Going to the U.S. as a volunteer last year, there was a time that I needed to be in a choir team. All volunteers that I stayed with needed to make a harmony to perform in front of brothers and sisters in a church. It was quite excited because I loved singing but never had a chance to sing in front of a large group. For a great performance, we chose a piece of song, tried to make a line and started to practice together. However, it was not that easy to make one voice at one time. At that moment, the choir leader told me that my voice is too loud. "Volume down your voice! Eunwoo. You are distracting the other people. You should make your voice smaller to make a harmony." At first, I couldn't agree with her because I thought I was good at singing and doing perfectly fine because I used to go to the karaoke three times in a week and many people told me I am good at singing! I was keep thinking this and didn't listen what the choir leader said. Obviously, our singing didn't get better and it became harder and harder. Suddenly, I got to think that 'I can be wrong that I think I am good at singing.' That mind-set made me to listen to what she said. 'Okay, then, why don't I listen to her? She has more experiences in this field, so let's follow as what she said.' I made my voice smaller and tried to listen to other people's sound. As we tried to listen to each other, our sound became better and better. Listening to each other is very important. Many people think that they are listening, but actually, they are not. Literally "listening" doesn't mean listening. They can't listen because they have a thought that "I am right." But if they put down the mind-set and listen to the other with a heart that you can be wrong and the other can be right, it will bring you a new world of listening and true communication.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Sol Lee
"Right, Left, Right, Lift" kindergarten was spread with teacher's high voice. In front of teacher, there's dozens of kids were standing with arms akimbo. Their small eyes were sparking. They were preparing art festival which is kids sing and dance in front of their parents. I was one of them. I was so happy to dance. I practiced not only practice time but also free time. In the end, festival day, I did very well, but everyone follow what teacher is doing which is opposite direction. But, I didn't follow teacher. I did what I learned, so I was in opposite direction, but I didn't care. That day, my father told me, you did very good job, but you have really strong ego. When I'm tired, I remember that day, because that makes me happy.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Youjung Kim/week3/Tues 1 p.m.
At the age of seventeen, I lived with my grandmother, just two of us, for six months. I have never lived apart from my parents for my entire life, except for when I was 3 years old and my mother gave birth to my brother. That was just for a couple of weeks, and I was with my sister. Before seventeen, I never knew nor imagined what it would be like to live with my grandmother.
Some people might think it is not big of a deal to live with a grandparent, but to be honest, it was the most difficult time of my life. I would cry and wet all the tissues I have, wanting to go back. To be with my grandmother, everything goes much slower. Not much happening, At 8o'clock, even at 7o'clock my grandmother was probably ready to go to bed. Since I moved to Daegu, which is two and a half hours away from my hometown Ulsan, I did not have any close friends at the first time. So I would come home at 6o'clock from school, eat dinner, and my day was almost over. I had nothing exciting to do except for watching TV before bed. What fun things can a teenage girl do with her grandmother? Not much. At least that was what I thought at the time.
However, this attitude of mine changed over six months. Not only did I make some friends at school, but also I started to enjoy spending time with my grandmother. Her food was my favorite, and I learned how to cook them from her, which I still remember. She had a funny, very strong accent and was a good storyteller, so I grew to enjoy chatting with her more than watching TV. She grew beautiful plants in the veranda, and the view from there was filled with greens and wide blue sky. It was calming to just sit there and watch all the beauties surrounding me.
Even now, it brings me joy to think about the time I was given to spend with my grandmother, the view from her veranda, and just everyday filled with calming moments. I appreciate the lessons I learned from her, and I feel blessed to have experienced this.
Chaehyun Lee/Week3 Assignment/TUE 1PM
Though it has already passed half a year since I came back to Korea from Beijing, but I still remember the day I went to Beijing for the first time very clearly. It was not very long ago, which was on February of 2014. This experience is fairly important to me because it totally changed my thoughts about China.
Before I was going to Beijing, my parents were persuading me to go, but I was very reluctant. "I have my friends in Korea, and I love my school life, why should I go to China all of a sudden?" I asked them. They kept telling me things like, "Because you are majoring Chinese; you have to be very fluent in Chinese." Or "We just want you to experience a lot of things in China." I did not want to go, because at that time I was not very good at Chinese then, and did not have any confidence that I could live out there by myself. However, I just managed to persuade myself to go to China; after all, there is a Korean saying that goes, "You can't lose a thing if you listen to what your parents say."
