ABOUT NSLI-Y
The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is a U.S. Department of State scholarship program that gives high school students the opportunity to study critical languages abroad through intensive language study and cultural immersion. I spent six weeks in Seoul studying Korean, living with a host family, and learning from local college students. I experienced daily life in Korea through classes, cultural activities, and the people I met.
Life With My
Host Family
Living with my host mom and halmoni was one of my favorite parts of Korea. I didn’t expect to get so close with my host family. My host grandma made me special meals with ingredients like abalone and hanwoo beef and always made sure I had eaten enough. My host mom made sure I got home safely and would even wait at the bus station for me if I was running late. They brought me to places I never would have experienced the same way on my own, like Bongeunsa Temple and the DMZ. By the end of my six weeks, their home felt like my own, which made leaving one of the hardest parts of the summer.
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Learning Korean
I came to Korea with limited prior knowledge of the Korean language and started in the Foundation 1 class, where we learned Hangul. Classes were every day from 9–12, with pronunciation classes twice a week from 1–3. I also commuted about 40 minutes each way, including a 10 minute walk, 15 minute bus ride, and 15 minute subway ride. Over six weeks, I moved into beginner Korean and learned how to read, form sentences, conjugate verbs, order food, give directions, and have simple conversations. As I progressed, more of my classes were taught in Korean, which was challenging. The program offered several class levels so every student could learn at their own pace.
Studying WithÂ
Peer Tutors
Every week, we had one study session with our peer tutors at a cafe and time of our choosing. At the beginning of the program, we were split into groups of three based on our Korean level, and I was in the group with the least experience. I got the opportunity to hang out with and grow very close to my peer tutor group throughout the program. My tutor taught me things like the two Korean counting systems, days of the week, and months of the year. Through these lessons, our peer tutors became some of our closest friends in Korea.
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We met them during our first peer tutor excursion, where each tutor got to plan a day of cultural activities for their assigned group. Mine brought us to the Han River, 63 Sky Art, and a traditional restaurant. Over the next few weeks, we were only required to have 3 excursions but ended up hanging out a lot more. We went to a Korean baseball game, visited a jjimjilbang (traditional sauna), made our own perfume, and watched Spider-Man: Brand New Day the day it came out. Everyone's peer tutor groups also became very close, so eventually we were all hanging out as one big group. Some of my favorite memories are from the time we spent with our Korean friends.Â
