훗훗훗!

* = Hoot Hoot Hoot!

Hello, blogosphere!  It's been awhile.

Another apology for once again disappearing for forever the better part of the fall (is it really December?  Time has been moving faster than usual lately).  This time, my absence was not due to some vague, separation-induced depression, but actually had a far more relieving cause: I simply got too busy to blog.

Wait, what?  Dana, you say, wasn't it not so long ago that you were whining and bitching about being lonely and having no money and nothing to do?  Well, yes, it was; but suddenly that all changed with four shocking new developments: 1) all of a sudden, a bunch of people wanted me to teach them English and now I have 4 clients (sort of) and am south of the Han River on most weekdays tutoring, 2) I made friends and like spending time with them, 3) Level 5 ate my life, and 4) I decided to apply to graduate school for admission next September.

The first really needs no elaborating, except that I am in love with all of my tutorees (all of whom are friends of Jung Min Unni's parents).  They are SO NICE to me, it's absurd; for one, they are definitely overpaying me, and for two, they feed me ridiculous amounts of food.  I mentioned this to a certain unni of mine once, and her reply was, "Oh, well...they're Catholic, so they really believe in giving charity to the poor."  THANKS.  But seriously, such good jobs, such good people, and such an unparalleled and beautiful opportunity to get to know more people in this country.

The second will get elaboration in the form of photos (and walls of text; I would be remiss if I didn't sing everyone's praises individually and then make you sit through it).

은아 언니!  Euna is one of JM's friends from college and also happens to be super cute.  She is doing a master's program at Ewha, so we used to run into each other randomly around the university (I am guilty of shopping there entirely too often).  We are pictured here in an Italian restaurant in motherfucking Itaewon, where we drank a full bottle of champagne and ate pizza with walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and honey on it (seriously, Korea?).

My friends from 소망 교회 (Somang (Hope) Church, located in Apgujeong-dong).  Even I still can't believe I joined a church, but I have to admit that everyone there is basically lovely and I really enjoy going.  I attend worship service for college students every Saturday.  The worship and service are entirely in Korean, so I maybe understand about 60% of what's going on, but hey, at least it's listening practice?  But because they put the words to the songs on a big projector, I can follow along - it's just like karaoke!  This picture is from my 22nd birthday (Oct 16, so you can all send me your belated congratulatory wishes) - they got me an ice cream cake!

SEOUL PHILHARMONIC UNNIES.  I wish that this picture wasn't blurry.  Oh my God, I love these girls.  This is also from my birthday (Jiwon Unni, pictured second up from the right, also had a birthday in October, so we had a little joint party).  What a wonderful bunch of women.  I feel so lucky to know these people.

I have definitely said in this blog (I think?) that I believe we meet everyone we do for a reason, and Habin, my language partner, is absolutely no exception.  The fact that we were able to meet at all is almost miraculous, because she just happened to post on the Ewha message board the day that I decided to look there to find a language partner; the fact that we actually really like and get along with each other is definitely miraculous.  I am so grateful to her for being someone I know I can always count on in Korea, and I really look forward to spending the next 6 months rollin' with this girl (p.s. she's graduating soon!  OH MAH GAD!).

The most amazing, wonderful people in Korea - JM Unni's parents :) They have always treated me like a daughter, and for that I am grateful beyond words.  I actually don't even know what to say here, that is how much I love these people.  I...I just really love them.  My relationship with them has made my time in Korea so much more meaningful.

That was so sweet.  I might have shed a tear.

Anyway, the third also needs very little elaboration and can probably be summed up with the phrase, "Level 5 is a bitch."  And it really is.  I have never, ever worked so hard at Sogang.  The level was made worse by the fact that my teacher was kind of a bitch herself (and not that great at teaching) and the lack of any resting time (we only had 3 days off in the entire semester).  By the time finals rolled around, I was half-dead.  But the upshot is that though the level was incredibly challenging and very demanding, I learned a TON and definitely improved in all critical areas.  My speaking final grade was the highest of any of my other speaking finals, which was surprising and really encouraging.  I think I'm finally getting the hang of this, you guys!

