Regular Korean language class at CNU

Once you start studying in Korea you might feel the urge to start learning the Korean language. Especially, because not all Koreans speak English with you. Don't expect a vendor to answer your questions in English, or to even understand you ^_~
Most of the time, when people see that you don't understand what they are saying, they just start to repeat the same sentence over and over again.

CNU offers two different language classes - an intensive one and the regular course.
The intensive language class starts in the second week of the semester. It's 20 hours a week as far as I remember, so five days each with four hours of class. This class is not for free. But as exchange student you will get a 50% discount (at least, that's what I was told). The costs are about 450€.
If you decide to take this class: be prepared, it's hard work. You won't have time for more than one other course. But you will learn a lot!

I took the regular class, which is for free. During Orientation I was told that the regular class also starts in the second week of the semester. Lies!!! ^^;;
The class started (not just this semester, also last year) one month later in April! It's three days a week, each class taking two hours. There's a beginner and intermediate level. You can choose between daytime (4pm to 6pm) or evening class (7pm to 9pm). The quality of this course depends on your teacher. I am taking the daytime class, but the students in the evening class have the better teacher. They learn more and better in using the Korean language.
On negative thing about my teacher is that she can't really speak English. She knows some words, but doesn't explain the grammar you will learn. You can conjugate verbs, but you'll never know if you say "I'm going" or "I go".... If you really want to study a language like this you have to do some extra homework. But my teacher is really fun. She brings us snacks, fruits, juice and other Korean food to class ^^

Another thing about the regular class are the student teachers (teachers in training). After a few weeks you a lot of "old" people will be sitting in the class with you constantly observing. In the break time in between classes they will all storm to the front to get the signature for their attendance  (“⌒∇⌒”) Some will start talking to you out of the blue; very friendly people. After one month the student teachers will take over the lessons. Sometimes this is fortunate (some can give you explanations in English and answer your questions), but most of the time you will be at a disadvantage. All of them will talk a lot in Korean! This doesn't mean that lectures are boring. The student teachers are very motivated. We still get snacks, fruits and one day we even got beer, and we play games ☆～（ゝ。∂）

The book we use is called  한국어 1 - Korean 2nd Edition from Seoul National University (SNU). This is a very bad choice. You might think SNU knows how to teach a language, but they did not exactly cover themselves with glory. You can't find good explanations in this book. Sometimes explanations are placed as notes, in small letters, some pages after the example sentences. This is not how you do it, guys!!! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ
.... And this fact will bring you even more extra homework.

So my progression in the Korean language isn't really tremendous. I am kind of disappointed with this outcome. I can speak some basic sentences, but when Koreans talk to me I still can't follow.

Eating Ddeokbokki (very spicy rice cakes)

Juice and snacks

Sticker book for children - or language students

Learning how to shop

"Do you believe in Jesus?" in Korea

Being someone from the West, not looking Korean at all, you might hear the following question very often:

Do you believe in Jesus?

I get this question at least once a month, and it also happens on campus. While going back to the dormitory from my morning class I met two people asking me; that's why I feel the need to post about this.

Before coming to Korea I thought the main religion here would be Buddhism, Confucianism and Shintoism (or a mix of all). In reality, I met a lot of Christians here. Most of my Korean friends believe in Jesus.

As in the West, the Christians try to get you to visit their church or participate in their events. The ones I met today were offering free English classes on weekends with highly skilled teachers. And being blond and having blue eyes, I always get spotted and approached by them.

I am Christian on paper, but don't believe in god or Jesus. I always try to avoid this people or get rid of them as soon as possible. So most of my conversations with these people go like this:

• "Are you Christian?"
• "No."
• "Do you believe in Jesus?"
• "No."
• "Do you believe in any kind of god?"
• "No."
• "Maybe you are busy...."

 ... yeeeeeeeah

Course selection at CNU

I did some brainstorming about the topics I want to write about in this blog. I have at least 18 more posts I want to publicize... A lot *-* Let's start! Or how the Koreans say: FIGHTING! 파이팅! or 화이탕!

So this post is about my course selection at CNU. My Korean is very bad, so I have to take classes that are offered in English. Before arriving in Korea (some weeks in advance) I got the English course catalogue via e-mail from the International Office at CNU. Skimming over the different classes, I got a good impression and found some interesting courses.

