Do Young Kim/Ghost in my basement (Final)/Thursday 1-3pm

I never believed in ghosts. Ghosts and monsters were just nothing but an illusion that people came up with to sell their stories. At least that is what I believed until that one week in summer of 2011.

At the time, I was living in the basement with 2 rooms and a living room all to myself. There were two doors leading out of the basement and one was connected directly to the garage and there was a giant refrigerator which stored all of my refreshments and the other led to the stairs leading up to the first floor of the house. And in the living room, there was a giant couch enough to seat 4 people and a long, rectangular glass table. There was also an enormous TV with a 50 inch screen. And my bedroom was located directly behind the wall where the TV was mounted on and the other room was just used as my study as it was right next to my bedroom.

           I had a habit of drinking a can of soda every night when I came back home after work or my other daily activities as I watched something on the television. After I finished, I would place the can neatly to the right side of the table forming a horizontal line stretching across the table. After a week or so, I would finally decide to clean up and throw the cans out and repeat this all over again the next day. This was my nightly routine right before I went to bed and I have been doing it for quite sometime. But then I noticed something strange when I was on my way to work one morning.

           I always had good memory and I tend to count the objects around me to make sure that I stay sharp and not be confused about my environment. And the soda cans were included in my count at times. But one morning, I saw 3 cans of soda on my table. This raised my eyebrows because I could have sworn that I only had 2 cans of soda on my table last night when I was going to bed. I felt very weird about this situation but I had to go to work so I left without giving too much thought about it. However, when I came back that night, paranoia struck me again as I was drinking my can of soda sitting on my couch. So I counted the number of cans on the table just to make sure. One, two, three, four. There were exactly four cans and there should be only four when I wake up tomorrow morning.

           The next morning, I panicked. There were 5 cans of soda on my table. How could this be? Who drank that extra can of soda? How could I have not known who drank it? There were so many questions flying around in my head and I was worried because no matter how many scenarios I imagine, there was no way that someone can just drink that soda and left it on the table without me noticing it because of a few simple facts. First of all, I am a very light sleeper who wakes up to a mosquito flying around in the room. If someone opened the door and came down and drank my soda, I would have heard something and woken up. Secondly, my bedroom door was always left open because I had the basement doors to the garage and the first floor closed at all times and the basement is pitch black at night without any lights being turned on. This made it impossible for anyone to navigate through my basement without any lights turned on and I would have certainly noticed if someone had the lights on or even carried a flashlight. With all these mysteries boggling my mind, I decided to install a camera at the living room where the glass table was as I drank my sixth can of soda.  

           The next morning I panicked even more because there were 7 cans of soda on my table. Someone has visited while I was sleeping once again without me noticing it. However, I knew that my laptop's webcam recorded everything that happened last night facing the couch and the glass table so I was relieved that I was going to get an explanation as to who was stealing my soda in my own basement. When I played the video footage, I couldn't help but to be surprised. 

           A few hours after I hit the bed, there was a sign of movement in the dark without any lights on. I could hear the footsteps that were very quiet but steadily walking. But this was strange because I didn't see any doors leading to the first floor or the garage open. Did this mean that this thief was hiding in the basement with me right by him all along? How could have I not noticed when I was down here all along? Is he or it even human? Then I saw the door to the garage open and heard someone, or something taking out a can of soda from the refrigerator. Then I saw the mysterious creature walk to the couch and sit as it opened the can. Then I heard the television switching on as my television makes a clicking sound when it is turned on by a remote control. I was a bit scared but I knew that I could finally see who this culprit was with the light from the television screen. 

           When the television turned on, I was at a loss of words. The culprit was me. I was the one drinking that extra can of soda all this time. I also noticed that my eyes weren't blinking and my body wasn't moving one bit at all. It was like I was just a wax statue of myself in that footage. Then after an hour or so, I turned off the television after putting my can of soda in the line across the table as I always do and walked back into the bedroom.

           The bottom line was, I was sleepwalking and I didn't know about it. I knew that I was suffering from time to time because I couldn't fall asleep for days at times but I didn't know that it got to the point that I was sleepwalking. It got to me then that my mental and physical health is the most important asset I have. So I started to sleep right at early hours instead of sleeping at sunrise like before and I ate correctly as well. On top of all the life habit changes, I also went to see a doctor to get some counseling and help for my sleepwalking problems. With a swift measure to fix my sleepwalking, I no longer suffer from sleepwalking anymore. This was the moment I realized the importance of both physical and mental health. And as for my stance on ghosts and monsters, it stays firm until this very day. 

201103477 ChunYoungHo/ Thurs56

First

There is a moment that I clearly remember even now. In 2013, when I was sophomore in university I enrolled HUFS journal. Before then, I did not know that our school has a journal. I just applied the organization because my friend in major applied that organization. But it was a turning point in my life. I really satisfied with my career in HUFS journal. There were many chances to realize myself and enhance my writing, view to society and personality.

For the first few months in HUFS journal was very confused. Writing my opinion and covering news was very unfamiliar with me. Meeting interviewee and making some rapport was difficult for the first few times but it was precious moment. I met chief announcer of SBS and for the interview I had to prepare so much. Because the preparation for the interview decide the quality of the meeting. I search for the personal information about the interviewee and the topic of that meeting. By doing so, I can communicate better with the interviewee. Often the interviewee is the most specialist in the topic of the meeting, so it is important to prepare thoroughly to understand and progress smoothly.

Being a vice editor of the journal, I had to face some other difficulties. Our organization is autonomy so we are free from school official and headquarters. Our editorial rights are independent from anybody and we can criticize our school without any interruption. However our organization has a supervise professor. He usually exchange some thoughts, sights and views related to our coverage but cannot suppress his opinion. We respect each other. But last semester, one of our journalist tried to write and cover some topics of chancellor's pledge. We tried some contacts directly to the school office, and supervise professor warned by the school headquarter because he was judged by the school office as if he lost some initiative over us. Maybe, our school headquarter still thinks our autonomy as just a student's club. As being chief editor, I should care about the environment of our school society not just about writing and covering good news.

