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When my family moved from South Korea to the United States, we experienced a lot of culture shocks. From the way schools were run to the way people acted; everything was totally different from where we had come from. My parents, being older than I am and having been more accustomed to the Korean culture back home, struggled to find their niche in the States. They ended up finding a similar immigrant Korean community and merging in with them. As for me, I was forced to be put in to challenging situations like at school where everyone was speaking English and had different mannerisms than I did; I was forced to adapt and learn to assimilate or become like the rest of the Americans. Adding on to the challenge was that I was only an insecure middle school kid when I had to go through the challenge so there was definitely added pressure to assimilate. It took me a while but I absorbed the subtle differences in the nuances and mannerisms and was able to fit in to a point where unless I explicitly tell people, people usually can't tell that I grew up in South Korea. It was definitely a tough and long learning process.

This week I want to learn how to introduce myself and be able to talk about myself in Urdu. I was more concerned with saying hi and just starting the conversation in previous weeks but I feel that the next step should be being able to talk about myself in a very basic way. 

In order to get to this stage, I have been using google search for a lot of questions I have regarding how to say things. I've also been utilizing the resources I was given like byki and mango. Biggest help of all has been consistently coming from youtube videos as well.

I am interested in the "Culture Shock"  video because it did reflect my experience of being an international student who first came to America and started to study here for four years. The idea of "honeymoon phase" made me have a better understanding of my experience here after first coming two months. At the beginning, I did not have homesick due to new environment and things. However, after two months, I realized there were huge differences between America cultures and Chinese cultures and I found some of them were difficult for me to overcome. For example, even though there are plenty of food choice in dhall, I still missed the Chinese food so much and found that I was not able to get used to the oily and fried food here. Moreover, in China, we usually wash clothes and then put them dry under sunshine. But here people use dryer machines. The culture shock happened nearly everyday when I came to America after two months. Although there are lots of differences in cultures, I enjoyed learning the diversity and adjust myself in order to make the transaction more smoothly. 

My learning goals for this week is to finish learning how to ask and answer questions about my identity and to begin leaning how to talk about my family. I have been using various sources such as YouTube videos, BYKI, mango languages, and practicing with my language partner and with my Korean friends. There are also more websites online that have helped me learn how to talk about my family such as this website: 

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Language/korean.cfm?Subject=family

My%20Learning%20Plan.docx

The 'Culture Shock' video was very interesting because it showed the experience of an international student or faculty when the first arrive to this university and how they experience the American culture. Because I have lived here my entire life it was very interesting to see what an outsider feels and thinks about when they come study abroad or work here in America. I would have to agree that culture shock is something most people experience, mostly after the so called "honeymoon phase." When I went to study abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, I definitely remember experiencing culture shock after about a month of being there. At first I found everything extremely fascinating, but after about a month or so it was hard for me to adjust to some of the things in their culture. For example, the food they ate was not always good to me because I felt like they did not have as much of a variety of foods to chose from in the school's meal plan. I remember that one of Scotland's famous foods called 'blood pudding' was served for breakfast everyday, and I really disliked everything about blood pudding. I eventually got very tired of the food they served at the dinning hall and tired of eating the same thing all the time. Another thing I found shocking was the difference in school systems. In Scotland, they only give you one big assignment and a final exam, so basically your class grade was based on two things, which to me was very shocking and terrifying. I did like that I did not have to do homework every night, but I was scared that if I failed one assignment then I would only have the final to make up for it. The grading system was completely strange and confusing, and till this day I still do not understand how they grade things. Finally, another culture shock I did enjoy was that we did not have to participate in class like we do here in America. I enjoyed going to class and just listening to the professor because I honestly hate participating. I hate that they grade participation here in America, so it was a relief not having to worry about that while abroad. 

A very prominent cultural trend in Korea that I would like to learn more about is cosmetic surgery. Though I am aware of the ideal Korean beauty standards of having a small V-shaped face, big eyes, a high-bridged nose, and a rounded forehead, I am curious as to how these standards came about and also why these standards are so ingrained in Korean society that a significant number of men and women end up "going under the knife". My learning goals for this topic is to find some historical background on these beauty ideals and the main reasons these ideals are so prevalent in Korean society today. Furthermore, I aim to find information of possibly evolving beauty ideals to see if these standards are unchanging or if they are capable of being flexible over time. 