The first class starts at CNU at 9am! So late~~ At my university in Germany we usually start at 8:15am.
The last class finishes at 5:30pm (with exception of the regular Korean language class).

Filling my schedule with classes was very hard for me. There were several courses, which sounded interesting, but they all overlapped. The critical time were Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Every class seemed to be at the same time.
I also asked my international coordinator in advance when the Korean language class will take place, so I could choose my other classes accordingly.

I chose Engineering Communication, because it is training for writing and editing technical writings, giving presentations in English, preparing for job interviews, building teams and debating in English. These are skills I can use for my coming Master Thesis and the following job interviews.

I wanted to take Origin of the universe, but this overlapped with Engineering Communication. Origin of the universe was later cancelled, because too view students attended.

My second course was Applied Plasma Engineering. This is an important topic in my field of work (microtechnology and nanotechnology). So I hoped to take this credits back to Germany.

So I thought three courses (the two above plus Korean language class) will be enough. In the first week at CNU I visited Applied Plasma Engineering on Tuesday for the first time. I was the only foreigner in this class. Because it was my first time searching a building and room on the campus I asked the first student that entered the class, if I was in the right place... Guess what happened. He didn't understand what I said. The student, who came in one minute later could answer my question. I was really confused, because the guy was attending a class that is given in English. How can he not speak English?!?
So I sat down on an empty desk; not too far in the back; not too far in the front, and waited. A lot of students came in and stared at me. This was probably the first time they saw a foreigner in their class (and to top it all off a blond, blue-eyed girl).
Finally one guy found the courage to sit down next to me. On minute later he started talking to me. The first question (after my name and where I am from) was, if I had eaten lunch already... I was a bit confused, but answered honestly "no" which was followed by a "why?", etc... Apparently this question is pretty common in Korean, and has the meaning "How are you?" (see this video of an expat for it). I screwed up.. Never mind; honestly, this was the first and last time somebody asked me.  (＾▽＾)
Anyway, after the guy started talking to me five more guys joined the conversation and I was really relived about this good start in my first class. o(≧o≦)o

... the start was good, the rest a complete failure. The professor arrived late and then he started talking in Korean.... and kept talking in Korean. The guy next to me was really kind and tried to translate the important parts (team projects, exams, etc), but his English wasn't that good, so I didn't really understand everything he told me. The professor finished his introduction and then started talking to me.
Fact #1: His English was.... ooookay
Fact #2: He was talking very quietly
Result: I didn't understand what he was asking. He had to repeat his question three times, before I recognized that he wanted to know my department and what year I am in.
(funny fact: When I told the professor that I am a graduate student in Germany the guy next to me said "I think you are older than me." in a sad voice (°◇°;) )
Then the professor told me unemotionally "I think you will have a problem with this class."
My reply was "I think so, too."
He told me the class will be in English, but he will tell the important parts in Korean, so that the other students can understand them. If I have question I can always ask him after class. Then he ensured me the next class is going to be in English.
....
I went to class again on Thursday.... I waited for 55 minutes for an English sentence. He was talking in Korean the whole time! He sometimes said English words like "electron" or "ion", but that was it!!! He kept looking at me several times, but the only thing I did was stare back. After half an hour I started playing with my mobile phone. After 45 minutes I decided to leave the class in a moment of silence... But silence didn't come. the professor kept talking and talking and talking. He didn't even change the slide of his presentation (everything in Korean, btw). So after 55 minutes I put my stuff in my bag and walked to the door. Everything would have been okay, if this hadn't been a rainy day. My shoes where wet and squeaked on the floor. I made a lot of noise while walking to the door. Everybody was looking at me, even the professor stopped talking and looked after me with an indifferent face. Talk about embarrassing （*/∇＼*） but whatever. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The guy, who started chatting with me on my first day came running after me. He asked if I will change the class. I said yes, but gave him my e-mail address, so that he could contact me - he never did. I only met him once on campus, but we just said hi. I'm not the type to chase after guys....
So no more Applied Plasma Engineering!

Instead I had my supporter search for an English Conversation Class. I am taking the level 3 class now and I am happy with it ^^;;

My international coordinator also suggested the class Korean Communication and Culture, which I am taking now. But this class isn't very interesting. The professor talks about Chinese or Korean culture for over 60 minutes, where I would need only 5 minutes. We have to do presentations in this class, which make it a bit more endurable. But I have to admit, the professor is very dedicated. He took us on a field trip to a temple and asked a traditional Korean musician to visit our class. He also likes to invite students to his office and offer them authentic!! Korean tea. He is very much into this topic....

