Need a hero?

Hi!
Today I had my second midterm. Its been a long week so I am looking forward to being able to sleep in! I have slowly been pushing what time I get out of bed for 9 am class to the very limit. This morning it was 8 50 and I still had time to spare but maybe I will be reenergized after the weekend!

On wednesday I had my bodybuilding written exam. Half the exam was about bodybuilding theory, like how muscles work, how to create a work out plan, some about the nervous system, the phases of weight lifting, how the body responds, etc. The second half was anatomy and specific exercise questions, like when you do this exercise what muscles are you working, or list 4 exercises that work this muscle, or what is the difference between these two exercises, etc. A week before the exam the professor posted online all of our previous quizzes and all of the exercises we were supposed to have memorized. Then one day before the exam he posts up a study guide and says the test will come from these question! I was mad at first because i had been studying very different material in a very different manner. but hey what can you do, at least he gave us the questions. Anyway I remember in class my professor saying that most of the kids have no idea what is going on during the class because it is all taught in English and that he was going to have a special review in Korean for one hour. I was thinking to myself, how can he possibly fit a whole semesters worth of lectures into one hour? I realized this meant that the Korean students were going to have to spend hours going through the copious amount of slides with dictionaries trying to figure out what these obscure workout words mean to see if they were the answer. that isnt super productive for studying for a midterm, especially when it was only one day away! I can scan through a powerpoint and find answers like its nothing because I speak English and it even took me about two hours! since i filled out the study guide with my answers I reposted it online so everyone in class could see it. The number of hits it was getting started to skyrocket.

The next day at the test I walk in and its all normal. I sit down next to some guy and we kinda just sit there, last minute cramming before we get the test. No one really says anything to me and the test begins. It was pretty easy, we had the questions after all. After the exam the guy next to me leans over and goes "Are you Elizabeth Lerret?" (that is what my name posts as on the website) and I just laugh (who else could possibly be named elizabeth lerret in this room....side note: almost all korean names have 3 syllables including family name) and say yes. He says thank you so much!! i would have failed with out you!! I just brush it off, oh no problem glad you did well..blah blah blah. I then stand up and turn around to see a group of guy just start clapping, and then another group repeatedly shouting I was their hero! My hero, My hero!! It was awesome. This would be the second standing ovation I have gotten in a sports class (the first being for doing a flip turn in swimming). And since I expect no standing ovations whatsoever in taekwondo I even got my friend Won seok (he was in my lifting group if you recall) to agree to help me for the midterm! so you give some you get some! It will be funny to see what the average score on the midterm will be. If you look at our weekly quizzes the highest average ever is 4.21/10. I think a lot more people did well this time, I even had a guy come up to me afterwards asking if he was pronouncing action potential right since on my sheet was the only place he saw it! Hopefully we get the exam back soon!

It has been a little difficult having Korean from 9-1 and midterms. I have to wake up early, dont get that time to study, and also am not doing my normal stellar job on our quizzes because I am spending my time studying for midterms. After next week though I am going to do some intense studying so I can be back ahead (does that make sense...back ahead?). I was studying for todays midterm every chance I got during class. It was Korean Traditional Society and Modernization. What amazes me is the study guides here! The teachers give us the test before hand. Its ridiculous...I could NEVER get away with the amount I study for a midterm here at Colby. At Colby you are expected to know everything we learned (rightfully so) where as here the teacher just picks at the end whats important. Whats the point of going to class? Whatever, not complaining. I don't want to spend that much time on it when I am abroad anyway. ANNNDD we dont even write in full sentences! My professors (professorSSS PLURAL!) specifically asked we only write bullet points. How you can you possibly explain why something happened with just one verb!?? But once again, after I got over the initial shock and I kept my mouth shut (thought I still remain appalled).

I do have some exciting news!! I am going to graduate in December! Over this past year I have done so much that my priorities don't really line up with what Colby can offer me anymore. I am thinking about becoming a language teacher for the time being and there is nothing geared towards that discipline at Colby. I could take education classes but they would all be entry level, whats the point? Additionally there is no Korean or Arabic studies. So I'm finishing up my credits and hitting the road! I don't have a perfect plan yet but I think I am going to apply to teach English in Korea starting in March (that is when the school year starts). Another thing I am thinking about is this joint program between schools across America and the Peace Corps where you can get your masters in whatever you want basically and do the Peace Corp together. Not sure if I am ready for that though. This is a big crossroads because the Peace Corp is in Jordan (aka Arabic) and teaching in English is in Korea (aka Korean). What language will I choose?! I want to do both but I should probably just focus on one at a time. Teaching English in Korea would give me some experience and I can see if this is something really want to do. But the Peace Corp is an amazing opportunity and I could get a masters too. I guess I can do both. Or maybe the hell with it all and I'll just go work with Ashley in St. Croix : )

Alright well we have NO INTERNET anywhere on campus this weekend because of cable work....i have no idea what I am going to do, stare at the wall?!? just kidding. but I do need to download everything I need for my Korean government and politics exam. Have a good weekend!

note to family: even though i graduate before dec 24, it is after thanksgiving, when we pull names out of the hat...sooooo i think that means i have one more year out of the grab....