On February 22, 2014, my parents took me to the airport at dawn. I gave them a hug, and I went into the boarding gate. From the time after the plane had landed on Beijing, all the language I hear and see was Chinese. And I suddenly realized that I was in a totally different place from where I used to live for 21 years. I got very nervous 'What if I got lost in China? How can I go back?' But fortunately, I made it to the place where the group promised to meet. Then we took a bus and went to Beijing University, got our own dormitory rooms and unpacked our things, and went out to eat lunch in the school cafeteria.
Of course, the lunch we ate that day was all Chinese! There were some fried noodles, meatballs, dumplings, and several kinds of different Chinese dishes I have never seen before. Also, the flavors were so unfamiliar to me, that I could manage myself to drink a glass of coke and eat some noodles. I was worrying again: 'How can I survive in here if there aren't any foods that I can eat?'
After eating lunch, we went to a mart nearby to buy things we needed such as laundry detergent and some hangers. And there my worries started again, because everything they sold in the market were written in Chinese, and I couldn't understand a thing! And I couldn't ask the clerk because I couldn't understand what they were saying. So I just had to look up everything I needed on the dictionary and distinguish which one is shampoo and which one is conditioner.
On that evening, I finally came back to my dormitory. After all that worries and having spent a busy day, I felt so exhausted that I didn't have any energy to out and eat dinner. I lay down in bed, extremely tired and still hungry, called my mom. She asked me how the first day in China was like. "I don't like here. The air here isn't that good, the food's terrible, and I almost couldn't eat a thing," I complained. "Well, isn't it a good thing? You can lose some weight there." She answered.
And after that first day I quickly got used to the life in Beijing, including food. Actually, I slowly gained weight after the first week in Beijing, because soon I found out that there are a lot of delicious Chinese foods outside school. At first I did not like China, but I think this was a great opportunity to experience lively Chinese cultures. Most importantly, it changed my thoughts about China and its people!
Dohoon Hong/Week 3/Tues. 1p.m.
Have you ever experienced your life being on the verge of death? I sure have. In fact, the incident happened not long ago, so I still can remember and feel the urgent situation I was in at that moment. Just like any other day of school, I was preparing to go class. It was Tuesday, the day in which I had swimming class. The class started at 3 p.m. so I usually ate lunch before going to class. On that day, I ate "soonduboojjigae," which was pretty spicy. The spiciness of the food prevented me from digesting the food well, and I never knew this physical state would bring a huge disaster in my life.
When I arrived at the swimming pool, the professor told the class that we would be doing a relay since it was the last class of the semester. The professor told us, "You will be graded in this relay." So, I thought to myself, "Let's try my best." We divided ourselves into two teams to start the competition. When we got ourselves all ready for the race, the professor shouted, "On your marks, get set, go!" Both teams cheered for their team waiting for their turn to receive the baton. I was lined up as the third swimmer in the relay, and when the second swimmer came and touched the wall, I immediately started swimming as fast as I could. I started racing through the water with all my strength, and let the fourth swimmer continue on the race. I was totally exhausted, and my legs felt like it was going to burst, because I pushed myself to the limit. Right when I was going to take a rest after the intense race, the professor chose the best swimmers and told them to start an all star race. Unfortunately, I was one of the all stars, so I had to swim again. Since it was a race, I could not let anyone down, so I tried my best to finish the race. I once again pushed myself to the threshold.
After finishing the relay, we all went back to the showers. With sore legs, I barely made myself through the showers. What was worse, I started to have trouble breathing. It was a feeling that I have never felt before. I felt very stuffy and something was exerting pressure in my chest. I sat down on a chair to relax myself and catch my breath. However, it did not get any better, and I could feel my face turn pale, and my body turn cold. I wanted to shout out, "Somebody help me, please!" At that moment, one of my classmates told me to go to the washroom and try to throw up what I had for lunch. I listened to his advice right away and tried to vomit. When I started vomiting, I felt extreme pain in my chest, but I believed it was the only way to get better. Miraculously, I felt blood go through my head again, and I started to feel better. If my classmate had not given me any advice, I would have almost died. From that day on, I learned an important lesson: never eat watery and spicy food before you swim. Moreover, never leave sick people by themselves.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Harim Kim/Week 3/Tuesday 11 am
My Grandfather's Funeral
When I was a toddler, my day care center was my grandparents' house since my parents were too busy to take care of me during the daytime. My grandparents who loved their granddaughter so much were more than happy to look after me everyday. That's why I miss my grandfather this much. Without their help, my early childhood would have been much tougher.
