I have good news! I got good grades for all of my midterm tests, including the speaking test!!
There is a rule here that every half semester we have to change our language teacher. I have a new language teacher now who knows little English. I think it will take me some time to get used to the teaching style of the new teacher. I also spend more time on homework every day now because the grammar is getting more difficult.
I have been in Korea for more than a month, and I can feel myself getting more confident about using Korean in public. Now I am able to order food, ask for prices when shopping, and responding to someone who asks for directions in Korean.
Last Friday, we had a Korean song activity on campus. All Level One students got together, learned to sing and present. The next day, I went to the shopping and cultural center for young people —— hongik. There, I found out that it is easy to come across local Korean figures like rap stars. There are a lot of cafes and shops. Starbucks is not the only famous cafe brand here. Instead, there are all kinds of local cafe brands. Some of them have special themes, like a cat cafe or sheep cafe. The sheep cafe has two real sheep in the front yard. Customers play with them, and the desserts and drinks are not expensive at all. People usually meet friends, sit down and enjoy free WiFi or even do homework on their laptops there. The Cafe is a very good choice for hanging out here.
My classmates and I are planning to go on a two-day trip next weekend to a southern city. We are calculating the budget and doing research online. Hopefully the trip and everything will go well :)