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Post by 10621 yena on Sept 28, 2022 18:35:39 GMT 9
Dear American High School Student, Hi! My name is Yena and I am a first-year student at Sangsan High School. I am 16 years old! Yena is my english name. My full name is Yena Yewon Yang. My mom made my English name for me when I lived in Virginia for about a year when I was 5 years old. I personally like my name because Its kind of rare. My mom named me Yena because it is similar to my korean name Yewon. We didn’t know what Yena meant in English, but later, I found a website where I could search my name’s meaning, and I realized that it meant ‘peace’. Isn’t it surprising? Do you also have a fun story related to your name? Anyway, that’s how my name became Yena. Now, I’ll tell you about my life as a korean highschooler. I live in the school dormitory so every morning, at 6:30 am, a song comes out to wake the students up. We have to go to school until 7:55 am. These days, I try to wake up at 5 am to get enough time to study before school. Since all the lights and wifi shuts down at midnight, I sleep about 5 hours a day. What time do you go to bed and wake up? After getting ready for school, I go to the dormitory cafeteria to have breakfast. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, because I can choose the menu. I prefer having rice, kimchi, some meat(the meat menu differs everyday), cereal, and apple. There are other menus like french toast, Tofu, orange juice, etc. Then, I attend 8 periods of classes that ends at 5:10 pm. (There is luch time after the 4th period.) My favorite subject is English and science, especially physics. I also like earth science because I high-key like the teacher and the class is really fun. Would you tell me your favorite subject or teacher in school? My school has various activities compared to normal schools in South Korea. We usually do these activities after tests. For example, in the first semester, we have sports day after the mid-term exam, barbeacue after the final exams. And in the second semester, we go to a trip after the mid-term exam. My school’s biggest event is the school festival called KAILAI, which is on the day after 수능(Suneung).(Suneung is the Korean SAT,ACT and its a really big event since almost every senior students take this test, and unlike SAT and ACT, it only happens once a year.) Additionally, on this Thursday, we have a barbeacue!! This barbeacue is to encourage 3rd year students’ D-50 for 수능. We will have pork belly, and I’m planning to buy some marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers to make S’Mores. I’m really excited!! What’s your favorite school event? I’m really curious about the prom! Would you tell me about it? What’s your current interest? I’m interested in environmental issues,so I want to be an environmental medicine doctor. I’m not sure if its the right word, but it is a person who contrives the correlation between the environment and human’s health and animal’s health. In addition, I’m a really big fan of NCT, which is a korean boyband. Their songs are really good. I’ll recommend the song ‘highway to heaven’. Its a song in english. Can you recommend me a song that is popular among American teenagers these days? I think I asked too many questions and talked too much lol… I am really excited to talk with you and get to know about American teenagers! I hope you feel the same  I look forward to reading your response!! Sincerely, Yena  |
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Post by Gretchen F. on Oct 16, 2022 11:05:08 GMT 9
Dear Yena,
Hi! It is so nice to meet you! My name is Gretchen and I am 14 years old. I am a Freshman or first-year student at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart.
My name, Gretchen, means “pearl”. It is actually the German diminutive of Margaret, a part of my family originated in Germany which is probably part of why I am named Gretchen. However, I also had a great grandmother who was named Margaret. Funny enough, her middle name was pearl as well, so really, her name was “pearl” pearl. 😆
It is so cool to learn that you lived in Virginia when you were younger because I did as well. My dad is in the United States navy, so my family moves with him whenever he gets stationed at a new naval base. When I was about 5 years old I lived in Virginia because my dad was stationed at the Pentagon, a large military base in Washington D.C.
As an American high schooler, I live in a house with my mom, dad, and older brother. I actually have two older brothers, but only one has moved out and currently attends a community college. He is 20 years old and is going to graduate in spring with an associate’s degree in construction management. My other brother is 17 years old and is a senior or fourth-year student at an all boys school called Creighton Preparatory. My school routine begins when I wake up which is usually at 6 o’clock in the morning. Both my mom and dad work on the military base, so they leave pretty early in the morning. So, a senior who goes to Duchesne with me picks me up at my house and drives me to school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we leave earlier because I have string ensemble practice. I play the violin in a group of about 10 girls. Duchesne uses a block schedule for their students, so on Mondays, I have all 8 of my classes, but then Tuesday through Friday, I have 4 classes a day with each class lasting 80 minutes. I really enjoy learning about so many topics, but if I had to choose I would say that my favorite classes are Spanish (because I love my teacher’s way of teaching a foreign language), literature (because the teacher is awesome and I really enjoy reading), and Intro to Scriptures (again because the teacher is so fun, but also I love learning about my faith).
One of my favorite school events is called congé (its a French word for holiday). Congé is a surprise party day. While the whole school hasn’t had a congé yet, all of the different sports teams have individual congés for their players. I was a part of the cross country team, so I got to enjoy cross country congé. It was so much fun and such a great surprise! We played volleyball, ate hotdogs and root beer floats, and really came together as a team. An event we did recently, just for freshman, was a class picnic after a pre-ACT test. The whole school (minus the seniors) had to do standardized testing. The freshman finished testing at noon, so we got to enjoy a class picnic. We ate pizza, fruit, and cookies, and we got to jump through a bounce house, play giant Jenga, and enjoy time with friends.
