My Summer Attending the Harvard Summer School-Seoul Program- Summer 2011
My first impression of Seoul was that it was a very modernized city. Later the more I learned about it the more I was impressed. Its transportation system particularly caught my interest because it was so efficient and organized. My first film assignment was on the subject of Korea’s subway system. The term “Green City” kept coming to my mind whenever I walked around Seoul. From the streets to the subway everything seemed so green, both literally and figuratively. When I got to the dorms at Ewha I was equally impressed with the design of the dorms. I could tell that the rooms had been arranged for maximum space efficiency. I wish that American colleges took notes on Korea’s interior design!
One of my favorite parts of the program was having a roommate from Korea. It’s really amazing that halfway around the world I would find a person so similar to me. We understood each other’s temperaments and sense of humor perfectly. She taught me a lot about Korean life and I told her as much as I could about living in America. We were able to see Korea through each other’s eyes. She asked my opinion on many things because she wanted to see her home from an outsider’s perspective. Experiencing Korea with native Korean friends made my immersion into the culture that much deeper. We were all happy with the international exchange of jokes, music, and ideas. She taught me many phrases in Korean that I could have never learned from a textbook. Towards the end we even exchanged each other’s entire music libraries.
I had already studied Korean for a year at Harvard before doing this program. On the first day of Korean class I was worried because the class would be held only in Korean. I wondered whether I was ready to understand, would I sink or swim? However, as the days passed I became used to speaking only Korean in class. My listening and speaking skills increased really fast. I made a point of using what I learned in class in my everyday life. I ordered and bought things using my deepening language skills. When I didn’t know something I asked. Overall, it was the best combination, being able to learn the language both formally and colloquially.
The film studies class that I took alongside Intermediate Korean was truly amazing. I learned how to shoot and edit videos and learned the basics of filmmaking theory. It was great getting both a practical and theoretical approach to the films and techniques we studied. Learning how to work effectively as a team is one of the most important things I got out of the class. Filmmaking is completely dependent upon team effort. My team consisted of another Harvard student who is a film major and two native Ewha students. We got a long very well and each did our best to contribute our strengths to the team. Our system was very productive and I was very proud of our end result.
Overall my experience in Korea was culturally and socially enlightening. When I left for Korea I was searching for a more global perspective on my own culture. I definitely accomplished that goal. After coming home I kept comparing everything to Korea! I was able to view my own way of life more critically as a result of having lived in another culture. Korea will always have a special place in my heart. There I made great friendships, ate delicious and healthy food, and experienced unforgettable things. If given the chance I would love to return to Seoul.
Daily Guerrero, '14