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Angela's Story RYE Korea 2010-11

20 October 2010  Ansan, South Korea   I was in Seoul this weekend with 8 other exchange students. It was a fun time. It's strange to be a foreigner in a group of foreigners. There were 4 people from Taiwan, 4 from France, and me. We got to see a lot of places. The food we had was amazing. We had a special dinner yesterday which was a tradtional Korean meal with rice, three soups, kimchee, and about 15-20 other side dishes completely covering every brown space on the table. No lie. I have pictures to prove it.

04 October 2010  Ansan, South Korea   I got to go to a Buddhist Temple on Sunday. The Temple is really spread out, and the buildings are very ornate. I took pictures on my cell phone because I left my camera at home. I didn't expect to do as much walking as I did. There's an art museum, marketplace, and many temple buildings. My host family and I had a talk with the head monk. It seems the Temple doesn't get many visits from foreigners. That doesn't surprise me. If you do come and visit Korea, you'll notice that there is a complete lack of non-Asian foreigners. Even in my city, which has one of the largest foreign populations, has very few foreigners walking down the streets. So you can imagine the looks I get when I walk to the bus stop in my school uniform.

30 September 2010  Ansan, South Korea   In my class, there are 41 other students--all girls as our school is segregated. There are three years of high school here, and I am a 1st year. I have different classes everyday and pretty much live in my classroom. The teachers come to us most of the time. Print-outs are made out of recycled newsprint rather than new printer paper. Classes are 50 minutes each with 10 minutes breaks in between. English is taught as a subject rather than a language so students can read and write much better than they can speak or understand. According to my teacher, times are changing, and English is going to start being taught more as a language. I'd like to see that happen. Students stay until 10 at night 5 days a week, and on alternating Saturdays, they go until 12:30 PM. Some students would go to academy. One of my friends goes to Academy on Fridays and Sundays meaning she attends some form of schooling 6 or 7 days a week. Lunch is served at 12:30, and dinner is at 5:50. After all meals times, we brush our teeth. After our 7 regular classes, which end at 4:30, we have to clean the school. I've stayed until 10 one day so far. They have a complementary class for an hour, and then the rest of the time is silent study. I usually leave the school at 5.

27 August 2010  South Korea  Korea is great. In the few days I've been here, I've done quite a bit. Yesterday, I took the subway for the first time. It was extremelt crowded, packed from shoulder-to-shoulder. 세화 (my older host brother) and I went to Lotte World with Manuela and her host brother. Lotte World is a bit like Disney World, only better because it's Korean. It's a huge amusement park with part inside and part outside. I'll have to show you pictures when I come back home. It was great! I've been kind of relaxed today. Well, for the most part. My host mother and father have been trying to teach me some Korean. I have a Han'gul (alphabet) test tommorow. Wish me luck. Love you guys both. I'll continue to write lots and lots. Still need to get writing paper before I can snail mail though. Miss you!