You travel, you learn

Now that I am back home from Korea for about three days now, I have reflected a lot about my time there. It was my goal to be productive this summer, and as of yet I have accomplished more than just being productive; I've grown in many ways, met new people, experienced a different culture and embarked on a new territory in a region I have always wanted to go.

Although Korea did not feel like a complete culture shock, much of what I experienced justified the other culture I was raised by - Asian culture. I am not Korean, but some of the traditions (not all) are similar to Vietnamese. Getting to experience a non-Westernized country (although slowly becoming) was beneficial for me. Spending two months in Korea taught me many lessons. This summer (brace yourselves, I'm about to get a bit personal!) I realized that I was ditching my own 'kind of people'.

I make friends with anybody, regardless of their ethic background, but I always knew I was never part of an Asian community (which is one of the reasons why I went to Korea). I don't know why; maybe it was because I was raised in a dominating Hispanic community, but still, I never put the effort into making Asian friends. It irritated me sometimes because let's be honest, a lot of Asians in America group up with each other all the time and it sometimes confused me because it didn't seem open-minded. Little minded as I was, I realized all people with similar backgrounds group up together because  they don't feel a loss of identity like I do, and therefore they could relate to each other. Diversity is a great thing, but it's also always nice to be around people who grew up in similar lifestyles and traditions as you. Otherwise, you'd feel lost.

With that, I realized that I wasn't accepting myself. I believe I have Westernized myself so much that I forget to appreciate the valuable things that I should be grateful for - my family, my dual culture (or triple + British) and the traditions I grew up with - they should be embraced.

There are changes that I want to make in my life now and I want to be able to embrace and accept all that I am, as cheesy as that sounds. Making the most of what you have is the best way to live, isn't it? I do not and in no way have the intention on being racist or am I trying to bash on my own culture - for my whole life I have been very proud of my ethic background. I guess I should say, being brought up in two different cultures while having the Westernized, individualistic society dominating my sense of direction can get frustrating. Which in ways is funny because I can get pretty bitter about American culture and miss my life in Britain very much...let's just say that identity is a complex thing. It isn't about finding out who you are; it's about what you create in your life. And for me, thus far, my identity is a combination of all these things, whether I will figure them out or not, this is who I am. 

So thank you, Korea for helping me realize all of this. I've made such great friends with new people and have made stronger bonds with friends I've known in my life longer. This summer was one huge benefit for me and I will forever be always grateful for it.

And now, I will end with a video of this summer at Dankook, made by one of my wonderful students, Subin :)

To the next adventure ahead, this blog will always be updated :)

A few new things

Maybe I should have made a separate blog regarding an Asian American living in an Asia country (other than her parent's native country) for two months, because I have been learning loads about the culture here and things about myself.

I am Vietnamese. That is what I call myself when people from America ask what ethnicity I am. But when I am outside of America, people ask of my nationality, in which I address that I am American. It makes sense, right? A few days ago, one of my Korean students told me that I look Asian. I replied with, "Yes, I am. My parents are from Vietnam." They were in total shock, and followed up by asking "I thought you were American, not Asian!" This is the first time I have encountered this kind of situation, for my belief in American culture is that no one is American by an ethnic background, but by a nationality. I'm not sure if other Americans feel this way, but I have been at a loss about discovering myself as both an Asian and American for so long and a part of me doesn't know how to carry on. I learn American culture while at the same time, try to learn my parent's traditions. I find it hard to do both while pleasing my parents and doing what I want as well.

Other things that I have learned here is that Koreans really love foreigners. Since I am Asian, I blend in with them. A few Koreans have spoken to me in Korean, assuming that I know it. It's pretty funny though! Also! My partner teacher is from Wales, and I don't know whether his presence is the reason why I feel more homesick for the UK than the US, or just by being here makes me miss my former home.

Other than these discoveries, I have been having a really good time. I am currently sick, which refrains me from going out as much as I want. I went out every day of this week and the only time I got to blog about this is today because I am resting from being sick! It's nice to have some time to myself though - I've been hanging around with big groups of people and it can get exhausting. This morning I walked with some music on. I haven't listened to music in a while. Something simple like this helps me rejuvenate.

Koreans are very nice. I love my students, they make my experience a whole lot more amazing. I am enjoying teaching so much that I don't want the next two weeks to pass by so quickly. I also don't want to start the summer school classes. I think I enjoy teaching more than learning in classes. But for now, I will leave with a few photos.

Before posting my photos, I just want to thank everyone who has been reading my blog. It means so much to me that people are reading it.

I love Korea!

Hello from Korea!

My experience in Korea thus far has been great. It is beautiful here and Jukjeon is pretty amazing. I love how city-like it feels. I am happy to be in this kind of environment since I stayed in the countryside during my year in Wales. Korea is very beautiful, clean and the people are nice. I feel super safe here and people are very friendly.

So far, I have explore some parts of Jukejeon and went to Gangnum. I have eaten lots of great food and have more yet to try. There is a staircase that has about 12-15 flights up to from the dormitory to the front of campus and let me tell you, going up that staircase is EXHAUSTING but by the third day now I am getting used to it. Walking around in Korea feels like a workout already; with those stairs, plus walking every where and the humidity, it's like you're walking in a sauna all the time.

The majority of the people here are from California. There are three campuses here: Fullerton, Long Beach and San Bernardino. There people here from the states such as Michigan and Ohio, and other countries like Canada, the Netherlands, Wales, England and Germany!

Yesterday we had our first day of orientation and today we will continue with another session. We received packets yesterday that give guidelines on how to teach the classes. We also got to know who our partner teacher was. I am paired up with someone from Wales, so it is quite nice to be partnered up with someone from a country I used to live in! Plus, I think it will be cool to give our students insight culture in America and culture in the UK. We were assigned to each all advanced placement classes. At first I thought it would be a challenge, but then all my students will be great English speakers, so communicating with them won't be that bad. It will indeed be more conversational compared to the beginner or intermediate students. That doesn't mean I need to try hard to teach my students, so hopefully the orientation today will help me give insight on what to teach to them.

Things in price are generally cheaper here. It's so easy to get to Seoul, there is a train system in Jukejeon that connects to Seoul and it only costs about $4 for a round trip. There is a shuttle bus that picks you up from the campus and directly to the city center for free, so it is really nice to not always purchase a ticket to get somewhere.

So, there is yet still lots to come! I will leave with some photos I have taken thus far.

I will post more soon; until next time!