On Tuesday, we had our Korean final at 전남대학교 (Chonnam National University. Chonnam is the best university you can go to in Gwangju, with about 30,000 students. It is also Mihey's Alma Mater.), and we got to see our scores last night, Thursday. I should note first that these lessons were free from the Gwangju Metropolitian Office of Education (MOE), and the teachers were native Korean teachers. The classes were open to any EPIK participant that expressed interest. There were 3 classes, 2 beginner, and 1 intermediate. We met twice a week, but near the end, we met three times a week. Classes were 2 hours each, from 7-9 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is where we had class:
Anyway, when everyone from all 3 classes first arrived last night, we sat in the auditorium of the language building, just like we had 3 months ago for the opening ceremony. We were asked to fill out a standard evaluation of the course and teachers. It was easy to tell that the evaluation was not written by a native English speaker!
A few amusing things happened at the closing ceremony. The MOE brought us sandwiches and lattes from Angel-in-Us, the most expensive coffee chain here in Korea. I'm talking $4.00 for a hot chocolate, and $6-8 for a sandwich! One thing is for sure, the MOE really likes to make sure we are happy! That was a nice suprise. We were also given 2010 calendars created by an English professor at Chonnam filled with pictures of Asia, specifically Angkor Wat, China, Japan, and Gwangju, Korea. Then, in a small corner of July, there is a picture of the EPIK teachers 3 months ago at the start of Korean class. We heard some speeches about how happy they were to teach us, and then they started to hand out our certificates of completion...
Carlo was called up first (I found out it was because his name came first on the class rosters), and they read the certificate outloud, shook some hands, and took some pictures. Then it stopped. The 40 or so of us that didn't get a certificate started to wonder what was going on, and why we didn't get one! We were cracking jokes like Carlo was the only one to pass the test, and that they just gave us sandwiches for showing up. Well, Mihey said today thats just they way it works here. They give out the first one publically, then give the rest out in private. Completely different than back home!
Later in our classroom, our teacher gave us the good news that we all passed! We needed to have a 70% or better on the class to technically pass. She explained, "Well, Brian 씨 didn't really pass, but the coordinator forced me to pass him." We found this extremely funny because Brian has worked hard during the course, but has really struggled. What makes it even better is that instead of saying Brian, she pronounces it "Brown" everytime. :)
I thought I did well on the test after it was done, and it turns out I did. I got one question wrong (something like an adjective ending), but because it was worth two points, I only got 98% on the test. I was pretty pleased with it. My coteachers and other ladies in the school today were very excited for me. Except this now means I'll need to start using it more day to day!
Our class of 12 has been joking for a while now about who was going to bring the "refreshments" for the party our last day. I didn't really think anyone was serious. However, about 5 people pulled out a bunch of bottles and cups! Our teacher suggested we go to Noraebang (노래방) in the student hang out area. We fit a lot of people from the 3 classes into a room, and had a great hour singing Kpop songs (or trying to!), and English classics. I think the teachers had a fun time with us too!
It was a fun night, but I felt kind of sad saying "bye" our teacher at the end of Noraebang. I think she will be back next semester, and I really hope she will be able to teach the intermediate level!
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