pollyanna’s kiosk

a corner of constant learning

[pollyannaskiosk]

“about me” post

age: 20

major: translation & interpreting

foreign languages: english, korean

current course: 3

current location: Suwon, Korea (as an exchange student for 1 semester)

current classes in Korea:

Debate

-> English language classes, where we discuss issues and improve critical thinking skills. The key thing is to learn how to debate and present our ideas as well as arguments to support opinions.

Topic discussion

-> Another English language class which is similar to the previous one. However, here we just share our own opinions on the given matter without debating.

교양한국어 / Korean language

-> Classes of Korean language in a group of other exchange students. We cover all the aspects of language learning: lexis, grammar, reading, listening, writing. The level is 3급.

SNS

-> Here we are creating our personal brand and presenting it via social media platforms. Discussing methods for visualising our ideas, and actually do it.

[pollyannaskiosk]

a few days left!! i decided to indulge myself and had fried chicken🍗

and only yesterday i finally tried tanghulu: it is a Chinese snack of candied fruit. nowadays, Koreans love this sweet treat too, so it was a must for me to try it. super cute and sweet!

[pollyannaskiosk]

경복궁 / Gyeongbokgung, the biggest Korean palace

[pollyannaskiosk]

december 3 // sightseeing

studying may be fun, but there’re only 2,5 weeks left. i don’t know if i’ll ever have a chance to visit Korea once again, so I thought I must take the most of this journey. i’ll always have time to keep up with my homework, but memories are much more valuable.

[pollyannaskiosk]

am i a coffee addict? absolutely.

finishing summaries of 2 Korean articles is a goal for today. it’s a homework for our political translation course. writing summaries is time-consuming as you need to comprehend the text in Korean, which is difficult. such kind of articles are full of new words we’re supposed to learn by heart.

so, there’s pattern that works for me:

1. finding new words and their definition

2. translation of the paragraphs, one by one

3. highlighting the main ideas in each paragraph and quotes that can’t be omitted

4. putting all the highlighted parts together, using necessary grammar

boom, you’re cool because you have done the assignment and practiced translating🤝🏻

[pollyannaskiosk]

my major is translation&interpreting, which implies i must have a perfect command of foreign languages. and also, we have several subjects dedicated to different aspects. now, for instance, i’m studying the U.S. security system 💁🏼‍♀️

[pollyannaskiosk]

november 30 // day at seoul

today we went to Seoul to meet with our friends. we are having exams in a week, so i though it would be great to have a day-off without stress, anxiety and preparation.

(btw, udon was delicious)

[pollyannaskiosk]

first snow in Korea

[pollyannaskiosk]

november 15 // korean bbq restaurant

korean students invited me to a korean restaurant. i’ve been to this place before, but this time was more about gaining experience and knowledge of cuisine (and eating too, obviously).

i tried 삼겹살 (pork belly) and 닭갈비 (stir-fried chicken). 삼겹살 was cooked with mushrooms, pepper, aubergine, sausage, sprouts and onions. the meat itself is fatty and all these ingredients are fried with a big amount of oil. so this dish is not a diet-friendly, but delicious.

and i love korean restaurants as they have a self-bar (셀프코너) where you can get as much side dishes as you want. there were kimchi, a special sauce for meat, jalapeños peppers, radish, seaweed, salad leaves. and a big pot of rice, of course.

[pollyannaskiosk]

a week’s photo dump

[pollyannaskiosk]

an exchange student’s life is hard until a cup of caramel macchiato