2015년 08월 07일
Graduation day!
But, we still had class... Our last day of language classes was spent in a review-game format, quizzing us on what we had learned over the course of these five weeks. I did pretty well after dumping most of my knowledge into the final exam yesterday! We played games in both of our classes and spent time making some final memories together - while I practiced my presentation for the ceremony that afternoon, our teacher played songs we requested on YouTube, and one of my classmates (Beatrice) drew cartoon versions of our class on the blackboard! A successful last class period spent together!
After a grabbed a quick lunch, I headed immediately to the hall where our graduation ceremony would be held. I had barely any time to eat before I was required to be there (early, of course, to make sure my PowerPoint was working). I had about an hour before everyone else would start showing up (including my boyfriend, whom I invited to come).
Finally, it was 3:00pm.
The ceremony began with some remarks from the Korean Language Education Center staff and the mentors behind our program, then transitioning into diploma acceptance (which, of course, they presented by level).
After the diplomas came student presentations... Of which, of course, I was to go first. (My presentation can be seen below... I am awkward and terrible at public speaking, please ignore me.)
After I got the presentation out of the way, I felt so much better and could finally relax! So, I took some photos with my friends and my boyfriend before he had to leave for another appointment.
An hour after the celebration ended, the entire program went to an "American-style" buffet restaurant in Sinchon for dinner. It was amazing. I ate an entire plate of salad and an entire plate of fruit!!! I hadn't gotten either in a very, very long time... After we all finished eating, we talked among ourselves for a while. Not too long after we finished eating, one of the girls from my class had to leave for the airport, her flight was later that night.
And so, the tears began.
Once one person started crying, we were all a blubbering mess.
But, it was okay, I could get through this.
I refused to cry.
Until I found my teachers at the restaurant...
All of 1B (minus Esther, who had left about 20 minutes ago) found Min-seonsaengnim and Kim-seonsaengnim eating where all of the KIP staff were sitting. Of course, this led to even more tears as we remembered our time spent together in class and the wonderful memories we'd created. It became even worse when our teachers started to cry and hugged all of us. This was one of the most emotional goodbyes I'd ever had.
I was also greeted in the teachers' room by Ko Jiyoung (the director of the KIP program) and the director of the Korean Language Center at Sogang. When Ko Jiyoung called me over, I was very nervous... But, the director of the KLC just wanted to talk to me and tell me that I did a wonderful job with my presentation at the graduation ceremony. Even though I know it wasn't that great, what an honor!
After I went back to the student section, we had talked among ourselves for another 20 minutes and finally prepared to leave the restaurant. The game plan was to have a huge crowd of people go to a bar in Sinchon to celebrate. Not really up for the "bar scene," I met up with my boyfriend and we spent some time together that night.
It was around 11pm when I contacted people and asked what they were interested in doing that night. After all, it was my last night in Seoul. Four friends and I decided to go clubbing in Hongdae to end our time in South Korea. I of course dragged my boyfriend with me... and so, the six of us arrived in Hongdae (at a club called M2) around midnight.
It was an amazing experience. The lights and music were incredible (although the music was a bit too loud for my taste - my ears were still ringing a day afterwards) and we had a great time there.
But, I was starting to get tired around 2:30am, so my boyfriend and I left for Sogang. Once I had actually gotten back into my dorm and had gotten ready for bed, it was close to 3:30. I had heard from the others that two of them had left the club around 3:30am and the other two had stayed until around 5am... it was madness...
I had to leave early anyways because I was supposed to get up at 8am for a tour of the Blue House the following morning (which didn't quite turn out as it was supposed to, but that's another blog entry...)
Although the beginning of my day was spent anxiously worrying about my presentation, the end was a wonderful celebration of struggles and accomplishments. I observed the final product of our hard work during these past five weeks -- the fruition of our efforts.
Below, I also posted a video made by one of the TAs to celebrate our graduation. Look at all of the fun things we did!
