Hope Danison -- South Korea (Home Club: Ballston Spa)

                                                                                                           March 8^th, 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 25^th 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 18^th to the 20^th 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 2^nd year student (equivalent of an American Junior) even though I am now older than all of the 3^rd year students. It has been most entertaining to see new the terrified faces of 1^st 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

Marni Libby -- Slovakia (Home Club: Delmar)

February 10, 2015

 

 

I feel like a lot has happened in the past few weeks, but when I think about it, not much has really gone down. Our Rotary event in the city of Banská Bystrica was really amazing. It was really great to see all the other inbounds again and to get to know them all even better. We took another language test there, which was very difficult. I got an 85 percent of the speaking part and an 84 percent on the written part. I'm happy with those grades, because the test was very hard. I got accepted to go on the Eurotour, as well, which is very exciting. In late April and early May we'll be leaving from Bratislava and traveling to Paris, Barcelona, and then taking a ferry boat to Italy and seeing many different cities there such as Rome, Venice, Florence, and Pompeii.

 

We changed host families again last Saturday, which was very sad. I feel a little more sad because some students in our district changed to their second host family on the same day that I changed to my third. I really feel like I didn't get enough time with my first two host families. But there's not really anything I can do to change that. My new host family is very nice. They have one son, Dominik, but he is on exchange in Mexico rightn now, so I am in his room. They also have a very furry little cat called Teo. He's pretty weird. I don't dislike my new host family, but they have some rules that I find a little unecessary. My first two host families were really easy-going, so it might be a bit hard to adjust to this one, especially since they don't even have internet that I can use. My first days here I haven't really been given leave to go out to the city on my own other than for school, and it gets a little boring and lonely being cooped up in an empty house without wifi for hours on end. But I can survive it. I think tomorrow they will give me my own key to the house, so I won't have to come straight home after school.

 

Other than that, though, my new host parents really are very nice. They told me that if I need to buy any new clothes or anything, then I should just tell them. And my host dad is trying to set up some violin lessons for me with a Rotary colleague, which is really great of him to do.

 

I don't think anything else is really new. School is the same as it has been. I got grades for the half year mark and everything was vyborny (great) except for three classes!

 

Okay, that's all the news I have for now. I'll report back with more next month!

Hope Danison -- Korea (Home Club -- Balston Spa)

February 9, 2015

Sponsor Rotary Club: District 7190 – Busan

Current Host Family: Kim HyeonOak, Sohng BongSu 김현옥, 성봉수

Counselor Name: Ooh JinLee 우진리  

            When winter break came along, my host parents worried about how I would entertain myself without school. During the month of January most Korean high school students go to academy (학원) or supplemental classes despite the vacation- so what else could there be for me to do besides study? To my delight, I was able to reach an equilibrium of fun and productivity by the end of the month.

            Most days I would wake up any time between 9 to 11am and eat breakfast alone. My host mom often instructed me through text what was available in the fridge and how I should prepare it. Both of my host parents worked during the break, so between 8am and 7pm I had the chance to fantasize about living on my own in a Korean apartment sometime in the distant future. On the days I didn't make plans with friends, I recycled all my productive pass times from the states. Usually I alternated between playing my flute, the piano, and studying.

            This new alone time was a pleasant change from spending all of my free time with my previous host family. At first I was weary of my ability to make the best use of my time, but then decided that if I could make it here (to Korea), I could make it anywhere (in Korea). So I went on numerous adventures in the city with friends to make Busan feel like home. Since most people live in apartments, I like to think that the various entertainment rooms in the city are just extensions of everyone's home. I took advantage of the karaoke rooms, public billiard rooms, cafes, giant department stores, and especially the mountains.

            One day during vacation I did end up going to school to meet with a friend who was going to “interview” me. I didn't know what to expect and I showed up to a one on one educational session about the issue of unification between North and South Korea. I learned about the many economic benefits for Korea as well as Japan, China, Russia, and the United States if Korea were to be unified. Later that night I asked my host parents about their opinions and learned that most Koreans wish for the country to be reunited. Revelations about North Korea continued to appear before me when our Rotary club sent us to tour the border. It's difficult to summarize the whole day and all the deep, profound thoughts that I had (laughter). But I know that learning more about North Korea enriched my experience in South Korea.

