Orientation, Cheonan, and the first week of classes

Last Thursday was the orientation for the international students at Anyang. In contrast to the two day epic orientation at SCH, this orientation was two hours long followed by a dinner at one of the nicest buffet restaurants in town. We were provided with a review of our "survival guide" and opened bank accounts in the orientation. After a very stress free orientation, we feasted on sushi, galbi, kebabs, and other fusion food. 

Last weekend I met with two old friends from SCH in Cheonan. I took the 2 hour subway ride from Anyang to Cheonan. There I met with Maya, my good friend who recently graduate from SCH in English education. I also met with Craig, who was an exchange student at SCH during my last semester and is back at SCH for a second time to study. It was great to see them again and see all the familiar places around Cheonan. While so much has changed since I last visited this rural metropolis, the markets and shopping malls have a comforting familiarity. 

On Tuesday, I had my first days of classes. I don't have any class on Monday, providing for me something I have never had: a four day school week. Very happy about that!

Here is a list (and a brief description) of my classes this semester:

Korean speaking and listening - pretty self explanatory. My teacher is a very energetic guy who asked us to call him "flower man." In our first day of class, he asked us to introduce ourselves with all the important things one must know about a person: name, age, home country, marital status, and number of kids. It led to quite an interesting conversation as each person introduced themselves!

Korean reading and writing - Again, pretty clear. This teacher was the teacher for the beginning class last semester, so it will be interesting being the only new student in the class. 

Cross cultural communication - This is a class that includes "I-chat" which is similar to the exchanges I had while at SCH. In class, we will talk about culture focusing on differences between East and West. We will also have two hours a week of meeting with different Korean students and engaging them in English conversation. 

Korean society - This is by far the class I have enjoyed and most excited about thus far. While I have taken other classes in modern Korean history, this class will integrate history with how it has shaped elements of the culture. 

Ari Leadership - This class is a combination of Korean and international students that focuses on discovering one's identity and purpose. It is taught by the head of the exchange program here, which will bring an interesting dynamic to the class. 

Traditional painting - This is an art class taught entirely in Korean. We will learn some calligraphy as well as methods to paint many iconic images in Korean art (bamboo, flowers, etc). 

I also joined the English journalism club at Anyang. At the first meeting, we discussed our game plan for writing the one full campus newspaper for the semester (because the club must pay for the printing, it is too expensive to publish multiple newspapers each semester). We divided into subjects for the paper with one international with five Koreans. My team will be writing three articles about international issues. I am excited to be more involved on campus and to work with fellow students in improving their ability to write formal articles. I am also excited to meet more Korean students on campus, since so many of my classes and my dorm is composed of only non-Koreans.