My grandfather-my mom's father- was an English teacher at a nearby high school all his life. I still remember him reading an English book, or trying to talk to me in English. My grandfather passed away when I was a high school freshmen. One day, there was a phone call from mom and it was still during class ; I knew something was wrong. I felt somewhat strange. Through the phone I could hear my mother's voice tremble. My grandfather passed away that day.
I wore black clothes that mom gave me. I also put on a white ribbon on my hair. At the funeral hall, many relatives were there and I waited for the funeral to start as I looked at the back of my cousin, who was holding the old man's picture frame. In Korea, there is this tradition to visit the place where the deceased had lived at a funeral. We also went to my grandparents' house with his framed picture. It was then when I started to burst into tears as we opened the gate and went inside of the house. Before then, I guess I could not realize the death of my beloved grandfather. At the funeral, many relatives and guests were there to mourn for the deceased. As I wandered slowly in the funeral hall, my eyes were wide-open since I always thought the funeral was something much more quiet and the atmosphere was beyond my past imagination. It was also surprising that people were busy talking to each other since I could not think of a word to say with the mountain of sadness in my mind. So I asked my mom, " How could they look as if they're not sad? " Mom replied, " It is better to send the deceased with a smile, rather than with tears." I could not understand the meaning at that time, but now I know quite exactly. "He was a decent man - a greatman who knew how to love people. " My uncle whispered, and everyone around him nodded including myself.
The memory of that day is quite blurry. Maybe that's because I was crying most of the time during the entire funeral. It was like I was looking at an scenery with my eyes submerged in water ; tears fell off. All of my reminiscences with my grandfather when through my mind like a flash. That day, I was sad but I also got a lesson that my beloved ones could leave from me forever. After the lesson, I try to express more about my mind to my family and friends. My grandfather, who loved me like no one gave me a precious message even through his funeral.
Harim Kim/ Week 3/ Tue 11 am
My Grandfather's Funeral
When I was a toddler, my day care center was my grandparents' house since my parents were too busy to take care of me during the daytime. My grandparents who loved their granddaughter so much were more than happy to look after me everyday. That's why I miss my grandfather this much. Without their help, my early childhood would have been much tougher.
My grandfather-my mom's father- was an English teacher at a nearby high school all his life. I still remember him reading an English book, or trying to talk to me in English. My grandfather passed away when I was a high school freshmen. One day, there was a phone call from mom and it was still during class ; I knew something was wrong. I felt somewhat strange. Through the phone I could hear my mother's voice tremble. My grandfather passed away that day.
I wore black clothes that mom gave me. I also put on a white ribbon on my hair. At the funeral hall, many relatives were there and I waited for the funeral to start as I looked at the back of my cousin, who was holding the old man's picture frame. In Korea, there is this tradition to visit the place where the deceased had lived at a funeral. We also went to my grandparents' house with his framed picture. It was then when I started to burst into tears as we opened the gate and went inside of the house. Before then, I guess I could not realize the death of my beloved grandfather. At the funeral, many relatives and guests were there to mourn for the deceased. As I wandered slowly in the funeral hall, my eyes were wide-open since I always thought the funeral was something much more quiet and the atmosphere was beyond my past imagination. It was also surprising that people were busy talking to each other since I could not think of a word to say with the mountain of sadness in my mind. So I asked my mom, " How could they look as if they're not sad? " Mom replied, " It is better to send the deceased with a smile, rather than with tears." I could not understand the meaning at that time, but now I know quite exactly. "He was a decent man - a great man who knew how to love people. " My uncle whispered, and everyone around him nodded including myself.
The memory of that day is quite blurry. Maybe that's because I was crying most of the time during the entire funeral. It was like I was looking at an scenery with my eyes submerged in water ; tears fell off. All of my reminiscences with my grandfather when through my mind like a flash. That day, I was sad but I also got a lesson that my beloved ones could leave from me forever. After the lesson, I try to express more about my mind to my family and friends. My grandfather, who loved me like no one gave me a precious message even through his funeral.
Sieun Kim/ Week 3 assignment_draft/ Tuesday 1pm
"As long as I maintain my composure, I'll survive! I can survive!"
This is my story of a day in 2004 when I felt that my life is in danger.
I was in Texas then. Texas is located right above Mexico where a crime rate is so high. At the time, Texas was also known as the state where the chainsaw massacre took place.
