Diary Entry
Before School
9/1 Cloudy
Finally arriving on campus in my new school in America, I decide
to write something down in my diary. It was an extremely long flight from Korea
to here including the transfer; time seemed to be endless while I was on the
plane waiting for it to land on the ground. When the plane landed on the new
continent, I almost cried because of ecstasy. But unfortunately, the school
forgot to pick me up in the airport, so I took another few bunch of hours
looking for buses and trains to drive me school. When I arrived, there are only
a few coins left in my pocket. I felt upset about using up all the money I have
in just one day.
September
9/2 Sunny
Waking up at noon when sunlight is filling in every corner in my
room, I realized how long I have been sleeping. Because of being too tired
yesterday on travelling, my body almost collapsed when I wanted to stand up.
Sister Casey, who is the academic dean introduced me herself, my dorm and my
new roommate last night. My new roommate's name is Ellen Lloyd; she is an
American. Ellen introduced me herself also, and told me that I can find her for
help if I have any problems.
9/3 Sunny
I would like to add some details into my previous diaries. When I
arrived school on the day before yesterday, Sister Casey wanted me to wear my
hanbok (which is a type of traditional Korean formal dress) in the opening
ceremony; I refused at first because I didn't want to be so outstanding in a
situation where everyone is wearing their casual dress. At last, under her
cajolery, I chose to compromise and show my specialty to the community because
she told me that I am the only Korean in the school. I was feeling very awkward
and embarrassed at the beginning of the ceremony while everyone was staring at
me, but I felt less embarrassed when they all say that I'm pretty. Thank god,
no one disliked it.
9/10 Partly Cloudy
This is my first day of baby-sitting in America. I went to
Professor Bennett's house for his kids; he invited me to have brunch at their
house. One thing that really impressed me is that, I saw Professor Bennett, a
man, cooking food for his family in the kitchen. It is too shocking for me to
see this because in Korea, only women do the housework and men are usually
having their own businesses outside. There are two kids in the Bennett's, Sarah
and Jimmy; instead of being naughty and annoying, they are pretty mature at
their age. I had a good day with them.
9/25 Cloudy
September almost ends. In this first month of everything, I
realized the responsibilities that I have to carry on my shoulders. As a
scholarship student, I have to work in the dining hall for fifteen hours every
week, which means two to three hours everyday, and get good grades in all my
classes. Unlike some other students, my family isn't very rich; instead, it
could be described as poor; there is no extra money for me to spend on daily
supplies, so I have to do some part time jobs besides school work and the
dining hall work. The school work is very hard, especially in a language that I
am not using very often; I am afraid if I won't get good grades in my classes,
because I might lose my scholarship and the financial aid. Ellen asked me to
make more friends, but I feel like too busy to make friends or socialize with
others.
October
10/6 Rainy
I met Marci, the girl who lives in the single room on the opposite of my
room, and said "Hi" to her, but she didn't reply me. I was feeling a
little upset because of realizing the truth that not everyone in America is
nice and easy to get along with. Never mind, there's still a lot of work for me
to do. Fighting!
10/13 Sunny
Marci said "Hi" to me this morning. I always know that
she is a very nice person who says hi to everyone. She told me that she wasn't
having a good mood last Sunday, and she actually wants to be a friend of mine.
We had a walk and Marci showed me her camera, which looks very expensive and
nice. She told me about her family, about her personality and a lot of other
things about her, and at last she told me that I am special. It was a great
conversation with her, I'm very glad to have a new friend like her:)
10/20 Cloudy
After another full day of work, I saw Ellen and her boyfriend Kyle
kissing on the street while I was walking back to my dorm. They are so into each
other, so I didn't say hi for not interrupting. It is so different from my Korean concepts, because I was told in Korea that it is not allowed to do such thing in
public, even for married couples. American is such an open place where couples
could kiss and hug in public; I never thought about being like that, because in
Korea, your parents choose who you would marry and who brought the largest
benefit for both families. Things in America is so different than in Korea; I
feel difficult on accepting both concepts in a short period of time like this, and maybe I just need more time to adapt into this open and advanced society.
10/27 Rainy
There are two letters from my family today; one is from my mother,
and the other one is from my sister Theresa, who's fifteen years older than me.
My mother is being understanding as usual; she is much different than other
mothers in my thoughts, because she never forced anyone to do what they do not
want to. Even when I didn't tell her about my busy schedule, she is still
thinking about how my life is going on, and telling me not to worry about my
family. I feel homesick and extremely sorry about not writing any letter to
home telling everyone how I am doing in the U.S. Very different from my mother,
my sister is kind of like blaming at me. Her full letter is about how she cares
about me, and complaining about my behavior and environment in America, which
makes me feel like it is all my fault for not taking my responsibility as a
younger sister in the family. Maybe I should write her more often about my
life, so then she doesn't have to worry about me too much.
November
11/4 Rainy
It is a hard day today as usual. Thanksgiving is coming, and
because of that, many work (such as papers or projects) are due in just two
weeks. Ellen asked me to go hang out with her friends, but I have no time to
have fun because of the heavy work that I have to do for school and for my
little pocket money to spend. I never thought of having fun or finding a
boyfriend in America, because my work and my responsibility is too heavy. My
parents risked all their money on me, so I shall try hard to not disappoint
them.
11/13
Sunny
The
weather today was extremely good; the clouds on the sky seemed like huge sweet
marshmallows. I went to Professor Bennett’s house for baby-sitting because
their kids seemed to like me, and I like them a lot either. By steeping in the
open American culture, I eventually adapted some concepts in my mind, like
equality between women and men. I was a little scared on the opening school
ceremony when Sister Casey asked me to present myself in front of everyone, but
now I am more used to show my personality in front of everyone.
11/20
One Day Before Thanksgiving
Ellen
invited me to her house to have thanksgiving dinner with her family; she’s been
telling me that I need to relax a little, but I didn’t listen to her, and
instead, I treated her like a three-year-old kid daydreaming about something
impossible. This time I compromised, because I want to have someone to
celebrate the festival together. I am homesick, and I wonder how my family is
doing—my mother, my sister, my three brothers, and Father Lee… I missed my
father too, but it’s impossible to see him again because he had sacrificed
himself in the brutal Korean War. I am thankful to my father, because of the
contributions he had made for our country.
11/21
Thanksgiving Day
After
a few whiles of driving, we finally arrived Ellen’s house. Ellen’s house is so
much larger than my family’s house in Korea; it has six acres of land beside
it. Ellen’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd are really nice to me, they introduced
me themselves and their houses, which gave me a really wonderful impression
about all the Americans. At the meal, we mentioned about my homeland—Korea.
When they asked me about what we are wearing, Ellen wanted me to wear my hanbok
because she thinks it really fits me. After a few minutes of consideration, I
decided to let Ellen wear the hanbok. I’m very familiar with the steps to put
this huge dress on, and when I finished decorating her, she looked extremely
gorgeous. We showed her parents the dress, and they all think it’s pretty and
special. I decide to give this dress to her, because I think the hanbok fits
her perfectly, and it is very meaningful because she is my precious friend.
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