And the fourth: yes.  I am applying to grad school.  My apps (all two of them) are due in two weeks-ish, and because Amurrican grad schools require the GRE, a solid portion of my fall semester was spent studying for that (not that it really did me any good to prepare, stupid standardized tests).  My top choice (and I will probably regret putting this on so public a forum) is Harvard, where I hope to pursue a master's degree under the Regional Studies - East Asia program; my backup is the University of Washington, which actually has a Korea Studies master's program within the Jackson School of International Studies.

I know, I know.  Originally, I wasn't planning to apply to grad school so soon; I entertained a thousand other options, like staying in Korea to work for 1-2 years after I finish the Light Fellowship, going to graduate school at a Korean university, joining the Korean circus and eloping with the ringmaster (okay, obviously I made the last one up).  But a couple of things made me change my mind:
- Despite my repeated insistence while working at SML that graduate students were the most miserable creatures on earth, I realized that I miss classroom learning and am comfortable in the academic calendar.
- Recent tensions on the Korean peninsula, dating all the way back to the March sinking of the Cheonhan, have further inspired me to want to do something meaningful and worthwhile with my linguistic abilities.
- I realized that I am not a do-er and therefore would probably make a miserable diplomat or ambassador (crying in front of world leaders would be horribly embarrassing), but I have a great passion for learning about Korea and talking about Korea, and it would make me exceedingly happy to devote my life to educating American students about the importance of Korea so that some of those students may go out and...er, do things.  Essentially, I realized that I want to become a professor of Korean studies, to do research and work that contributes to the American understanding of Korea as an extremely geopolitically and strategically important peninsula in terms of global security.  I want to be part of a growing movement in academia to establish and grow Korean studies programs at prominent American universities; my dream is to be part of establishing one at Yale.  How do I do this?  I go to grad school.  And since all of this will undoubtedly require a doctorate and years and years of study, I want to get to it while I'm still young.  The RSEA program at Harvard is a necessary first step to that doctorate because the dearth of coursework on Korea available at Yale has left me with an embarrassingly paltry arsenal of knowledge about Korea's political, social, and cultural history.  Being passionate will only get me so far; I need to seriously substantiate it.
- Some will remember that I took a trip to America in November (which was lovely, by the way), and on the runway as the plane was about to take off at Incheon Airport, I realized that I can never, ever, ever leave Korea for good without the prospect of coming back.  I love this country.  I love these people.  I love this language.  And I want to ensure that my future is full of (funded) chances to come back and learn, live, and work here.  I am fairly confident that getting into a grad program, particularly the one at Harvard, will not only allow, but will require to me to come back here at least once every year, for research or internship purposes, and that prospect makes me exceedingly happy...except for the fact that I hate the Korean summer.  Oh well.  I could learn to live with it.

So that's that, and my fall was spent doing research, studying for that damned GRE, working on a personal statement, and doing pretty much everything I can to make this happen.  I won't know til March if I've gotten in, but I think I've certainly put my best foot forward.  Wish me luck!

I really want to get back to posting regularly, because I have things to say that people should read.  I want to talk about how I went to a Korean eye doctor to treat an eye infection and wound up having to get hard contact lenses (true life: the doctor had trouble finding lenses that fit me because my eyes are "larger than the average Korean's."  Really, Korea?).  I want to talk about my day-to-day observations, which are getting more interesting as I'm getting better at Korea and have been here for longer.  And I want to talk about the developing tensions between the Koreas (I'm fine, guys.  No war yet.  But seriously, fuck you, China.  I hate you).

And so I'll make every effort to come back and post - I promise!  Consider it an early New Year's resolution.

p.s. If you're back in Korea on winter break, holla at me!  JM arrives in a week, SO MUCH HAPPINESS :)
p.p.s. my new banner pays tribute to four of my very best Korean friends in the world - 재원 언니, 정민 언니, 신 동생, 재인 언니.  Though we are all in separate places, I love you girls and miss you every single day.