*I have changed my topic for my culture project to looking at the attitude of South Koreans to North Korean defectors*

A very prominent cultural trend in Korea that I would like to learn more about is cosmetic surgery. Though I am aware of the ideal Korean beauty standards of having a small V-shaped face, big eyes, a high-bridged nose, and a rounded forehead, I am curious as to how these standards came about and also why these standards are so ingrained in Korean society that a significant number of men and women end up "going under the knife". My learning goals for this topic is to find some historical background on these beauty ideals and the main reasons these ideals are so prevalent in Korean society today. Furthermore, I aim to find information of possibly evolving beauty ideals to see if these standards are unchanging or if they are capable of being flexible over time. 

My goals for this week were to improve my conversation skills and learn more useful vocabulary.

I used the Hello Talk app once again to accomplish these goals since not only was I able to have an actual conversation with a native Korean speaker but I was also able to practice my reading and writing skills through text. Through this app I was able to practice my speaking skills over the phone for around 40 minutes with a friend by talking about basic information such as my family, my age, and where I am from. I also learned more school-related vocabulary such as international business "국제경영", macroeconomics "거시경제학", engineering "공돌이", and dorm "기숙사". Furthermore, I have become more familiar with colloquial language. For example, I learned the expression "쏘다" and "골든 벨 울릴게" which means "I'll pay this table" but in literal terms means "these ones" and "ring the golden bell" are used when treating someone to a meal or a drink. 

My learning goals for this week are to introduce myself (where I am from, what I am studying, how old I am and my hobbies) and to introduce my family and friends in detail.

Personally since I have never consumed alcohol, the drinking culture in Korea is something that I have found interesting. There are many drinking games out there and drinking tricks that are beyond the realm of “beer pong”. I am aware that when going out to dinner or for drinks with your seniors, it is customary for your senior to give you a drink and if you refuse it is considered rude. What I question is what happens if you just don’t drink at all because you don’t want to consume alcohol. I know that it is a cultural thing, but I think that people should respect your decision as to not drink. I want to learn about the drinking culture more, such as what age is it legal to drink in Korea. What do you do if you refuse a drink from your senior? What are some popular drinks and drinking games in Korea?  I will learn more about it by looking at YouTube videos from sweetandtasty and by reading the infographics by Dom&Hyo.

 State your learning goals for this week and how you went about accomplishing these goals.

• Goal: My goal for this was to work on task 1, goal 1 of my learning plan: I want to be able to ask for directions and give directions. 

   

• This week, I worked on Mango Languages' Chapter 1 -- as a fresh reminder -- and Chapter 4 titled "Getting Around Town."
• I watched videos concerning directions on youtube.
• I read articles pertinent to my goal.

Progress:

I reviewed

• "How do I get to?"
• "What bus number do I take?"

Answers:

• "You need to go straight, to the right and to the left."
• "That direction."
• "Go to street..."

For Sherut (Particular to Israel -- "shared taxies"

• "Give me the receipt please."
• "Drop me off here please."
• "How much is it?"
• "I want to go to..."
• "This is the right cab, right?"

Tickets:

• "Where can I buy tickets?"

I reviewed these terms with my language partner.

What I have been working on: I am continuing to learn more vocabulary, both religious and basic day-to-day things.

Statement: I want to be able to sign complex sentences.

Strategies: Practicing fingerspelling. Repetition. Watching videos of people signing (without captions).

Effectiveness: It is really helpful to watch videos without captions, because then I can figure out exactly what I do and do not know.

Building on what I have learned: I am just continuing to learn basic signs and learn how one sign can mean multiple things.

The video “Culture Shock” really showed the struggles that international students and faculty have at the University of Richmond and in America in general. As an international student, I can identify myself with most of the things that were said in the video. Culture shock happens every time we leave our home country. It is, in fact, something natural. It really occurs after the honeymoon period, as Dr. Bhatt would say. First we like being in a new environment, because everything is interesting. But soon, we start seeing the bad side, namely those things that differ from the country we come from and which we have problems understanding. We feel nostalgic, and we start questioning why we are even here.

