End of the semester

Currently, there are only 4 more days of school left! I'm very excited about winter break coming up, and all the exciting things I have planned. However, this does mean that some things are ending.

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!

곰 세 마리 (The Three Bears)

Here is a youtube video of a song we sang Monday night at Korean class. It is called "The Three Bears" and it is a traditional song, probably comparable to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." The lyrics are something like:

곰 세마리가/한집에 있어 Three fuzzy bears live / in a cabin

아빠곰/엄마곰/애기곰 Daddy Bear / mommy bear / baby bear

아빠곰은/뚱뚱해 Daddy bears is / big and fat

엄마곰은/날씬해 Mommy bear is / slim and trim

애기곰은/너무 귀여워 Baby bear is / such a cutie pie

히쭉히쭉/잘한다 Tee-hee tee-hee / There you go

Here is the video if you want to check it out!

Food of the week- Pizza (피자)

Last week at Korean class, Mr. Lee from the Metropolitian Office of Education came to class during our break between hours. With him, he had 4 pizzas, and 5 liters of Coke! We were all so suprised to see him again (it had been a while since going to Boseong for reorientation) and even more shocked that he had given us pizza.

Pizza is pretty expensive here. I've had it twice at school as a snack with the other teachers, and Gabe and I split one for dinner once. Going from eating pizza often back in WI, it is a change to not have that kind of comfort food here! The cost depends on where you buy the pizza from, but when Gabe and I ordered a small supreme (we didn't know how to order anything else other than just pointing), it was about $12. We thought it was worth it. For the MOE to buy 4 pizzas each for 3 classes, 2 beginning and 1 intermediate, had to be pretty costly. But much appreciated.

The pizza was unlike any other pizza I've had so far. It had a stuffed sweet potato crust, sauce, cheese, shrimp, olives, crab, shrimp wrapped in spaghetti, and what I originally thought was octopus turned out to be just cuttlefish, as informed by Mihey and Jiyeon. And I couldn't forget the corn, they always put corn on pizza it seems!

Here's us looking at the pizza, my 선생님 is the Korean in the picture.



This is the pizza, the shrimp with spaghetti are around the edges.

Korean Language Classes

Korean class continues to go well. We're on unit 6 currently, where we get to learn the days of the week and how to tell time. We've covered a lot of topics and learned tons of new words. Our last unit was on Dail Life. I'm now able to talk about what I am doing now, and will be doing in the near future.

In class, we get excited when we learn new things. It's a great feeling. Now, I can order confidently in Korean, and can pick up on some of the words my co-teachers say at lunch. I enjoy telling them what I am going to do that evening and over the weekend.

I got to put my language skills to use last night on my way to exercise. I got a ride to the gym from my "Korean Boyfriend." He asked if I was going to "health," and I said, in Korean, "I'm going to the gym." (운동을하요). He was happy to hear me say that. The ride to the gym takes about 10 minutes by car if you hit the lights, and the rest of the conversation was very strained, to say the least. I just enjoyed some of the KPop songs he had on CD.

The trainer at the gym also likes that I can speak Korean. There are about 4 male trainers who all say "hi" and "bye" when I'm at the gym, and last night I got measured in front of all of them (they think I'm very "long"). I told them in Korean that I am 167 cm, and they were so impressed, but still measured me to see if I was lying.

It feels good to be making progress even though it is a time commitment! Going to Chonnam University takes about 1 hour plus more if you miss the bus!

Korean Language Classes

We started our Korean lessons this past Tuesday at Chonnam Univeristy in Gwangju. It isn't too far away from my house, but it took me an hour and a half to get there. It starts at 7pm, and traffic is especially bad during rush hour. I also have to transfer busses, and that can take up some time.

On Tuesday, I arrived a little late, so I missed some of the welcome speech. That was fine though, I got the jist of it. We took a group picture of everyone too. The lessons are for all EPIK teachers, and there were probably about 60 or 70 of us there. I think most people really want to learn the language. We did get warned though that we had to come to at least 80% of the classes. If we drop halfway through, the governement will see that and wondering why they are offering free Korean classes and potentially cut the program. One of the EPIK coordinators, Mr. Lee, did tell us that if we quit and they cut the program, he wouldn't have a job, so "please don't quit!!"

We paid 13,500 won for our textbook. It is really nice, and even comes with an audio CD. Our class has about 13 people in it, and everyone from our crew, except Alex, is together. The first night we went over the vowels and a few consonants and did a lot of repetition. Luckily, after being here a month and a half, it wasn't completely foreign, but it was nice to have formal training.

Here is an excerpt from my Korean textbook about the language, if you're interested:

"Korean uses its own unique alphabet called Hangeul (한글에). It is considered to be one of the most efficient alphabets in the world and has garnered unanimous praise from language experts for its scientific design and excellence.

Hangeul consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, totaling 24 basic characters. The shapes of Hangeul's consonants were formed after voice organs (such as lips, tongue, throat, etc) while those of vowels were formed after what one might say symbolizes heaven (ㅗ), earth (ㅜ) and human beings (ㅓ,ㅏ,ㅣ). (I can see the resemblance, I don't know about you!)

All words in Korean are composed of syllables, which go by the following basic rules:
1. A syllable begins with a consonant.
2. A syllable has at least one consonant and one vowel.
3. Each syllable gets written in a square box.

A syllable that consists of a consonant and a "vertical vowel" is written with the consonant on the left, and the vowel on the right.

ㄴ[n] + ㅏ [a] = 너 [na]

A syllable that consists of a consonant and a "horizontal vowel" is written with the consonant on the top and the vowel underneath.

ㄴ [n] + ㅗ [o] = 노 [no]

If a syllable shows CVC combination, in other words, if a syllable ends with a consonant, the final consonant goes to the bottom of that syllable.

ㅁ [m] + ㅏ [a] + ㄴ [n] = 만 [man]"


We have Korean classes every Tuesday and Thursday nights, 2 hours each night. So 4 hours a week. That's just as much as a college course! However, I don't think we'll be having much homework! There is plenty of study time at school though, and our coteachers are a great resource. When I get a chance at school, I like to practice by (attempting to) read the newspaper. They have a nice section for expats to learn Korean.


At the end of the course, we have to score 70% on the test in order to "pass" the class. I've also heard we get a certificate if we past, which is pretty sweet. Hopefully learning a few key phrases won't be too much of a challenge and I'll be able to communicate with my students better!