My first 3 months in Korea

To celebrate the first anniversary of my blog, I decided that it’s time for another post. The past 3 months have been so incredibly busy that I barely found the time to contact any of my friends. 😥

So, what have I been doing in the past 3 months? The answer is pretty straightforward: studying Korean. When we arrived at the language institute of Sun Moon University (in Cheonan) all the students took a level test to determine in which class they would put us.

During the first term (fall) I finished intermediate I and II. Although it wasn’t easy at all, I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot. My classmates were nice and we had two pretty cool teachers.

I also took my first TOPIK test in November. It was one of the hardest exams I’ve ever taken! Let me explain you what exactly TOPIK is and why it is so important:

TOPIK is a national exam that tests a student’s proficiency in the Korean language. Sungkyunkwan University (the university I will attend next year) requires journalism students to have a TOPIK level 6. Level 6 (6급) is the highest level you can achieve on the TOPIK exam. As you can see below, this means getting at least 230/300. As I mentioned before, I took the test this November and although the results have not been published yet, I am pretty sure that I did not even reach level 3 (120/300). Consequently, I will have to work really really hard to get my 6급 before summer 2017 ends.

Although I do not like living in the dorms of Sun Moon University Cheonan Campus (bad food, poor hygiene, doors closed between 11 pm and 5 am, quite far from the city center) I did meet wonderful people here. My roommate is so sweet and considerate and the other friends I made are really amazing! It’s because of my friends that I still feel motivated to go on, because we are in this together and we can share our troubles and worries. ❤