During the second week, besides attending classes, I also got the opportunity to participate in what we called “동아리.” They are extracurriculars taught by different professors in the program. The process of choosing which ones to register for was expectedly hard. They all sounded really fun, but because of time constraints, I was only able to attend so much: 문학, 사물도리, & 드라마 동아리.
It is hard to believe, but my first day at 문학 동아리 (the literature club), I wrote and read my first Korean Poem. It was a proof that one can be creative and have fun with words despite only knowing so few. The 동아리’s also provide me with many opportunities to interact with other students who were not necessarily in my level, something I found very helpful and enjoyed.
Additionally in class, many students, including myself found the first couple of lessons to be more of a revision of what we had previously learned. I believe that may have been a pedagogical strategy from the professors to help ease the learning process at the beginning. And It sure worked!