I remember when I came to study here. At first, I found everything exciting. I met and became friends with other international students during International Orientation and I had the chance to visit the city. It was essentially like vacation. However, when the actual orientation started and I had a full schedule of activities with American students, I realized the difference between me and them. The way people communicate, their body language, the topics that they discuss. I felt alienated. When classes started, I felt overwhelmed with not only the class material, but the entire education system. Similarly to the international students in the video, I struggled with class participation and writing papers. I did not understand why I would have to raise my hand during the class and why there is a need for me to say anything. I thought that the professor should be the only person speaking and that students should be listening. I even started disliking other students, just because I did not have the courage to say something. Fortunately, I overcame that fear. Furthermore, writing papers was extremely difficult and time consuming. As Dr. Essid would say, international students had to do three times as much as Americans, because they had to operate in another language. The Honor Code was another big thing. First of all, I thought it was a joke, because I come from a culture where there is not even a word for something like this. I had a similar experience as the Turkish student in the video. I could not believe that a professor would ever leave the room during an exam.

Thus, my first semester was rough in terms of adjusting and adapting to the American culture, but also the university culture. However, now when I look back, I can say that I might have been too critical and that I judged too much, just because things were different, not bad. In my opinion, that is really what culture shock means, namely failing to understand and accept the culture you find yourself in, because of the parts of our own culture that we carry with ourselves wherever we go.

Reflect on the Culture Shock video and your own experiences and expectations of culture shock 

  Culture shock is an experience that a person moves to a new cultural environment which is different from his or her own. He or she might feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar in the new environment. I googled online and found out that culture shock can be described as consisting at least one of four distinct phases: honeymoon, frustration, adjustment and mastery. 

  The culture shock video touched me a lot. It talked about different aspects from international students such as academic difference, problems they have, how international students receive support and friends. All those problems are common for most of international students studying in US and struggling in their first semester.

   I had some same problems as they mentioned in the video. For academics, University of Richmond is restrict. Attendance and participation are required and important which I didn't understand why at the beginning. Maybe I was shy to say in class since I was not used to express my opinions in class in China. We just listened to teacher and took notes, that's all. But in US, asking questions and expressing your opinions are important that is beneficial for professors to think from your aspect. So I changed gradually but the progress was hard. The most impressive shock I feel is that everyone is independent in US. They have friends, but they are independent persons. In China, I feel like I always stay with my friends almost everyday. We have classes together, have lunch together and study together. A few people are in a group and we stayed the whole day together until we went home. However, Americans they do have friends but they won't stick together all the time. Also, making friends is not very hard but having friends who truly understand you is hard. Since we have different cultures, I don't understand your culture and you don't understand my culture, it is even difficult to make jokes. 

   So cultural shock really exists and bring problems to international students. I agree with the suggestions someone mentioned in the video to be open-minded. Don't limit the ways of thinking and don't always insist your opinion is the best. Try to be open-minded and try different new things. Participating in more activities and making more friends. If feeling helpless, talking to your friend, your advisor and your favorite professor. 

   Hangul is the Korean alphabet system that has been used to write the Korean language since 15th century. The alphabet usually has 24 consonant and vowel letters but Hangul letters are grouped into blocks such as 한, each one is transcribes as a syllable. For example, 한 is composed of three letters :ㅎ h, ㅏ a, and ㄴ n. Those blocks are arranged horizontally from left to right or vertically from top to bottom. And the graph of Hangul is shown below:

   Consonant names have two-syllable names and it comes both at the beginning and end of the name which is shown below in table:   

   Vowel letters are simple, written with ㅇ ieung and the vowel being named. Here is the table for vowels: 

Table of Hangul: 

(A). Evaluation of the First Artifact conversation: 

   I post the first artifact conversation in Voki. It is a brief self-introduction about name, age, hobbies and my plan about traveling to Soul. It is not very long, but the sentence structure I used is a little bit complicated such as I want to do something and my favorite singer is XXX. I think the first artifact conversation overall is good, but later on I still need to make improvements in accent and fluency. The accent is hard for me to imitate but I will listen to more Korean conversations to improve my accent. Fluency is another problem and I will spend more time talking in Korean to have a better fluency next time. 

