Post-183: Korean Course Success

The designation "one of the best decisions I've made in years"  is one I have happily applied, these last few weeks, to my decision to complete an intensive Korean course in Seoul. It's over now. It took place in January 2014.

I write this a week after I returned to the USA on "Chinese New Year's Day", Friday Jan. 31st 2014. (What I'm doing now -- I will explain in a future post -- is even more intensive and is another good decision, and for similar reasons.)

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Why was the intensive Korean course a good decision?

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The simplest answer is that the class left my satisfied and optimistic at the end of each day, despite its difficulty. Every day of the Korean course was fun; the teachers were great and professional; I feel the course improved my Korean (it was my first-ever formal class; all my previous knowledge was just picked up "somehow" from living there); it gave me the opportunity to be a student again and in the unique context of a half-EastAsian/half-White class (six Whites [three USA, three Europe] and six East-Asians) which was interesting to observe; it let me met many interesting/fun people from all over the world; it gave me a window into Korean university life. I'm really glad I did it.

It left me wishing it were not ending. Alas, it ended. The future is wide open.

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Note: I labelled this post under several categories, including (naturally) "Korean language" and "Korea", and also, less self-evidently, "Purpose of Life". One could criticize my decision to go back and do this course as a  "waste of time", or something. But....Well, to spare this entry from becoming bloated by hundreds more words, I'll say that I disagree, and the reader of these words, if inclined, can make his own conclusions about my use of that category here!