            As shown in my description of my winter vacation, I am able to live very comfortably here in Korea. Everyday life is safe and virtually no one is worried about the dangers of the North. But after learning a bit about it, I see that I was oblivious of how close the political situation is to even me, a foreigner. My host brother is serving his obligatory two years in the Korean army (as all Korean men must) while I'm living in his house. The American 20-something serving at Panmunjeom we met on our tour said he feels in danger everyday but he can't tell us why. My English teacher from school helps North Korean refugees living in Busan learn English. What I have gathered from all this is how Korea is a country of old and new at the same- culturally and politically.

            Still no meetings, no other Rotary events besides RYLA, and no contact with other Rotarians other than our coordinator. However, I have received good news about my host family. They have invited me to stay in their home until when I go back home in June, and the Rotary has consented to this arrangement! I suppose a former me would have been upset that I am only experiencing one Korean family during my exchange, but this is no problem to me now. Thanks to going between two parents of the same family, I have developed a very strong relationship with them. I have little fear of losing contact with them when I return to the US. Somehow I landed in the best host family I could ever ask for and was gifted the pleasure to stay with them throughout my exchange year. I know that they, above everyone else, have positively influenced this pivotal time in my life.

Marni Libby -- Slovakia (Home Club: Delmar)

January 28, 2015

These past two months have been kind of busy, what with the holidays and everything, and time seems to be going by very quickly. Just three days ago I hit my five month mark of being in Europe.

Our holiday vacation was very long, just over two weeks, and spending my first ever Christmas in Slovakia was amazing. Slovaks have a lot of traditions for their holidays that every family follows, which is different from what I understand Christmas to be in the USA. For one example, people eat a piece of garlic and then honey for a sweet and healthy year to come. That was interesting. And once the family sits down to eat for Christmas dinner, no one is allowed to get up from their seat until the meal is over. Christmas in Slovakia lasts three days, from Christmas Eve on December 24th, and then there are two days of Christmas after that, and we spent the whole time with family. It was very nice.

School has definitely improved after the holidays. I'm no longer the foreign girl who sits in on classes, but have become a part of the class. The people who used to talk to me once or twice a day now talk to me regularly, and people who didn't talk to me at all before are now starting to talk to me. I feel like I've finally been accepted by my classmates, which is wonderful. My German teacher wants me to learn German through Slovak now, which is an interesting experience. The word "garage" sounds the same in all three languages though.

We had a Rotary Christmas meeting in early December for all of the exchange students in Slovakia. They took us to the Bratislava Christmas markets, and then to Vienna. We also had a language test on which I scored an 87% on the written part and a 100% on the speaking. Last Monday I finally gave a presentation about the USA to my Rotary club, after it had been rescheduled many times. It went well.

On February seventh we are changing host families again. I feel a bit of trepidation at changing because I feel like the time with my second (and current) host family has been so short. I feel like I've barely gotten time to get settled here and feel like part of the family before I have to move again. I can do it, though. My next host family is actually in the city of Bratislava, rather than being in a village outside of it, like my first two host families. This means that I won't have to deal with lengthy public transport like the train and the bus. Only trams, trolleys, and city buses now.

We have another Rotary meeting for Slovak inbounds this weekend in the city of Banská Bystrica, my friends in school have told me that it's one of the nicest cities in Slovakia, and I'm excited to go because an exchange student from Brazil by the name of Karina lives there, and I'm excited to see her.

That's all I can think to report for now. I'm so happy to be living here in Europe, it's amazing!

Allyson Block -- Ecuador (Home Club: Ballston Spa)

January 23, 2015

 

Rotary Report- December

            December in Ballston Spa I’d usually be busy tree decorating, ice skating and snowman building- but this year I kicked off the month with a trip to the Amazon Rainforest!

            Ecuador isn’t a very big country, but to devote more time to exploration and less to traveling we took a thirty minute plane trip from Quito to Coca (a city in the east on the edge of the rainforest.) From there we took a two hour canoe trip up to Napo River to arrive at the Sacha Lodge- our authentic straw and board abode for the next three days.