One day, I took a school bus to go to school as usual. It was really hot outside, so I hurried to get inside the school building as I got off the school bus. But, most of the students didn't. They ran to the playground directly after they got off the bus. Fortunately, the air conditional was already on in the building.
I walked to the elevator and pressed number 4 because my classroom was on the fourth floor. The elevator door was closed but I suddenly felt strange feeling. I looked at the number shown in the elevator to check which floor I'm in. "Oh my god!!!!!!" It was not 1, not 2, not 3 but 128, 145, 190, 2110……….. The numbers were changing rapidly and I knew there was no floor that high in my school building. "Am I going to die? Is this the last day of my life?" I tried to calm down and think. "Think! There is a way to get out of here! What can I do?" I had to do something before the elevator falls down. Suddenly, what my mother instructed me what I should do in emergency flashed in my mind. "I should press ring button in the elevator!" As I pressed the ring button, the elevator fell but stopped right away. "I'm alive, right? Am I safe now?" The elevator door got opened and two guards asked me if I was okay. Seeing them, I was relieved. "Oh, God saved me!"
I went to the classroom. My teacher said hello to me, and I said hello. Classmates were already in their seats. The teacher announced that we do not have to come to school from tomorrow until next week. She handed out a batch of correspondence. There were ID pictures of three criminals who were not caught yet and a picture of a black van that they are driving. They were African-Americans, predicted to be kidnappers around our town. So the school will be on a short break until the police catch criminals. It was little scary but having a break was not bad. I showed this to my mom and she told me that she already got the notification of this from my sister's school.
Since my sister and I did not have to go to school from next day, my mother decided to take us to the picnic to the park nearby. We took a car to the park and parked our car in a parking lot. But I felt a strange feeling that I had felt in the elevator in the morning. Why? There was no car in the parking lot except ours. The parking lot was always crowded with people before. Anyway, we were ready to get off and enjoy our picnic. But, as soon as we opened our car doors, a black van parked right next to our car and three black men got off the car. "Okay, their faces are same as what I had seen in the ID pictures that my teacher gave to me this morning," my sister said. My mom quickly locked the car door and started the car. We drove away quickly to the police station but they did not follow us to the end. We could come back home safely.
Now, this is one of my childhood memories that I cannot forget. I'm so happy that I survived and can tell this story. Experiencing this kind of life threatening day, I learned in person that there always is a way out if I remain fearless and keep a positive mental attitude.
Yoona Kim / Week 3 Assignment / Tuesday 1pm
A day in Paris
I was stuck in the middle of the bunch of people standing in the Paris metro. That lovely sunshine in fact tortured the people inside where no air conditioning was available. I was waiting for a word to come out from the announcement, 'République, république!'. 'Two more stops to go'. I felt relieved. My first summer in Paris was pretty harsh that it was exhaustingly hot. I sighed, and all of sudden a man looked at me and said with a French English intonation "So tired to be standing in this train isn't it?". I froze while I said, "Yeah it surely is." To be honest, I was scared. When I first left for travel all alone to Europe, everyone said 'Do not speak to anyone you don't know, especially the man who smiles at you! That's a trick'. But for some reason, it was quite exciting to have a conversation with someone for the first time in maybe 5 days in Europe.
This summer, I made a big decision to leave for a month adventure all by myself. I visited Europe several times with my family and friends but this time I was all alone! I chose 9 cities in 5 countries and started my journey from Helsinki, Finland. However, from the scratch I knew that the highlight of my journey is definitely going to be Paris. That's why I spent almost more than a week in France.
Finally, I'm in Paris talking to this stranger who looked quite smart and even a little handsome. I decided to be brave and carried on our conversation. I said, "So, Are you French? How come you speak English so well?", He said, "I lived in London, I've done my masters there.". So, in one minutes we found the common facts between each other. Then he asked me "Where are you heading to?" and I froze again thinking 'Uh oh, should I tell this stranger where I'm going now?' but soon the announcement said 'République, république'. I had to get off in this steaming train and République was my destination. I quickly told the man "I am on my way to Canal Saint-Martin, Au revoir (Good bye)." Few minutes later, when I was on my way walking down the street the man grabbed my shoulder and said with a big smile "Hey, actually my home is right around the Canal, and I think you are walking the wrong way down. Let me guide you for this evening." That moment, my most memorable evening walk had begun.
