Dooseok Lee / Page 66 / Summer writing

D-2. Have you ever been in a situation like the author's, where you really needed a friend?

             I had a similar experience three years ago, when I was on my internship in a small firm. After working for few weeks, I realized that the firm was not the place for me. The way they handles business and treat their employees was far from what I thought was ideal. It seemed like I was the only one dissatisfied. I felt alone, and I had six more weeks left to work. Then one day, one of my colleagues came to me and asked to eat lunch together. She and I had lots of conversation that day, and I realized that I was not the only one not satisfied working at the firm. She also was dissatisfied working here. However, after knowing that I was not the only one having a hard time, it felt much better. Thanks to her I was able to finish eight weeks my internship, and she and I remain close friends until now.

D-2. Have you had a similarly improbable or unlikely friendship?

             When I was a freshmen, there was a guy named Paul. Among 200 students majoring business, he didn't seem to be someone I would be hanging out with. He seemed too cold and acted like he was not willing to make friends, and I didn't want to get close to someone acting like that. However, a year has passed, and by chance I had to group up with him to work on a project on marketing. At first we were very awkward on each other, but after studying and getting ready for the project together, we got closer than before. I found out that Paul only seemed to be acting like he doesn't want friends, but in fact, he was just a shy person. We found out that we had many similarities and in the end of the semester, we were hanging out together everyday. We even decided to live together for next semester near HUFS. The semester I lived and done much together with Paul is one of the best memories I had recently. Now, I know that even someone who had bad impression could still be very close friends. 

 

E-1.Relatives can be friends, but friends do not usually become relatives. Can friends be as important to you as relatives? Explain.

             Relatives mean a lot to me, even though I do not get to seem them very often, since we are living in different religions. I feel a very close bond, and having time with them is always very pleasant. However, friends, sometimes can be something more than relatives. Although they do not have blood ties like relatives, I spend much more time and share lots of thoughts with close friends. Yes, I agree with the term that friends become relatives. In fact, they do not have to. Friends and relatives belong to completely different categories. I don't want them to be my relatives. I they become one, I might feel uncomfortable and the relationship could be different than before.

 

E-2. Can you be as good friends with someone from another culture as with someone from your own culture? Explain.

 

             I can surely be good friends with someone from another culture as someone from my own culture. I don't have as many international friends than Korean friends, of course, since I am Korean, but I am still in a close relationship with international friends.  I worked in ISO few years ago, which is an organization in HUFS that helps exchange students adapt to college. I had chances to get close with people from many countries and we got close doing many activities such as visiting Gwanghwamun, or going on a membership training together. Knowing that they are from different culture created a very general attitude on me. It was perfectly fine to have a completely different friend, which was not a standard I followed when making Korean friends. Therefore, I was able to interact in many ways and talk about various topics such as racism or international people's perception on Koreans. After making very close international friends, I realized that being different is perfectly fine, and finding someone similar isn't always a right way to make close friends.