Post by 11216 Fred Pyun on Sept 27, 2022 19:31:13 GMT 9
Dear American high schooler,
Greetings from Korea! My name is Fred, and I’m a freshman at Sangsan High School. I’m 16 years old in international age, but 17 in Korean age. In Korea, everyone is considered a year old at birth, and people usually count their age based on New Year’s Day instead of their birthday. So, everyone gets one year added to their age on January 1st. I’ve heard it isn’t like that in the US. Tell me how you count your age!
I want to share a bit of my life at Sangsan. Most students live in a dormitory on campus. I get up (get shaken awake by my roommates, to be exact) at 6:30 AM and usually get to school by 7:50. I’d never woken up so early before I got accepted here, and it was pretty tough at first, but I’ve gotten used to this routine after my first semester here (We start our school year in March, so it's our second semester now). One thing I’m not a big fan of, though, is the steep climb from the dormitory to the school. Our school was built on a slope, and our dormitory sits at the bottom, and the school at the top. So, students have to climb up the hill every morning to get to school. Why they chose to build the school here, of all places, I have no idea.
We have 8 classes a day, and school ends around 5:30 PM. Since I’m in my first year, we don’t choose subjects. Instead, everyone has to take every subject. We get to choose advanced subjects next year so that we can prepare for the 수능(Suneung), which is similar to the SAT or ACT in the US. I high key prefer science and English classes over social studies or history. Our school’s English class is pretty infamous for being really difficult. Does your school have especially difficult subjects like this?
After school ends, we have dinner and have an hour of free time. We can get out and visit the bookstore that’s on the other side of the road in front of the campus, or get some snacks to eat during the evening study time. We have a convenience school on campus, but it doesn’t sell caffeinated drinks, soft drinks, or instant noodles, so I get out quite often to buy coffee.
Starting from 6:30 PM, we study in our homeroom. This is called Yaja (Evening Self Study Time). We have to study until 9:20 PM, and after a short break-time, we move to the library to study for another hour and a half. We return to the dormitory at 11:20 PM. As of September 27, when I’m writing this letter, I have 3 weeks until midterm exams, so I’ve been studying really hard.
Back at the Dormitory, we have 40 minutes to wash (and have snacks). Strictly speaking, we aren’t allowed to bring food into the dorms, but I make use of my locker so that I can have something to eat before going to bed! Some adventurous friends even have instant noodles, but I haven’t tried yet because it’s too risky. You might say that living in a dormitory would be uncomfortable, but I think it really gives life to my school life. There are things that you can’t experience outside the dormitory. The best bit of dormitory life, I think, is that we can all hang out together after exams are over. When do you have exams this year? What do you usually do after exams are over? Tell me!
My favorite things to do are listening to music and taking pictures. Listening to music makes studying a bit more enjoyable. As for photography, I’ve had it as a hobby for a few years now. Before coming to Sangsan, I used to use a film camera to take photos, but I couldn’t bring it here. So, these days I make do with my phone camera. Here is a picture of the school that I shot:
What sort of hobbies do you have?
I look forward to your response soon! Tell me about your school life at Francis Lewis High School!
Best,
Fred
P.S.
Students in our year have filmed a video to send to Arlington High School, and I might be in the video (I haven’t seen the final video yet). Can you find me in the video?
Greetings from Korea! My name is Fred, and I’m a freshman at Sangsan High School. I’m 16 years old in international age, but 17 in Korean age. In Korea, everyone is considered a year old at birth, and people usually count their age based on New Year’s Day instead of their birthday. So, everyone gets one year added to their age on January 1st. I’ve heard it isn’t like that in the US. Tell me how you count your age!
I want to share a bit of my life at Sangsan. Most students live in a dormitory on campus. I get up (get shaken awake by my roommates, to be exact) at 6:30 AM and usually get to school by 7:50. I’d never woken up so early before I got accepted here, and it was pretty tough at first, but I’ve gotten used to this routine after my first semester here (We start our school year in March, so it's our second semester now). One thing I’m not a big fan of, though, is the steep climb from the dormitory to the school. Our school was built on a slope, and our dormitory sits at the bottom, and the school at the top. So, students have to climb up the hill every morning to get to school. Why they chose to build the school here, of all places, I have no idea.
We have 8 classes a day, and school ends around 5:30 PM. Since I’m in my first year, we don’t choose subjects. Instead, everyone has to take every subject. We get to choose advanced subjects next year so that we can prepare for the 수능(Suneung), which is similar to the SAT or ACT in the US. I high key prefer science and English classes over social studies or history. Our school’s English class is pretty infamous for being really difficult. Does your school have especially difficult subjects like this?
After school ends, we have dinner and have an hour of free time. We can get out and visit the bookstore that’s on the other side of the road in front of the campus, or get some snacks to eat during the evening study time. We have a convenience school on campus, but it doesn’t sell caffeinated drinks, soft drinks, or instant noodles, so I get out quite often to buy coffee.
Starting from 6:30 PM, we study in our homeroom. This is called Yaja (Evening Self Study Time). We have to study until 9:20 PM, and after a short break-time, we move to the library to study for another hour and a half. We return to the dormitory at 11:20 PM. As of September 27, when I’m writing this letter, I have 3 weeks until midterm exams, so I’ve been studying really hard.
Back at the Dormitory, we have 40 minutes to wash (and have snacks). Strictly speaking, we aren’t allowed to bring food into the dorms, but I make use of my locker so that I can have something to eat before going to bed! Some adventurous friends even have instant noodles, but I haven’t tried yet because it’s too risky. You might say that living in a dormitory would be uncomfortable, but I think it really gives life to my school life. There are things that you can’t experience outside the dormitory. The best bit of dormitory life, I think, is that we can all hang out together after exams are over. When do you have exams this year? What do you usually do after exams are over? Tell me!
My favorite things to do are listening to music and taking pictures. Listening to music makes studying a bit more enjoyable. As for photography, I’ve had it as a hobby for a few years now. Before coming to Sangsan, I used to use a film camera to take photos, but I couldn’t bring it here. So, these days I make do with my phone camera. Here is a picture of the school that I shot:
What sort of hobbies do you have?
I look forward to your response soon! Tell me about your school life at Francis Lewis High School!
Best,
Fred
P.S.
Students in our year have filmed a video to send to Arlington High School, and I might be in the video (I haven’t seen the final video yet). Can you find me in the video?