Sang Jee Lee /Assignment Week 3/Tuesday 1.p.m
"Alright guys, let's go over this one more time. We will sing four piece of music today. We'll do Jubilant Song first. Also, remember the parts when I told you to hold your breath until the next note starts!" Choir teacher was giving us some last minute talk before we perform. But I couldn't even hear or understand what she was saying. I was so nervous that my throats got tight and I could literally hear my heart beating faster. I looked around the whole choir team. We were standing in the small room inside the nursing home. There were about twenty students who were standing in two lines. Girls all wore matching black dress with black shoes. Boys wore their suits and ties. "We are going to rehearse one more time. Let's start with Amazing grace. Altos, remember not to follow Sopranos at the second line. Okay?" After the short instruction, teacher started to play the intro part of the Amazing Grace. My thoughts returned to the day when I first joined the Quire.
Few weeks after I arrived in America to study English my aunt told me that I will be attending private mission school nearby. "I heard that there are no Korean in the school. I know it will be a challenge to you since you can't hear or speak any Korean. However, I think it will be a great chance for you to learn English faster." said my aunt. I was only 15 and I was only beginning to learn English. I felt very uncomfortable talking to friends and teachers in school. I was counting the day when I would go back to Korea which would be a year after. However, I decided to take a big step and join a choir team because no matter what, I loved to sing. Joining the choir turned out to be the great idea because I made some friends and started to feel a little more comfortable speaking English. After few weeks the choir teacher told us that we will be visiting nursing home near the school and sing for the elders. Alison, who were sitting next to me whispered, "I heard people in nursing home where we visiting don't have any family to visit them. Isn't it sad?" I felt very bad but at the same time it was overwhelming because I have never visited nursing home even in Korea. Our team learned two more piece of music before visiting nursing home and practiced it for about whole month. And now here I am 5minutes from actual performance.
Yeonjae Hwang/Week3 assignment/Tuesday 1pm
What I learned after entering university.
'You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequence' is a famous universal paradox known to many. Likewise, 'freedom' and 'responsibility' cannot be apart from each other in any case. The most intriguing dilemma that I faced after my entrance in HUFS is how to use the given freedom and at the same time how to take full responsibility of the aftermaths. My past two years of thoroughly considering the two coexisting terms brought numerous intangibles that could both be regarded as a process of becoming an adult and a precious life-long lesson: time.
In the middle of the two unavoidable concepts is an absolute term called 'time'. When thinking of freedom and responsibility, I couldn't help myself but to unconsciously coin it with time usage. I realized that the key for me to utilize freedom and take full responsibility is to make the best out of my limited time. And as soon as this enlightenment hit me, other thoughts instantly popped into my mind: 'Shouldn't I go for a long trip before it becomes too late for me?' 'Why is time flying by so quickly?' 'I can't believe it's already September! What have I done until this day?' I became nervous to the fact that I haven't achieved anything in particular and it just felt like I was going around in circles, not heading toward my goals. Then I began to question myself whether I am on the right track of effectively using my time or am I just wasting the freedom for granted.
So I started to search on the web and read book in terms of time use, and learned ways to efficiently make use of my time by planning. Instead of just ideally planning what I want to do and what I have to do, I pictured the whole procedure and then shifted on to a more realistic frame. For example, through this process I learned that writing a 'not to do list' rather than a 'to do list' is more effective to me and that making one appointment a day or setting a trivial goal a day works more than scheduling many. To my surprise, I started to feel fulfillments and for the first time of my life nervousness disappeared; it was substituted with confidence and satisfaction. As I planned my days in detail and depth, I found another valuable gem, opportunity. I reached to a conclusion that when making the best use of my limited time and sticking on to it hard, opportunity approaches in the mist of business. Metaphorically, it is like a fog for it can fade away without any forewarning which means that I have to catch it before it runs away.
Opportunity is wearing time. In other words, it is unlikely to come back when you miss the exact time. Surprisingly, this leads to another conclusion that missing a chance is also my own responsibility of my time and freedom misusage. Anyways, it actually is a universal paradox. 'You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequences'.
Hoyoung Kim/Week 3 assignment/Tuesday 1pm
"Hey, why the door is closed?" that was my words to my friends. It was middle school lunch break. I and my friends were started to wait in front of the school gym. Just 15 minutes ago we rushed in to the cafeteria and devoured the meal. After a quick lunch we were supposed to have basketball training to prepare for the club-basketball competition. The doors were made of tempered glass and each door's handles were chained together. Back then we were so eager to play it, we were thinking about how to sneak into the gym.
