Gathering of Pearls: A Book of Similar Experiences

     Recently, we are reading a fiction called "Gathering of Pearls", which was written by a Korean American writer Sook Nyul Choi. We have not finished this book yet, but I already attracted by its plots. This book is mainly talking about a Korean girl whose name is Sookan came to America because of scholarship and studied in a catholic college. Her life and internal sentiment experienced a huge challenge. At the beginning, she was afraid of fitting in the American life, failing classes and disappointing her family. However, she met good friends and teachers who helped her overcome those difficulties she met in her life and conducted her to enjoy her American life and understand American culture. 

     I'm really attracted by this book because I can feel the connection between Sookan's new life and my personal expererences. Recall back to a year ago when I first came to America for studying. It was my first time to travel alone for this far and to a totally trange country. I had the same concern when I was on the plane to America. I was afraid of being isolated and unable to communicate with my American classmates because of unskilled English speaking. However, when I started my highschool life, I felt that it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was. Although I made a lot of grammar mistakes when I talked with my new friends, they still could get what I meant. When I met difficulties in studying, I went to ask teachers and they are always willing to help me. My English quickly got improved. I was invited to a friend's house for Halloween. They told me what Halloween was and what they usually did. They told me to wear something funny or scary so we could go to "trick or treat" at night together. That was my first Halloween andirons was so fun that I would never forget it. 

     Also, one thing that interested me a lot is her internal sentiment. At that time, there's no such a thing called Wechat which we use a lot nowadays for texting and chatting. The only thing Sookan could use was writing letters to her family. She could not go back to Korea until she finished her studying in Korea because the ticket for flying was very expensive. This meant that she could not see her family for four years. She missed her family a lot but she had to continue her life in America. She felt sorry for bot helping her mother around but her personality of loving challenges and risks made she can not stop studying in America. One thing that was noticeable was the relationship between Sookan and her sister. Her sister wanted Sookan to follow her order and help her work of being a nun. Sookan wanted to obey her at first. But after her sister's angry letter Sookan felt ambivalent. She was angry at her sister for not understanding her situation but then she felt sorry for her anger. She didn't know what was the right thing to do: obey her sister or being herself. 

     I think, so far, "Gathering of Perls" is a good book to read. It perfectly connected to our international students' experiences and created resonance. Although I have not finished this book yet, I recommended it to all the international students here in our school. 

Discussing questions

1. What does hosting the party mean to Sookan? 

2. How did Sookan react to her sister's letter? 

Chapter 6-12 study guide

Chapter 6:

1. Sookan's sister kind of blamed on her that she wrote a hurried postcard to her mother but Sookan didn't have time to write to her a simple journal. She thought that Sookan forgot what she said about those everyday journals. Sookan was a bit mad because her sister didn't understand what her situation was. She wanted to write those journals and obey what she said, but Sookan was so busy and have poor free time to do it. Inside Sookan, she thought her sister had changed and it was to her as she never knew her sister. This is very important to both book and Sookan's identity, because from this point, Sookan might not choose to obey everything her sister said as same as before. This is a big turning point for Sookan. 

Chapter 7:

1. Ellen thought social scene is important to college life. 

2. Ellen told Sookan that she didn't have to be a nun in order to help people. She could get married, having a family and still be a teacher or volunteer if Sookan wanted. This makes Sookan think about her future life and reconsider whether she should always obey her sister' swords or not. 

3. I think Sookan is right to listen to Ellen. Because Sookan has the right to choose what she wants to do in the future. She can't always obey her sister. She should do what she likes. Her own happiness is very important. 

Chapter 8:

1. Because she missed afternoon attendance and sneaks out to use the time to write her sister a letter. 

2. I think so. Because she doesn't have any other free time to write to her sister. She wants to write the letter as soon as possible and this is the only chance she can do this. So I think she made the right choice. 

3. She writes about what her American culture is like and what her school life is like. She also told her sister the reason why she didn't have a chance to write to her and explain her busy schedule everyday. 

4. I think her sister will feel sorry for her anger at Sookan. Also, I think she will be a little worried about Sookan that she is afraid Sookan will forget Korean tradition and become more American. 

Chapter 9:

1. Thanksgiving is good for Sookan because it gives her a feeling like home. She feels love and warmth in this family which makes her more fit into American culture and life. However, this feeling of home also is bad for her, because when she sees Ellen's mother ask her to go upstairs and rest, she immediately relates to her own mother. It accumulates her missing toward her mother and her whole family in Korea. 

Chapter 10: 

1. Her secret study spot is the shower room. 

2. Her head started spinning and she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. When she stood up and started garpthering her books, she fainted. 

3. She said that she and Marci and Ellen could all get together over vacation but Sookan is not going to take any books with her to Marci's. 

Chapter 11: 

1. Her mother's letter is all full of love, pleasure and understanding. She told Sookan what had recently happened in the family and told her to enjoy her life in America. She wanted Sookan's to be happy and didn't want her to worry that much. However, her sister's letter is full of complaining and blaming. She did not show a little understanding to Sookan. She blamed Sookan for not immediately sending her letter and her journeys. She wanted Sookan to follow her order and her track and never thought about what Sookan's feeling was. To life, Sookan's mother had a lighthearted, forgiving and optimistic attitude, but Sookan's sister held a more negative and stubborn attitude toward others. 