 

Working in a school journal is a good opportunity and I think it cannot be replaced by any other experience. Later I may occupy in pre-existing presses and the experience in here may be good indicator for my career. The society that I will face after I graduate will even be so harsh. I believe experiences in here will be helpful in those moments.

 

Final

There is a moment that I clearly remember even now. In 2013, when I was sophomore in university I enrolled HUFS journal. Before then, I did not know that our school has a journal. I just applied the organization because my friend majoring in journalism applied that organization. But it was a turning point in my life. I really satisfied with my career in HUFS journal. There were many chances to realize myself and enhance my writing, view to society and personality.

For the first few months in HUFS journal was very confusing. Writing my opinion and covering news was very unfamiliar to me. Meeting interviewee and making some rapport with them was difficult for the first few times but it was precious moment. I met the chief announcer of SBS and for the interview I had to prepare so much. Because preparation for the interview will decide the quality of the meeting. I search for the personal information about the interviewee and the topic of that meeting. By doing so, I can communicate better with the interviewee. Often the interviewee is the most specialist in the topic of the meeting, so it is important to prepare thoroughly to understand and progress smoothly.

Being a vice editor of the journal in autumn 2013, I had to face some other difficulties. Our organization is autonomous so we are free from school official and headquarters. Our editorial rights are independent from anybody and we can criticize our school without any interruption. However our organization has a supervising professor. He usually exchange some thoughts, sights and views related to our coverage but cannot suppress his opinion. We respect each other. But last semester, one of our writing manager tried to write and cover some topics of chancellor's pledge. We tried getting in touch with the school office, and supervise professor was warned by the school headquarter because he was judged by the school office as if he lost some initiative over us. Maybe, our school headquarter still thinks our autonomous as just a student's club. As being chief editor this year, I should care about the environment of our school society not just about writing and covering good news. I have to prepare for the financial audit and care about human managing. I have to recruit new faces and fire some problematic members. Also week, month, year schedule have to be planned by me. Contacting with publisher and publish our journal in time is also important.

Working in a school journal is a good opportunity and I think it cannot be replaced by any other experience. Later I may occupy in pre-existing presses and the experience in here may be good indicator for my career. The society that I will face after I graduate will even be more harsh. I believe experiences in here will be helpful in those moments.

Yu Seo Young/2nd Assignment-Final Draft/Thursday 1pm-3pm

Final Draft: 

 

Have you ever faced death in your life? If you are asked with this question, you may think, "Why does she bring up such a serious subject?" Interestingly, if you carefully go through your life history, you may find some life events that you consider so small, but actually it almost had taken away your life. The first essay that we read in class recalled me the event when I almost died.

 

It was a normal autumn day after school. I was a 6-year-old girl, and was going to turn 7 very soon. I was very much delighted to be released from school but I had a small concern. I had to be home all alone till my aunt came from work because my grandma went back to hometown to see her mother. I was trying not to think about all the ghost stories that I read on the books, and talked with friends. I told myself, 'It is not a big deal. You have done this several times. Auntie will come home soon and there are no such things as ghosts.' I took a big breath when I unlock the front door with the keys. The house was full of darkness, and I felt that the ghost would pop up from nowhere in the house, and that feeling got me so frightened that as soon as I put my school bag on the ground, I ran out of the house.

 

"BUMP!" Out of sudden, my body floated in the air and then dropped on the ground. I realized I was hit by a truck. The driver jumped out of his truck and came to me, "Oh, my goodness! Kiddo, are you okay?" I do not remember what I said- or if I had answered to his question, but what I needed to do was to get my auntie informed of my accident. I unlocked the front door again and went inside the house, and called my aunt at work. "Auntie, this is Seo Young. I got something to tell you, it is not a big deal, but I just got hit by a truck in front of the house. " As soon as I finished talking, I fell into unconsciousness, I could hear what was going on, it was just that I was not able to move my body. Something came out of my left ear – blood. It was a very unpleasant feeling, it was somehow sticky and unnatural. The truck driver took me to a hospital nearby, he was very nervous and scared, but then the hospital we first went to did not accommodate seriously injured patients, and I did not remember what happened next.

 

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on uncomfortable hospital bed, and my grandma and aunt looked so much worried. I was hospitalized in Yonsei-Sebrance. I do not remember the day I was hospitalized, I guess I must have fallen into deep sleep because of the medication. The next day, my doctor came in and talked to my family, he said I had a fracture in my cranium, and my family got so panicked. In order to get thorough examination of the brain, I needed to take MRI and they let me take sleeping pills so that I would not move during the examination. After examination, it was found out that the fracture had nothing to do with my brain. What is more, the doctor told us that it was really such a fortunate thing that blood came out of my ears. If not, I could have been a vegetable person. My family felt grateful that it did not turn me into a disable person.

To tell the truth, that memory of staying one month in the hospital is vague, and I did not give much concern to the accident. However, when I look back at the accident after growing up, I just find it amazing that I survived from it, and I realized that it was much more serious than I knew. My family did not tell me much about it when I was a kid since they were worried and shocked. I am truly grateful for my family's concern and attention, the great work of the hospital staff and my good luck. How I wish it would happen to the other people as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever faced death in your life? If you are asked to this question, you may think, "Why does she bring up such serious subject?" Interestingly, if you carefully go through your life history, you may find some life events that you consider so small, but actually it almost had taken away your life. The first essay that we read in class recalled me the event that I almost died.

 

It was a normal autumn day after school. I was 6-year-old girl, and was going to turn 7 very soon. I was very much delighted to be released from school but I had a small concern. I had to be home all alone by myself till her aunt came from work because my grandma went back to hometown to see her mother. I was trying not to think about all the ghost stories that I read on the books, and talked with friends. I told myself, 'It is not a big deal. You have done this several times. Auntie will come home soon and there are no such things as ghosts.' I took a big breathe when I unlock the front door with the keys. The house was full of darkness, and I felt that the ghost would pop up from nowhere in the house, and that feeling got me so frightened that as soon as I put my school bag on the ground, I ran out of the house.