At first we just pulled and pushed the door thinking that if the chain is long enough, there will be enough space to get through. This was too naïve thought. Maybe we had have grown up too much. We thought about different way to get in, however, windows were too small, we didn't have spare key. There was no other way but to wait. Age of 16 kids, were not patient enough to stand still and just talk to each other. I was little bit upset and expressed the negative feeling to the door, the glass door. I pushed it harshly. First time, it was too okay so I misunderstood that the glass was strong enough to undertake my anger. I pushed it one more, one more and one more time. Eventually, the thing happened. The glass door has crashed into pieces, so many square shaped fragments. Fortunately no one hurt though there was terrible sound of crashing glass.
We were panicked. I who broke the door was the most panicked. A few seconds passed, which feels like a few hours. One of my friend said that maybe we should clean up. We were all frightened thinking of the following punishment so we moved quickly. Some took broom some took dustpan and I brought big wastebasket. We were around 10 people so I didn't took long to gather all the fragments into the wastebasket. We knelt down and waited for our teacher bagging for forgiveness. And the time came. Teacher walked in and saw us. Also I saw him. I was frightened and felt sorry to my friends. I regretted countless times about my aggressive behavior. My teacher said something but I can't remember what he said. Maybe I was too nervous and panicked to listen to him. We were not punished and even not scolded. We just get trained as usual.
Unlike my prediction, there were not any punishment on me. He just called me in and told me. "School required 200,000 won for compensation and I will call your mom. Don't worry too much, everyone makes mistake." There were not many words I could say. "I am so sorry teacher and thank you" In the afternoon my mother came and paid for broken door. I knew what I did and felt so sorry to her. I couldn't get my head up. However, my mother also didn't say anything about my fault. My mother also said to me that mistake is forgivable. I could feel my heart got worm. I could confirm my mother's love. After the happening I've got braveness of honestly say my faults to my mother. Though we didn't forgive me every time.
Hwang Jeongsoo /Week 3 assignment/ Tuesday 1pm
Hwang jeongsoo / Week3 assignment / Tuesday 1pm
For the first time in my life
'Wide shoulder is fine. Arms look perfect. The color of the hair is too bright but not bad.' I love his face and especially his eyes are shining! Oh my god! Am I loving him as soon as I see him? For the first time in my life? Me, the girl with great pride? No way!!!!!'
It was when I was a freshman at Univ. that I saw him for the first time. While hanging around to search for the club, I chatted with people. Actually, at that time, everything was something I had dreamed of from high school so it couldn't be better. Boom! Suddenly he came. To be honest, looking back in my memories, he was not as good-looking as an actor but I was and am sure that he was the best in that club then. He had one year of seniority on me but the age was the same as me. When I first saw him, I wanted to know about him more. The most important duty to a freshman at Univ. was to participate in the meeting being held at a bar to learn what the school life is like, which class should be taken but which should be removed. In fact, I don't care anything about that but him. I tried to sit close to him and said,
"Hey, what is your major? (Do you have a girl friend?)" "Is there a lot of homework to do in college life? (Do you have enough time to hang out with me?)" "Can I call you when I want to know something? (What is your phone number?)"
I didn't want to be easy to him and also I didn't want him to know I was interested in him. Not to be discovered, I just asked him meaningless questions at a bar. At that time though I couldn't have enough chances to investigate him, I was sure he was a little bit special to me. If someone asks me why he was special, I cannot answer exactly. LOVE has no reason, says a terrible writer.
After that day, I tried to contact with him as much as possible regardless of his mind.
"Juyoung, are you late?"
"You sent wrong."
"Oh, I am sorry. I thought I sent a message to Juyoung. Anyway, what are you doing?"
I sent a text message to him pretending not to mean to do. I was not sure whether he knew my strategy. He called me and we met at school cafeteria. As time went by, we talked a lot, had meals, shared information on classes and finally got used to each other. I want to see him as my boyfriend and I like him. Until then, I believe it must be a lie to fall in love with someone at first sight. The belief was broken and an unforgettable love story started, which I had never expected.
Ha-eun Jeong/Week 3 Assignment/Tuesday 1 p.m.
"I'm, I'm not English," was what I first said when I had to introduce myself at a junior camp in England when I was eight years old. I meant to say that I cannot speak English very well, but that was the best explanation I could think of at that time. Since most of the kids there were from English-speaking countries, I was very shy as I could barely speak English.
