Hello again,
My program is officially over. my five weeks in Korea has truly gone by in a flash. I remember the first week seemed to go by so slowly, but now it is officially over.
Reflecting on my time spent in Korea learning the language, I have come to realize that my journey in learning Korean will not be a sprint but a marathon, I must be in it for the long haul. Coming into this trip, I expected to be placed into a level where I would be learning all new things.
Instead, I was placed at a lower level, that ended up being a combination of material I had already learned, and some new material. At first, I was a little upset about not placing as high as I thought I would, but then I realized that I needed a stronger foundation to build my Korea upon. Although I had already “learned” some of the material back at Notre Dame, I wasn’t comfortable with it. Thankfully over the course of this summer, I have grown a little closer to the language and I’ve been able to achieve the goals I set for the summer. My goals this summer were about getting more comfortable with using the language while also learning more about Korean culture and history. By being in Korea for a month, I was able to achieve this goal by learning through my friends, my teachers, and from the locals that I met.
My time abroad this summer has been a fun and productive time. I was initially a little worried about traveling to Korea for the summer. The language barrier, navigating the city, and the fact that I would be alone for the summer was scary. However, all these worries dissipated overtime once I realized that life in Korea wasn’t as hard as I thought it was, Thankfully, I fell into a good group of friends to help make my summer journey not only bearable but very memorable.
I’m thankful that I got to spend my summer in Seoul and I’m also thankful that I will be returning in the Spring semester to experience more of South Korea. Once I get back to Notre Dame, I will continue studying and applying myself in Korean and hopefully, by graduation, I will have taken multiple steps forward in my journey of learning Korean.
Until Next Time, 안녕!!