            In that short time we tramped through jungle brush, went swimming in caiman (the cousins of crocodiles) infested waters, visited an indigenous village and climbed a tree fifty meters into the forest canopy. This excursion was a dream come to true. I am so grateful for my experience and all who made it possible.

            The rest of the month was spent in anticipation of Christmas. Although I did miss the cold nip of Upstate New York and the cozy holiday environment there was no lack of preparation for la navidad.

In addition to just a tree, most Ecuadorians celebrate Christmas by setting up a nativity scene.  But not just your average three shepherds, three wise men, Mary, Joseph and Jesus nativity! They set up the entire city of Bethlehem (Belén) complete with hills, pastoral printed papers, fences, houses, a million farm animals and lots of lights! Very similar to the miniature winter villages that some families in the US set up for the holidays.

Ecuador is a predominately Catholic country (97% of the population) and, for the most part, very pious. I think that depicting this scene is a very lovely way that they remain focused on the true meaning of the holiday.

Another custom that they have is called the ‘Novena’. In the nine days leading up to Christmas different groups will meet in front of their Belén to sing carols and to pray. My mother told me that it is a way for them to prepare themselves spiritually for the ‘birth of Christ’.

Something that surprised me was how common these celebrations are. At school there is a Belén in every classroom, and so far I’ve been to six different novenas! They include the one held at my school, the one at my brother’s school, the ceremony for my neighborhood, my family’s personal novena, our church’s novena and the ceremony which was hosted by my Rotary Club. If you’re ever planning to attend a private Novena come on an empty stomach for the evening always ends with lots of sweets and tea!

Christmas Eve was ‘La Noche Buena’, where we had a very nice family dinner at the house of my sister, Cristina. We did not arrive at the dinner until eight o’clock- so I thought that we were late and expected that we would get right down to eating. To my surprise we were actually the first to arrive and they hadn’t even begun to prepare the food! At nine o’clock the other guests arrived and we began to cook as a family. At midnight we opened the gifts that Baby Jesus had brought, (it was very simple. Everyone, including the children only received one or two small, but thoughtful gifts) then we set the table. At one o’clock we finally sat down for dinner (a four course meal).

            La día de la Navidad was very calm- just like any other Sunday. We slept in, had a nice family breakfast and went on a bike ride.

            Although I missed my familiar Christmas carols and cookie swap parties it was a very nice detox from our sometimes over- commercialized holiday.

Hope Danison -- South Korea (Home Club: Ballston Spa)

January 9^th, 2015

Host Rotary Club: District 3661 – Ballston Spa

Sponsor Rotary Club: District 7190 – Busan

Current Host Family: Kim Hyeon-Oak, Sohng Bong-Su

Counselor Name: Park JinLee

            On December 2^nd I had a day off from school so my host mom offered me the opportunity to go to my little host sister's school to “teach” an English class. What I did was read an alphabet book of fruits and vegetables with them repeating my noises and then I read “The Giving Tree”. Before that they had sung along to Frozen's “Let it Go” and after to a Korean history song. I recorded some of it and you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GcNHabp28M&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YgmiHaYMns&feature=youtu.be

Their overflowing energy was entertaining, but with this experience I confirmed that I definitely do not want to teach English when I get older.

            The days leading up to December 10^th consisted of last minute preparation for a presentation on the occasion of our Swedish friends leaving Korea. I realized too little too late how influential they were on my exchange during my time with them. Before coming to Korea I was encouraged to stay away from the other foreigners so as to integrate myself with the Korean people. I struggled very hard with this not because I craved the company of other English speakers, but because Koreans clumped us together all the time. I used to think that escape was impossible- that my exchange year would be ruined because the people I spend most time with are not Korean. But as the time for them to leave neared, I realized that any friend is a valuable friend. Being here was not a trip, but a part of their lives.  The end of their exchange was only a preview of what mine might be, and it scares me.

            We celebrated together one last time on the 17^th of December over pizza. The final goodbyes occurred in the subway station, and we parted ways. When we arrived back in the room we shared for three months we felt compelled to clean it and rearrange the furniture, signifying a new chapter.

