Yesterday, Zacharias, David (은택), Phillip (대언), and I tried to invite him out but he didn't answer his cell phone at all for a couple times across a long time interval.
So then we just went out to a boardgame room and played some games without him. He must have had his own private party somewhere else. It will forever be a mystery.
In Korea, there is not really much to do for a "fun time." I mean, there is, but it is always the same thing, so it gets boring, fast.
There are PC rooms, karaoke rooms, boardgame rooms, restaurants, clubs, shopping, parks (sports), and amusement parks. I am not an out-going person, so half of these options are something I would not want to do. Therefore I always try to find new and fun activities to do with my Korean friends; stuff that I would do in the States. They may be fun, but not always safe.
We like playing games where the loser wins pain. Those games are always fun. I hear it is Korean culture to play games like this, but it would be nice to play games with greater pain involved. :D
Sunday, December 31
Saturday, December 30
Final Days of the Current School Year
We had finals last week, for the whole week.
Then after finals, there is one more week of school. Then winter vacation starts after that.
Today is the last day of school.
The week inbetween the finals and winter vacation is very easy to the students, compared to the other school days.
Like you would think: there's not much to do now that the finals are over. Nothing more done will affect our grades. So what do the students do? Self-study. That's right. If there's nothing to do, the students would self-study anyways, so for this 'special' time, they self-study for a week, or just talk and play around in the classrooms.
Oh! But you have to be quiet or your class well get yelled at by a teacher that comes by regularly to check up on the classes!
Then after finals, there is one more week of school. Then winter vacation starts after that.
Today is the last day of school.
The week inbetween the finals and winter vacation is very easy to the students, compared to the other school days.
Like you would think: there's not much to do now that the finals are over. Nothing more done will affect our grades. So what do the students do? Self-study. That's right. If there's nothing to do, the students would self-study anyways, so for this 'special' time, they self-study for a week, or just talk and play around in the classrooms.
Oh! But you have to be quiet or your class well get yelled at by a teacher that comes by regularly to check up on the classes!
Thursday, December 28
High School Life, From a Foreign Exchange Student's Perspective
I have been here in South Korea for 132 days now, and the lifestyle here is very harsh for high school students. Heck, even for middle school students.
Every student here competes each other very intensely for better test scores to get into better universities. My high school starts around 7:30 and techinically ends at 17:00, but the students stay to self-study until 22:00, which is the time when the school closes. Then they go home, study some more, sleep late at night around 2 or so, then wake up and go to school again in the morning and arrive before 7:30. They also study 7 days a week, from Sunday to Saturday. But on the weekends, they go to school only around 9:00 until around 16:00 or so.
Therefore, they have absolutely no time for me. Some of my friends who study abroad in America before feels so bad for me, as they had a lot of fun in the States, but here, all they do is study and they cannot show me a good time here. But I manage. I spend time with my home-stay family and have fun with them and neighbors. I also hang out with college friends once in a while, who I have met from other people and friends.
But sometimes, when I have absolutely no one to be with, I play online games by myself or with my family and cousins back in the States.
If you plan to study abroad here as a high school exchange student, well, do not expect much. But hey, don't take my word for it. As long as you make a lot of friends of all ages, not just your high school classmates, then it'll be a great experience! Or if your classmates just doesn't study, then you can have fun with them! But it wouldn't be so good on their part...
As for other level of educations, such as middle school or college, I can guarantee that your school life there would be much better compared to high school life.
Still, I like the choice of studying here as a high school student.
Every student here competes each other very intensely for better test scores to get into better universities. My high school starts around 7:30 and techinically ends at 17:00, but the students stay to self-study until 22:00, which is the time when the school closes. Then they go home, study some more, sleep late at night around 2 or so, then wake up and go to school again in the morning and arrive before 7:30. They also study 7 days a week, from Sunday to Saturday. But on the weekends, they go to school only around 9:00 until around 16:00 or so.
Therefore, they have absolutely no time for me. Some of my friends who study abroad in America before feels so bad for me, as they had a lot of fun in the States, but here, all they do is study and they cannot show me a good time here. But I manage. I spend time with my home-stay family and have fun with them and neighbors. I also hang out with college friends once in a while, who I have met from other people and friends.
But sometimes, when I have absolutely no one to be with, I play online games by myself or with my family and cousins back in the States.
If you plan to study abroad here as a high school exchange student, well, do not expect much. But hey, don't take my word for it. As long as you make a lot of friends of all ages, not just your high school classmates, then it'll be a great experience! Or if your classmates just doesn't study, then you can have fun with them! But it wouldn't be so good on their part...
As for other level of educations, such as middle school or college, I can guarantee that your school life there would be much better compared to high school life.
Still, I like the choice of studying here as a high school student.
Introduction
Hello everyone.
My name is Bee Ki Yang. I was born on April 15, 1988, and I am an Asian-American currently studying abroad here in South Korea. I am not Korean, however, as many people has made this assumption. I am Hmong, which is a minority ethnic group that mostly resides in China. Therefore, I have that "oriental Asian" look, with the very dark-brown hair and eyes.
I have already graduated from high school in the United States in June 2006, and decided to study abroad in South Korea. I arrived here in August 2006, two months after graduating. Some people question why I would want to go to high school here and not college. Well, I came here for the experience. College life anywhere are similar to each other, but high schools and lower level education systems are what is unique in other countries. I did not want to miss out.
I am fluent in two languages - Hmong and English. I also study Japanese and Korean, but I am no where close to being fluent in either languages. I studied Japanese for 3 years and Korean for 4 months.
I am fascinated with computers, and aim to be a software programmer in the future; specifically video game programming. I am currently learning Flash, but it is very difficult.
I hope that you readers out there will enjoy this blog, and get a taste of High School life here from a foreign exchange student's perspective, as you also will receive from a teacher and other Korean students.
My name is Bee Ki Yang. I was born on April 15, 1988, and I am an Asian-American currently studying abroad here in South Korea. I am not Korean, however, as many people has made this assumption. I am Hmong, which is a minority ethnic group that mostly resides in China. Therefore, I have that "oriental Asian" look, with the very dark-brown hair and eyes.
I have already graduated from high school in the United States in June 2006, and decided to study abroad in South Korea. I arrived here in August 2006, two months after graduating. Some people question why I would want to go to high school here and not college. Well, I came here for the experience. College life anywhere are similar to each other, but high schools and lower level education systems are what is unique in other countries. I did not want to miss out.
I am fluent in two languages - Hmong and English. I also study Japanese and Korean, but I am no where close to being fluent in either languages. I studied Japanese for 3 years and Korean for 4 months.
I am fascinated with computers, and aim to be a software programmer in the future; specifically video game programming. I am currently learning Flash, but it is very difficult.
I hope that you readers out there will enjoy this blog, and get a taste of High School life here from a foreign exchange student's perspective, as you also will receive from a teacher and other Korean students.
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