Day one done!

I need to get me some stickers. For my sketchbook and moleskine. Or something interesting enough to grace their covers at least.

Well, it was an interesting first day! The drawing class is definitely not what I expected. The teacher, Timothy Blum, has taught at Hongik for three years now, got married this past June, went on a honeymoon to China with his Korean wife, and is actually a sculptor. Not a drawer or painter. A sculptor.

And he's teaching a drawing class.

That's all fine and everything, but he approached this class not as a technical class, but a conceptual, idea class. Like I haven't had enough of that already. I came here to Korea almost primarily because of the technical skill. Kids here draw like gods!

I thought about reconsidering taking this class for the first half hour or so of class. The funny thing is, he figured out quite easily that I'm from the States, and before letting me answer what school I go to, he commented that he taught at California College of the Arts for a year.

I excitedly told him that is where I am from. Tim then said he hated that school, and was the reason he stopped teaching for a while.

WELL.

That wasn't an awkward first meeting at all.

Granted, it was about ten or eleven years ago since he's been there, and I'm sure plenty has changed since. But it made me quite determined to prove myself that I'm not some angsty rebellious art stonehead student showing up to class just to argue with the teacher, oh no. I am here to freaking gain something out of this. And if Tim's not giving us technical teaching, well, I probably should take a different class.

However.

He talked about what he does teach. That art is integrated in all ways of life. Last semester he mentioned how he taught a segment about the history of rap music, and in one week, hired dancers to teach his drawing students how to break dance. That....actually sounds kinda cool.

Also, he encourages going against the rules, especially the teacher's rules (but no hating, of course). For example, some of his past students brought written songs as part of their project. The point is, drawings sometimes aren't enough to communicate.

Tim says he's more interested in changing how we think. Not about our technical skill. Honestly, he sounds more and more like CCA by the minute.

In the end, I decided to try this class out a little longer. It's obviously not what I expected from a freshman drawing class, where techinical skill should be developed further, but maybe that's just what I think I need. Maybe, in my case, starting back from the bottom means first the way of thinking needs a reevaluation, not the way of drawing. Hmm.

The next class is the Oriental Watercolor class, which I was most apprehensive about but looking forward to a lot. But, I wasn't ready for the two hour lecture in Korean about the history of the philosophy behind Oriental watercolor (at least, that's what I thiiiiiiink he was talking about >.<).

A couple of notes, this class switched rooms with another class from the F building (which is where all of my classes are at except for Korean and previously, watercolor) but now all my studio classes are in one building, which makes traveling easier for me. However, the way the buildings connect is CONFUSING as hell. Omg, I really don't know how these staircases and secret walkways make any logical sense in these Korean heads. I'll explain more about this craziness with pictures later. And, there was actually one other student, named Madison Pope, from the States that I had met earlier last week, who is actually from Utah State. The crazy coincidence, eh? She was actually in the other class, Seal Engraving, that switched rooms with Watercolor, but ended up dropping by this class because the teacher couldn't speak English, and the level may be too hard for a first timer.

Also, this class alone is 90% female. I was so amused. As the classroom filled up, I realized how much estrogen was in the space (and for several minutes I thought the lady with paperwork going in and out of the room was the teacher, another female) and thought, omg, I didn't realize the Oriental style was a girl thing around here....

But actually, I was correct in my previous post, that the name Han Jinman sounded like a man's name, and it is. An older man walked in and startec calling roll, alas, he is the real teacher. Oh, and at the very last minute, a handful of guy students rushed into the already crowded room. Hahaha, this is going to be an interesting class.

If Oriental Watercolor is 2 hour theory, and 4 hour practice, is it really ok for international students to be taking this class? The syllabus is all in Korean and I can only guess at what most of it means. Plus, there is a midterm and a final test, it seems. Well, as long as the teacher writes notes up in Korean, I can just copy that down, and research that on my own time to at least cover the material, right? Nah, he goes and starts writing names in Hanja (freaking Chinese Characters!) and goes on with the lecture. Great.

Han Kyosoo-nim (Kyosoo is professor, while Seonsaeng-nim is for teacher) dismissed the class early as well (Tim let out class after an hour. Way early.) and we waited till everyone left before talking to him. For me, I could probably manage to get by, as long as I figure out how to research the lecture materials on my own if I can't understand it at all during class, but Madison doesn't know any Korean at all. She should at least take a class where the teacher can speak English. I was afraid that Han Kyosoo-nim doesn't speak English, 'cause he didn't seem to be the type. Very traditional and oriental oriented. But lo and behold, after I told him that Madison is from the States in Korean, he said in ENGLISH that it was ok, he doesn't lecture much, and starting next week, we'll draw. I signed my name on the roster immediately afterwards. Madison did too, and apparently she'll be depending on me for a brief translation of any lectures he'll give in the future.

Sigh. At least, Han Kyosoo-nim didn't turn away international students like some other teachers. He seemed more encouraging. Hopefully, just doing studio work will be enough. Even though this might be one of the harder classes I'll have, mainly because of the language, as long as I feel comforted by the teacher that he will still teach me, I'll be able to learn.

On a side note, I have totally been slowly eaten by that damn elusive mosquito. Today, I officially have multiple bites on both arms, plus I found one on my leg just two minutes ago. I subtly complained to my roommate by asking her if she had been bitten at all, and she said no. GAH. What is it with my blood???! STAYAWAYFROMMYBLOODPLZKTHXBAI.

Juyoung is very nice. She gave me some mosquito wipes, and said that she will get some mosquito repellent spray later. Bless her soul. T_T