United
States.
P.S. I went to my
little host sister's piano recital. If you're interested in seeing the video I
made, here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qIKjkdu0BA&list=UUUIzj9SmK_TeuyJOYbSAM2w