"We know you are not English, dear. Don't be shy," said one of the teachers as a response to my utterance. I realized that I said wrong and so they misunderstood me, so I became even shyer. After all the children finished introducing themselves, I just stayed where I was, silent, not knowing what to do, while other kids were chatting and talking to one another. Then, one girl with blonde hair came in front of me and said hi. I was surprised, but also felt relieved and happy to finally talk with someone. Her name was Alice, and she patiently waited for me and listened to me carefully as I tried to communicate with her with my imperfect English.
Although we could not understand each other's words very well, we soon became quite close to each other and hung out together throughout the whole week at the camp. We ate together, picked up flowers together, played house together, etc. We really did all kinds of activities together. On the last day at the camp, we went to a canteen after having lunch like we did every day. As we came out from the canteen with ice cream for each of us, Alice told me to wait and ran back to the canteen. About a minute later she came back to me and gave me a candy bracelet.
"This is for you," she said, smiling at me. That was her sweet goodbye to me which I still remember very vividly.
Now that I recall, I have learned that one can grow close with someone from another culture even if they cannot speak each other's language well, thanks to Alice. Such experience has allowed me to refrain from judging others and become more open-minded towards various cultures. One week with this lovely girl from London at the camp was surely a priceless and memorable experience for me.
Ga Young Lee/week 3 assignment/Tuesday 1pm
"Stop running around in the restaurant!" That was my mom yelling at me when I was 4.I know it sounds weird to say that I remember what happened when I was 4. However, this story is something that is unforgettable.
It was a New Year's Day of 1998. My entire family went to Korean restaurant for a celebration. There was no one except us and waiters. I was one of the most trouble makers among 4 years old kids. I was running around tables while holding a chopstick. My mom was keep telling me to stop. I think I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but I think hearing "stop" from mom triggered me to run more. The joy that comes from disobedience made the 4 year old girl run like a horse. Then, I got too excited that I couldn't even see the sitting cushion in front of me. We all know what happened next. With those short legs, the only thing I could do was just to trip over the cushion. The chopstick that I had was the real problem. When I stood up, I felt some liquid running on my chin and jaw line. Then, in a sudden, I felt an enormous pain on my chin. My mom and dad ran toward me and they looked like they were shocked and terrified. Their face made me scared so I cried. My mom called 911 immediately and told them that the chopstick penetrated my right chin. I got shocked when I heard that the chopstick went through my right chin so I touched my chin and I felt the chopstick stuck in there. My mom must have been panicked that she took the chopstick out. Blood came out like a waterfall. Then I got into the ambulance and got the hole stitched up.
Now, I have a scar that looks like a dimple. When I was in elementary school, I used to hate it so much because I thought it as a scar. Now, I love it so much. The reasons are that I think it as a dimple and that it became one of my charm points and individualities.
Yeo Eun Ki/Week 3 assignment/Tuesday 1pm
New kid. It was a word I'd heard and used before in school; pointing out the awkward looking teenager sitting alone in the school cafeteria, glancing at the girl who was picked last for dodgeball, giggling at the newcomer who seemed unused to the staggering Texas heat.
And now it was my turn. I was starting everything all over again at a new school in a new environment. Except this time, I wasn't wearing jeans and a hoodie to school. And no blue eyed American teacher was going to be stumbling over my strange, alien name with a smile and an apology. I was entering a Korean high school, and it terrified me.
Dressed in a plaid blue skirt and matching blouse, I remembered to check the ribbon choking my neck before sliding open the wooden door to my new classroom. Immediately, numerous pairs of eyes widened and zoomed on me. I could feel their intense stares, checking me out from head to toe.
Attempting to make friends? Being out of place? Never. I'd met my best friend of 10 years on the first day of first grade. I'd always known the same classmates from elementary school to high school. My family had stayed in the same neighborhood for 10 years. I had never been the new kid.
Cheeks flaming with humiliation and fighting a burning desire to burst into tears, I glanced at the closest girl and smiled tentatively. To my dismay, she avoided my eyes and looked down at her phone. "Umm, this is classroom 2-1?" I asked in a faint voice. There was a general ripple of murmuring and nodding amongst the girls. They were glancing at each other, as if silently wondering who was going to be brave enough to talk to the new girl who was rumored to speak very little Korean. I looked around helplessly. Where was I supposed to sit? And where was the teacher? Did they hate me already? The Korean classroom seemed so much more different than it had been in the dramas I'd watched.
