Hey, y'all. My name is HaYeon Kim and Jisu Choi from Incheon National University in South Korea. I am one of the 20 Korean student delegation for American Language and Cultural Studies Program at Lander University. It's been already two and a half weeks since I came to Lander University. 

I was very happy and thanked for giving me a chance to be interviewed on the WCRS AM Radio Show. It will be an unforgettable memory to me. We had an interview at an antique shop, not a radio station, so it was very special. There are many beautiful antiques. The DJ, Ms. Anne B. Eller is a humorous woman who has a big and beautiful smile. 

She asked me many interesting questions and we had a great time to talk with one another. I shared my opinions with many people, so I felt very excited. She asked us about differences between Korean and US cultures and we talked about food portions, public transportation, education, characteristics of people, favorite experience in the US and more. It was a great time and time flied so fast. It was an one-hour-long show but I felt it felt like a minute. I bet that this means we really enjoyed the time being there. Thanks for making me a lifetime experience at Lander! 

According to the daily logs our students write everyday, they made many good comments about their visit to FUJI. “It was very valuable experience.” “We got the cameras and water-proof camera and water bottle that is printed by our picture. Then, FUJI’s president made the presentation about FUJI film and himself. It was very funny and awesome” 

We visited FUJI Film Manufacturing in Greenwood, SC. The factory is located near Greenwood Lake which is about 20 minutes away from Lander University. This is the FUJI Film's second warm welcome to Lander's special groups. The first group was the professor delegation from Thailand visited them in the last March. Whenever I visit FUJI Film, now I feel it like home.


After having lunch at the dining hall, we headed to FUJI Film. At the last minutes, one student cut her finger and she visited the Wellness Center. So, we were late about 10 minutes to FUJI. We felt sorry because it could cause delays to the scheduled tours and people who were waiting for us. However, when we arrived at the Welcome Center, Ms. Lisa Emily welcomed us with a big smile so I felt relieved. 

We got snapshot cameras as gifts after the tour. Look at their happy faces! :-) 

Even we got water bottles with all our faces on them!  

After all the tours, President Ueno and Senior Advisor, Mr. Todd Crocker made a valuable speech to the students. Mr. Ueno and Crocker shared their time-honored lessons by their experience working for the international company in a foreign country. 

We learned that Mr. Ueno's humble attitude and gratitude to his people in the company led him to his successful journey to become the President of FUJI in Greenwood.

It was a very special day for us to learn how international  manufacturing company contributes to the city and to the world and invaluable life philosophy from CEO. This is a true cultural immersion opportunity to get to know better about the US and the world.  

Project Blog address: http://iseeamerica.tumblr.com/

Hello! I'd like to introduce a group project that we're working on called Exploring Place through Art with our instructor, Ms. Helen H. Park. Basically, we take pictures with different themes each week; strange, beautiful, funny, familiar and American. This special project also gives us opportunity to talk with American people and interview them. This helps us to improve communication skills and be friends with local people. 

Here is an overview of the project below and please check this one out. 

Exploring Place through Art
Helen Park, Media Artist and Educator

How can we understand our environment through art? How do images and aesthetic experience deepen our insight into culture, place, and identity, whether of our own or that of another? In this two-hour session for the American Cultural Series, students will learn how artists have explored place through their work. Issues related to contemporary art practices and place-based work, such as site-specificity, identity, and community, will also be explored. I will share examples from my past projects that use place as a central theme, as well as works by produced in America by International artists.

PART I: Taking Photographs and Portraits of American Strangers

1. Take and select at least 3 pictures that illustrate the word of the day for you.
2. In groups, find a stranger and ask them what that word means to them. For example, What does the word strange mean to you? Write down their response. Be sure to also get their name.
3. Take a picture of him/her. If this person does not want their face on camera, ask if you can take a photo of an object they are carrying or wearing.

WORDS
Monday: Strange
Tuesday: Beautiful
Wednesday: Funny
Thursday: Familiar
Friday: American

Look at us! We were not afraid of talking to the stranger in Starbucks and interviewed him a project question, "What does Beautiful mean to you? "Even this young man taught us a game probably called Thumb Game.