(B).Assessment of how well you met your learning goals for week 4 and 5: 

    My learning goals for week 4 and 5 were to be familiar with formal/informal greetings, farewells and introductions. I'm able to do a brief self-introduction which is good. Then, from the presentations in class, I understand and know more about Korean cultures. Generally, I finished the goal, but as I mentioned in the previous learning journal, fluency is a key point of evaluating speaking. Later on, I will work on that more. 

Reflection on the presentations: 

  It is very interesting listening to all the presentations from different aspects of culture, especially cultures from various countries. Some people talked about more traditional topics such as etiquette and New Year custom. Also, some modern topics were discussed such as Korean drama and skin care in South Korea. Overall, all the presentations enabled me to know more about the culture and the development tendency. 

  For me, culture is a combination of knowledge, belief, art, morals, low and any other habits as a member of the society. Becky Chen's presentation left a deep impression on me. Her topic was "Filial Piety in South Korea". The main ideas were positive influence, love and affection. Koreans respected their families following confucianism. They work hard, obey and protect their families. Young people show good manners towards family. The rules were very restrict in the past, but now more parents live apart from children, and they become more open-minded due to the western influences. 

  This reminded me of my childhood. Respecting and showing good manners to elders, having and obeying family rules all of these are parts of the Asian culture. Not only in South Korea, but also in North Korea, Japan, China, Thailand and so forth, it was an Asian culture in common. Personally, I believe having restrains for a child is beneficial for his development of habits and future growth. 

The culture shock video reminded me of my experience studying abroad in Switzerland. One big thing that I never got used to was the greetings where you kiss people 3 times on the cheek. I felt very uncomfortable especially when I was meeting a bunch of people at once. I heard that the Swiss were more reserved so I wasn't expecting kisses to be a thing. When I met people instead of saying it is nice to meet you they would say enchante in french, meaning enchanted. It kind of threw me off guard when I met guys that would say that to me. In my head it sounded way too romantic to be a casual greeting. One of the students in the video talked about he thought that he was supposed to explain how he really was when someone asked how are you. I think it's pretty similar in French. People would say ça va, which is just a casual how are you and could answer back with the same word meaning I'm fine. 

I definitely think I experienced the honeymoon phase. I was in love even before the plane actually touched the ground as I saw the mountains alongside the runway. Everything was so new and cool and I felt like I was on vacation. Settling into my host family threw in some challenges to the vacation phase because it was a period of adjusting into living like the Swiss do. I almost felt like I was in a less developed country, but it was just because people lived more simpler and therefore didn't have as many amenities in their house. For example, my host family had a washer but not a dryer so we had to hang our clothes and keep the window open, which got difficult as the colder months came in. I also noticed that my host family produced much less trash than I did alone. I think I stayed in my honeymoon phase all of my fall semester.  It was't until mid-spring semester where I finally felt the desire to go home and it wasn't because I was bored of Switzerland, it was more because I wanted to move on with my life and school. Thinking about Switzerland now makes me want to go back. But while I could see myself living there, I don't think I would actually live there. 

I thought the presentations were great, and a great way to show insight on various cultures. I learned a great deal about the South Korean's Lunar New Year, South Korean's superstitions and the age hierarchy that dominates its social customs, and a unique insight into the Greek culture with regards to its mindset.

South Korea's culture proves to be wholly rich. I learned about their Lunar New Year and its association with a reverence for their elders. The holiday lasts three days, and the day before New Year's day, the extended family travels to their home town, usually outside a major city, to get together. The day of New Years,  the family dresses in traditional clothing; and the kids bow down before their elders reciting a blessing. The males and the female perform the bow differently. Moreover, the food, and games they play, are unique to the New Year. The meal is served with a variety of "tapas" with the main dish constituting a rice-based soup. 

South Korea's superstitions too availed me an opportunity to learn about their minute -- as every culture has them, and thus readily make available an insight into their history and how they respond to circumstances. Two superstitions that struck me were the number "4," and the good like affixed to the thought of a pig. The number "4" sounds a lot like the Mandarin word for death. This shows that there is a certain amount of cultural / lingual cross-fertilization between the two cultures. As a result, buildings use a "f" to denote the fourth floor. Likewise, in the U.S., buildings usually skip the number "13" in their elevators. Dreaming of pigs I thought was interesting. When businesses open, the employer and employees and their friends gather around and roast a pig, but with a caveat: stuffing money into its snout. So, dreaming of a pig, allegedly, will bring you good luck.