Kim Kyungeun 10605 Final
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Post by Kim Kyungeun 10605 Final on Sept 28, 2022 22:11:21 GMT 9
Hi! American High School Student, My name is Kyungeun and I'm 16, a sophomore at Sangsan High School. My English name is Catherine, so you can call me by this name. This is my first time having a pen pal, and I am very looking forward to this! I'm really curious about American school life, so please tell me everything! Well, I'll tell you how my life goes on at my school. In our Dormitory, we do the morning roll call at 6:30 AM. However, I wake up at 5:30. You can think this is strange, but I feel less tired in school when I wake up early. And next is my favorite time of the day! Breakfast! Menus are not decided in the morning, and I can just pick up what I want to eat. My favorite one is Hershey's cereal. It's quite sweet, but it's really tasty. I suggest that you try it! Do you also have a favorite menu at school? I high-key like walking along the school, watching trees and flowers in the garden. Our school especially takes care of the garden, so when the weather is good, I bet you there's no school more beautiful than our school! I'll send you a picture with this letter. I took it by my own! The most productive time in school is when we do 'Evening self-study'. In Korea, students stay late in school to study more. It's just an option in many other schools, but our school, it's necessary. But I don't hate it. It starts from 6:30 and ends at 9:20. It's hard to focus on studying for 3 hours, but I can often see the sunset, and it's really beautiful. When the sky turns pink and red, I go out to veranda and watch the sun set with my friends. Also, I'm working in the student council. Now I'm working on 'D-50 project', which is a special event for seniors, who are going to take a test called '수능', similar to SAT or ACT in your country. They are having a really important and hard time, so we sophomores are cheering them with small presents. We are going to draw cute characters on macaroons and hand out those to seniors. These days, I get rid of the stress by listening to a music. I hear almost every genre. My favorite pop song is Lany's "you!" It's the best when I hear it watching the sunset. Also, I'm a big fan of Monsta X, to be clear, their awesome music. They are a k-pop group and their songs are so good. Do you also like k-pop? Monsta X has an English album and you should hear it! It's not an overstatement to say "Music is my life." I hear to music everyday. What song would you like to recommend to me? Please share it to me! (I'll add it to my playlist right away  ) Hoping your day was the best day, Sincerely, Kyungeun   |
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Post by Evie on Oct 26, 2022 23:12:08 GMT 9
Dear Catherine, It is so nice to get to know you through these letters and learn about your school! My name is Evie. I’m 15 and a freshman at Duchesne Academy. We have four years of high school, so I’m in the first. Learning about your school is so cool! Duchesne is supposed to be rigorous, but your education sounds much harder. In America, education is not the top priority for absolutely everybody. Some people are more focused on sports or whatever goes on outside of their school day, which is typically 8 hours. Most schools start at around 7:30 and end at around 3, but ours starts at 8:45 and gets out at 3:30 or 3, depending on the day. We get a later start than most because our school thinks it is important that students get a good sleep and it helps our academic performance. I am really happy about the late start. I can’t believe you wake up at 5:30, but i totally get what you mean about not being as tired. What do you do with your extra time when you wake up? We have a block schedule, so we have 4 classes daily, each for 1h20m. I like this better than having all classes in a day because the 4 classes that you don’t have can’t assign homework! We have about 2 hours of homework every night. Evening study time sounds like it would be really hard to focus. After a full day of school I bet it’s hard to have to go. But at least you have some free time in between school and study time. It also sounds very productive! Also, what happens if you are sick or miss a day since you would miss so much important class time? What’s your best tactic of never falling behind in schoolwork? Your breakfast sounds really nice. I will definitely try the Hershey’s cereal! Since we are not a boarding school, we aren’t served breakfast. However, if you get to school early and didn’t have breakfast at home, we have a snack bar. There’s tons of options for food and drinks. We have boba, hot chocolate, coffees, teas, any snacks, popcorn, and some actual meals. All of this is also available at lunch, but it all costs money. You can eat your food from the snack bar in the lounge. Each grade has a lounge. It’s basically just a room with lockers and couches where you can hangout with your friends before school, at lunch, and after school. The lounge and snack bar are unique to my school and two of my favorite aspects of Duchesne. Where is your favorite place on your campus? Also what is it like to board? How many people share a room? That is a good activity for student council to work on! Does the test that the seniors take help them get into a good university? What happens if they don’t do super good? I definitely relate to you about music being life! I listened to a little bit of Monsta X and really liked it! I especially liked “Besides U” and “Middle of the Night”. I honestly don’t listen to much k-pop but I will try it! My music taste is a wide variety of genres and artists. Some of my favorite artists are Mac Miller, Mt. Joy, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Miguel, Tyler the Creator, and many more. A current favorite song to recommend is Taylor Swift’s “Getaway Car” (which has a similar beat to Middle of the Night), or “Cruel Summer”. Also, I love “Freefall” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise or “FourFiveSeconds” by Rihanna. Let me know if you check them out! Your campus is beautiful! It is definitely one of the most beautiful ones I’ve ever seen. I can see why the sunset could motivate you, it looks gorgeous in that picture! I am an avid sunset photographer. Are you also? Right now it’s fall, so the leaves are starting to fall, which I think is super pretty. I’ll share some pictures too! Thanks for sharing with me! Best wishes, Evie |
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Post by Evie on Oct 26, 2022 23:12:57 GMT 9
P.S. sorry it was late! I turned it in the wrong spot.