I actually haven’t been to a prom yet as that falls in the spring, but I have been to homecoming, which I believe is fairly the same. Homecoming is a really fun and exciting dance. Each school hosts their own dance and may invite other schools to join. There is a dance floor where students can dance (obviously) but there is also an area for refreshments (usually cookies and water) and an area to sit and socialize if you need a break from dancing. The music is always deafeningly loud (I always come home with my ears ringing). Whilethe idea is for boys to ask girls to dance, in my opinion, the boys are cowards 😆 because they never seem to ask any of the girls to dance with them. Everyone just dances with their friends. They usually play the same kinds of songs which include Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus, The Cupid Shuffle by Cupid, You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful by One Direction, Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex, and Perfect by Ed Sheeran. I think they are great songs for dancing and really catchy, but I usually listen to Christian artists like TobyMac, Lauren Daigle, Danny Gokey, Cochren & Co., and Crowder. However, I know you might not listen to Christian songs, so I would reccomend As it was by Harry Styles, Heat Waves by Glass Animals, Numb Little Bug by Em Beihold, There’s nothing Holding Me back by Shawn Mendez, and Shake it Off by Taylor Swift.
As for my current interest, I am really interested in animal wildlife, so I want to be some form of zoologist. Zoology is a branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of animals, living or extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems.
Sorry if I wrote too much. I am really excited to talk to you and learn about what it’s like living in South . Korea.
Sincerely,
Gretchen F.
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Post by Yena on Nov 6, 2022 23:59:37 GMT 9
Hi Gretchen! Thanks for your reply. 😆
As I read your reply, I found that we really have many things in common!
I also play the violin in my school orchestra. These days we are preparing for the school festival KAILAI that I mentioned before since we do the opening performance of it. We practice everyday, which means that I get to play the violin everyday. So, I’m really enjoying my school life these days. And, I’m a Christian so thanks to you, I got to know about Christian artists popular in America! Actually, highschool students in my church(including me) are preparing for the Christmas worship and I think It will be great to use one of the songs of the artists you recommended😉
I heard that you are learning about Korean culture these days. You can ask me everything you want if you have any questions!
Maybe through this penpal website, or if you have any SNS account, let me know your account! I will contact you if I can.
It was so good to know about you!!
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Post by Gretchen on Nov 10, 2022 4:33:06 GMT 9
Hi Yena,
It is so cool that you play violin too! Right now the strings group is practicing for our Christmas Concert. I really like learning Christmas songs so that I can play them when my grandparents visit at Christmas.
I am very glad to learn that you are Christian as well. I was really worried telling you about the artists I like to listen to because I have gotten mixed responses when I tell people that. I didn’t want you to think I was weird. Which church do you belong to? I am a Roman Catholic. I could send you a picture of my church, if you would like me to.
My favorite songs from those artists are: The Goodness by TobyMac, Good God Almighty by Crowder, You Say and Hold On to Me by Lauren Daigle, and New Day by Danny Gokey.
There are specifically Christmas Christian songs that I love, if you would like ones more based on the holidays for your worship. I listen to Noel by Lauren Daigle, Little Drummer Boy by for King & Country, and Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) by Leanna Crawford. America has a lot of Christmas songs that aren’t necessarily religious. I like to listen to The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole, It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas by Bing Crosby, White Christmas by Bing Crosby, Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry, and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. Those are a bit older songs from about 1950 (that is a very rough estimate). What kind of Christmas songs do you like to listen to?
Christmas is still a month away, so I thought I would tell you about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday in November. It is supposed to celebrate the Pilgrims, the first Europeans to colonize Massachusetts. Supposedly, the Pilgrims held a celebration after making it through a very bitter winter. We usually celebrate Thanksgiving by visiting family and preparing a huge feast. We usually make turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, spinach Madeline, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.
Speaking of food, what kind of dishes do you like to eat for dinner? I really like my mom’s chili, spaghetti and meatballs, shepherd’s pie, or tacos for dinner. Are there any snacks that you love to eat? I usually have popcorn or applesauce when I need a snack.
I don’t have an SNS account unfortunately. Are you okay communicating on here, or is there a different way that you would prefer to use?
Have a good day!
Gretchen
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Post by Gretchen on Nov 10, 2022 4:33:27 GMT 9
Hi Yena,
It is so cool that you play violin too! Right now the strings group is practicing for our Christmas Concert. I really like learning Christmas songs so that I can play them when my grandparents visit at Christmas.
I am very glad to learn that you are Christian as well. I was really worried telling you about the artists I like to listen to because I have gotten mixed responses when I tell people that. I didn’t want you to think I was weird. Which church do you belong to? I am a Roman Catholic. I could send you a picture of my church, if you would like me to.
My favorite songs from those artists are: The Goodness by TobyMac, Good God Almighty by Crowder, You Say and Hold On to Me by Lauren Daigle, and New Day by Danny Gokey.
