Yesterday, I dropped my Korean-American History class so now I only have two classes! Everyone else seems to be in three classes. Some because you become eligible for an academic scholarship, some because that's how they can transfer credits. I opted to only have to deal with two classes so I can at least relax and not stress like I usually do during the semester.
My books for my courses: the two on the right were 49,000 KRW together, which everyone freaked out about. Then, we all realized that it would be much more expensive in the US. We're so spoiled right now. (My Korean studies book was about 25,000 KRW)
I had lunch with 강미 이모 (my aunt) at a Vietnamese restaurant. It tasted really different from what I'm used to back in Reno. There was pineapple fried rice, which was amazing! Putting pineapple in fried rice is such a good idea. The pho, however, tasted weird. The broth maybe just wasn't as good because the noodles were fine. I have no idea...
After, I went to Intro to Korean Studies. The professor went through about 100 years of history in a little more than an hour and a half. My notes are illegible and I felt like I developed (acute onset) arthritis in my hand. It was all interesting though. I know close to nothing about Korean history so it was great to finally see that I would be learning some.
The placement test results were posted after class and I saw that I tested into Intermediate 2 (one higher than I expected). After class started, I realized that I was probably the least skilled speaker in the class and I wondered how I was placed into this class... But I guess I'm good at grammar? I don't even know about that. We'll see how the class goes. I guess language class are supposed to push me rather than be too easy. Hopefully it works out. I met a couple people in the class and Naomi, one of the girls that sat next to me, and I decided to be study partners! We both felt that we'd need to study a lot to catch up in the course.
The hardest thing about Korean Language classes is that all of it is in Korean. So when the teacher asks us, "What does [word] mean?" we have to explain it in Korean. My vocabulary probably isn't big enough to do that...
After class, a lot of people were really hungry so we went to a food place less than a block away from campus. They served tons of cheap food and we didn't have to spend lots of time walking to Sinchon. I had 돌솥비빔밥 which is a bibimbap (rice with a mixture of vegetables and sauce) in a stone pot. The rice on the bottom gets crispy, which is the best part. (Unless they add water to it and then I don't feel like eating it anymore)
Alex, Maggie and I decided to study for our Intro to Korean Studies class together since the professor warned us that the reading would be dense. And that it was. Danny, who I'd met earlier, Sara, and Nima (sp?) joined us to study. They were in different classes but since we were headed to somewhere relatively quiet, they tagged along.
Those who have studied in groups with me know how this story is gonna end. We talked and talked and studied intermittently. It should have been the other way around, but Nima had so many interesting stories (about himself) that we frequently got sidetracked. But it was well worth it. I have plenty of time to do the reading.
I've included pictures of the view outside my dorm window. It's super rainy if you can't tell. =(
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