2015년 07월 09일
On Thursday, we had our first full day of classes.
My daily schedule is as follows--
9:00-9:50 AM: Speaking/Listening
10:00-10:50 AM: Speaking/Listening
11:00-11:50 AM: Reading/Writing
12:00-12:50 PM: Reading/Writing
Then, I have about an hour break for lunch before my culture class, which is held in the same building as my language classes, from 2:00-4:00 PM.
So, basically, I have about 6 hours a day in which I speak in and listen to ONLY Korean.
Needless to say, this first day of classes was absolutely exhausting. I've never had this kind of exposure to a foreign language before, especially not one which I only know basic vocabulary and grammar. However, I commend the approach. By the end of my 5-week stay, I'm sure my Korean will undoubtedly improve!
Regardless, I've been using Korean so often that I've even started saying words like 네 (ne, "yes") to others in my friend group who speak English fluently -- I don't even think about it any more, it just comes out of my mouth naturally. I'm slowly making progress!
While the first few hours of class were engaging, around lunch time I started crashing. It was also a little annoying to continually introduce myself to the class because we had three different teachers who wanted to know about us. The two-hour culture class after lunch was also painful. Once I got a taste of freedom with the lunch break, I wasn't so eager to come back for more. But, I still had a wonderful time learning on my first day and attempting to apply my knowledge of Korean to actual speech and conversation.
After culture class ended, a group of us decided to walk around Idae and 신촌 (Sinchon), two areas closest to the university. In Idae, we were finally able to visit a cat café! We all (around 15 of us) sat inside and grabbed some drinks, enjoying the atmosphere of the café. All of the cats were so docile and loved receiving attention.
From Idae, we then made our way towards Sinchon and, eventually, the Sogang campus. In Sinchon, we observed a couple of street performances by local musicians. It was so interesting (and hilarious) to see a rapper and an opera singer across the street from one another. We got such a kick out of travelling between the two groups. The sun setting was a beautiful end to our night out.
On Thursday, we had our first full day of classes.
My daily schedule is as follows--
9:00-9:50 AM: Speaking/Listening
10:00-10:50 AM: Speaking/Listening
11:00-11:50 AM: Reading/Writing
12:00-12:50 PM: Reading/Writing
Then, I have about an hour break for lunch before my culture class, which is held in the same building as my language classes, from 2:00-4:00 PM.
So, basically, I have about 6 hours a day in which I speak in and listen to ONLY Korean.
Needless to say, this first day of classes was absolutely exhausting. I've never had this kind of exposure to a foreign language before, especially not one which I only know basic vocabulary and grammar. However, I commend the approach. By the end of my 5-week stay, I'm sure my Korean will undoubtedly improve!
Regardless, I've been using Korean so often that I've even started saying words like 네 (ne, "yes") to others in my friend group who speak English fluently -- I don't even think about it any more, it just comes out of my mouth naturally. I'm slowly making progress!
While the first few hours of class were engaging, around lunch time I started crashing. It was also a little annoying to continually introduce myself to the class because we had three different teachers who wanted to know about us. The two-hour culture class after lunch was also painful. Once I got a taste of freedom with the lunch break, I wasn't so eager to come back for more. But, I still had a wonderful time learning on my first day and attempting to apply my knowledge of Korean to actual speech and conversation.
After culture class ended, a group of us decided to walk around Idae and 신촌 (Sinchon), two areas closest to the university. In Idae, we were finally able to visit a cat café! We all (around 15 of us) sat inside and grabbed some drinks, enjoying the atmosphere of the café. All of the cats were so docile and loved receiving attention.
From Idae, we then made our way towards Sinchon and, eventually, the Sogang campus. In Sinchon, we observed a couple of street performances by local musicians. It was so interesting (and hilarious) to see a rapper and an opera singer across the street from one another. We got such a kick out of travelling between the two groups. The sun setting was a beautiful end to our night out.