 

"BUMP!" Out of sudden, my body floated in the air and then dropped on the ground. I realized I was hit by a truck. The driver jumped out of his truck and came to me, "Oh, my goodness! Kiddo, are you okay?" I do not remember what I said- or if I had answered to his question, but what I needed to do was to get my auntie informed of my accident. I unlocked the front door again and went inside the house, and called my aunt at work. "Auntie, this is Seo Young. I got something to tell you, it is not a big deal, but I just got hit by a truck in front of the house. " As soon as I finished talking, I fell into unconsciousness, I could hear what was going on, it was just that I was not able to move my body. Something came out of my left ear – blood. It was very unpleasant feeling, it was somehow sticky and unnatural. The truck driver took me to a hospital nearby, he was very nervous and scared, but then the hospital we first went to did not accommodate seriously injured patients, and I did not remember what happened next.

 

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on uncomfortable hospital bed, and my grandma and aunt looked so much worried. I was hospitalized in Yonsei-Sebrance. I do not remember the day I was hospitalized, I guess I must have fallen into deep sleep because of the medication. The next day, my doctor came in and talked to my family, he said I had a fracture in my cranium, and my family got so panicked. In order to get thorough examination of the brain, I needed to take MRI and they let me take sleeping pills so that I would not move during the examination. After examination, it was found out that the fracture had nothing to do with my brain. What is more, the doctor told us that it was really such fortunate thing that blood came out of my ears. If not, I could have been a vegetable person. My family felt grateful that it did not turn me into a disable person.

 

 

 

 
   

201103477/Chun Young Ho/Thurs56

 

There is a moment that I clearly remember even now. In 2013, when I was sophomore in university I enrolled HUFS journal. Before then, I did not know that our school has a journal. I just applied the organization because my friend in major applied that organization. But it was a turning point in my life. I really satisfied with my career in HUFS journal. There were many chances to realize myself and enhance my writing, view to society and personality.

For the first few months in HUFS journal was very confused. Writing my opinion and covering news was very unfamiliar with me. Meeting interviewee and making some rapport was difficult for the first few times but it was precious moment. I met chief announcer of SBS and for the interview I had to prepare so much. Because the preparation for the interview decide the quality of the meeting. I search for the personal information about the interviewee and the topic of that meeting. By doing so, I can communicate better with the interviewee. Often the interviewee is the most specialist in the topic of the meeting, so it is important to prepare thoroughly to understand and progress smoothly.

Being a vice editor of the journal, I had to face some other difficulties. Our organization is autonomy so we are free from school official and headquarters. Our editorial rights are independent from anybody and we can criticize our school without any interruption. However our organization has a supervise professor. He usually exchange some thoughts, sights and views related to our coverage but cannot suppress his opinion. We respect each other. But last semester, one of our journalist tried to write and cover some topics of chancellor's pledge. We tried some contacts directly to the school office, and supervise professor warned by the school headquarter because he was judged by the school office as if he lost some initiative over us. Maybe, our school headquarter still thinks our autonomy as just a student's club. As being chief editor, I should care about the environment of our school society not just about writing and covering good news.

 

Working in a school journal is a good opportunity and I think it cannot be replaced by any other experience. Later I may occupy in pre-existing presses and the experience in here may be good indicator for my career. The society that I will face after I graduate will even be so harsh. I believe experiences in here will be helpful in those moments.

LEE SHARON/MY EXPERIENCE IN KOREA (2 ASSIGNMENT)/THUR 13-15 PM

Do you know how it feels when you should have to move to another country for a long time and leave behind your family and friends? I'm gonna explain you my first experience when I was arrived at this country called South Korea. It's so awkward because my parents are totally Korean, but I was born in Spain and when I was younger, I learned Korean but not at all. Only the simple things. But suddenly, I was very curious about the country of my parents because all of my friends asked me from there, but I couldn't answer anything for the reason that I didn't know it any kind of thing about Korea.

So, my decision was moving to Korea alone for learn by myself all of the country with nobody's help and I tried to situated in the asian culture. I took the opportunity for study here and now is my third year since I came at Seoul. It's really long time but, it was so hard for me that I feel like this was my first year. 

I had many complications living here. First, I couldn't be able to talk very well Korean and I used to communicate with signs. You can saw this like a very common problem between foreigners, but for me was more sad because I have the asian features and all the citizens looked me like "She's Korean.. How she didn't know this?". Because of this reasons, I tried to learn speedly the language.

Second, I really didn't know anything about the culture and costums. In the special dates like Chuseok, I went to the grandparents house and there, I met all my family for part of my parents that I didn't saw them since 12 years ago. They really care about me, but a lot of times they didn't understand me because of my different culture and attitude. I can do things for help them but they can receipt this information in another way. Actually, it's still hard to tract them, but when you are in another country, you need to mentalize that you are the stranger and strive for make clear your purposes.

I will never forget my journey about living here because it's being a very good experience for myself and living without my people forces me to grow more fast for my future independent life. And I think that live in another country helps you to have a broader view.

LEE SHARON/WRITING AND ME/THURSDAY 13-15 PM

I attended this class for my first time since I began to study this career. The ambient of the class was so quiet but really interesting, because all of the students were so enthusiastics. How I reactioned to this situation? Sincerely, I feel a little uncomfortable and nervous. And the reason is, that my native language isn't English.. and Korean either (when all my classmates are Korean), so I didn't have any person who really understands me and can appreciate my culture. This is the reason why this simple class is a challenge for me.

The class began and we met each other asking about our lifes, hobbies, interests, etc and the professor said to write a freewriting. "What kind of writing I have to write?" It was my first question and I began to write but, at the same time, I noticed that I couldn't express and be able to show what I was thinking easily because I'm not fluence in this language.

But I don't will give up because learn Korean and English are my goals and speak them perfectly as a native.

Do Young Kim/Ghost in my basement/Thursday 1-3pm

I never believed in ghosts. Ghosts and monsters were just nothing but an illusion that people came up with to sell their stories. At least that is what I believed until that one week in summer of 2011.

