Finals..... and it's over!

Finals today. I think I get anxiety all the time when I'm anticipating something to happen. So I slept at 2am last night and couldn't fall asleep for a while because I had been thinking about my finals today..... We have an interview for final where they gave us a bunch of questions to practice answering beforehand, but the teacher said that the more we can volunteer information ourselves without being prodded, the higher our points will be. It was so hard trying to make up all these phrases and paragraphs. My friend noted yesterday, "Could you have imagined that you could have written down this much Korean (we wrote down more than a page of self-introduction) a month ago?" No way. I didn't even practice writing at all. I mean, I didn't think I can even make up a Korean sentence before I come to this program! I know a lot of words, but I didn't know... or don't have the confidence, to make up any sentence. It's still hard for me to talk to Korean, especially the store people if they're not kind of they speak English back to me.... really makes me lose confidence in my communication skills. It makes me think, "are they speaking to me in English because my Korean sucks and they can't understand what I'm saying?" "am I too slow that they'd rather just speak in a language they think we can communicate together?" Sigh.

So we had our written test first, which I think I did alright. It wasn't too hard, but the spelling is what's gonna get me the most. I probably got at least 70% of it right.... After our written test, we were scheduled for our interview according to our last names. Each person has 10 minutes with another teacher (not our own) who interviews us. Some of my classmates and my interview don't start until like 2 hours after our written test, so we studied at this cafe near school called Soom Cafe.

Their drinks are not bad, but quite expensive. Probably for the nice atmosphere. We were the only ones there... and we got in as soon as they opened. The person working there was nice enough to let me order in Korean and let me make many mistakes without speaking English back to me. Phew. Makes me feel more accomplished.

Here are some of the drinks that we ordered. Yes... quite expensive. Probably about 7,500 won each. But then again, we stayed for 2 hours practicing our speaking.... so I guess it's worth it.

When the interview time got closer, we went back to school to wait for our test. I went in at 12:30pm and the teacher started asking me questions for interview. It was not bad, but I keep feeling like I was volunteering more information than she wanted, and it's actually not particularly good to give more than you need. I think the Korean way of grading is very different from the American way of grading. I suppose in the asian system, they grade you based on whether you "meet the standard" of whatever they are trying to check off the list. They're not looking for creativity or fulfilling information; they just want to check the box. So the content can be superficial and boring, but as long as you hit the grammar points they want you to include, you should get high marks. Well.... I went with the American way, which I thought was above and beyond, but is not quite what they want me to do. At least that's what I think happened. We'll see tomorrow.... because we get our grades tomorrow morning.

So here's what's happening tomorrow. We get to school at the same time as usual, get our final back for grade disputes, have a graduation ceremony, and then we all go eat at a buffet that the school pays for. Everyone is saying that tomorrow is the last day.... and it is. We're all so sad :( We just can't believe that this program has come to a screeching halt.... after speeding for so long. Wow. Five weeks of intense Korean learning, lots and lots of sightseeing, and all of a sudden... after an intense night of studying for finals, it's over. It will be over. And then we go back to our home country. It seems so..... I don't know... sudden. All of a sudden it's back to reality we go, as if things that happened here just stay here. I guess I'm still in a state of shock, that we end on Friday, and people take the flight back on Saturday. Wow. And then we may never see each other again! Sigh, I'm gonna be so sad :(

Not sure what to think about it at all.... but I gotta get my shopping down. So I went to Ewha University shopping street today and bought some clothes, haha. Then walked back to Sinchon and browsed at a music store... because I still haven't gone into a music store. The CDs are definitely much cheaper than they sell in US. I believe the last time I checked, the CDs cost $22 each? But here, it's about 15,000 won. Found Got7 section!

Thought about buying it... but then thought that I really wouldn't listen to the music that much, and I can probably buy a few more clothes with that money. Haha. So yeah.... probably not gonna be a teenager and buy it.

I walked back to school and realized that I really haven't toured the school before. So yeah, I started taking some pictures of this school that I probably will never attend again. This is actually one of the best schools in Korea, probably the top 5.... so yup, I would probably have never gotten in if I were a Korean student!

I was gonna start touring the campus and then the hills reminded my legs of the steepness, so I quickly gave up the idea and just went back. Korea is really hilly. You'd think being in Seoul, which is a metropolis, it would be flat.... well, yes, all the touristy streets are flat, but as soon as you even sidestep from the main street, you would encounter ALL THE HILLS. Crazy hills. Seriously. Crazy hills. And it was hot today. I mean, the national alarm for heat advisory went off again and my backpack was soaked with sweat when I was walking around... so no, not gonna climb the hills.

Tomorrow's probably gonna be a picture day, since we'll be taking a lot of pictures with all these new friends that we'll probably never see again :( And teachers as well :(

....and then my friends and I are planning to go to noraebang, which is the karaoke room. I still haven't gone (I also still haven't gone to jinjjabang, but that's probably not gonna happen)... really wanna see what it's all about. I also haven't tried soju or somaek, but that's ok. That's probably something you can do in America anyways. After noraebang, we're planning to go to Hanuel Park to sightsee.

Until tomorrow folks!