Sunday, August 01, 2010
More Photos Up!
Check out the link to the right for the latest batch of photos. More still to come...
Closing Ceremony Speech
This is the full text of the speech I gave at the graduation ceremony. I amended it on the fly here and there, but basically it's the same:
Administrators, Colleagues, Students, Volunteers,
It doesn’t seem possible that four weeks ago, we all sat in this very room, anxious to begin the Hanyang International Summer School program of 2010. We were nervous, some of us, jet lagged, many of us, excited, all of us, to embark on the international education of a lifetime.
Students, you have spent four weeks cramming your heads with formulae, theories, practices, technical diagrams. You’ve written more than you thought possible in a four-week span. You’ve learned how to mike up an interview, how to format a screenplay, and how to work in a team where not everyone shares the same native language.
You’ve seen some of Korea’s most prized historical areas, learned the history and pride of a people who have developed the strength and han to endure any and everything. I hope you have learned from each other as well as from your professors, sharing your views with other students. This is truly an experience that will continue to resonate within you for months, even years to come. Sometimes it will surprise you – the change that has occurred that you may not even recognize at this moment.
You might find yourself reaching for new experiences after this summer. You might realize that there is always more than one way to understand a situation, a reaction, a word, a gesture. You may discover that despite all the pressures of exams, final projects, and loads of writing, you will miss this place like you’ve missed no other.
Professors, I hope I can speak for us all when I say that it has truly been a privilege and an honor to work with these bright, energetic, funny, talented students from all over the world. Their hard work will do more than earn them grades; it will change their futures forever, and hopefully, they might just remember us when they remember their time in S. Korea.
Programs like this one are, in my estimation, an essential part our future. A future we can believe in, one that promotes cross-cultural dialogue and which fosters a recognition of how our differences can become our strengths, not our weaknesses. I’m sure you’ve heard it said that we are all the same. I would like to respectfully disagree with that notion. Biologically, yes, of course, we are far more similar than different. But our cultures, our languages, our ideas about what it means to be human, to be an adult, to be a child, a father, a daughter…these are the ideals that often separate us because we can’t grasp how anyone could possibly understand these basic concepts of life any differently from our own views. This is why culture shock exists. We are NOT all exactly alike. But, if we can embrace that, and seek to understand the value in these differences, then we can begin to create understanding where there was ignorance, tolerance where there was hatred. We may even decide to adopt the ideals, values and concepts that another culture espouses once we understand them on their own terms, as opposed to simply contrasting them with our own perspectives.
You young people have heard the message before, I’m sure: you are the future. I would add to that: you have the power to co-create a future that we all need, based on what you’ve learned here and what you will continue to learn throughout your lives. Together, we have shared this experience, so we are bonded, and we have a responsibility to carry forward what we’ve gained this summer. I want you to look around the room and recognize that you are now part of something larger than yourself. You are now part of the international community.
So don’t forget the lessons you’ve gleaned on this campus, in this city, in this country. Don’t forget the way you feel right now, this very moment, and the way you felt that first day of class. Don’t forget any of it. This is the gift that Hanyang University has given us, to live our lives with more awareness of this human race, and of our place in the world.
To those in the Office for International Cooperation, I salute you for of your hard work and joyful dedication to your students and professors. Thank you, everyone, for making unforgettable memories here at Hanyang University this summer.
I wish everyone a safe journey to your homes in the coming week, and I hope we will one day meet again.
Komapsumnida.
Administrators, Colleagues, Students, Volunteers,
It doesn’t seem possible that four weeks ago, we all sat in this very room, anxious to begin the Hanyang International Summer School program of 2010. We were nervous, some of us, jet lagged, many of us, excited, all of us, to embark on the international education of a lifetime.
Students, you have spent four weeks cramming your heads with formulae, theories, practices, technical diagrams. You’ve written more than you thought possible in a four-week span. You’ve learned how to mike up an interview, how to format a screenplay, and how to work in a team where not everyone shares the same native language.
You’ve seen some of Korea’s most prized historical areas, learned the history and pride of a people who have developed the strength and han to endure any and everything. I hope you have learned from each other as well as from your professors, sharing your views with other students. This is truly an experience that will continue to resonate within you for months, even years to come. Sometimes it will surprise you – the change that has occurred that you may not even recognize at this moment.
You might find yourself reaching for new experiences after this summer. You might realize that there is always more than one way to understand a situation, a reaction, a word, a gesture. You may discover that despite all the pressures of exams, final projects, and loads of writing, you will miss this place like you’ve missed no other.
Professors, I hope I can speak for us all when I say that it has truly been a privilege and an honor to work with these bright, energetic, funny, talented students from all over the world. Their hard work will do more than earn them grades; it will change their futures forever, and hopefully, they might just remember us when they remember their time in S. Korea.
