YE student shares experience in Korea

 

Things in Korea are great! I really love my host family, school is fun and we have lots of Rotary activities that keep us busy and introduce us to lots of Korean culture.

My host family is really amazing. I have my two parents, a little sister who is 3, a brother who is 17 and another exchange student from Taiwan (pictured at right with Catherine), who they're hosting. Not all of them know English, so it's been really helpful in being forced to learn the language because without it, I literally can't communicate with some of them. They've been so great with bringing me to festivals, events, restaurants and always trying to explain their significance. They've all, at different times, sat down with me (and the other student) to give me some Korean tutoring and teach me new words. They're very supportive and I'm so excited to keep living with them for the next months! (Catherine is shown in photo below visiting a tea plantation in Korea.)

I started school last week. It has been quite an adventure! Many of the students have never seen an American in person before, so everyone is very excited to see me in the hallways. The students couldn't be more friendly and welcoming. They know some English, but they don't have very good speaking skills so we communicate in broken sentences of a combination of Korean and English. This is fun, and has really helped my Korean language skills along.

Besides taking us to lots of events and festivals, Rotary has organized a weekly schedule for us after school. Two days a week we go to Gwangju International Center, a place with lots of resources for foreigners in Gwangju, and have a language class to improve our Korean. We also have a weekly traditional Korean drumming lesson (photo below) and a taekwondo lesson. Every other week, we also have archery. These are all fun and keep us busy and immersed in Korean culture.

I'm so excited to hear how Claudio and Justine's year at Edina High School go!

Also: I have a blog that you and everyone at Rotary can feel free to follow if you want more information beyond my periodic updates to you: https://catherineleeinkorea.wordpress.com/
Hope everything is well in Edina!

—Catherine Lee