There are specifically Christmas Christian songs that I love, if you would like ones more based on the holidays for your worship. I listen to Noel by Lauren Daigle, Little Drummer Boy by for King & Country, and Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) by Leanna Crawford. America has a lot of Christmas songs that aren’t necessarily religious. I like to listen to The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole, It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas by Bing Crosby, White Christmas by Bing Crosby, Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry, and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. Those are a bit older songs from about 1950 (that is a very rough estimate). What kind of Christmas songs do you like to listen to?
Christmas is still a month away, so I thought I would tell you about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday in November. It is supposed to celebrate the Pilgrims, the first Europeans to colonize Massachusetts. Supposedly, the Pilgrims held a celebration after making it through a very bitter winter. We usually celebrate Thanksgiving by visiting family and preparing a huge feast. We usually make turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, spinach Madeline, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.
Speaking of food, what kind of dishes do you like to eat for dinner? I really like my mom’s chili, spaghetti and meatballs, shepherd’s pie, or tacos for dinner. Are there any snacks that you love to eat? I usually have popcorn or applesauce when I need a snack.
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Post by Gretchen on Nov 10, 2022 4:33:53 GMT 9
Sorry, I think my message may have sent twice!
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Post by Gretchen on Dec 29, 2022 8:40:02 GMT 9
Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed it. I thought you might be interested in some christmas practices and traditions that we have here in America. A lot of Americans get prepare for Christmas very early. Some put their Christmas trees and other decorations right after Thanksgiving. My family usually doesn’t put up a lot of decorations until Christmas break, which starts about a week before Christmas. We have a lot of Christmas decorations, which is overwhelming to put out. The decorations are mostly evergreens with holly on them, angels, nativity sets, and multiple Christmas trees. There are three children in my family: me and my two older brothers. Each of us have our own Christmas trees and our own Christmas ornaments. These ornaments have been given to us by grandparents and godparents over the years. The trees are smaller since there are not many ornaments that go on them. Our family also has a main Christmas tree. It is made of plastic because it is less expensive than buying a new live tree each year. We put lights and tinsel on it and so many ornaments. These are ornaments that my parents were given as children, ornaments that we have bought on our travels to remember our adventures, and ones that we made as children at school. There are so many. It seems like it would be boring to hand them on the tree but when you have five family members and music playing, it does not seem as bad.
Please excuse me for assuming you do not celebrate advent, but as I do not know I thought I should explain it incase you do not. Catholics have a period of preparation before Christmas. It is a time where we try to focus on bettering ourselves and preparing for Christ’s coming. There are 4 weeks in advent and four candles in an advent wreath. We light these candles to mark the passage of time as we approach Christmas. The first Sunday of advent we light a purple candle. Purple represents sorrow or suffering in the Catholic Church. We are sorrowful because we are patiently waiting for Christ. On the second Sunday of advent we light two purple candles. On the third Sunday, we change it a little. We light two purple and one pink candle. The pink candle is to represent joy while we wait. On the fourth Sunday before Christmas, we light the last candle which is purple, and on Christmas we light a white candle that we place in the center of the wreath.
Christmas Eve is mostly a regular day for my family, but we do have some traditions at the end of the day. We each open one present. My brothers got new slippers for walking around in the house, and I got a new book that I really wanted. I was very excited because I really love the series. It is a fantasy book series called Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. We also eat a special Christmas Eve dinner. We make potato sausage with Waldorf salad and spinach Madeline. Waldorf salad is made of sliced apples and grapes mixed in with diced pecans and celery and a bit of mayonnaise. We usually end the night by watching a movie and eating tea and cookies.
On Christmas Day my family has a specific order that we follow every christmas. We each have our own personal stockings that are filled by Santa in the night. When we wake up, we look through these first. This year I got some school supplies, chocolate, key chain charms, and an ornament to remember this year’s Christmas by. Then we eat Christmas breakfast. This year my mom made scrambled eggs and bacon, sliced pears, and an assortment of sweet breads. Just to clarify, she didn’t hand make the bread, she bought a few different loaves. We also had some stollen, which my grandmother made. Stollen is a German bread that has candied fruits and nuts mixed into the dough. The loaf is also covered in powdered sugar. I personally don’t really like stollen, but it is okay. We then open our presents. This usually takes an hour or two because we each have about ten presents and we usually watch as another family member opens a present before we open our own. This year I got a really cool book: The fall of Numenor by JRR Tolkien. I am a bit of a fan girl about the Lord of the Rings. I also received a charm bracelet set from an aunt. It came with a few bracelets and a lot of charms so that I could arrange the bracelets the way I want to. I really liked this because I’ve never had a charm bracelet before. We then clean up the house from all of the mess we just made and get ready for christmas dinner. My Grandpa prepared the christmas goose and my mom, my grandma, and I made the side dishes. We had mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, roasted veggies, and peas with onions. What kinds of foods do you usually eat for Christmas?
This is a really long letter, but I wanted to share as much as I could. What are some traditions that your family has for Christmas? What were some cool gifts you received? My family has some traditions for New Years as well, but I think I should share those a bit later so that this letter isn’t quite so overwhelming.
Sincerely, Gretchen
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