Conversation Partner

Today was actually my second meeting with June, but I thought we were supposed to keep a Word document journal of our sessions and turn it in as one big document so I didn't post about the first meeting on Blogger. Below I have copied & pasted my first journal entry:

9-15-2010, 2-3 PM

Today I met June. She is from South Korea and has been studying in Texas for a little over a year. Her English is quite good but she is self-conscious about it. Turns out, she knows my best German friend, Rebecca Kutscheit! They were in IEP together last fall.

I don’t know much about South Korea so I was really interested to ask her about her country. She said that Americans are much more openly affectionate than Koreans and that eye contact here was shocking to her, because in South Korea, it is proper to look at someone’s nose rather than in their eyes. You only look in the eyes of close friends and family. So interesting! She also told me that the school system is very similar to American schools: elementary, middle, high school, and anyone with good enough grades can get into college.

We talked about our interests a little, too. June loves to read and write, as do I. She was so pleased to hear that I am a children’s author because she is a writer in South Korea! I gathered that all of her published books are about travel but she’s also working on some novels. She said she would love my help with her book about the United States. How cool is that, that now I know a published author in South Korea?

I can’t meet with June next week because she will be in New York with her husband. She told me that they fly back and forth to visit each other. She also mentioned that she misses her dog very much, but that her husband has everything in order. June is so kind and sweet, with a big grin! I am excited to meet with her again in two weeks.

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Today's entry:

Today I met June for coffee. She ordered a cappuccino, her favorite. I ordered a tall mocha light frappuccino... okay, okay, and a warmed up piece of coffee cake. =\ Sue me, that stuff is delicious! We sat in the plus Starbucks chairs for two hours talking. She says she doesn't speak English very well, but she does!

I was so touched to hear that she had googled my children's book, searched for it on barnesandnoble.com and ordered it!! She said it should be here next week and she wants me to sign it. How adorable is that? She asked me to tell her the big long story of how my children's book came to be. I also learned today that she loves taking walks, so I might suggest taking her for a walk with Gabby (my dog and the main character of my children's book) on the Trinity Trails next week.

June also told me that she has two daughters who are with her in Fort Worth. She swears they speak English much better than her, but they all speak Korean at home. She also said that her daughters (who got to pick their English names) want to stay in Texas and are saddened at the thought of returning to Korea! Apparently there is a lot of pressure on Korean kids to be geniuses and go to the best colleges and get the best jobs and, "Here, no one cares." Sad, but amusing.

June and her daughters flew to NYC to meet her husband for a six day visit. This was June's second time to NYC and she says that if she were "young like [me]" she would move to NYC in a heartbeat. Her favorite part is Central Park because it reminds her of parks in Korea. She told me that she feels like a better mother here because she is a workaholic and lived at a studio near her job Monday-Friday in Korea and that her husband and mother-in-law took care of her kids during the week. She's really enjoying her time with her daughters in Texas and is also reluctant to go back to Korea, except that she misses her husband every day. These kinds of problems make my problems seem so minuscule.

Besides all that, we discussed my horses (she saw pictures on my Little Gabby Books website), health and fitness in Korea, language difficulties, books, et cetera. June is so sweet, I can't imagine anyone not liking her! Oh, and I also told her that I spoke with Rebecca over webcam last weekend and that she sends her love from Germany. June was delighted.