Firstly, I apologize for the delay in updating the blog! We have all been keeping busy, and trying to post a blog of all that I've done seemed like such a daunting task. I'll be keeping it as brief as possible.
Classes have been pretty good. I'm taking 12 hours (4 classes), which seems to be the norm for the exchange students. There are a lot of quizzes and group presentations on case studies, plus the occasional homework assignment. The Korean students I have worked with in my groups have been pretty great. Everything has been going well so far! Mid-terms are next week, so I'll be spending this weekend preparing for my exams. Wish us all luck!
In terms of English "tutoring," we all assist an English debate class for 3 hours per week, then have 5 hours a week when we are scheduled to help in the E-Zone (English zone). The English debate class is a little different for everyone depending on which class they help in and which professor teaches the class. In mine, I mostly just encourage the Koreans in the class to actively participate in discussions and help them verbalize their ideas. The E-Zone is a classroom where the Koreans come in during preregistered times and can practice their conversational English with us. Each of the exchange students is signed up to help during specific hours, so we just come in during our designated time and help those who come in! We talk about various topics, play games (Hangman, etc...), and pretty much just help the students practice their English skills in a casual setting. It is pretty laid back and a great way to meet a lot of other students!
We discovered soon after school started that our residence is not a very far walk from the university, so I always walk to and from school. It generally takes about 25 minutes to get from my room to the classroom, so it's very convenient. It's mostly uphill on the way there, but it makes a very easy downhill walk home at the end of the day.
I have been to a lot of different areas in Seoul and have seen a lot of interesting places, but I have so many more on my list! This past weekend a lot of us went to participate in a temple stay. We took a bus about 3 hours south-southeast of Seoul and spent Saturday doing different arts-and-crafts activities, taking pictures and exploring, then in the evening there was a special presentation including children doing Tae-Kwon-Do, monks doing traditional drumming and singing, and a lot of other neat things! Then Sunday we woke up before 4 AM to learn about Buddhism, participate in bowing to the Buddha in the temple, meditate with monks, and have a traditional monastery-style breakfast. It was quite a fascinating experience!
I started to come down with a cold-like illness when we got home from the temple stay, and was sick in bed with a fever from Sunday night until Tuesday afternoon. Thankfully, I have recovered quite a bit and now just have a cough that I'm sure will be gone soon enough!
I can't believe just how fast time has flown by! We're all having a great time and are so glad to have had this opportunity!
More later!
Farah
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