Hello ladies and gentlemen! It has been such a long time since I have written (it seems like I put this statement every time I write a report--;;). After the marvelous summer vacation was gone, school started in early August, and already the first quarter is over! In fact, I am on my fall break now. Now, I am a junior-which means I am an upperclassman! Time is going so much faster than sophomore year; the old saying that the speed that time passes is proportional to one’s age does make more sense now that I actually feel itㅠㅠ. To say the truth, before I came to the U.S., I imagined myself to be absolutely “American” by this time of the year. Yet, I am still the same-ol’-me (although, I hope that I have matured and attained some wisdom). There are still jokes I do not understand, cultural differences I cannot overcome, people who treat me as a foreigner that they feel obligated to be polite and nice to rather than accepting me as a legitimate friend, and so on. However please, if you are an “exchange student-wanna be”, do not fear any of the things that I just mentioned above. Anybody is more outgoing and open-minded than me, so if I have come this far, you can do better! 화이팅! Anyways, back to the business, the long intro is over, and I shall begin my story over past several months^^.

 First of all, Portland camp was amazing. The other Korean exchange students I met there were down to earth, and fun to be with; we all got really close by the time we had to go back to our original states. Before the camp began, I was actually thrilled to meet the Spanish students that would join the camp; however, as time went by, because of many differences between us (and other factors), we did not get along as well as I had hoped, and in the end, I thought ‘한국인에게는 역시 한국인이 제일 잘 맞아ㅎ!’(which is so obvious;;) We got to see mountains, water falls, and cave, flower garden, went bowling, visited malls, museums, SEATTLE!!, and so on. 
 

Another

  A special event that I experienced during the camp was July 4^th, the Independence day. My host family and I went to Washington to get together with some family friends. I also enjoyed the atmosphere of people gathering to celebrate the historical day, cook barbecue, and have fun watching fireworks until it got cold at night! Plus, one thing that I noticed about U.S. is that grocery stores are 24/7 holidays. They always sell products to prepare for the upcoming holidays, as if they are encouraging people to purchase goods for holidays that are not even that close. Spring- Valentine’s day, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter…Summer- Memorial Day, Independence Day, Barbecue/Grilling season (I know it’s not a holiday, but it is a big deal here!!)…Fall-Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas…Winter- Christmas, New Year’s Day…

  A few days before school began, my host family and I went camping to Flagstaff which is a cooler part of Arizona (still, way hotter than the majority of the other states). We stayed in a foldable (?) camping trailer, rode on MTVs, explored the forest, and just enjoyed the peace of nature. A few times, the dogs ran away quite far, and my host dad panicked, riding the MTV to rescue his “children”. He kept saying “We shouldn’t have brought the dogs here. Not a good idea.” 
 

 The week after the dance was Relay for Life. It is an annual event held for the purpose of raising money for the research for cancer cure. My school, through all our hard fundraiser work, raised over $3000! Survivors of cancers and groups that registered to join the event gathered in a local ball park, had ceremony, walked costume laps to raise money (people could put money into the bags of the contestants they liked the most as they walked a lap around the tents that people stayed in). Out of various laps, I was in the Princess Lap, of which of course I wore my precious 한복J; at night, the best part of Relay for Life, there was the luminary ceremony. (I had to leave early and could not stay for it, and was upsetㅜㅜ) 
 

 

 

 

 

  I guess this is enough for now. Thank you for reading my long and 허접한 reportㅎ (It means a lot to me :D). AZ is much cooler now, I am sure Korea is as well (Come on, Korea has a beautiful weather this time of the year!). I hope you all had a good time during 추석(I miss itL). See you soon~!

Email: yein1212@gmail.com