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Post by Kim kyungeun 10605 on Nov 4, 2022 18:38:11 GMT 9
Hi, Evie Your reply is not late at all, so there's nothing to worry about! I'm so happy to receive such a sincere letter. All the stories about your school were interesting. I think your school operates in a very different pattern from us. I was especially amazed to hear about the snack bar. I think it would be nice if there was a snack bar in my school, too. I really liked the songs you recommended to me. I listened to all the songs you told me. I originally liked Taylor Swift's song, but I've never heard of "Getaway Car" before, and it was sooooooo great. I'm still listening to this while writing it! I think it's cool that we can share our music preferences even in different countries. November 17th is the day when the graduation class finally takes "THE test." No matter how they go to college, this test is very important. If you don't do well on this test, even the top student in the school for 3 years won't be able to go to a good university. That kinda scares me, too. So most of our school students wait another year to retake the test when they get a bad score. I'm writing this in my dorm room. We share a room with four or five people in our dorm. It's assigned randomly, and once we share a room, we get really close. At first, I thought there were too many people in one room. But I spend much less time in the dormitory than in school, so it can only serve as a sleeping space on weekdays. I don't think that's why I can't feel that there are many people. My favorite place in my school is a convenience store. I always run to the convenience store after a boring Chinese character class or social study class. You asked me what would happen if I missed class, but if I don't come to school for a good reason, I can rest without any interruption. My classmates send me a note they took and I can study with that. My tactic of never falling behind in school is to write a schedule in advance, so I have more time to rest because I can do what I have to do without wasting time. Do you also write a study planner every day? If you come to Korea, I recommend you eat pork belly. You might have eaten it, but if you haven't, you should try! It's very different from steak but still delicious. What's the experience you wanna share with me? Sincerely, Catherine |
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Post by Kim kyungeun 10605 on Nov 4, 2022 18:43:31 GMT 9
Oops! I meant 'I think that's why I can't feel that there are many people'. There was a mistake. Sorry..
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Post by Kim kyungeun 10605 on Nov 4, 2022 20:53:50 GMT 9
P.S.Just a personal question. What's the most important thing in your life? (For me, it's a lazy morning on weekends)
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Post by Evie on Nov 11, 2022 7:06:52 GMT 9
Our schools are soo different! I love learning about your school experiences. I’m so happy you liked Getaway Car! There are many more great songs by Taylor Swift that you might not have heard before. Do you know many American singers? Who’s your favorite? That test sounds like so much pressure! Good luck to your seniors! If the first test you take is bad, but you retake it and get a good score, do colleges care? Like if you have taken it 2 times is it harder to get into colleges? Do you have fun in your dorm together? I imagine talking at night could get you very close! I think it would be fun to spend time with your friends like that, even if it’s mostly when you’re sleeping. What time do you normally go to bed since you wake up so early? The convenience store sounds awesome! Do you get snacks there like the snack bar at my school? That is a good way to stay ahead! I also use a planner. I write in all my assignments right when I get them. I put a star next to things that are important and that I need to do before the end of the day. I put a heart next to things that are of less priority. I’ve never had pork belly but I’ve heard of it. I would love to try it. Do you take any languages besides English? I take French and it’s pretty easy. The most important things in my life are a lot of the little things, like pretty sunsets, cuddling with my dog, long walks, and good playlists for exactly the right moment. Thank you so much for your letter! I love that we get this opportunity!
Sincerely, Evie
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Post by Kim Kyungeun 10605 on Jan 3, 2023 22:35:27 GMT 9
Hi, Evie.
Sorry that I'm toooooo late..I was so busy with preparing my final exam this year. I did bad in last mid term exam so I had to study hard this time. As winter vacation has started, I fianlly got a chance to reply. Sorry if I let you down with a late reply. I would be so happy if you recommend more Taylor's songs. What I know is 'Blank space" and "Never grow up". After the test, I woke up late every day, and it was a kind of present for myself. As you said, talking secretly (If we make a noise, house mother comes in and gives us a penalty.) before sleep. l was so surprised that you learn French! That's awesome! I learned Chinese a little bit when I was in the middle school. And now, I learned Chinese character, which is little different from real Chinese word. This is the character our ancestors used from the past. I wanna see your dog! I really like dogs. Do you have just one? How old is she or he?
Again, sorry I'm tooooooo late. Hope you had a great christmas, and happy new year!!
sincerely, Catherine
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