Programs like this one are, in my estimation, an essential part our future. A future we can believe in, one that promotes cross-cultural dialogue and which fosters a recognition of how our differences can become our strengths, not our weaknesses. I’m sure you’ve heard it said that we are all the same. I would like to respectfully disagree with that notion. Biologically, yes, of course, we are far more similar than different. But our cultures, our languages, our ideas about what it means to be human, to be an adult, to be a child, a father, a daughter…these are the ideals that often separate us because we can’t grasp how anyone could possibly understand these basic concepts of life any differently from our own views. This is why culture shock exists. We are NOT all exactly alike. But, if we can embrace that, and seek to understand the value in these differences, then we can begin to create understanding where there was ignorance, tolerance where there was hatred. We may even decide to adopt the ideals, values and concepts that another culture espouses once we understand them on their own terms, as opposed to simply contrasting them with our own perspectives.
You young people have heard the message before, I’m sure: you are the future. I would add to that: you have the power to co-create a future that we all need, based on what you’ve learned here and what you will continue to learn throughout your lives. Together, we have shared this experience, so we are bonded, and we have a responsibility to carry forward what we’ve gained this summer. I want you to look around the room and recognize that you are now part of something larger than yourself. You are now part of the international community.
So don’t forget the lessons you’ve gleaned on this campus, in this city, in this country. Don’t forget the way you feel right now, this very moment, and the way you felt that first day of class. Don’t forget any of it. This is the gift that Hanyang University has given us, to live our lives with more awareness of this human race, and of our place in the world.
To those in the Office for International Cooperation, I salute you for of your hard work and joyful dedication to your students and professors. Thank you, everyone, for making unforgettable memories here at Hanyang University this summer.
I wish everyone a safe journey to your homes in the coming week, and I hope we will one day meet again.
Komapsumnida.
The Aftermath
I feel guilty (a little) for having neglected my blogging. Honestly, the last 2 weeks in Korea were jam-packed with grading, travel, injury, and preparations to come home. I will clarify...
The weekend that students went to the Boreong Mud Festival, I decided to stay on my own in Seoul. Best decision ever! Despite the pouring rain, I went to Jogyesa Temple on Saturday. I had a tour by a very kind man who was brave to speak so much in English (and with Buddhism, the concepts are sometimes difficult enough to express in your own language, much less a second one), and he was very patient with me. I had a chance to meditate in the great hall by myself for a precious little while. I wanted to return to the temple the following week, but it was the last week of the program and I was too busy with grading and speech-writing to return.
The following day, I went to the sauna by myself, and as I expected, wondered why in hell I'd waiting nearly 3 weeks to go! It was marvelous - soaking in hot spring-fed baths, scrubbing all the dead skin off (you would be amazed/disgusted by how much dead skin comes off!) and then more soaking and lounging in the steam room and actual sauna room. Glorious!
Spending the time alone was very good for me, but I also got to have dinner with one of the student volunteers, and enjoyed the time we had to just sit and be relaxed. So much of the time in Seoul was running to and fro, with large crowds of students, and having a lot of fuss made about most things. This weekend was the quiet before the storm...
The program ended on July 23 with a graduation ceremony in which I gave a speech to the students (I was very honored to have been asked). Leading up to that was a crazy week of reading and grading student work, the students falling asleep in class due to lack of sleep, and my attempts (eventually successful) to get my plans together for a trip to Ulsan, the city I once worked in.
I was very sad to see the end of the program, but by now I've taught enough of these summer programs to be slightly inured to the depression that can easily set in after an intense schedule that forges close friendships. Everyone was exhausted by the end, but thrilled with our efforts and the experiences of our four weeks together. I felt very bad, however, for one group of students whose film was not screened due to technical difficulties. My heart ached for them - I've experienced that myself, and I know how heartbreaking and disappointing it is.
My time in Ulsan began with me spraining my ankle while getting into a taxi (only I could manage that, I'm sure). The injury has not been totally debilitating, however, and with inexpensive acupuncture easy to come by in Korea, the healing process was sped up. I enjoyed seeing my former home and some of my students from years ago - still working on their English language skills and still with the most wonderful sense of humor. They were very grateful that I remember them and that I took the time to visit. I promised them we'd always be like family, which is definitely true. I spent a day at a creek with my former director and her family, gingerly stepping on the rocks and dunking my feet in the cool water. I also spent a lovely day at the beach with my former room mate. Got a little sun and enjoyed the waves. My friend and I did some shopping together - she made sure I was able to get the things I wanted to bring home as gifts.
After returning to Seoul, I had to pack all my stuff, say good bye to dear friends, and spend one last morning at the sauna (spring-fed bath house). All of a sudden it was time to leave my little apartment, and it seemed as if 5 weeks had flown by in the space of days. Off to Incheon Airport, then, last bits of duty-free shopping, and it was time to board. The flight was uneventful, and to my great surprise, went by quicker than the flight over.