Finally, we met a happy sunny day! It's been rainy on and off for the last two weeks. Fortunately, we visited Biltmore Estate, the largest American home with a beautiful weather. We hit the road at 7 a.m. and surprisingly there were not late comers. Incheon National University students delegation is very punctual and this made our trip begin an finish in a timely manner.   

The Biltmore Estate has its own winery and we had a chance to taste Biltmore's signature wines from White, Rose to Red. Mr. Matthew who helped us for wine tasting was served as a navy in Korea for a half year back in 1990, so we had a great conversation with him. He told us that he misses Kimchi, which is Korean fermented spicy cabbage. We had a lot of fun at the winery. 

After visiting Biltmore and the Gaffney Outlet Mall, we had dinner at Beacon which serves Southern style burgers, fries and onion rings. We were surprised by the way they get order by yelling to Chefs in the kitchen, get drinks and paid in a row. Furthermore, we don't eat that big portion of food but they served us a burger and fries in which I think three of us can eat together! By the way, Mr. Constant ate up his plates and needed some more. Hahaha Look at his funny face!   


Afterwards, we headed home safely and while returning home, we observed beautiful sunset on the sky. 

Hi, everyone! We went for bowling with American friends; Ashley Curry, Emily Ashley, Joshua De Leon and Ashlin Crout tonight. We made up five teams and had fun with bowling with friends. 

Youngsoo, aka Joseph scored the best to 140 total. Please be sure to check out his professional bowling pose. 
After the awesome bowling night, we headed to the yogurt ice cream shop and Jeff treated all of us. Thank you, Mr. Constant!  

Hey, y'all! 20 Incheon National University students arrived safely at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport at 9:50p.m. on July 2. With the help of Lander's international students from China, Kelvin and Li, students could fit their heavy suitcases into the shuttle trunk without any hustle and bustle. On the way to Lander University, the visitors enjoyed homemade Kimbob (Korean sushi rolls) and blueberry muffins made by Mrs. Gemma Park, the wife of Dr. Jae Park, Dean for International Programs. After getting through the 16-hour-long flight from Korea, the students looked excited and Lander staff were very happy to see their smiley faces. 

Our students were very punctual. Despite jet-lag, they all showed up on time for lunch and they had the very first meal at the Lander University Dining Hall. They seemed to enjoy American food ranging from pizza to Mexican food. Mrs. Margie Ball, First Lady of Lander University appeared at the lunch to give warm welcome to the guests from Korea.  

Welcoming Ceremony and orientation were followed by lunch. University officials and program instructors came out to welcome our 20 international guests. President Daniel Ball greeted each individual student by shaking hands one by one and made welcoming remarks. Dr. Ball mentioned, "Big cities like New York, Sanfrancisco and LA are not America. Greenwood is the best place to experience real American culture and people." Students laughed a lot at his comment and were excited about their one-month-long journey at Lander University.     

Hi All! We can't miss the eatery when it comes to learning a different culture. Everyday we eat good at Lander University! Monday through Thursday, we eat at the University Dining Hall which has a variety of food from salad, main entrees to desserts. As it is the summer semester, the dining hall does not open during the weekend, Friday through Sunday. However, this gives us a good opportunity to taste many different local food at other restaurants in the city. We went to Fusion Express and TM Dynasty and ate tasty Korean box lunches made by William's mom.   

The 20 student delegation from Incheon National University arrived in Greenwood safely on July 2 with their university staff leader, Ms. Jungeun Kim. On the following day, Lander University officials and staff warmly welcomed our international visitors at the welcoming ceremony. President, Daniel Ball and Mrs. Ball came out to the ceremony and welcomed them by shaking their hands one by one with warm welcoming remarks.  This is Incheon's second visit for a month-long American Language and Cultural Studies Program at Lander University. Last July in 2012, 23 Incheon National University students visited Lander for the same program and they returned with good memories.