At the time, I was just 20 years old and I was living in the basement with 2 rooms and a living room all to myself. There were two doors leading out of the basement and one was connected directly to the garage and there was a giant refrigerator which stored all of my refreshments and the other led to the stairs leading up to the first floor of the house. And in the living room, there was a giant couch enough to seat 4 people and a long, rectangular glass table. There was also a gigantic TV with a 50 inch screen. And my bedroom was located directly behind the wall where the TV was mounted on and the other room was just used as my study as it was right next to my bedroom.

           I had a habit of drinking a can of soda every night when I come back home after work or my other daily activities as I watched something on the television. Then I left the can of soda neatly to the right side of the table forming a horizontal line stretching across the table. After a week or so of accumulating the soda cans, I finally decide to clean up and throw the cans out and repeat this all over again the next day. This was my nightly routine right before I went to bed and I have been doing it for quite sometime. But then I noticed something strange when I was on my way to work one morning.

           I always had good memory and I tend to count the objects around me to make sure that I stay sharp and not be confused about my environment. And the soda cans were included in my count at times. But one morning, I saw 3 cans of soda on my table. This raised my eyebrows because I swore that I thought I only had 2 cans of soda on my table last night when I was going to bed. I felt very weird about this situation but I had to go to work so I left without giving too much thought about it. However, when I came back that night, paranoia stuck me again when I was drinking my can of soda sitting on my couch. So I counted the number of cans on the table just to make sure. One, two, three, four. There were exactly four cans and there should be only four when I wake up tomorrow morning.

           The next morning, I panicked. There were 5 cans of soda on my table. How could this be? Who drank that extra can of soda? How could I have not known who drank it? There were so many questions flying around in my head and I was worried because no matter how many scenarios I imagine, there was no way that someone can just drink that soda and left it on the table without me noticing it because of a few simple facts. First of all, I am a very light sleeper who wakes up to a mosquito flying around in the room. If someone opened the door and came down and drank my soda, I would have heard something and woken up. Secondly, my bedroom door was always left open because I had the basement doors to the garage and the first floor closed at all times and the basement is pitch black at night without any lights being turned on. This made it impossible for anyone to navigate through my basement without any lights turned on and I would have certainly noticed if someone had the lights on or even carried a flashlight. With all these mysteries boggling my mind, I decided to install a camera at the living room where the glass table was as I drank my sixth can of soda and left it on my table.  

           The next morning I panicked even more because there were 7 cans of soda on my table. Someone has visited while I was sleeping once again without me noticing it. However, I knew that my laptop's webcam recorded everything that happened last night facing the couch and the glass table so I was relieved that I was going to get an explanation as to who is stealing my soda in my own basement. When I played the video footage, I couldn't help but to be surprised. First, there was a sign of movement in the dark without any lights on but the movement seemed to be coming from where my bedroom was. Then I saw the door to the garage open and heard someone, or something taking out a can of soda. Then I saw the mysterious creature walk to the couch and sit as it opened the can. Then I heard the television switching on as my television makes a clicking sound when it is turned on by a remote control. I was a bit scared but I knew that I could verify who this culprit was with the light from the television screen. When the television turned on, I was at a loss of words. The culprit was me. I was the one drinking that extra can of soda all this time. I also noticed that my eyes weren't blinking and my body wasn't moving one bit at all. It was like I was just a wax statue of myself in that footage. Then after an hour or so, I turned off the television after putting my can of soda in the line across the table as I always do and walked back into the bedroom.

           The bottom line was, I was sleepwalking and I didn't know about it. I knew that I was suffering from time to time because I couldn't fall asleep for days at times but I didn't know that it got to the point that I was sleepwalking. It got to me then that my mental and physical health is the most important asset I have. So I started to sleep right at early hours instead of sleeping at sunrise like before and I ate correctly as well. On top of all the life habit changes, I also went to see a doctor to get some counseling and help for my sleepwalking problems. With a swift measure to fix my sleepwalking, I no longer suffer from sleepwalking anymore. And my belief that ghosts and monsters are just nothing but an illusion stays firm until this very day. 

Do Young Kim/Art of Persuasion(Week 2)/Thursday 1-3pm

       Writing to me was an art of persuasion. Writing helped me persuade many over the course of my life and I remember that my mother was the first one I persuaded with my writing. And this art of persuasion all started when I was just a little kid.

       When I was a little kid, I wanted many toys. Collecting toys made me feel rich and powerful compared to all the other children in my class and I wanted to just be the most toy rich kid in the school. But as a little kid, I could only get the toys that my mother bought me. This left me no choice but to beg my mom to get the toys I wanted because she was the only means to get what I wanted. But persuading my mother was a much greater challenge than I thought.  

       I tried to be cute, I begged on my knees, I gave her a massage, and I did all sorts of other things any child could humanly do to get just one toy that I wanted. However, my mother was stubborn and she would not budge unless she felt that I deserved what I was getting. Simply put, she was just not the type to spoil her children with toys and gifts. So one day, when I was just tired of begging and sorts, I just left her a letter on her bed for her to listing the reasons why I had to get the toy I wanted so badly. Strangely, the letter worked like magic and she surprised me the next day with the toy I wanted for so long.

       Later on, I asked her why she gave me that toy after just a single letter. She told me that she was proud that I wrote the letter neatly without any spelling errors and she felt happy that I was a much better writer than she thought I would be. To me, this memory defines what writing is to me, an art of persuasion. The pen is mightier than the sword indeed. 

Yu Seo Young/2nd Assignment/Thursday 1pm-3pm

 

Have you ever faced death in your life? If you are asked to this question, you may think, "Why does she bring up such serious subject?" Interestingly, if you carefully go through your life history, you may find some life events that you consider so small, but actually it almost had taken away your life. The first essay that we read in class recalled me the event that I almost died.

 

It was a normal autumn day after school. I was 6-year-old girl, and was going to turn 7 very soon. I was very much delighted to be released from school but I had a small concern. I had to be home all alone by myself till her aunt came from work because my grandma went back to hometown to see her mother. I was trying not to think about all the ghost stories that I read on the books, and talked with friends. I told myself, 'It is not a big deal. You have done this several times. Auntie will come home soon and there are no such things as ghosts.' I took a big breathe when I unlock the front door with the keys. The house was full of darkness, and I felt that the ghost would pop up from nowhere in the house, and that feeling got me so frightened that as soon as I put my school bag on the ground, I ran out of the house.

