I've now been living in South Korea for eight months. I'll be going home to New York in June. However, I'll actually be coming back to Korea again in the fall! Korea has become my (and my cat George's) second home. You've experienced some of my adventures like Korean food, my community in Seoul, and Seoul's public transportation. I hope you can now understand why I think Seoul is a great place to live.
One thing I have learned from living in South Korea is how exciting and fulfilling it is to speak more than one language. I was born and raised in New York with two parents who spoke English fluently, so I only spoke English. I studied Italian in middle school and high school, but I never got very good at it. I always wanted to learn a second language and use it easily and naturally. Korean has been very difficult to learn, but there really is no easy language. I have pushed myself to study for eight years. I've had many embarrassing moments but also many satisfying moments speaking Korean. It's hard to know when exactly I'll be fluent. What I do know is that speaking Korean has allowed me to experience things in Korea I absolutely never could have experienced if I only spoke English. You've seen examples of this right here in my Field Notes. I know some of you already speak more than one language.
