Doin' it

Well here we are, a little over a month into my program over here, and it’s one of those times where I just like to pause and take it all in.  I mean, here I am doing the two things I love most: traveling and learning.  Indeed, life is good.

Anyway, here’s what a look at what grad school has been like for me so far:

I enjoy the classes for the most part, although trying to discuss things in the German taught seminars still remains a bit of a struggle.  Then again, due to the abstractedness of some of these seminars, I wonder if I’d even be able to contribute much to the discussion in these classes even if they were taught in English.

In addition to our subject classes, we’re required to take a foreign language, which for me is French.  To be honest, I can’t help but laugh at myself every time I speak because I just sound so ridiculous, but I have fun all the same.  Also, learning French in a German-speaking environment is sometimes just beyond confusing.  My goal in this is to reach a B2 level by the end of my program, without sounding like a doofus every time I speak.

I’ve also managed to snag a job in our department’s research center, which has been a nice little introduction into the world of academia.  So far, my boss has me mostly proofreading articles in English for a book we’re planning on publishing in the coming year, but… ya know, if she ever needs a fancy PowerPoint template with pictures of BTS and TWICE, I’ve got a google drive folder full of them.  Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to dedicate as much time to reading the ranting thread at waygook.org at this job however…

Outside of these things, ultimate keeps me active during the weeknights, although I probably won’t be able to dedicate eight consecutive weekends to tournaments any more #weekendsR4studying.  Still, the tournaments I do go to are always a blast and filled with lots good times…and “landsharks”.

Anyway, I guess the point is, I’m doin’ it; living and studying in Germany, which is something I’ve wanted to do since my first experience abroad in Munich six years ago.  It feels great, and I feel very, very, very lucky to be doing what I am.

Keep on keepin’ on,

Mom’s spaghetti

Why Learn a Language?

What do you call someone who knows 3 languages? A trilingual.

What do you call someone who knows 2 languages? A bilingual.

What do you call someone who knows only 1 language? An American.

My co-teacher in Korea once told me this joke, and I gotta admit, it’s pretty good. While it is of course quite funny, there is also a very sad truth to it.  Indeed, as native English speakers we don’t “need” to learn any other language since ours is the lingua France (for now), but how much are we missing out on in not knowing another language?

A lot.

Despite all the quantifiable benefits such as better career prospects, smoother international travel, etc., there is one major perk to learning a foreign language; it is a major lesson in empathy.

In learning a foreign language, you are able to understand another’s way of thinking.  A language’s grammar and vocabulary often significantly influence the way we can think.  You might learn that the different honorifics in Korean force you to be aware of who you are speaking to, or who you are speaking about and give that person the respect they deserve.  Or you might learn that various verb prefixes or the ability to mash two or more nouns together in German allow you to express seemingly every conceivable concept in exact terms.  English learners might notice the fact that we have to capitalize the word “I”, and that it can almost never be omitted as the subject of a sentence, showing how our individuality seems to stand in the foreground as native English speakers.

Then, once you start really conversing in the new language, you inevitably run into frustrating situations in which you can’t seem to express certain things the way you want to.  You feel constricted by your foreign language, because in a way you are.  In addition to understanding the other’s point of view, speaking in a foreign language means giving up certain jokes, idioms, and cultural references that make up part of who you are, but can only be expressed in your native tongue.

However, after mastering a foreign language you’ll have conversely picked up many new jokes, idioms, and cultural references that can only truly be expressed in that language.  In doing so, you’ll gain a much deeper cultural understanding of speakers of that language.  You’ll also probably notice that these things are quite hard to describe to your Amer-, er, uh… monolingual friends.  For example, the concept of 정, or being able to watch/read the 눈치 of others are both things that can only be fully understood in the context of the Korean language.  In translating these concepts into English, their meaning is diminished because of their heavy cultural significance, which cannot be translated into English.  Thus, part of truly understanding a Korean is comprehending and having the ability to explain these concepts… in Korean.

Language is indeed a huge part of culture, and globally forcing everything to be done in English, while perhaps efficient, hides a significant part of people’s identities.  Thus, when conversing with non-native speakers in English, we often miss out on everything about them that couldn’t be fit into the English grammar and vocabulary.

So, learn a foreign language!  However, “economically useful” a language may appear, the deep understanding for the cultural other is something that cannot be overstated.  All it takes is a little bit of practice, every day.

Motivation

In just a couple weeks I’ll finally begin my Master’s program here at the University of Fulda.  I first found this program back in Fall 2016 while surfing the internet – er…uh, while working as a substitute teacher before moving to Korea.  It’s now been about three years since that day, and I must say it feels quite good to be here.  Having also spent the past two years or so mentally preparing for this program, I’m more than excited to start studying. 

So, to serve as a reminder of why I’m actually here doing this, and in case you were curious, here’s my letter of motivation I submitted when applying for the program earlier this year:

I was first introduced to Intercultural Communication as a field of study during my time studying abroad at the University of Munich in 2013/14.  It was there I enrolled in an introductory lecture on Intercultural communication with some of my classmates.  Although I found the class interesting, at that time I believe I was too young and inexperienced to really appreciate the truly profound concepts that we were discussing.

Nevertheless, my time abroad then left me continually seeking out more enriching intercultural experiences.  And so, I returned to Germany the following summer in 2015 for a 3-month internship where I worked with teams of international volunteers.  Following that I decided to spend another semester abroad in Bhubaneswar, India so that I might put myself in a place that was decidedly less familiar than Germany. 

Each experience abroad always left me with a little better understanding of why we do the things we do, and why we think things the way we do.  It’s easy enough to point out the differences between your culture and another, but to explain why those differences exist in an effective way is considerably more difficult.

With that in mind, I came to Korea in March 2017 and devoted myself to understanding the deep-rooted cultural differences between Korea and the U.S.  I’ve read over 1000 pages on Korean history and culture, as well as various intercultural communication books by authors such as Edward T. Hall, Geert Hofstede, Kathryn Sorrells, and Hans Jürgen Heringer.  I’ve studied the Korean language daily and participated in weekly language exchanges and gone on many excursions throughout the various provinces, taking my journal with me every time to mark down observations that I have.  As a result of this, I am now able to cooperate with and understand my coworkers on a much deeper level.  Additionally, I am able to speak about Korea with friends and family back home in an effective, understandable way – And that’s what is incredibly important.

As we progress into the future, international cooperation becomes more and more unavoidable.  The problems we face today simply are no longer solvable by one nation acting unilaterally.  How effective that cooperation is, however will be determined by our ability to uncover and communicate our innate cultural biases first.  Without effective communication, cooperation becomes exponentially more difficult.

It is for this reason that I am applying to the ICEUS Master’s program at FH-Fulda.  After thoroughly reviewing the program details, I believe it is the next logical step in my career.  As a student in the program, I would bring international work and study experiences that could contribute greatly to classroom discussion.

So there you have it, my motivation.  Hopefully this keeps me inspired while writing all those term papers in the semester breaks…