Graduation day!
But, we still had class... Our last day of language classes was spent in a review-game format, quizzing us on what we had learned over the course of these five weeks. I did pretty well after dumping most of my knowledge into the final exam yesterday! We played games in both of our classes and spent time making some final memories together - while I practiced my presentation for the ceremony that afternoon, our teacher played songs we requested on YouTube, and one of my classmates (Beatrice) drew cartoon versions of our class on the blackboard! A successful last class period spent together!
After a grabbed a quick lunch, I headed immediately to the hall where our graduation ceremony would be held. I had barely any time to eat before I was required to be there (early, of course, to make sure my PowerPoint was working). I had about an hour before everyone else would start showing up (including my boyfriend, whom I invited to come).
Finally, it was 3:00pm.
The ceremony began with some remarks from the Korean Language Education Center staff and the mentors behind our program, then transitioning into diploma acceptance (which, of course, they presented by level).
After the diplomas came student presentations... Of which, of course, I was to go first. (My presentation can be seen below... I am awkward and terrible at public speaking, please ignore me.)
After I got the presentation out of the way, I felt so much better and could finally relax! So, I took some photos with my friends and my boyfriend before he had to leave for another appointment.
An hour after the celebration ended, the entire program went to an "American-style" buffet restaurant in Sinchon for dinner. It was amazing. I ate an entire plate of salad and an entire plate of fruit!!! I hadn't gotten either in a very, very long time... After we all finished eating, we talked among ourselves for a while. Not too long after we finished eating, one of the girls from my class had to leave for the airport, her flight was later that night.
And so, the tears began.
Once one person started crying, we were all a blubbering mess.
But, it was okay, I could get through this.
I refused to cry.
Until I found my teachers at the restaurant...
All of 1B (minus Esther, who had left about 20 minutes ago) found Min-seonsaengnim and Kim-seonsaengnim eating where all of the KIP staff were sitting. Of course, this led to even more tears as we remembered our time spent together in class and the wonderful memories we'd created. It became even worse when our teachers started to cry and hugged all of us. This was one of the most emotional goodbyes I'd ever had.
I was also greeted in the teachers' room by Ko Jiyoung (the director of the KIP program) and the director of the Korean Language Center at Sogang. When Ko Jiyoung called me over, I was very nervous... But, the director of the KLC just wanted to talk to me and tell me that I did a wonderful job with my presentation at the graduation ceremony. Even though I know it wasn't that great, what an honor!
After I went back to the student section, we had talked among ourselves for another 20 minutes and finally prepared to leave the restaurant. The game plan was to have a huge crowd of people go to a bar in Sinchon to celebrate. Not really up for the "bar scene," I met up with my boyfriend and we spent some time together that night.
It was around 11pm when I contacted people and asked what they were interested in doing that night. After all, it was my last night in Seoul. Four friends and I decided to go clubbing in Hongdae to end our time in South Korea. I of course dragged my boyfriend with me... and so, the six of us arrived in Hongdae (at a club called M2) around midnight.
It was an amazing experience. The lights and music were incredible (although the music was a bit too loud for my taste - my ears were still ringing a day afterwards) and we had a great time there.
But, I was starting to get tired around 2:30am, so my boyfriend and I left for Sogang. Once I had actually gotten back into my dorm and had gotten ready for bed, it was close to 3:30. I had heard from the others that two of them had left the club around 3:30am and the other two had stayed until around 5am... it was madness...
I had to leave early anyways because I was supposed to get up at 8am for a tour of the Blue House the following morning (which didn't quite turn out as it was supposed to, but that's another blog entry...)
Although the beginning of my day was spent anxiously worrying about my presentation, the end was a wonderful celebration of struggles and accomplishments. I observed the final product of our hard work during these past five weeks -- the fruition of our efforts.
Below, I also posted a video made by one of the TAs to celebrate our graduation. Look at all of the fun things we did!