Before I came here, Vancouver, I thought that six months would be very short time to improve my English, so I just wanted to broaden my horizon in Vancouver. Actually, after coming here, I realized that six months are not short time to improve my English because I can feel now my English is more better than just two months ago. In Korea, I usually studied English especially focused on grammar, spelling , reading and so on. So I was not good at practical English skills like communication with foreigners. However, coming here, I tried to hard to say something even if it’s not correct on English grammar and after few months I found myself my English more get better.
I also realize that it’s so short time that I should say good bye to my new good friends. It’s the most big problem which I can’t imagine at all before coming here. I couldn’t expect I could make such a good friend in here during just less than 6 months. However, I made really great friend in ELI where many people came from different countries. In 8 weeks, I’ve learned English with new friends from 8 am to 4 pm from Mon to Fri. Since we are all have same purpose which is studying English, and also most of friends are in similar age with me, therefore, it took short time to get close with them. Also, here, Vancouver, is not our home country, so sometimes we get stuck, missed family and friends, had difficulty in dealing something which is not accustomed to us. As we all are in same situation, we could understand each other easily, so it makes our friendship more strengthen relatively short time. However, almost the time we say good bye to each other is coming in front of me. In my life, I have few times like this to say good bye to my precious people, so these days I’m very sad. I don’t know what am I going to do and how can I act to them. But, one thing that I can sure is that I should enjoy my left days in Vancouver with them not to regret in the future. So…. today also…. I will enjoy my day in here!
In Korea, there is no nude beach at all. If some people say about need of nude beach in Korea, they may be killed by public. On the other hand, in Vancouver, it seems like that people don’t care about the ‘Nude Beach’ at all. ” Why? Who does care about that? It’s none of my business if someone takes off his clothes outside.” In UBC, my university in Vancouver, there is a huge and popular nude beach called wreck beach. At first when I heard about that beach, I thought that I will go the beach if I am crazy. However, many friends around me from Korea went the nude beach, and their interesting stories about the nude beach made me have more interested in the beach. So What happen? Finally, I went there. It was awesome. When I get into that beach through long stairs, I couldn’t see anyone because I felt so shame ,so I just walked around the beach as seeing the sand. After few minutes, I could see some people and changed my thought, in my eyes they looked like that they didn’t care about someone’s seeing, they just enjoyed their times without any clothes. It could have many meanings and taught me lots of things. It’s enough to live our life enjoy by ourselves and satisfied with the life. Our life will be very short time if we take care of all of things such as someone’s judgement about me for my behavior. That nude beach gives me this valuable lesson. Actually, I’m still thinking that I can’t take off clothes even if in the wreck beach, however, I CAN understand people who are going to the nude beach. This event is one of important happenings in my life I’ve ever experienced.
My industry is education, so I think about kinds of teachers these days I saw. In Vancouver, I have seen many kinds of teachers, who sometimes are totally different from Korea’s and sometimes are similar to Korea’s. Among these various kinds of teachers, there is one special teacher I’d like to talk to you guys. I met a one Canadian teacher who has long time teaching experiences in both Asia and North America. Since he has been teaching in Japan and Korea for many years, he is well knowing about Asian culture also. For example, Asian students expressed respect to teachers more than North American students such as by giving something to their teachers in two hands, bowing to the teachers like that. Also we, students who are from Korea, know about that Western people are more punctually than Asian even in class time. However, one day, in lunch time, some students didn’t be in a class, they were late just one minutes, and even in their own watches the time is still on time. The teacher locked the door and said that clock which was in class showed that one minute already passed and only that clock was the right one for time. Not only students who didn’t come in class on time also students who were in class got embarrassed, because we all knew that the teacher also was late on first class about 30 minutes without any excuse and the day before that lunch time he wasn’t on time after lunch break. It doesn’t make sense at all. Some students got angry to him and protested about his behavior, but suddenly the teacher talked about Asian culture and forced us to be a polite to him. Oh My God…! What a strange situation! As you know, we are just students and have no power at all, there is just one way we can do that just keep silent to pass by that time. This happening makes me think a lot of thing. In the future, if I be a teacher, I should keep my behavior just one way and always do in right away like I am in front of lots of people who are more upper than me.
Hey guys, I’m Alisha, Jae Shin Kim, from Korea.
I’m majoring in English Education in Hong-Ik University, and now I’m a sophomore. The reason I chose my major is that the only interesting thing I felt is about teaching someone. In particular, English is most stimulating subject for me when I was in a high school , finally I entered the English Education department. Since I want to be a English teacher, I came Vancouver to improve my English skill. I’m satisfied with my decision, because in here I’m learning and acquiring a lot of thing more than I thought before coming here. I’m interested in teaching people especially middle school or high school students. Therefore, I taught many high school students, when I was a freshman and sophomore.I have been tutoring two high school students who are siblings for about 6 months, during that time I sometimes felt happy and found myself to push me to try doing my best because of them. However, I’m sure that this experience made me think more strongly about my future which is to be a teacher. I’m still young so I might change my mind about what I want to be and what kind of job I want to get. The one thing I can be sure is that I will work at the place where related to language, beauty and global. These three things are the words which can show my interest at all. I really hope in a few years that I can find well-matching job for me and have a nice family.
