QnA게시판에 어학연수 질문글이 있길래
평소 제가 QnA 게시판을 애용하다보니
뭔가 도울 수 있는 글도 한번 써보고 싶어져서 갑자기 쓰게 됬네요



저는 세달하고도 한주 더 전에 뉴질랜드로 왔습니다  하하
재미있는거는  어학연수를 가야겠다고 마음먹은지 일주일만에 비행기를 탔다는건데요
여튼 가장 먼저 쓰고싶은거는 일단 떠나는게 중요하다는것     떠나면 뭐 어떻게 됩니다 현지에서 다 적응이 되죠



첫날 일은 잊을수가 없는데 작년 10월 25일에 뉴질랜드에 도착하자마자 만난 첫 외국인친구 (중국인)
본인 말로는 1년이나 여기 살았고 지금은 diploma(우리나라 전문대정도 생각하시면 되겠네요) 에서 공부한다는데
where is you 하는 수준이라는게 참 놀랍더군요
정말 첫날부터 긴장 바짝 했습니다. 정신놓고 공부 안하면 외국이고 나발이고 영어 안느는구나


세달밖에 안 됬지만 어학연수 생각하시는분께 가장 먼저 해드리고 싶은 말은
"영어가 어느 정도 수준이 되어서 와야" 어학연수가 의미가 있다는 사실이에요
아주 못하는 상태에서 오면 한국에서 배우나 여기에서 배우나 다를게 없습니다.
(필리핀의 경우 예외로 칠께요, 1:1외국인 과외를 그렇게 싸게 받을수 있는곳은 필리핀 밖에 없으니 돈이 빠듯하신분은 필리핀 추천드립니다.)


저의 경우 아무것도 모르고 떠나는 바람에  심지어 리턴티켓이 없으면 공항에서 잡히는지도 몰라 리턴티켓 비행기에 놓고나와서
공항에서 인터뷰하고 별짓 다 하고,  하도 귀찮게 굴어서 (방문비자로 들어가는사람은 공부하러간다고 말하면 안되는데 직원들이 저한테 자꾸 공부하러 왔다는 대답을 유도하더라고요..)  직원들한테 항의하고...
이정도 간단한 의사소통도 안되는데 그냥 어학원 따라서 오시는분들이 많으신데 차라리 한국에서 공부하실것을 권장 드립니다



이유인즉,,  영어를 잘해도 현지인 친구 만드는것은 정말 힘듭니다.  그러면 다른 나라애들이라도 친하게 지내고 그래야하는데, 영어를 아주못해버리면 정말 더 힘들어지고, 친구들 많이 생긴다 하더라도 고만고만한 애들끼리 같이 놀면 전혀 영어가 안는다는 사실이죠 (저도 포함..)   물론 생각을 어느정도 영어를 하기 때문에 도움은 되겠지만, 이 곳의 경우 한중일 이 많은 편인데, 이게 우리끼리도 콩글리시 쟁글리시 칭글리시가 익숙해져서 잘못 표현하는건데도 그냥 잘못쓰는게 이해되니까 그냥 익숙해져서 굳어버리기도 합니다.


그럼 어느정도 영어가 되어야 하느냐..  제 생각에는 적어도 ""어학원 도움없이 어학연수를 갈 수 있을정도"" 는 되어야 한다고 생각해요
인터넷으로 비행기 혼자 알아보고 도착해서 버스 시간대가 어떻게 되는지 알아보고 버스타고 어디갈지, 숙박비가 어떻게 되는지 인터넷에서 검색해서 계획짜고 공항에서 사람들한테 길물어서 찾아 갈정도, 가져온 물건 문제되서 인터뷰하면 의사표현은 되는정도는 되어서 와야 하지 않나 싶습니다.


이곳에 있는 한국 어학연수 학생중  반 이상은 일주일 일정중에 외국인 만나는일이 전혀 없이 산다고 봐도 과언이 아닙니다.
사는것도 한국인끼리 같이사는경우가 거의 대부분이고요.


