It’s that time of year for Korea high school
students. It’s the time for testing and preparing to finish up their semesters.
While the lower grades at my school face the three week onslaught of speaking
and essay tests, grade three has recently finished what would most likely be
the most difficult test for them so far, the college entrance exam.
Entrance exams are nothing new to me; I have had my
fair share of them in my life before and during university. However, the ones
in Korea are a bit different than any other exams I have taken before. Getting
into a university is so important for students at my school and all over Korea,
that a majority of the semester was spent with self study, simply taking a
class period to prepare for the upcoming test for their university of choice.
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| During my little break, I was able to visit the beautiful autumn scenery of Jikjisa Park |
The US SAT has two general sections, English and
Math. The Korean exam has five categories including Math, English, Korean, and
Social Issues. The test is taken so seriously that the day before the exam is
cut short and the other grades (and quite a few teachers) have the day off the
day of the exam. Even airlines are
diverted and delayed during this time, to prevent any planes from flying over
the school and causing a distraction to the students.
Education is given paramount importance in Korea. I
can still clearly remember being told that education is more than a bright
future and a good head on your shoulders, in Korea education is a resource.
“In Korea, we have no natural resources. We live on
a rock, no minerals, no gasses or materials to export. The only thing we have,
the only thing we can offer is educated and specialized individuals.”
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| Also, Hyejin came to visit. Here we are at a coffee shop in Gumi. |
Besides the glut of exams and tests, November is full
of events at my school, including the upcoming school festival and service day.
It feels strange not actually teaching a class and making new lesson planning
material, but just like the spring semester towards the end, the lack of new
lessons stands as a sign of the times, a sign that it’s time to wrap up the semester
and eventually prepare for a new one.
So now I use this newfound free time to help better
and prepare myself for the new year ahead. Soon I will be having new students,
teaching new lessons and hopefully spending another year in Korea.
Despite being busy, November has been very good to
me. I’ve been doing a better job of keeping personal goals and writing more. I’ve
had more time to get back in contact with friends from back home and reconnect
with people I thought I would never hear from again. November has also been the
month my writing has picked up substantially with articles, personal stories
and the National Writer’s Month goal of writing a significant amount of words
in a single month’s span.
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| The wedding of one of my friends, another happy event in November. |
I’ve even managed to fall in love during all of
this, and despite the distance, am very happy to be with a special someone and
hopefully look forward to many more months ahead.
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| Lantern Festival in Seoul |
I was once told that if you’re busy doing the things
you love, you will not notice the time passing around you. This could not be
closer to the truth, as it now is the middle of November, and I feel like some
much has happened to me in a short span of time. As many things that have
happened to me, I still feel eager and ready to discover more opportunities and
jump into more adventure.
The year may be nearly over, but there are many more
months ahead of me. I’ve come so far, and still feel the need to get started. This
is a good thing. A busy thing. A happy thing.
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