2015년 08월 04일
On Tuesday, we finally finished learning the material in our textbooks. Tomorrow would be a day of preparation before our final exam on Thursday. If only we had a little bit more time to study, especially with a presentation project due Thursday in our culture class as well... The program definitely did feel a little rushed - although I understood that it was an intensive "immersion" program, some more time to review material by ourselves would be highly appreciated!
After language classes ended and we grabbed a small bite to eat, our culture class met up at the 서울특별시청 (Seoul City Hall) subway station. Today, we were going to tour City Hall, where the mayor of Seoul works.
The building, newly constructed, was opened to the public in 2012. The old City Hall building, which served as such since 1945, was recently renovated into a library. The new City Hall's display emphasizes the co-existence of nature and technology, but also stresses the importance of the voice of the people. This can be seen through the logo of the City Hall (an ear) as well as in several features of building itself - for example, the post-it notes that citizens can write on in order to pass on certain messages to the mayor or his staff.
After touring the building for a couple of hours (during which our tour guide spoke solely in Korean and completely exhausted us in about 20 minutes...), we were free to do what we wanted with the rest of our afternoon. I decided to head back to the dorm and attempt to start studying for my final exam on Thursday as well as start working on my final project presentation... Until I actually got back to the dorm and decided that a nap sounded a lot better.
I woke up from my nap around 5:30 and decided to check my phone, noticing that I had a missed call from my boyfriend. I called him back to see what was up and he told me that there was a present sitting at the front desk that he had sent for me in honor of our "100 Days" anniversary. So, I went downstairs and, suspecting that something fishy was going on, didn't approach the front desk (where packages were waiting for residents). Instead, I scoped around the area and waited for a little bit... Only to see him pop out from a corner. He was the present. :)
Although I kind of anticipated this, because he said that the front desk closed soon and that I should hurry up, it was still incredible to see him there as it was a Tuesday (which meant that he was staying in Seoul from Tuesday until the following Sunday, when I was to be on my flight back to the U.S.).
The two of us spent some time together before he was to meet up with some of his friends in Seoul. Afterwards, I began working on my final presentation and began to study (only a little bit) for my exam on Thursday. However, I just ended up talking with my friends in the basement of our dorm for hours. The majority of my studying would be done the following night... when I waited until the last minute, as I am wont to do...
But, I had a wonderful day and that's all that matters!
On Tuesday, we finally finished learning the material in our textbooks. Tomorrow would be a day of preparation before our final exam on Thursday. If only we had a little bit more time to study, especially with a presentation project due Thursday in our culture class as well... The program definitely did feel a little rushed - although I understood that it was an intensive "immersion" program, some more time to review material by ourselves would be highly appreciated!
After language classes ended and we grabbed a small bite to eat, our culture class met up at the 서울특별시청 (Seoul City Hall) subway station. Today, we were going to tour City Hall, where the mayor of Seoul works.
The building, newly constructed, was opened to the public in 2012. The old City Hall building, which served as such since 1945, was recently renovated into a library. The new City Hall's display emphasizes the co-existence of nature and technology, but also stresses the importance of the voice of the people. This can be seen through the logo of the City Hall (an ear) as well as in several features of building itself - for example, the post-it notes that citizens can write on in order to pass on certain messages to the mayor or his staff.
After touring the building for a couple of hours (during which our tour guide spoke solely in Korean and completely exhausted us in about 20 minutes...), we were free to do what we wanted with the rest of our afternoon. I decided to head back to the dorm and attempt to start studying for my final exam on Thursday as well as start working on my final project presentation... Until I actually got back to the dorm and decided that a nap sounded a lot better.
I woke up from my nap around 5:30 and decided to check my phone, noticing that I had a missed call from my boyfriend. I called him back to see what was up and he told me that there was a present sitting at the front desk that he had sent for me in honor of our "100 Days" anniversary. So, I went downstairs and, suspecting that something fishy was going on, didn't approach the front desk (where packages were waiting for residents). Instead, I scoped around the area and waited for a little bit... Only to see him pop out from a corner. He was the present. :)
Although I kind of anticipated this, because he said that the front desk closed soon and that I should hurry up, it was still incredible to see him there as it was a Tuesday (which meant that he was staying in Seoul from Tuesday until the following Sunday, when I was to be on my flight back to the U.S.).
The two of us spent some time together before he was to meet up with some of his friends in Seoul. Afterwards, I began working on my final presentation and began to study (only a little bit) for my exam on Thursday. However, I just ended up talking with my friends in the basement of our dorm for hours. The majority of my studying would be done the following night... when I waited until the last minute, as I am wont to do...
But, I had a wonderful day and that's all that matters!