워킹홀리데이로 외국가서 돈도벌고 외국인들과 일하며 자연스럽게 영어도 배우는 좋은 제도가 있는데
호주고 뉴질랜드고 영어 못하는사람이 워킹가면 한국인이랑 일할수밖에 없습니다.
(저같은경우는 비자가없어서 으흑  한국인식당에서 파트타임잡 하고 있긴 합니다)


예산의 경우 본인 하기 나름인것 같습니다.
여기서 비싼 학원 좋은집 좋은밥  챙기면서 살면 한달에 200만원 우습습니다. 200만원도 택도 없어요
근데 저렴한 학원 안좋은집 그냥 본이 요리해먹고 파트타임잡하면  한달에 100만원도 안들어갑니다
음 파트타임잡을 좀 심하게 한다는 가정을 하면 학원을 다니는 와중에도 학원비 집세 생활비가 다 나올수도 있겠는데요






아 그리고 얼마 전에 피지알 질문게시판에 역사관련해서 질문 했었는데 너무 적극적으로 댓글달아주신분이 많아
편지 여기에 올립니다.  간단히 요약하자면 인종 차별적 시각을 가진 외국인에게 아시아 문화를 얘기주고싶은데 어떻게할까 이정도였는데요
사실 편지 일주일동안 쉬는시간 다빼서 쓰고 선생귀찮게 하면서 고쳐달라고 해서 썼는데
전달하지는 못했어요.  그래도 여기서 가장 친한 아저씨고 그냥 서양 이외의 국가에 대해 "무지" 한건데
편지를 너무 공격적으로 써서 어떻게 하질 못하겠더군요  그냥 영어공부 열심히 한셈 치려고요

조잡한 글이지만 혹시 쓰실데 있으시면 가져다 쓰세요 저작권같은거 없어요 하하

며칠전에 질게에서 댓글 열심히 달아주셨던 분들 정말 감사합니다 ^^




Sorry this is a cheeky letter. Sorry. I think when you read the following writing you will sometimes need to be patient. I just wanted you to know the truth. I will not lie or tell you anything untrue, despite my cheekiness. Again, I’m sorry. Remember that I like you. Haha!

I dedicate this brilliant letter to my good friend, who is obsessed with biases, prejudice, and his whiteness.

I can’t understand your line of thinking. But, it’s not what you think, but how you think. A few minutes ago, I worried whether there were any quality history books in NZ. If it was 100 years ago, I could understand, but it is 2010. I think you can find many objective historic books.

I have considered whether I would write or not, because I’m not sure that your opinion is a real issue. Only those who have nothing to show for themselves emphasize their skin color or past histories of triumphs; the very reason why it should be so important to you. Also, I was worried because you said you’d read many books which are about history, this letter could be the proof that you have read only elementary historical textbooks written by those who are also obsessed with biases. Or, maybe you’re just a liar who pretends to be well-educated in history and religion. Or, perhaps you are familiar with just the past 200 years of mankind’s history. But, maybe I don’t have to worry so much. These things don’t matter to anyone. The main purpose of writing is to satisfy the personal desires and views of the writer himself. The caliber and type of writing is inconsequential.


Before starting a discussion about history, which might surprise you, I’ll respond to your sheer nonsense. Even if I acknowledge that all of inventions were made by westerners, it should not be the basis of your conceit, because you contributed nothing to those inventions. Now you are just a egotistical mechanic who has never created anything worthwhile. You should find something proud of your own personal accomplishments. Only ignorant people are excessively proud of their racial history. Wise people don’t need to depend on the achievements of others. I wish you would be a person of wisdom instead of being an ignorant one. Furthermore, even if I was to concede to the basis of your conceit, few people believe in subjectively categorizing nationalities in order to enhance the contributions of your own cultural background. Whereas you take credit for European invention, how many nations embrace NZ as one of their own? It’s time to wake up from your fantasy.

I don’t think you are completely wrong. The average person tends to believe what they want to believe, regardless of historical facts, which can become problematic. For example, many boyfriends of yours probably have said that “When I was young, many girls used to follow me.” It is human nature to recall the past with rose-colored glasses. When a collective nation begins to re-envision their historical past through these clouded lenses, their cultural identity is lost. For instance, China wants to manipulate Korea’s history to make their history better, which is called the five-year research program on the Northeast, because Koguryu’s territory, which was Korea’s original name, covered a very large area. In recent times, the republic of China has made attempts to lay claim to part of the territory as their own. Also, many westerners don’t want to acknowledge the achievement of Asian cultures before the industrial Revolution. Intentional or not, many historical facts have been reinvented by those who have similar beliefs to yours. If were to I say that in the year 1750 approximately 66% of world population as well as 80% of all manufacturing industry were in Asia, would you believe it? Also, that was first type of printer using metal was invented in Korea before Gutenberg’s version 78years before. And 3 other important ancient inventions, which were the compass, paper, and gunpowder were invented in Asia. I can imagine your answer. You will say, “That is your opinion. But in my opinion, I think blah-blah-blah”. I’m sorry. I should say, “That is not my opinion. It is just a fact.”