            Speaking of changes,  on December 12^th I changed host homes. The new apartment is a little bigger and has a piano, which is very nice. It is also lucky that I am within the same family, different parents. I had no trouble re-orienting myself and becoming comfortable in the new environment. I'm also closer to my school now, but January is winter vacation so that will only become convenient starting next month.

            Jumping back into the future, I battled homesickness by not being able to celebrate my mom's birthday with her and not crying about it! This was most likely because on the same day I took a Korean language final, which took my mind off the matter significantly. I was quite thankful for the test because it gave me a physical goal to reach and an indicator of how far I've come in learning Korean. At the beginning of my exchange I knew less Korean than I'd like to admit, but there is definitely progress here and  it won't stop. Even though I should take advantage immersion and learn as much Korean as I can now, sometimes I need to take some pressure off myself and remind myself that I have my whole life to continue to learn Korean because leaving Korea won't be a deadline for fluency.

            The challenge of homesickness reared its head again for Christmas, but did not reduce me to a puddle of tears. The Rotary students were able to synthesize a bit of Christmas spirit through a party in a cabin and giving each other secret Santa gifts. I was more astonished than anything to think that people in the US were doing their Christmas things and I was chilling out with my host family. We had our small share of “Christmas celebration” which consisted of a cake and seeing the Christmas lights and tree in Nampo-Dong.

            On Christmas day I saw the Hobbit movie and skyped parents for their Christmas morning. I went to bed and woke up around 11am the next day and skyped my friends during their Christmas night. It was like having Christmas 3 times in a row! I feel proud to have made it through the holiday season with little difficulty. Now I am more confident in acknowledging what I may miss about home, but still enjoying my time here to the fullest.

            The Monday after Christmas it was back to school for two days. On December 29^th I got to experience my first school festival. I participated by performing crane dance (which I made a blog post about here: http://bspatobusan.tumblr.com/post/106614363901) and playing the flute in a small ensemble (we played “The Waltz of Life” from Howl's Moving Castle). The next day was the last before winter vacation. With the thrill of the festivities aside I realized that I am at the halfway point already. I became reflective in the light of this as the new year came. On the first day of 2015 I saw the first sunrise by the seaside with my host family and suddenly became 20 years old* at the same time.

            Fast forward through relaxing vacation days and a temple stay, the rotary students were once again given last minute notice of a Rotary event for January 9^th and 10^th. We arrived on location and later figured out that we stumbled upon RYLA, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. It turned out to be both a fun and particularly memorable experience for me. I never heard of RYLA in the US, so meeting up with a bunch of Korean university students was a delightful surprise. We were separated into groups and I was grateful to be surrounded by kind and inviting Koreans who were all around my age.

            First we did outdoor team building games, which are my specialty. It was so nice to be integrated into the group right away because of our shared enthusiasm and them speaking Korean with me. To be honest it was the first time Korean students didn't speak a word of English to me, I was very happy. I surprised myself later that day by doing something I never though I would dare to attempt. I gave a 2 minute, impromptu speech in Korean. Everyone was in a lecture hall listening to their peers give 2 minute speeches about whatever they wanted to show themselves that they could. The foreigners weren't asked to participate beforehand, so when the teacher in charge came to me near the end and asked me to speak, I don't know why I said yes.

            At first I shook my head and asked to speak for 30 seconds. He replied that I only had to do a self-introduction and talk about what I think of Korea. I ended up walking to the podium with nothing in my head, it was thrilling. I sort of sputtered the essentials: my name, when I came and started learning Korean, what I like about Korea and Koreans. Then I commented on how terrifying public speaking is, and congratulated all the people who spoke before me, and meandered on to end with “Even if you don't have confidence, you have to do it anyway.” (자신이 없지만 그냥 해야돼요.) I don't know how much of my “speech” was correct or even understandable, but I realized how my Korean version of Nike's slogan really resonates with my attitude towards my exchange. I did it, and I was content with myself.

*The Korean age system is different because they say you're already 1 year old when you're born. Also, everyone turns a year older with the new year. Upon coming to Korea I had to get used to telling people that I was 19 instead of 18. Now that I'm 20 here I'll go back to the US and magically be 19 again!