This past week has been quite fascinating for several reasons. My classes are picking up so we are discussing more substance which is exciting. So far I am really enjoying my World Politics, Mythology, and Senior Seminar courses.
I reconnected with my home church here in Cape. I am playing bells again with the bell choir here at St Andrews and reunited with my church family. While some things have changed, St Andrews is very much the same and I am happy for that.
Speaking of change, here's the big thing that has really revived any undertones of culture shock: I am now one of the old people here at school! It is strange to have left SEMO as an underclassman, the baby. Now I'm an upperclassman and everywhere I go I see students that look way too young to be in college. It has been especially weird since I am taking one of my Senior Seminars, where everyone is in there last semester, and on the other side of the spectrum, I'm finishing my general courses, where everyone is underclassmen. It has been an interesting contrast, but it makes me feel in limbo: I'm not quite to that graduating stage but I feel out of place among all the Underclassmen.
In addition, I am in a situation that I never experienced while in Korea: I have no means of convenient transportation. I do not own a car, there is no public trans like in Korea, and it can be difficult to coordinate rides with other students given our schedules. I like my independence and to not have to inconvenience others in order to help me. It is one of the things I really miss about Korea: I could jump on a bus or train and go anywhere anytime. I miss that freedom.
It has also been difficult to be surrounded by English 24/7. I miss the challenge of constantly trying to figure out what was being said. Now anytime I hear a foreign student I am relieved by that touch of diversity. Fortunately, I have met a Korean girl on my floor here at school. She is very sweet and is willing to help me with my Korean. I have also met several other Asian students, who have been so happy to meet an American who knows about J-pop and Cantonese movies. I hope that I can continue to learn and appreciate other cultures while studying here in the USA.
One of the most interesting aspects of this week was the uproar over SOPA and PIPA by the Internet Community. I first heard about these bills a few weeks ago, but it wasn't until I discussed these bills with a few well informed friends that I fully understood the severity of these proposals and the consequences they would hold. I was relieved to see they did not pass, however, I am sure that more bills like them will be written in the future.
Basically, they were protections of copyrighted material on the internet. While that is a noble thing to defend, the issue was that they would take it to such an extreme that it would shut down virtually every site that is used to connect and share information. The internet is still something that we don't fully understand, and it is dangerous to write legislation concerning an entity that is developing at a rapid rate and has shown potential to revolutionize the way we communicate.
In my Organizational Communications class this week, we discussed the implications of emerging technology and social media in the way individuals communicate. My professor used the example of the printing press as the first medium of media that deemed the previous media obsolete (handwritten books). I had never viewed the invention of the printing press as the first step to today's internet revolution, but it is the first monumental shift in media in history. My teacher also discussed the rapid rate in which both computers and the internet is changing. He talked about how this will revolutionize the way we read (ebooks replacing traditional books, even textbooks, our school will shift to ebooks within the next five or so years), the way we connect with professionals and individuals, the way revolutions begin (as evidence of the Arab Spring from last year), the list goes on. I do not and I don't think the majority of the world fully understands the implications of these new technologies and just how fast they are changing. It will be interesting to see within the next five years just how much changes compared to 2012...
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