Last Tuesday I met with my second conversation partner, Joonsung (who goes by Eugene), in the CIES lounge. Eugene is South Korean, and is studying at the CIES in order to begin work on his Master's in Criminology in the fall. He was very polite, and admitted that meeting conversation partners was slightly uncomfortable for him, although he knows it will be helpful to him and is grateful for me volunteering.
Eugene explained that he moved to Florida with his wife and daughter, which was surprising in that most CIES students I've met are here alone). Since he will be here for a few years for his Masters degree, though, it makes sense. He said that overall he is very happy with his life here. Back in Korea his family lived in an apartment in the city; here, he has a small house with a yard. One thing I found very interesting was that Eugene and his family are living quite a ways from FSU. He chose to live so far away in order to be in a better school district for his five year old daughter. He explained that education, even for young children, is very important to Koreans. He is worried about his daughter, who doesn't speak any English yet, but is happy that he found a good school and thinks that in a few months, she will know enough English communicate with her teachers and the other kids. He seemed a little surprised when I mentioned that I don't live with my family.
We talked some about what I study. I mentioned having been in Moscow, and he very nonchalantly said that he enjoyed Moscow, when he'd been there for astronaut training (!!). I asked him about where else he had traveled, and he answered that he had been to 30 or 35 countries (!!) on work related trips. He said that Vienna was his favorite city, and that he hoped to retire there someday. I was in Vienna for a few days this summer, so we talked a little bit about the city and museums there.
I thought the meeting went very well (we had much more in common than I would have guessed). We agreed to meet every Tuesday for Tea Time in the CIES lounge, and Eugene suggested that some day I should have dinner with him and his family.
Eugene explained that he moved to Florida with his wife and daughter, which was surprising in that most CIES students I've met are here alone). Since he will be here for a few years for his Masters degree, though, it makes sense. He said that overall he is very happy with his life here. Back in Korea his family lived in an apartment in the city; here, he has a small house with a yard. One thing I found very interesting was that Eugene and his family are living quite a ways from FSU. He chose to live so far away in order to be in a better school district for his five year old daughter. He explained that education, even for young children, is very important to Koreans. He is worried about his daughter, who doesn't speak any English yet, but is happy that he found a good school and thinks that in a few months, she will know enough English communicate with her teachers and the other kids. He seemed a little surprised when I mentioned that I don't live with my family.
We talked some about what I study. I mentioned having been in Moscow, and he very nonchalantly said that he enjoyed Moscow, when he'd been there for astronaut training (!!). I asked him about where else he had traveled, and he answered that he had been to 30 or 35 countries (!!) on work related trips. He said that Vienna was his favorite city, and that he hoped to retire there someday. I was in Vienna for a few days this summer, so we talked a little bit about the city and museums there.
I thought the meeting went very well (we had much more in common than I would have guessed). We agreed to meet every Tuesday for Tea Time in the CIES lounge, and Eugene suggested that some day I should have dinner with him and his family.
It sounds like your conversation partner is very interesting and fun to talk to!
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