CP #5 Dana

      For our final meeting before the break, I introduced Jeehoon to another favorite coffee shop of mine, Atomic Coffee. He loved it, of course, and enthusiastically took a seat in one of the burgundy armchairs that coupled a lamp and small wooden table.

     I asked Jeehoon about his plans for the holidays and he responded with little interest. He wasn’t doing much. However, the next weekend he was going to visit a friend of his that lives in Atlanta by Greyhound bus. There is a very large South Korean community in Atlanta, and he is very excited to eat some more authentic food.

       South Korean food, he said, is pitiful in Tallahassee. He does like the city though despite the lack of food because there are so many different opportunities. On certain occasions however, he does miss his family and friends. I asked if his family may visit, and he said they wouldn’t and that he doesn’t want them to. I was surprised by his answer.

     “Why wouldn’t you want your family to visit?” I asked. He laughed and told me that it was because he lived with two girl roommates. His parents had absolutely no idea and they would be extremely upset. And, his mom would apparently ask too many questions. If his parents call while he is inside the house, he runs outside to speak to them because his house sounds, “too girly.”

      Of all of the reasons for family not to visit, that was the last I expected. But hey, at least he doesn’t get in trouble.

       At the end of our coffee outing, I told Jeehoon to have an excellent and safe trip, as well as to enjoy the break. He wished the same for me in return and we went our separate ways. I have a feeling we’ll end up running into each other after the break. He’s such a coffee fiend, like me. 

CP #4 Dana

    Since the two of us were hanging out on campus and needed a break from schoolwork, Jeehoon and I decided to grab some lunch. He was in a Chik-fil-a mood, craving a milkshake. We collected our orders, chicken tenders for me along with a chocolate shake and a sandwich milkshake combo for Jeehoon, and wandered down to Landis Green.

     As we ate our lunch, Jeehoon discussed his hobby of breeding fish while he was in South Korea. He was very into it, as he had owned three tanks of fish. Jeehoon even posted on fish forums as a way to learn more information and to sell his specialized fish.

    During one of his forum checkings, Jeehoon discovered that someone was giving away a specific fish he had been searching for in his area. He made arrangements with the seller and went to collect his fish the next day.

    When he arrived at the given address, Jeehoon was surprised by the appearance of a large and expensive looking house. He rang the doorbell and, as Jeehoon explained, “a very good looking man came to the door.” Jeehoon struck by this man’s attractiveness and immediately blurted out, “Wow, you are very handsome!” The man thanked him, and gave Jeehoon his newly acquired fish.

      Upon returning home, Jeehoon realized who the handsome man was, and immediately texted him. As it turned out, the man was actually a famous South Korean actor. Jeehoon wished he’d realized sooner and had gotten a photograph with the man, but instead, he was sworn to secrecy to never give out the man’s phone number. Luckily for the famous actor, Jeehoon keeps his word and only took the fish. 

CP #3 Dana

    Around 10:00 p.m. on a Thursday, Jeehoon joined my group of friends and I on a small trek to Leon Pub from my house. We walked into the smoky bar, claimed a pool table immediately, and ordered a bunch of beers.

    Jeehoon was so excited. There were just so many beers for him to choose from. I helped narrow down the list for him and he surprisingly ordered a Left Hand Milk Stout, luckily loving the beer. We played a couple rounds of pool, which we were all completely horrid at, laughed, and joked around. Jeehoon thought my younger sister was especially hilarious.

     While playing darts, Jeehoon spoke about the drinking culture in South Korea. He said that when he would go out with friends, it was always a competition to see who could buy the most drinks for the group. Or, it would be expected that one member of the friend group would take his or her turn paying for all of the fun. Loads of money would be spent, and more often than not, they would get rather trashed.

     He definitely liked the way Americans went out, thinking of only needing to pay for themselves, or maybe one other person. And he loved the vast variety of beer. Leon Pub was very much a success. 

CP #2 Dana

    We were back at Black Dog, sitting outside and sipping coffees. Jeehoon ordered your average Americana black coffee. I ordered an unknown concoction created by the current barista hanging around behind the bar. I don’t have a coffee preference. I enjoy the surprise of flavors. After telling Jeehoon this, he said that people would do the same thing at the Baskin Robbins he worked at in South Korea.

   Working as a student in South Korea is extremely rare. However, Jeehoon wanted the experience and of course, the money. The particular Baskin Robbins he worked at held three full stories and was considered to be extremely famous. He had even managed to take the orders of a variety of South Korean celebrities, including movie stars. I was amazed. Baskin Robbins was most definitely not nearly as exciting in the United States. I couldn’t even think of anything comparable in the U.S.

  Somehow our conversation drifted to drinking life in Tallahassee. He had unfortunately experienced the Strip, so I decided to enlighten him on the better and varying bars within this city. Needless to say, we made plans to meet up at Leon Pub.

CP #1 Dana

      I met my conversation partner for the first time at Black Dog Café. Apparently he is a large fan of coffee, so when I suggested to Jeehoon that we should try out Black Dog, he was all for the idea.

      Jeehoon is from South Korea, studying computer science, and has nearly impeccable English. I was immediately impressed by his speech, and our conversation flowed smoothly. We began by talking about the educational differences between South Korea and the United States.

      I informed him that I wanted to teach English abroad and South Korea was on my list of countries. He told me I could make a lot of money in South Korea, especially if I worked in Gangnam, where he used to live. There, everyone spends exorbitant amounts of money on a child’s education.

     The students, he said, would be very attentive and willing to learn. However, they are extremely competitive and only learn for the tests. I will have difficulty with students who only want to learn the rules as opposed to actually learning how to speak, read, listen, and write.

    He wasn’t a fan of the education system at all. He enjoys how we teach in the U.S. far more, believing that it leaves room for creativity and a more well rounded knowledge of a subject. I found his opinion to be very interesting, considering the stereotypes of education in Asian countries.

    We left Black Dog, whose coffee he thoroughly enjoyed, and arranged to meet up again at the coffee house the next week. 

CP #5 Jordan

Later on Thanksgiving break Husain and I met at my apartment to hangout. He was telling me about his goal to work in his home of Oman or in the Emirates or Qatar where he used to work. He described to me the importance of an American bachelors or Masters degree. Husain told me that he will instantly get management level job with his degree once he returns to the Middle East. I was curious what program he wanted to go into. He thinks that computer science or engineering will get him a job. We then spoke about what I wanted to do. I told him I just want a job in which I can use what I learned in my during my time attaining my degree. I told him if I got a job outside of my degree field I would be happy but also disappointed that my degree would just be a piece of paper and an ostentatious show of my education.

CP #4 Jordan

Husain and I met at my apartment for Thanksgiving and while I didn't make Turkey that day, I did make lasagna. I can't remember why I chose to make that dish instead of Turkey. We did discover that pumpkin pie and lasagna complimented each other. After eating we watched some football on my computer. About a quarter through the Detroit Lions game Husain said that he did not want to watch it anymore. Apparently he isn't much of an American football fan. I asked if he liked movies and we ended up watching the internship, which was pretty funny. I tried to explain the situations and the expressions being used in the film. Husain was curious if the offices of google in the film were the same as those in real life. I personally had no idea. After the film I took my roommates car to drop Husain off at his apartment. and we ended up hanging out more over Thanksgiving break.