Now I'm still in the clutches of jet-lag, but each day is getting a little clearer. I spent the first 48 hours in a fog (so much so that I double-paid for my first meal back in the States - a wasted $25 that the waiter apparently felt was his %100 tip). I've been sleeping a lot in the late afternoons, and waking up at 3:00 a.m. covered in sweat, disoriented and not at all sure what time it is or where I am. This is my least favorite thing about traveling to Asia - the return jet lag. Ah well, it'll pass in a couple more days.
Now I have to sort out my memories, photos, and things to do this week. Slowly get back into life as it normally is, but not without some profound if not entirely obvious changes... more on that back at Fred In The Can.
I'll be posting more photos here, however, so keep checking for those. There are tons more photos - going through them is a chore, but one that is worth the effort.
And so, from my couch in Upstate New York... it's great to be home, but I do miss my Korea.
The weekend that students went to the Boreong Mud Festival, I decided to stay on my own in Seoul. Best decision ever! Despite the pouring rain, I went to Jogyesa Temple on Saturday. I had a tour by a very kind man who was brave to speak so much in English (and with Buddhism, the concepts are sometimes difficult enough to express in your own language, much less a second one), and he was very patient with me. I had a chance to meditate in the great hall by myself for a precious little while. I wanted to return to the temple the following week, but it was the last week of the program and I was too busy with grading and speech-writing to return.
The following day, I went to the sauna by myself, and as I expected, wondered why in hell I'd waiting nearly 3 weeks to go! It was marvelous - soaking in hot spring-fed baths, scrubbing all the dead skin off (you would be amazed/disgusted by how much dead skin comes off!) and then more soaking and lounging in the steam room and actual sauna room. Glorious!
Spending the time alone was very good for me, but I also got to have dinner with one of the student volunteers, and enjoyed the time we had to just sit and be relaxed. So much of the time in Seoul was running to and fro, with large crowds of students, and having a lot of fuss made about most things. This weekend was the quiet before the storm...
The program ended on July 23 with a graduation ceremony in which I gave a speech to the students (I was very honored to have been asked). Leading up to that was a crazy week of reading and grading student work, the students falling asleep in class due to lack of sleep, and my attempts (eventually successful) to get my plans together for a trip to Ulsan, the city I once worked in.
I was very sad to see the end of the program, but by now I've taught enough of these summer programs to be slightly inured to the depression that can easily set in after an intense schedule that forges close friendships. Everyone was exhausted by the end, but thrilled with our efforts and the experiences of our four weeks together. I felt very bad, however, for one group of students whose film was not screened due to technical difficulties. My heart ached for them - I've experienced that myself, and I know how heartbreaking and disappointing it is.
My time in Ulsan began with me spraining my ankle while getting into a taxi (only I could manage that, I'm sure). The injury has not been totally debilitating, however, and with inexpensive acupuncture easy to come by in Korea, the healing process was sped up. I enjoyed seeing my former home and some of my students from years ago - still working on their English language skills and still with the most wonderful sense of humor. They were very grateful that I remember them and that I took the time to visit. I promised them we'd always be like family, which is definitely true. I spent a day at a creek with my former director and her family, gingerly stepping on the rocks and dunking my feet in the cool water. I also spent a lovely day at the beach with my former room mate. Got a little sun and enjoyed the waves. My friend and I did some shopping together - she made sure I was able to get the things I wanted to bring home as gifts.
After returning to Seoul, I had to pack all my stuff, say good bye to dear friends, and spend one last morning at the sauna (spring-fed bath house). All of a sudden it was time to leave my little apartment, and it seemed as if 5 weeks had flown by in the space of days. Off to Incheon Airport, then, last bits of duty-free shopping, and it was time to board. The flight was uneventful, and to my great surprise, went by quicker than the flight over.
Now I'm still in the clutches of jet-lag, but each day is getting a little clearer. I spent the first 48 hours in a fog (so much so that I double-paid for my first meal back in the States - a wasted $25 that the waiter apparently felt was his %100 tip). I've been sleeping a lot in the late afternoons, and waking up at 3:00 a.m. covered in sweat, disoriented and not at all sure what time it is or where I am. This is my least favorite thing about traveling to Asia - the return jet lag. Ah well, it'll pass in a couple more days.
Now I have to sort out my memories, photos, and things to do this week. Slowly get back into life as it normally is, but not without some profound if not entirely obvious changes... more on that back at Fred In The Can.
I'll be posting more photos here, however, so keep checking for those. There are tons more photos - going through them is a chore, but one that is worth the effort.
And so, from my couch in Upstate New York... it's great to be home, but I do miss my Korea.
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