Sometimes even seemingly familiar things can throw one for a loop in a strange land.
For Joo Young (Rory) Hong, who hails from Korea, her arrival in Canada will forever be paired with her confusing experience with a pedestrian-activated traffic light.
“Before I just waited for the signal to change colour and it didn’t change. I thought it was not working so I just crossed the street and then a week later I (realized) I had to push the button,” laughs this adventurous 29-year-old, who now calls the Charlottetown house belonging to Gerard and Sally Wynne her home-away-from-home.
English has been an important component to Hong’s projected career path.
Before coming to P.E.I. in November of 2011 she had been studying English on her own at an educational institute in Korea five days a week.
“In Korea, (knowing) English means a kind of power. If you can speak English well, you can get a better job and get good grades in the schools. You look more (desirable) than other people who can’t speak or read English well . . . ,” she explains. “So English is very, very important in Korea. I really, really wanted to come here and improve my English skills.”
In Korea it is also a well-known fact that attaining a work visa for Canada is exceedingly difficult compared to getting one from Australia, which is a common study destination.
“I wanted the challenge here because it is limited to come here . . . ,” Hong says.
“(And) here is more familiar to me — Prince Edward Island — because I read Anne of Green Gables. When I was a teenager I read five books (by Lucy Maud Montgomery).”
The Wynnes have hosted Study Abroad Canada students for the past 10 years.
“It can be a challenge (for them) because some of the things that are so familiar to us we don’t even think of, sometimes the students find them really unusual, like locking doors, how to use the shower, little things like that,” Sally says.
“The first week is usually a learning process for both of us and then after that (it flows).”
To date, they’ve had nearly 20 students stay for as little as one week but most stay longer.
“We have had students who have come in October and stayed through to May,” Sally says.
“They’ve come back to visit; two (have since) married. We get their wedding pictures, Christmas cards (and so on),” Gerard adds.
Hong has a permit to work on P.E.I. as well, so she will be moving in that direction soon.
“I will study here (at Study Abroad Canada) until February and then I will get a job. Maybe at that time I will live alone,” she says.
“But before getting a job I have to know English more.”
The full immersion experience is exactly what Hong was looking for in an English educational adventure.
“Immersion is very good for me to learn English but sometimes (I feel like) I’m disabled because I can’t listen too well or I can’t speak well. But sometimes kind people help me a lot in here (at the school). They explain everything very, very kindly so it’s very helpful,” she laughs.
“But some days I feel like a baby (starting) to learn language.”
When Hong returns to Korea she hopes to become an English kindergarten teacher.
“But if I can’t become an English kindergarten teacher I can (still) get a good job because I can speak English better than many other people.”