 

"BUMP!" Out of sudden, my body floated in the air and then dropped on the ground. I realized I was hit by a truck. The driver jumped out of his truck and came to me, "Oh, my goodness! Kiddo, are you okay?" I do not remember what I said- or if I had answered to his question, but what I needed to do was to get my auntie informed of my accident. I unlocked the front door again and went inside the house, and called my aunt at work. "Auntie, this is Seo Young. I got something to tell you, it is not a big deal, but I just got hit by a truck in front of the house. " As soon as I finished talking, I fell into unconsciousness, I could hear what was going on, it was just that I was not able to move my body. Something came out of my left ear – blood. It was very unpleasant feeling, it was somehow sticky and unnatural. The truck driver took me to a hospital nearby, he was very nervous and scared, but then the hospital we first went to did not accommodate seriously injured patients, and I did not remember what happened next.

 

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on uncomfortable hospital bed, and my grandma and aunt looked so much worried. I was hospitalized in Yonsei-Sebrance. I do not remember the day I was hospitalized, I guess I must have fallen into deep sleep because of the medication. The next day, my doctor came in and talked to my family, he said I had a fracture in my cranium, and my family got so panicked. In order to get thorough examination of the brain, I needed to take MRI and they let me take sleeping pills so that I would not move during the examination. After examination, it was found out that the fracture had nothing to do with my brain. What is more, the doctor told us that it was really such fortunate thing that blood came out of my ears. If not, I could have been a vegetable person. My family felt grateful that it did not turn me into a disable person.

 

 

 
 
   

Dong Yi Kang/ Being Fired for the First Time / Thurs 1-3 p.m.

            When looking back through my past for the things that have forced me to grow up, a single memoir of my first work pops up. During the 2010s, numerous institutions and restaurants by the name of 'kid café's popped up all over the nation. It was a craze, a fad for young mothers. The kid cafes, which are registered by law as 'restaurants', provide fancy meals and a wide space for children to play in. After receiving my admission notice from HUFS and several other universities, I was eager to earn money – tuition and other miscellaneous living costs – and naturally, I took an interview at a kids café located in Shinlimdong. They advertised that they provided English programs and English teachers – including Caucasians.

            My first interview was lousy – there was no other way to put it. I wore jeans and a sweater to the interview, and not much makeup because I was merely 18 and not even out of high school. The head of the institution was picky, saying things like "why do you wear glasses? Why do you not put on lipstick? The children like pretty teachers, not ones that look as if they study all night." The statement was offensive, but I couldn't help it – I was the one in need of money and a job. I was hired anyhow for my career – which included teaching English at community centers and interpreting at hospitals – and I was asked to come the next day.

            A surprising thing that I found about the kids café was the children. I realized that they were all charming, and some even gave me candy (which is like jewels to children!) and told me that I was pretty (the best compliment that you could induce from a 6-year old princess). Stunningly, one of the girls playing hopscotch lost a game and whispered into my ear, "My mama's going to fire you if you keep winning". The experience of being threatened by a 7-year old girl that her mama's going to fire me for not letting her win was stunning, but I quickly got out of the shock because all the other children were simply angels.

            This café that I was working at was not a public institution – it was a commercial café making profit out of children and the mothers.  It was a place to liberate mothers from children – and to provide education and amusement for the children, and to keep them away from the mothers while the mothers enjoyed beer and fancy food. It was very odd to see the mothers having beer and nice food and answering "oh, anything, just make sure that he's quiet" when asked for what their children like. It reminded me of Mary Lennox of the book Secret Garden, whose mother wanted her to be kept out of her sight, and handed her over to the ayah right after her birth. I pitied the children and envied them at the same time. They wanted love and the attention of the strangers, but at the same time, they had the all the marvelous toys and the programs that I didn't have as a child. They often threw occasional tantrums, but children were children – their cries subdues with the cheerful play.

            All of my co-workers were marvelous as well, the workers of the café included not only the English teachers but baristas and chefs to provide the mothers with the exquisite food. The barista, who was 2 years older than me provided me with coffee occasionally and tips to make the best Maxim coffee.

            The conflict with the children was nothing compared with that of my boss – the mother of the brat who threatened me. On the fifth day of my work at the café, we had 'market day'. An event to let the children experience buying things with 'English' was held. Merchandises such as plastic fish, stationery and beautiful pens were offered. The funny thing was, the money for the market was distributed in a strange way. The currency (fake dollars) to purchase items in the market was to be purchased by the children's mothers with real cash. 1 dollar of fake money was equivalent to a thousand won. The prices placed on the items were odd as well – a dollar for a pencil, 3 dollars for a hairpin, a dollar for a piece of candy. I didn't have any problems with the children's mothers paying for the overpriced  merchandises, but some of the children, in fact, about 60% of the children felt left out from the market event.

            "What do I do for the children not having any cash?" I asked the head of the café, and she shrugged, "tell them to ask their parents". The notion of even the children's play being commercialized made me sick, and to ease their woes of being left out from the cheerful play, I provided them with the cheap candy that I carried around. Sadly, something unexpected happened – the candy that I had purchased from the dollar store (Daiso) happened to be the candy being sold for a dollar, and the children, realizing this tried to use the candy that I had given as currency. One of the children that had received candy traded the candy with the plastic fish that the girl with many dollars purchased, and the girl's mother filed a claim saying that I wasted her money.

            I was fired immediately for causing harm to the café's profit, and the head of the café shrieked that I caused a major disruption to the event that was prepared for a long time. It was Christmas Eve, and with the pouring snow, I was fired and jobless. The barista of the café walked me to the station, and lit me a cigarette, saying "this will make everything all right. Don't cry, it's not your fault – it's an adult thing." I took the cigarette and inhaled it, and immediately regretted it. It was as if a dust bunny has clot my throat – the feeling continued for several days, and I was couldn't leave the bed. I realize he may have made me sick on purpose, because as a smoker, he knew what happens when a non-smoker smokes strong cigarette for the first time, and because he knew that mental sickness lasts for a longer time than physical sickness. The memoirs of the kids café, my first employer, and the brat became hazy with sleeping for 3 days, but the words "adult thing" still remain.

