jeonjaeng iya, geopjaeng iya
A couple of things: I finally got my transcripts so I am only waiting on bank certificates before I can send in my visa! (Well, those and a passport photo, but yeah.) So that's good! I'm really looking forward to this entire process once it really gets underway.
Class registration begins on January 30th, and I'm hoping to take these classes:
- Intro to Linguistics
- Studies in Korean Shamanism
- International Politics of the Korean Peninsula: Foreign and Inter-Korean Relations
- Korean Cultural History
- Korean (the language)
So basically a shitload of Korean culture classes, but honestly, I chose to go to Korea because I'm so interested in the country's cultural history and politics. So of course I'm going to take classes in things that are related to that interest.
Ah, I almost forgot! For those of you who like the whole expat blog deal, I now have one here. It's pretty unexciting right now, mostly me complaining about my visa application, but when I get to Korea I imagine it'll be one of the first places I update people about my various adventures (uh, assuming I have adventures, lmao). I also still have the Headphoneclash website here, now new and improved with an actual header image and hosting server, etc. So, if you want to check those out, go for it :D
Unrelatedly, except that it's a recent thing, I woke up at noon today and immediately started reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I'd pre-ordered the book on Amazon like a month before it was released, and a few days ago I received it by mail. I put off reading it for a while because I wasn't sure if I was ready for it-I knew it would be sad, and I thought I needed some time to prepare. Turns out I was right.
The book is about a sixteen-year-old thyroid cancer patient named Hazel who attends weekly Support Group meetings, goes to classes, and struggles with how she's going to make the most of her life before her inevitable death. And then she meets Augustus Waters, who changes the way she views the world. This is of course a very shallow summary of what the book is really about, but it's hard for me to say more without giving it away.
I love John Green's writing style, but what I love more is the way that his writing doesn't shy away from talking about the tough shit in life-in this case, death and dying, and our constant struggle to make something of ourselves before we all disappear. Hazel is a quirky and charming and funny narrator, but there are some moments throughout the novel where it's apparent that she is also a very scared teenage girl, and that kind of raw honesty of narration is really tough to find in literature. The Fault in Our Stars is sad, but it's not sad in a tragic, no-hope-left-for-the-universe way.
I don't want to give away spoilers, but I recommend this book hugely-it's lived up to the Nerdfighter hype and then gone above and beyond. It brought me to tears. Writing rarely brings me to tears. I'm fortunate enough to be seeing John Green speak in person in Portland on January 29th, and then I plan to thank him for writing this. I don't really know what you say to someone whose writing is your own inspiration for becoming an author, lmao. I guess "thanks" and "don't forget to be awesome." See ya :)
this came from dreamwidth follow me there yeaaaaah
Class registration begins on January 30th, and I'm hoping to take these classes:
- Intro to Linguistics
- Studies in Korean Shamanism
- International Politics of the Korean Peninsula: Foreign and Inter-Korean Relations
- Korean Cultural History
- Korean (the language)
So basically a shitload of Korean culture classes, but honestly, I chose to go to Korea because I'm so interested in the country's cultural history and politics. So of course I'm going to take classes in things that are related to that interest.
Ah, I almost forgot! For those of you who like the whole expat blog deal, I now have one here. It's pretty unexciting right now, mostly me complaining about my visa application, but when I get to Korea I imagine it'll be one of the first places I update people about my various adventures (uh, assuming I have adventures, lmao). I also still have the Headphoneclash website here, now new and improved with an actual header image and hosting server, etc. So, if you want to check those out, go for it :D
Unrelatedly, except that it's a recent thing, I woke up at noon today and immediately started reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I'd pre-ordered the book on Amazon like a month before it was released, and a few days ago I received it by mail. I put off reading it for a while because I wasn't sure if I was ready for it-I knew it would be sad, and I thought I needed some time to prepare. Turns out I was right.
The book is about a sixteen-year-old thyroid cancer patient named Hazel who attends weekly Support Group meetings, goes to classes, and struggles with how she's going to make the most of her life before her inevitable death. And then she meets Augustus Waters, who changes the way she views the world. This is of course a very shallow summary of what the book is really about, but it's hard for me to say more without giving it away.
I love John Green's writing style, but what I love more is the way that his writing doesn't shy away from talking about the tough shit in life-in this case, death and dying, and our constant struggle to make something of ourselves before we all disappear. Hazel is a quirky and charming and funny narrator, but there are some moments throughout the novel where it's apparent that she is also a very scared teenage girl, and that kind of raw honesty of narration is really tough to find in literature. The Fault in Our Stars is sad, but it's not sad in a tragic, no-hope-left-for-the-universe way.
I don't want to give away spoilers, but I recommend this book hugely-it's lived up to the Nerdfighter hype and then gone above and beyond. It brought me to tears. Writing rarely brings me to tears. I'm fortunate enough to be seeing John Green speak in person in Portland on January 29th, and then I plan to thank him for writing this. I don't really know what you say to someone whose writing is your own inspiration for becoming an author, lmao. I guess "thanks" and "don't forget to be awesome." See ya :)
this came from dreamwidth follow me there yeaaaaah