Class went pretty good today, we are getting into the real korean stuff now, with the verb conjugation and the sentence structure and whatnots and whathaveyous. Same style language classes just way faster pace. In a week and a couple days we've already surpassed at least double the time of American language class.
I really wish I could explain how great my literature class is. We read THE most interesting stories, have great discussions, and have a really good teacher. Nothing else could be better really. We read Chopin and Hurston last week and this week have another famous guy (I forget his name... how ironic) Since yesterday I felt terrible and sickly, I didn't have a chance to talk about one of the best parts of my day. I finally met my english group I'm helping. They are called the Study Abroad Preparation Program, and they are all planning to study somewhere in the U.S. next year. Their english is pretty good, and they want help with what makes American English so great: The butchering of definition that is prevalent thanks to colloquialisms and idioms. I'm really exciting to be helping them. They seem eager to learn and I think I can definitely help them with that kind of stuff.
In order to balance out the cosmos (ping pong went badly, as I said before) some good things happened to me today. The best thing that happened to me all day was walking by the little desk manager office as i was walking through the glass doorway of my dorm. You might be asking what made it so good.
It could be that I saw a unicorn fighting a dragon for supremacy of the universe. You know, good and evil and all that jazz; it also might be that I found a baby giraffe. Both of those would have been awesome.
What really happened was something in between. The desk lady stopped me and gave me this big package with my name on it. I was shocked, to say the least. I really felt like I had just won an oscar or something. It was ok though, because I sincerely thought of thanking the academy as I was signing the package log.
I would now like to just put in a few words for who I really do want to thank. It's extremely difficult living in a foreign country. It's also extremely difficult to know that of the population in the country you live, you and your fellow countrymen (native country that is) make up a whopping 1% (generous estimate) of the general population. Many other things are difficult when you are 7400 miles away from home. There are some things that seem to make all the difficulties go away, however. Like seeing a baby giraffe.
Seeing that baby giraffe, however, pales in comparison to receiving a package from someone back home. Dr. Ratliff sent me a package full of the most amazing things I could ever wish for. In the marvelous chest of magic, there were goldfish (Real, tangible goldfish) and Pringles, and even candy! It may not seem that much to you, but when you're missing home, it's like a godsend.
So I would like to say once (and probably not for the last time) thank you Dr. Ratliff. For everything you've done for me. You might have thought it was just junk food you were sending, but it was actually a box full of happiness. I'm aware of how corny it sounds to say that stuff, but I'm completely serious.
Oh, and more good news to boot. Or sneaker. Turns out that next Friday, we're going on a trip with the Korean Language Program here. We're going to a cherry blossom festival!! I'm so excited! I won't have a video this week I don't think, but I should end up being ready to go with two next week. Cherry blossom festival is actually a big thing for Korea. It symbolizes the start of spring and the new life that comes with it. Not to mention, when every road in a nice, rustic town is covered in said blossoms, I imagine it would be a beautiful sight.
The Language Program was originally going to a really famous Korean king's tomb, King Sejong (he created their language) but when they announced it, I looked kind of sad. My teacher asked why, and I told her that I was going to have to miss out on some plans I had to go on a trip (I fully thought they were talking about saturday, not friday). She naturally asked where I was trying to go, and I told her about the cherry blossom festival. In a really cute asian way she smacked her head and said "Oh I forgot about that."
I didn't think anything of it, but today they made the announcement about the schedule change. I think the fact that the city we're going to is 3x closer really helped too, though. It wasn't just me (I can still pretend like it was though).
The next day we will be going somewhere, but I'm not sure where yet. I hope it will be somewhere fun. There are definitely a lot of fun places here. Here's a list of some upcoming events I will be doing: Acupuncturist trip (oriental medicine stuff) Sauna Trip (You might be asking, why a sauna? Well, it's very popular in Korea. Unfortunately, you have to be naked the whole time, so I am going to waive my right to film my adventure.) Water Park (The water is heated to a nice warm temperature constantly, even in the winter.
Looks like that ends our tour for today.
Until I post again,
Aron Huckaba International Vagabond
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