Hye Hyon Kim/ 4th of July/ Thursday 1pm

I held the lighter carefully, as I watched what I had in the other hand would catch fire or not. I was scared either way. My hands were trembling and I had already burnt my thumb. My friends Megan and Lyndsey were both with me, blocking any whistle of wind that may sway the tiny but powerful red and yellow glow I had in my hands. All of a sudden, with a sizzling buzz, the fire caught on. "Run, run, run, run, run!!!" I shouted and we ran back to the hose from the driveway. As we ran, we heard fireworks shooting into the clear black sky.

The date was 4^th of July. Having never celebrated or even been in America for such an occasion, I generally had no idea what this day was about. Fortunately, my friend Megan and Lyndsey had asked me join their families in the city and I was delighted to go. Even as we were driving, I could see this was a busy holiday. To celebrate the legal separation and independence of United States from Great Britain, you could see signs of America all around. As we drove into the lively neighborhood, I could already sense the excitement of the residents. Houses had ribbons and flags hanging on the terrace, pillars and walls and even the kids' faces were painted. Indeed, at Megan's there were decorations everywhere, each one with the American flag printed on it. The table cloth, cups, napkins and plates were all striped in red white. A cake which Megan's aunt had brought even had fruit skewers with blueberry, strawberry and marshmallows. Everyone was busy turning on some music, talking about what a beautiful day it was and also preparing the food for the big barbeque later on. Lyndsey, Megan and I headed out to the front lawn to shuck the corn. "Is Independence day huge in America?" I asked, grabbing the huge corn and trying to get all the messy hair out of the way. "Well, it may not be as huge as Thanksgiving and Christmas but it is definitely an occasion where family come to visit and celebrate." Megan explained. "I love how we decorate everything and have delicious food. It brings us together as a family" I smiled at her answer and thought about my country, South Korea. We also had an Independence Day but people hardly celebrated it. It was just a national holiday for us to rest.

After dinner, we sat down to light the fireworks. "It's our tradition to end the day with fireworks." Sure enough, I could already hear popping sounds coming from other houses in the neighborhood. "Minnesota state laws are pretty strict when it comes to fireworks. So many people actually go down to Wisconsin to get wild ones" grinned Mitch, Megan's dad pointing at the houses across the street. "Wow that house looks like it could catch on fire." I exclaimed. The fireworks were enormous and the flames were so bright in every color imaginable that it almost looked like witchcraft. "Hey, you should light one" Lyndsey nudged, handing me a firework called Irish leprechaun. So with a lighter, we crouched down on the driveway, carefully igniting the thin string attached to the box of magic and I wondered how this whole day was like celebrating America's birthday, ending the day with lighting candles on its birthday cake.

 

 

MinGu Lee/Student rights movement/Thursday 1-3 pm

It's an embarrassing thing to exaggerate something I did in the past, but I personally attended student rights movements. Wasn't really big, writing few posts on the school board about the reasons school should not delete posts by other students. At that time, the fight between me and the school went on for about a month. During that period, I uploaded new essays, went to the teachers office and get scolded and came back to write more.

The incident happened when one of the teachers at my high school stated that people who voted for a particular party is actually communists. I got enraged because my father used to vote for them as well. I stood up against the school that these kind of political biased must be gone from this school. After a few arguments between me and my teacher, I expanded my thoughts to let students' voices be heard. I wrote new posts about demolishing the policy on student hair regulations which ultimately got changed after my graduation.

 

We are actually not familiar to democracy. The only thing we learnt about this ideology is that it's something different from socialism and communism. Unfortunately, unlike the democracy that we have learnt during our high school studies, Democracy is somewhat hard and inefficient. The reason we chose this is not because it's the best, but because it has the safe features unlike the others. That is why in order to overcome the inefficiency, we must seek for more changes. If we don't stand up, no-one will know our needs.

SEA HEE CHOI(최세희)/Don't be afraid of Asking/Thu 1-3pm

Have you ever felt like there is no one you can ask for help? I bet probably almost everyone had the feeling. When you first go into university, when it is the first day you are doing the part-time job, or even when you are doing the assignments for the classes that you are taking by yourself.   For me, I have always gotten nervous when I needed help on something. Also, I was afraid of asking something to other people. When I needed help, I thank these ways. "What if it's too obvious question?"' "What if people think I am such a stupid person who doesn't even know how to solve that simple thing?", and "What if they don't even understand my question?". I always had the feeling that other people might think I am fool when I needed to ask something.   But, I had turning point. It was 3 years ago. I had chance to travel over the Europe. The first country I visited was Germany. I know that they are quite good at English. However, in reality, people who can fluently speak English were few. I wished nothing happens. But, things go different way, the "muff-effect". I lost my way. I was totally lost. I had to ask people if I was to make it to my way back to hostel. I started to get really nervous. My hands were shaking really fast, like I was doing a presentation in front of class. I was thinking "what if people don't understand my English?, "what if they do something wrong, after knowing I am a foreigner here?," and even "what if they think I am such a fool who cannot even locate oneself?". I stood there for 20 minutes, just to realize that there is no way except asking people for help.   I went into one of the market and bought a small candy. I asked the clerk the way to get back to my hostel with very small, unconfident voice. Then, something unexpected happened.  Although the clerk was not very fluent in English, he slowly and generously told me the way. I drew me a map and also, he even saw me off outside the market. It wasn't what I expected.   From then, I gained confidence asking for help. I knew that if I were to ask something, people were mostly willing to tell me the answer or to give a hand. My feeling of getting nervous when asking something disappeared pretty much. I still have the nerve, however it is quite controllable. Don't be afraid of asking!

