Austria and a New Year in Korea

I celebrated Christmas with my roommates and went to church in the afternoon, since going to church on Christmas is a tradition in Korea. A few days later, I flew to Austria for a fun-filled week with my little sister! I loved hanging out with her, cooking together, and seeing how well she functions in Austria. Couldn't be more proud of her German acquisition! :-D For an incredible overview of our trip, check out this great video blog Marie made!

On "The Sound of Music" tour in Salzburg

 When I got back to Korea, there were some changes for me to get used to: new students and a slightly different teaching schedule, a new semester (and a level up!) at my Saturday Korean class, and, more significantly, the start of my first on-line graduate class, "First and Second Language Learning." I'm taking the class through the University of Cincinnati. While it is interesting, it's been a little stressful to balance everything on my plate. I wish I had more time to study Korean, but I want to develop my professional options as well (My current goal is to eventually get an MA in TESOL). In regards to my Korean studies, I am considering going to a Korean language school in the fall for a few semesters. It's a little expensive, but since I want to stay in Korea long-term, I think it's a worthy investment.

I thought I might share a few of my goals for 2014:
1) Study hard- Korean, my graduate work, and Japanese!
2) Get connected at church- get together with someone from church once a month.
3) Research future job opportunities
4) Read a book a month
5) Try unique Korean cosmetics (this morning I tried carrot-collagen stickers for under your eyes!)
5) Learn 6 new Korean songs
6) Meet new people, especially for language exchange (I've been doing great with this one so far.. I tried a language exchange group from Meetup.com last week and this weekend I met with 2 new language exchange partners. This is one of the most effective and fulfilling ways for me to learn a new language.)
7) Visit tourist destinations in Seoul (I'm really excited to get a lot of sightseeing in with Kristen, my friend coming from Japan in a few months!)

I want to add that the Korean Lunar New Year ("Seollal") starts next weekend, which means I have another opportunity for a fresh start. My father sent me a "Read the Bible in a Year" plan, but I couldn't even find it until a few days ago.  However, today the pastor at my church (he's also suggested to church members to do the reading plan) mentioned it's not too late, especially since the New Year starts "again" in a few days! :-)

8) Follow the "Read the Bible in a Year" plan

I'm grateful that, because of the Lunar New Year, I get two days of vacation next week. My Korean friend Seran invited me to celebrate with her extended family at a fancy buffet. I'm so excited to celebrate with Koreans!

Prayer Requests:
1) For balance and better stress management, especially in regards to the graduate classes I started taking
2) Wisdom for my future, particularly regarding language school and when to come back to the US for a visit
3) For a guy I met at the library who seems very stressed about passing the college examination. He, like many young Koreans,  studies at the library 10-12 hours a day just so he can pass this test.

Also, I have chosen a Korean name, with the help of Seran and Junsang.
My name is 송이 (SongYi).

Happy Lunar New Year,
송이