So that's it for my classes. I think I will tell you about the language class and the Engineering Communication class in a different post.

CU ~~~

The so-called Orientation

On the first Monday in March we had our Orientation. All the exchange students and their supporters gathered in a room in the International Building right next to the campus entrance. My supporter was missing this day, but there was another CNU student, who is able to speak German. He is the supporter of two other German exchange students. So he helped me instead.
We met the team, who is responsible for international exchange and their team leader gave a presentation with all the "important" information. They taught us about course registration, course cancellation deadlines, the Alien Registration Card, etc. We also had to fill in a lot of forms, for example for opening a bank account. Lucky are those with a short name, because you have to place your signature on these forms like a hundred times.

The Orientation ended and I didn't really feel orientated. I had hoped for an introduction of the campus, that they would tell us the important buildings, how we could get food at the cafeteria, where can I go shopping, what is the number of the phone in my room, where can I find specific information about the different courses, what language courses are offered, is there a sports program on campus, etc..... They didn't tell us any of this.

So maybe it is helpful if I write down the information I have gathered so far:

1. There are four cafeterias on campus. No. one near the dormitory, No. two in the same building as the Pan Dorothy café next to the main road (building No. E3), No. three in the same building as Hana Bank (building No. W8-2) and No. four in the same building as the post office (building No. N7). And don't expect the menu to be in English ^_~
   Cafeteria No. 3 serves good Bibimbap and also Chinese food. I heard No. 2 is the best choice for Tonkasu (Ger. Schnitzel), but be there early, as they only have a limited amount of Tonkasu. No. 4 is a good choice when you went to No. 2 too often.
   Otherwise, there are great restaurants in the district Gung-dong, right next to the campus, or you just grab some food at the convenience store or at Popeye's (burger) near the dormitory.
2. The big field next to the library (Makdong) is a good place for hanging out and drinking with your friends. As soon as it gets warmer, CNU students are all over the place having fun, while sitting on newspapers and eating snacks.
3. There is a gym in building No. E3. I heard it's around 10.000 Won per month.
4. Apparently, you don't need to have your Alien Registration Card, in order to get a Korean phone number. One of the French exchange students got his number when he came to Korea.
5. You can use your bank account card and your student ID for T-money transaction, e.g. paying at restaurants, shops, or paying for subways and buses. You need to transfer money on the T-money-account. You can do this at an ATM (this option only exists in Korean), go to the convenience store near the dormitory and ask at the register or use the machines at the subway stations. I recommend you to use T-money for buses and subway, because then you can transfer without having to pay the fee for the next ride. This means, you can board the bus (1.100 Won) and then transfer to the subway at a later station without having to pay another 1.200 Won for the subway ticket.
6. You can find your room's phone number in your personal page of the dormitory website. Login to the website (https://dorm.cnu.ac.kr/html/) via the orange button in the upper right corner. Your login is your student ID (before getting your Alien Registration Card (ARC) it might be a different ID). Your password is set beforehand (if you won't get it while moving into the dormitory, go to the dormitory guidance building No. 3 - the last building on the dormitory area - 1st floor, turn right after the entrance and then enter the big glass door on the right side and ask for the ID and password). You will need to change it and after your got the ARC it is changed again to your birthday (YYMMDD). Hit the button "개인정보 변경" in the menu on the left side and then you can find the number at the point that says "전화번호". You also need to login this page if you want to participate in events organized by the dormitory (they will send e-mails, but not every exchange student gets them, so be sure to check out the Foreign Student Community on the website mentioned above).
7. There are two shuttle buses on campus. For the fastest way from the dorm to the campus entrance take bus B. For the fastest way from the entrance to the dorms take bus A.
8. Yes, there are English conversation classes. Be sure to ask your supporter to help you find some if you are interested. They won't be listed in the course list of English courses.

If I remember more, I update this list.

After the Orientation, you have until the next Thursday to hand in a list of the courses you will take. We also got time until the next day to tell the International Office if we wanted to participate in the Intensive Korean Class (this one costs extra money). But I will tell you about the Korean classes in another post. See you <3