Kim Donghee/Scuba diving class went wrong/Thursday 1-3

Everybody is afraid of something. For some, ghost. For others, darkness. I fear both ghost and darkness, but what truly terrifies me is drowning. It began in 2005, when I was 6th grade in elementary school. I was in a private school, and the students were able to do various excercise courses including swimming, ice skating and etc. But what really caught my mind was scuba diving. I mean, think about it. Of course that's way more cooler than normal everyday swimming or ice skating! Apparently, all of my classmates must have thought so too, because we all ended up wearing this weird skuba clothes which is much different from bathing suit and much more uncomfortable, because It covers all your body plus it's really thick to keep you from having hypothermia.

The swimming pool the class went was built especially for scuba diving; it was at least 5 meters deep. However for the first week, the swimming instructor got the students swim only on the surface of the pool. I used snorkel, but didn't used oxygen tank. My friends were so excited with using snorkel for the first time, they didn't listen to the instructor. Anyway they didn't really have to; we were just playing on the surface, nothing could harm us.

But I was such a model student back then. I carefully listened to the instruction about using the flippers and snorkel. After a week, the instructor told in front of the class. "So far, Donghee was the best with the kicking and all. Now let's begin practicing with oxygen tank." I was so proud of myself, since I was so desperate with compliment, I guess. I said to myself, I'll also do my best with underwater scuba diving to proud myself once again.

We began to wear oxygen tanks and heavy boxes to let ourselves sink deep into the pool. It was such a weird, scary and exciting experience, and it was so cool! We smiled and waved at each other, and used magnetic tablet to talk. From time to time we had to check if our ears aren't hurt, and our oxygen tank is fine. First few days passed with such a delight.

Then the day arrived. That morning I was so excited about going scuba diving and kept talking to mom about it. "I think this time the instructor might let us stay in the water for more than ten minutes! Mom, are you listening?" Anyway that afternoon I was with my classmates, wearing all the gadgets I need, happily flapping my flippers. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, something smacked my face really hard. My snorkel immediately slipped off from my face, which was connected to the oxygen tank, meaning that I couldn't breathe! I panicked and screamed. I was under 5 meters of water without oxygen! And I couldn't see; the snorkel also had the goggle, so without that I couldn't see through water either. For a second I hesitated but decided to go up. But soon the water started to flood into my lung, as I couldn't help breathing frantically. It hurt like hell. My nostrils and chest burned and before long I passed out.

I think I was out for a few seconds, because the next moment I was floating on the surface, coughing. I was alive. Other instructors ran to me and asked what happened, and I couldn't answer but cry. I went home early that day, keep reminding myself how fortunate I was to have survived from the incident. I went home and told my mom about it, but I was already very calm at that moment so she didn't take my words seriously.
For the next few months I was afraid of water. I was afraid to go into the pool, so I had to give up one scuba diving, and I also have to give up my summer plan to visit beach, and I was even impossible to do the bath! I took shower until winter came. Still now even if I get a chance to try scuba diving, I won't even wear a snorkel. You have my word on that.

MI HYEON SEO/ Important experience / Thur, 1-3pm

As a child, I loved spending time outdoors. My favorite place of childhood was the playground near my house. Whenever I went there, I could meet a lot of friends. Especially, being the only child, I particularly liked to get along with my peer group. There, I could play hide and seek. We went up and down the slides looking for places to hide and sometimes tree was the best location for me to hide myself. We also built sand castles. My mother bought me a little sand castle building toy consisted of all sorts of diggers and shapers. My friends and I drew water, and used it to make our castles strongly held.

As I grew up, the main place of my activity moved from the playground to the mountains and seas. I had joined Girl Scout to enjoy diverse activities. Out of all, I liked to camp the most, having a sleepover away from home, cooking, and enjoying cooperative activity. Since I loved the outdoor activity, I was very healthy because that made me to exercise regularly. That helped me to release the stress that came from studying. Not only that, I was able to learn how to be sociable with others interact. Through the troubles I encountered with my friends, a stubborn and egoistic child gradually learned how to think in other people's position.

So, whenever I think about my childhood, I recall those moments that I had at the playground near my house. It was one of the most cherishing moments in my life.

LEE Joo Hyun/When I first learned to drive/ Thursday 1pm

     "Great! I lost about 10 kg. So, my next goal will be to take the driver's license test". Actually, after my admission to college, I had to wait about two to three months until I turned 20 on the New Year in order to apply for the driver's license test. As I had gained a lot of wait especially during my last year at high school, I spent my time dieting. As soon as I sensed that I had lost some weight, I decided with a loudly throbbing heart to find out a private institute in the neighborhood of the test course. Both the teaching experience and the price were the main criteria helping me for choosing an academy.

 

     Once I made the decision, they made me know how the test system was composed of and how it was going to work. So, I first had to go to the examination site to take an hour long traffic safety education course and then get a physical checkup. After that, I had to choose a date in order to take a written test. Unlike many Koreans who, in fact, pass the test immediately after the safety education as it's easy, I wanted to read at least once the workbook about the traffic laws that the institute had previously given me. So, I decided to come over one or two days later taking this procedure seriously, as driving is asking the driver's attention and responsibilities. When I got a perfect score on the first test, then, I signed up for the next step which was the driving test. With the automated machine in the academy, I could practice for basic handling. As soon as I passed that in a fixed driving course near the Han River, I planned to take the road test. There were in total two courses to memorize which were quite short and not that difficult. So, with the help of the institute's teacher and car, I get used to them quickly. As I also wanted to win high praise from my parents beside my driving teacher, I asked them especially my father to teach me and advise me how to drive better.

 

     However, this was the start of the disaster. My father couldn't stop pointing out the slightest flaws like "You should take your right turn tightly to the corner in order to not disturb others" and I completely lost my temper getting more and more furious and yelling at him "I did that. You didn't see it well". The atmosphere was catastrophic and my mother who sat on the back, stopped listening to us but music. As a novice driver, I didn't need the perfect skill of a master, though a single compliment about the progress I had made. I imagined that my parents would be proud of me and encouraging me by saying "That's great! You'll definitely make it!". As my concentration sharply fell at close of day, when making my last turn, we could have had a terrific accident with a bus. I didn't see it arriving being in a dead zone. Not only I but my parents were really stunned at this possible event. Fortunately, my father wheeled on time while I was completely paralyzed.

