A new challenge
About two weeks have already passed since the entrance. I remember the first moment when I came across a lady on the first floor of the Oak Hall who looked like an instructor or an officer working here. I asked the lady in Korean, "Excuse me. I am here to check in. What should I do?" But instead of giving me an answer, she gave me a whispering response stepping toward me, "Don't speak Korean while you are here." Turning around behind her, I frowned for a second. I did not feel good; I am a Korean but I cannot speak Korean here in Korea? Anyway, thanks to her help, I checked in soon and got my room key and went upstairs to my room on the fourth floor. That was the first beginning of my living here. And I confess this kind of living (no Korean and English only) is my first experience ever so far.
Anyway, so much time I spare everyday for listening to foreign instructors' lectures from morning till late afternoon. Now looking back upon the past two weeks, I think I am now quite accustomed to this new environment. This is sort of like attending a foreign college somewhere in a foreign country, which I am really enjoying with each class given by various instructors. In the Drama classes, the trainees are shouting with their mouths open wide, giggling and making some big gestures. I get happy with Cara's new ideas for the class activities with the students. In the Debate & Discussion classes, I enjoy the discussions one of whose topics was about the beef import from USA. And in each class of the Debate & Discussion, the trainees, by turns according to the participants' order, can choose any topic for a discussion. Some instructors are giving us homework. This writing is also another homework of that kind. I am making an effort to enjoy various forms of talking, listening, reading and writing. Actually I enjoy most of the training here though suffering a little bit from the burden of homework and lesson practice. When I have many classes, I suffer from some headaches, which is due to the big surgery I had when I was in my mid twenties. But I am enjoying this new experience of learning. A quite different approach toward English teaching where communicative skills are emphasized and valued!
While listening to the lecture, sometimes it happens that I think of someone or something private, and I miss the important points of the lecture. This happens often and makes me have a hard time following the lecture. But still I enjoy the classes and I hope that I can apply the experiences here to the real situation at school for the students. I am happy that I am still young enough to start a new challenge and am thankful to the lady of the Oak Hall who helped me have a good start here.
You have the beginnings of a very good essay here, though it is a little discombobulated :). Let's work on structure first.
Your first sentence should be a hook into what you are talking about. Your first sentence, "About two weeks have already passed since the entrance" is interesting because we don't know what you are entering. By referring to the woman as an "instructor" we can assume you have entered a college, but the next exchange is confusing. She advises you not to speak Korean, and it seems like you are at a Korean university; why does she not want you to speak Korean while you are there? This is something that you do not explain fully in this essay, but it seems to be a very important element of the text. Are you in some kind of English immersion program? If so, please explain that to your readers within the first few sentences of your opening paragraph.
You do a good job of capturing the spirit of your campus, explaining how your drama and debate classes are conducted, along with detailing for us the rigors of your homework. You have a good conclusion, attaching it back to the beginning of your essay, referring again to the woman of the Oak Hall; this ties the text up in a nice package.
