The high school I attended was a private catholic institution in which most of the kids were from one of the two catholic middle schools in town. I, however, had attended public from kindergarten through eighth grade. This meant all my best friends were going to be learning at a different location for their high school education and I would be headed to a place where I would be the new kid.
In the first week of high school, I meet many new friends. One of which was Jenny Kim. Jenny entered our high school with much more difficult circumstances than me. She was an exchange student from South Korea and came to the United States for her education. Her English was exceptional and she was one of the sweetest people I had ever met. Seeing as we both didn't know too many people in our grade, we bonded quickly. Since we were in both the honors program, almost all of our classes were together and it was in these that I we got to talk most. Jenny was my first friend that had come from a different country and I enjoyed asking her to say things in Korean and ask about different aspects of her culture.
Over our four high school years, Jenny became one of the most well like people on campus. She fit in with everyone else despite coming from a different country. By the time graduation came around, it was a sure thing that she would be our valedictorian. She was excellent in all subjects. What was most impressive about this was her ability to outdo many of her peers in English which was not her first language. Jenny now is back in South Korea going to school. She is someone I have been blessed to meet and be able to call a good friend.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Some Bad News
This past week Bianca an I were supposed to meet again for our second to last meeting. Unfortunately I received a text message from her saying that her husband and she had to fly back to Korea due to the unexpected death of her mother in law. Since we are no longer able to meet I decided to research old rituals that Koreans performed after a loved one has passed away. Today, most people no longer use these same practices or they have been modified to fit the current times.
One old belief many Koreans used to hold was that if a loved one passed away due to illness or natural causes while not in their own homes, their spirit would linger and be a ghost in the place they died. To make sure this was not the case, families would take drastic measures to take a dying loved one back to their home before they actually passed away.
Once a the person died, the family members would begin to dress in very simple clothing. No jewelry would be worn by the women and they would also not keep up their hair. The length of their clothing depended on how close they were to the victim who had moved on. A family member of the deceased would also take a piece of clothing (usually a jacket) from the person who died and go up on their roof. Waving the ariticle of clothing they would call out to the deceased three times and then go put the clothes on the body of its original owner.
These are just a few of the ancient funeral rituals performed by Koreans. Today, the funeral practices depend on family personal traditions and the religion the person had practiced. I would like to aske everyone to keep Bianca and the rest of her family in your prayers as they morn the loss of a loved one.
One old belief many Koreans used to hold was that if a loved one passed away due to illness or natural causes while not in their own homes, their spirit would linger and be a ghost in the place they died. To make sure this was not the case, families would take drastic measures to take a dying loved one back to their home before they actually passed away.
Once a the person died, the family members would begin to dress in very simple clothing. No jewelry would be worn by the women and they would also not keep up their hair. The length of their clothing depended on how close they were to the victim who had moved on. A family member of the deceased would also take a piece of clothing (usually a jacket) from the person who died and go up on their roof. Waving the ariticle of clothing they would call out to the deceased three times and then go put the clothes on the body of its original owner.
These are just a few of the ancient funeral rituals performed by Koreans. Today, the funeral practices depend on family personal traditions and the religion the person had practiced. I would like to aske everyone to keep Bianca and the rest of her family in your prayers as they morn the loss of a loved one.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Teaching Bianca about Thanksgiving
On about our fifth time meeting as conversation partners, I began to learn more and more about Bianca. Her favorite television show is Friends. She discovered the show while still living in Korea and it always makes her laugh. Now to help with her English she enjoys watching the show with Korean subtitles but listens to it in English. She has also come to like the drama Grey's Anatomy and practices English by watching it as well. When she gets to have free time, Bianca loves to go swimming or on a walk. I asked her if she had a dog that she walked with but she does not. Her husband really wants one, but Bianca is afraid their yard is too small. Also, it would be her alone with the new dog all day which means all the responsibility would fall on her.
