The Spring semester started today and it makes me feel right at home. Of course, by that I mean I have no classes and the ones I want to get in I can't get in and every contingency plan I had for making a good schedule has failed. So, I haven't gone to any classes yet but it's only 12:30. I am on my very last plan (take only Korean Language classes) and even that has some issues. All the classes in English, including grad. school classes, are available for international students to take... except the grad. Korean language classes. These are, of course, the classes I wanted to take because then I wouldn't have classes on Friday (long weekends). Well, it's not like having Friday classes is the end of the world but it's just not ideal. So, for probably the 8th time, I'll be re-making a schedule and trying to register for those classes. It's almost like I'm back at UW-Milwaukee.
As I was walking to the OIA office this morning, to check on grad. Korean classes, I was stopped and talked to (twice) by Koreans. The distance from the dorm to the OIA office is about one city block. So, I guess not looking "foreign" will continue to have a lot of draw backs here. When the other exchange students and I go out the waiters always think I'm part of a different group and people just assume I speak fluent Korean. It probably wouldn't be as bad if I didn't know Korean. But, I know just enough to kind of understand what they say but not enough to converse with them. Oh well.
On the bright side, today the campus actually has people around. Places are open and the weather's nice. Yesterday I went to a store and got a real pillow. The one they provided was a balloon (blow up) pillow. I also picked up a lamp and since it's from Korea it doesn't need the converter plugs or something to change 220V to 110V. I still need one of those. Well, time to get ready for class.
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haha, BJ, don't you know you're supposed to get a converter before you go abroad? Find a Radio Shack, and I bet you'll be set.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I remember that all of the Chinese-Americans that studied abroad in China, but didn't speak fluent Mandarin, had that same problem. At one point, one guy named Chris, got really angry about it. He would get offended every time someone asked him something in Mandarin. Actually, he said that some taxi drivers and stuff thought he was just being a jerk and wouldn't speak Mandarin. They thought he was trying to be stuck-up and only speak English or something.
But then again, there was a taxi driver that argued with my friend, Alice, and said she was Korea or Japanese and wouldn't believe that she was Chinese, because she seemed foreign in looks (b/c she dressed like an America).
From your first post, I thought you were going to run into the same types of instances.
On the bright side, at least you know enough Korean to get a grasp for what they're saying... and then you can improve faster, b/c you'll be caught off-guard on a daily basis!