Finally, someone got up and pointed to my designated seat, and I nodded quickly, forgetting to say thank you. I sank down in the cold wooden chair. "Your seat partner isn't here yet. She's always late," a girl sitting in front of me said. Then, she promptly pulled a blanket over her head and fell asleep. After that, my presence seemed forgotten as the students talked among themselves, bursting into laughter and spreading thick ruby red lip tints on their lips. I sat feeling hopelessly lost, wondering what to do. "Hey. Are you from America?" A girl across the aisle asked with a curious look. I nodded profusely and answered, "Yes, I am." A shy look crossed her face and she pulled back and said no more.
After what seemed a lifetime, the homeroom teacher came into the classroom. Spotting me, she chided, "You should have come to my office. I was going to introduce you to the class." With an encouraging smile, she beckoned me up to the front. "Come and introduce yourself to your fellow classmates."
After my hasty and fumbled introduction, morning announcements were made. Class officially began. I was exhausted and ready to run home. I glanced at the clock. 8:20. I had been in class for only 20 minutes.
ChangHwan Lee/ Week 3 assignment/ Tuesday 1p.m.
"Chris! Wait up!" At this point, this was from a far. I did not care to wait for them. I continued to my way up the hill, and this time with much haste.
Instead of sitting on a couch and watching the big game, we decided to get active and go to our spot up in Great Falls. The name of the park spoke for itself. Indeed the fall was great.
Gavin and I were ahead of all of them. This wasn't a race, but to see this mesmerizing view, it was worth the sweat. I still remember to this day, what Gavin use to say about the scene. It 'captivated' his soul, he said.
"Gavin, Chris!"
I looked back, still at this point. Then I turn to face forward. Branch hits the face. I lose balance. I slip on a moist pile of leaves. The hands cannot find something to grab a hold of. Now I see a huge tree and it is coming at me.
I kicked the tree to come to a halt. A twig breaks with it.
Now I'm surrounded by my friends.
"Chris are you alright?" "That was some slide man"
The beat of my heart dampened them. I quickly tried to regain my posture with embarrassment. That hurt. Now the pain started to 'kick' in. My ankle, which was fine seconds ago, now seems to have been shot by a sniper rifle.
I knew I cannot walk down the mountain anymore, and nor was I a small child able to be carried down. It was getting dark. We were all standing around with our palms on our heads.
"Guys I am so sorry.." I apologized, but apologies did not make the situation any better. We decided to call for rescue.
"You kids have to find a high ground. We are coming on our way but, we have to be able to see you." I knew just the right spot for them to find.
On the top of the hill, we all sat on a log laughing. The boys all made jokes about the situation and by the time the helicopter arrived, we were all at peace with nature. Except for me though, I was in pain.
Hyun woo Jun/ Week3 assingment/ Tuesday 1:00pm
The primary reason of me reading a lot in my childhood was probably because of the environment. My elementary school was an American school that valued students who read books. To encourage students to read, they rewarded really cool fake gold medals to those who read a certain amount of pages per month. The pages we read were recorded by our homeroom teachers, who would listen to our oral summary of the book as a proof we read it. Gold medals were not the only prize. There were also chocolate, ice cream parties, and certificates which my parents loved to see. I was very anxious and desperate to get all those immediately and I thought the page amount requirement was ridiculously high to reach so one day I lied about one huge book's summary. Unfortunately, the teacher looked at me disappointed and said, "Hyunwoo, this happens to be my favorite book." I don't remember what the title of the book today but I still remember how embarrassed I felt when she told me that in front of the other students. I learned to be honest and responsible from that mistake. In the end, I was able to get the rewards and felt proud of my achievement because I really did do it.
Reading books also made me think more and deeper about anything. It was funny that I even used to depend on books as my "stress reducer" because reading books gave me peace and joy. I was able to sympathize with the characters dealing with hardships just like me. Books definitely helped me to become an intelligent student. They gave me the ability to memorize and expand my vocabulary. Before moving on to sixth grade, I was able to win the Spelling Bee Contest. I won because of all the words I had seen and memorized while reading books. Amazing right? Reading books also taught me how to think, concentrate, and write. I love writing because of the books I have read in the past. Reading books was also fun to read because most of the adventures were new to my daily life. It was a free entertainment that gave me a lot of benefits. Today, I look back and realize how fast time flew while reading books. I realized how much I used to love reading books.