At our fifth meeting, it was right before Thanksgiving break. I told her I would be going home for the first time since July and was going to see my family again. She was interested in what exactly Thanksgiving was so that is what our conversation centered mostly around. I started to talk about the history of the holiday and the feast the Indians and new settlers shared to be thankful for the harvest, but due to the trouble we had communicating I don't think she understood most of what I was saying. This made me switch to discuss the food and celebration my family has on Thanksgiving. I told her of my family all meeting at my aunt's house where we would all have a great feast. We discussed the turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, pie and all the other foods I was going to be eating. I also brought up how we would also all be watching football which led me to find out that while her husband has become a fan of the sport she has not.
It was a lot of fun to be able to discus and tell Bianca about an American holiday. I could tell that she found it all interesting. Sometimes I forget that not every country celebrates the same holidays and every culture has some unique to them.
At our fifth meeting, it was right before Thanksgiving break. I told her I would be going home for the first time since July and was going to see my family again. She was interested in what exactly Thanksgiving was so that is what our conversation centered mostly around. I started to talk about the history of the holiday and the feast the Indians and new settlers shared to be thankful for the harvest, but due to the trouble we had communicating I don't think she understood most of what I was saying. This made me switch to discuss the food and celebration my family has on Thanksgiving. I told her of my family all meeting at my aunt's house where we would all have a great feast. We discussed the turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, pie and all the other foods I was going to be eating. I also brought up how we would also all be watching football which led me to find out that while her husband has become a fan of the sport she has not.
It was a lot of fun to be able to discus and tell Bianca about an American holiday. I could tell that she found it all interesting. Sometimes I forget that not every country celebrates the same holidays and every culture has some unique to them.
Bianca Lee
Over this past semester I have been able to make a new friend who without me being in Literature and Civilizations II I would have never met. This new acquaintance is my conversation partner named Bianca Lee.
On our first meeting we went to the bookstore. In order to plan this meeting we communicated through email. After reading her emails I was able to tell she was not going to be a very good English speaker just yet. This was proven true when I talked to her for the first time as we began to chat at our table by the Starbucks in the bookstore. We had a difficult time trying to talk to each other and get the other to understand what we were saying. However, I was able to tell her some basic background about my life and learn some about hers as well.
Bianca is from South Korea and has been in the United States for about a year. She has been married for 5 years and her husband's company is the reason she had to move here from Korea. Back in Korea, her mom, dad, sister, and brother all still live. Right now she does not have a job yet and is a housewife. While attending school in Korea, she got a degree in social work. This is something she loves to do and thinks that she will eventually want to get a job doing while she is living in the United States. The only drawback to this as a career, according to Bianca, is the low salary a social worker is normally paid.
After are first meeting, I could tell Bianca missed her home country a great deal. She does not necessarily enjoy learning English because of its difficulty yet she was excited about the prospect of having more meetings to help practice in conversation. I left the bookstore excited to get to know more about Bianca over the semester.
On our first meeting we went to the bookstore. In order to plan this meeting we communicated through email. After reading her emails I was able to tell she was not going to be a very good English speaker just yet. This was proven true when I talked to her for the first time as we began to chat at our table by the Starbucks in the bookstore. We had a difficult time trying to talk to each other and get the other to understand what we were saying. However, I was able to tell her some basic background about my life and learn some about hers as well.
Bianca is from South Korea and has been in the United States for about a year. She has been married for 5 years and her husband's company is the reason she had to move here from Korea. Back in Korea, her mom, dad, sister, and brother all still live. Right now she does not have a job yet and is a housewife. While attending school in Korea, she got a degree in social work. This is something she loves to do and thinks that she will eventually want to get a job doing while she is living in the United States. The only drawback to this as a career, according to Bianca, is the low salary a social worker is normally paid.
After are first meeting, I could tell Bianca missed her home country a great deal. She does not necessarily enjoy learning English because of its difficulty yet she was excited about the prospect of having more meetings to help practice in conversation. I left the bookstore excited to get to know more about Bianca over the semester.
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