 

     I came to know that driving is a very difficult cooperative activity that demands all the drivers' attention and responsibilities. In addition, at the instant of concentration decrease, anything could happen. So, when a driver feels tired, he or she should immediately stop in a resting area to get some rest like in highways in Europe which ceaselessly put great emphasis on that point to prevent from possible traffic accident. Even though I was highly praised about my driving skills "You did way better than I thought you would do! Your cornering and your speed were great!" by the driving superintendent who was actually really conservative, thinking that all women were incapable of driving, I am always trying to watch out carefully and keep my composure.

Dana Eun/No pain no gain/Thurs 1-3pm

Many of you would have some kind of experience working at a part-time job. I have done numerous part-time jobs from English academy to bakery and more. But my first job always stays on top of all the experience as most strenuous yet valuable. My first part-time job was actually for one day only and it was at a hotel. It was the most strenuous yet unforgettable part-time job I've ever done.

I was lying down with my stomach down on the bed browsing through the internet when my phone rang. A message in the group talk of the university appeared and it was a friend from the same French reading class. She was looking for a person to fill-in her friend's place in a part-time job at a hotel for a day. It was in the parents' day so there was no class and since I was staying in Seoul alone, away from my parents I had no other schedule unlike others. I have always dreamt of earning extra money from part-time jobs ever since I got into university. It was the perfect chance for me to do so I messaged my friend saying I'll take that place.

On the parents' day, I got up at 6 o'clock in the morning and got ready to go out. When I arrived, my friend was waiting for me and we went straight to the basement where all the part-timers had to check in and get dressed in uniforms. Afterwards, we were introduced to the manager and staffs and given instructions on what we were supposed to do and how to do it. There was a dinner-show for parents at the hotel and our job was to prepare for that show and serve the dinner course. The manager emphasized that the dishes will be very heavy and we were not to take more than what we can hold. If, by any chance, we drop the dishes we were to tell the staff right away. I was a bit frightened because the manager had a very firm face with glaring eyes and it felt like as if he will dismiss us without any payment if we made any mistakes.

The show began and salads were served first. Serving salad was easy as pie because they were in plastic bowls. Then there was the bread and it was okay until the soup came out. Since then, the dishes changed to chinaware which was much heavier than what I expected. My arm started to ache when I made a sixth visit to the kitchen and there was plenty more to serve. All of us were given a tray to put dishes and holding it in the palm of my hand was not as easy as it seemed. As it went on to appetizers and main dish, I could feel my arm trembling. Not long after, I did it. I felt my arm suddenly losing strength and my tray fell off from my hand. I was on the way back to the kitchen to return empty plates and as the tray slipped, it hit a shoulder of a man sitting on the table in front of me. I panicked and was worried if the man had been hurt or become furious with the poor service. I quickly apologized to the man as I retrieved the plates. Apart from my worries, this gentleman asked me if I was okay instead. He was so kind to relieve me by saying that he was not hurt nor angry from the mistake and told me to proceed with whatever I'm doing. The manager came running after seeing the scene, but as the gentleman did not make any comment, he delivered his apology and just let me go.

The work ended around 11 o'clock in the afternoon and my whole body ached from muscle pain. I had to put pain relief patch all over my body the day after, but I was proud of myself from completing the job. It was the first time I earned money by myself and though it was not a big amount, it gave me a chance to think about the value of money. Also, the gentleman's consideration made this experience the most unforgettable one.

 

Kyeong Ju Seo/ Are you Chinese? No, I'm South Korean / Thurs.1:00~3:00

     When you are a foreigner, you receive many curious questions. Throughout my younger years in the U.S, the questions I received the most were: Are you Chinese? Or are you Japanese? It was always either one. I bet even in Korea, many people still make mistakes of not carefully distinguishing between Canadian from American and from African American to Kenyan. To some, this might not be a big deal. However, this was a big deal for me.

 

Going back to when I was in 4th grade, I remember attending a small public school in Tennessee, U.S. Everything was great about Tennessee; the country music, buffalos, cotton plantations, grass and the warm sunlight. Even being the only Asian in my class made me feel very proud. But what bothered me was that people would always ask, "Are you Chinese? Japanese?" wherever I went. My answer was always the same, "No, I'm Korean." But they would always ask back, "You mean the North Korea?" This always came to me as a surprise. I thought, 'How can they possibly think I'm North Korean? Geez.' Well, they really did. What's even more shocking was that most people were not even aware that South Korea existed. This sounds ridiculous since South Korea is now famous for Samsung, LG, K-Pop and the Han River Miracle. But back then, South Korea wasn't so well known. I tried to explain to my friends what South Korea is like but they quickly lost interest. But one day, there came a great opportunity for me to do something about this problem.

 

It was in my 5^th year in elementary school when there was this huge school event called, 'The Memphis in May'. It was one of the days when foreign students could introduce their native country's culture, food, clothes, games and language by making a booth. It was pretty exciting for everybody. Students were able to experience and enjoy each country's culture by visiting various booths. I thought, 'this is my chance to tell people about South Korea.' So I registered to help making a South Korean booth in the school gym with my mother. Wearing Korea's traditional Hanbok, my mother and I cooked various foods with other Korean mothers. We made Bulgogi (barbecued beef) and Ttobokki (Stir-fried rice cake) adding side dishes such as Kimchi and Gim (dried laver). The result was a success. Many students who came to eat at our booth loved the food. Although some of them had to wash out their tongue after eating Kimchi and Ttobokki, I remember many students giving thumbs up to Bulgogi.

 

After the 'Memphis in May', everybody in the school knew South Korea. No longer did I had to explain that there are two Koreas and no longer was I considered Chinese or Japanese. I felt so proud. The times when I was sort of embarrassed that people didn't even know the existence of the country I came from all faded from my memory. Experiencing to be a resident foreigner, I'm thankful that I had learned to be proud of my nationality and my own roots at a young age.