To help you understand, I’d like to bring up one famous historic book written by an European, which is called The Travels of Marco Polo. When the book was introduced to Europe in the 13th century, nobody believed it because of the fantastic stories about the orient, which described many curious conventions, huge cities, native populations, and rare jewels. Few people in Europe believed his tales because humans naturally believe what they want to believe in. Even though people still doubt why he didn’t mention Chinese characters, tea and foot binding, nobody has any doubt about his journey and the different lifestyles between the east and west. Why did he describe Zipangu, which was an ancient country of Japan, as the land fully filled with gold? You should carefully consider his journey. In the same period, there were some developed commercial cities, which included Genova, Florence and Venice. They accumulated their wealth by trading with Asia. If the development of Europe was better than Asia’s, how could they make a profit? Few can profit from trading with less advanced nations. Moreover, in case you don’t agree with this, because my opinion is not based on history books, I am going to introduce you to the longest series of history books about the medieval ages in Korea, which is from 14c to 19c.

Before Korea became a country, Chosun dynasty ruled the peninsula. They recorded the Chosun Dynasty Authentic Record, which is one of the world’s most complete and accurate historical records, which spans the length of 500 years. It is recognized by UNESCO. It recorded everything that happened in the dynasty’s palace, each government’s work and the king’s commands without omitting any details. This record carefully guarded by Korea. Even kings were also prohibited from reading it. Only one crazy tyrant tried to read about his father, but he wasn’t allowed to do it. It was not transcribed but printed, which’s why the records have been preserved until now, even though we have had many wars. If you are interested in history, you may know about some historical records and how significant this record is. If you want to deny it, please show me a record that is longer, more complete and accurate than the Chosun Dynasty Authentic Records. As well as the records, Korean were responsible for the earliest type of printer that used metal, which is called Jikji. It is also recognized by UNESCO. So if you thought that Gutenberg’s printer was the first, you must not have read many history books. It was created as a guide for students of Buddhism, Korea's national religion under the Goryeo Dynasty, which was between Koguryu and Chosun. It comprises a collection of excerpts from the analects of the most revered Buddhist monks throughout successive generations. If I knew Buddhism well, I could explain it better, but since I’m Christian, I can’t.

I was going to explain many of the different kinds of inventions of Korea, but I can’t spend that much time. So I’d like to introduce one more invention, which I think is the most valuable in Korea. It’s Hangul, which is the Korean language. It is a unique language be cause there is a record of who made it, how made it, and why made it. It is easiest language to learn and one of the most practical. It is not just my opinion. UNESCO created the King Sejong Literacy Prize, 1989 through the generosity of the Korean Government. The prize honors the outstanding contribution made to literacy over 500 years ago by King Sejong, who created the native Korean alphabet 'Hangul' which is still a valuable model and reference for the world today. The illiteracy rate of Korea is lowest in the world. Even if someone doesn’t know Hangul at all, they can start speaking in an hour. It consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels. However, it has more than 8,000 characters, because we combine the characters to use. Each character is matched with each pronunciation. On the other hand, English has many multiple pronunciations. Discovery magazine 1994 June called the Hangul was language creative and logical due to its easily understandable characters. Since I don’t have enough time, I can’t explain all the details. Anyway, remember that most creative characters were invented in Korea 14th.

Also, there were more inventions in China, which even I don’t know well, and I don’t have enough time to write about. Just remember that before the Industrial Revolution, there were more developed countries.

If you can’t agree with these things, please visit Borders book store. I think there are lots of good books that can help you. Few Asians like those who have a sense of superiority because of their race. I hope you don’t act racially superior around your Asian friends or else you won’t be friends for long.

If you think there were too many aggressive expressions in this letter, I apologize. I’m sorry. I don’t want you to be misunderstood. Again, I apologize. Thanks for reading this long, wretched writing.