Chapter 12:

1. She prepare Korean food such as Bulgogi, salad and rice for the party. 

2. Marci made brownies and Ellen brought butter cookies. 

3. Sister Reed joinefpd them. 

4. Firstly, it reminds her life in Korea when she saw her mother cooking. She understood why her mom love to see people enjoy her cooking. Secondly, she reinforced her friendship with Marci and Ellen, the Bennett's family and also her relationship with sister Reed. This gathering not only just a enjoyable party, but also it is a release of stress and worries for Sookan. 

Chapter 1-5 study guide

Chapter 1: 

1. In 1950s, most women in the U.S quitted their jobs and became wives and mothers as men came back from the World War II. Many women left college early to marry after the war and other women who did stay were not planning on working toward a job. Female students were encouraged to take special courses that got them ready for home life like interior decoration and family finance. 

Chapter 2: 

1. Pocket money: it is the money which Sookan's mother gave her when she came to America. She didn't have a lot of money in her pocket. 

     Honorific: it means respecting. Sookan said that she had to use a different way to show her respect to elder people when she talked with them. 

2. Sookan saw Ellen's outfit matched with her nail polish and earrings. So in this way, Sookan knew color coordination was important to Ellen. 

3. She had to work fifteen hours a week in the college dining hall. 

4. She had to earn good grades in all her courses and to meet the social, moral, and religious standards of the school. 

5. It means that the two friends split their bills and paid equally. 

6. Ellen is very outgoing and energetic. She loves bright colors, hanging out with her friends and making a lot of friends. In contrast, Sookan likes simple and plain colors and she is not that outgoing. In her old life, she always used honorific terms when she talked to elder people, and she would take turns with her friends when they went out to dinner to pay the bills. 

Chapter 3:

1. She took world literature, world religions, Greek and Roman culture, and early European history. Early European history is the most difficult one for Sookan. 

2. Marci is the girl who lived in the single room across the hall from Sookan's room. Marci had been paying attention to Sookan over past few weeks, and she was very shy that she hardly talked to Sookan. 

3. Sookan get babysitting to earn extra money for books.

4. She had never spent much time with her sister. She was very proud of her sister. Her sister asked her to write journals everyday and share with her so they won't grow apart. She felt terrible for not writing her journal entries to her sister, but she was so busy and she could not write everything down.

Chapter 4:

1. Melancholy:very sad and depressed. 

2. Sookan was melancholy because she knew things were difficult back home and her mom was very worried about her, but she could not help her mother get through her hardship.

3. Sookan's mother was a very brave and strong woman. She supported the whole family and never said a single world of complaining about her difficulties. She was a great mother who loved her children very much. She was also a person who loved a simple and quiet life. We could know it from her taste of cloth and her words. 

Chapter 5: 

1. Sookan enjoyed the babysitting because when Mrs. Bennett asked her whether she could stay longer, she immediately answered yes. Also, she said that she felt comfortable with the two children and decided not to think about school and everything else that she had to do. 

2. From babysitting, she knew that in America, men could walk into the kitchen and cook for the whole family as well as women. However, in Korea, men would never cook and serve the food, which it is totally different from this phenomenon in America. 

3. Yes, I will. Because if I babysit at a family like this, lovely children and nice parents, I will definitely want to do something nice for them. I would even give up the money to spend time with this lovely family. I think Sookan did this because she really loved to spend her time with the two children and the family. They made her feel warm and comfortable. She would feel less homesick and more fit into American life. 

Letter to Sookan's sister

Dear sister: 

     How have you been recently? I'm sorry I send this letter to you really late, because I'm very busy at my new school right now. I met some new friends here and they are really nice and friendly to me. I have a very kind and nice roommate. Her name is Ellen. We have a good relationship with each other, but I'm so busy and most of time I don't see her a lot. Life in America is really different than the life back in Korea. Here in America, you don't need to bow when you first see someone. They never use honorific way of saying to talk with elder people. I am experiencing a big change in my life and I try to make myself fit into the life in America.I was wondering how was your life and work in Korea? Don't be too tired from work! Stay safe! 

Love you, 

Your sister Sookan

Five Facts About Sook Nyul Choi

1. Sook Nyul Choi was born in Pyongyang, North Korea.

2. Choi emigrated to the U.S. to pursue her college education, and she graduated from Manhattanville College in 1962.

3. Choi’s novels  are based upon her own experiences. 

4. Sook Nyul Choi (born 1937) is a Korean American children's storybook author.

5. Choi's books explore themes of communism, freedom, international politics, and interaction among nations. 

Girls: The Conductor of Firming Your Friendship

     During this winter break, I watched many movies and TV shows. However, I have to say there was one movie that gave me a really great and deep impression. This movie is called "Girls". 

     "Girls" was a Chinese movie, directed by a young director whose name was Wong Chun-Chun. It was a romantic movie and as well was a comedy about friendship and love. It was released on July 30th,2014. In the first week of releasing, "Girls" earned the top one status in the most popular movie list in China. 

     I did not have a chance to watch it when it was on in the movie theater. I download it after almost six months and watched it on the plane when I went back to China. It was mainly telling stories between three girls who were best friends since child age: Xi Wen, Kimmy and Xiao Mei. Xi Wen is a conservative who always loved having everything planned. Kimmy was a queen and master in the are of love. She had dated with many men. Xiao Mei was unlike neither Kimmy nor Xi Wen. She had a great passion in enterprise and a total noob in dating with men. Because of Xi Wen's fiance cancelled their engagement and Kimmy and Xiao Mei fell in love with the same guy, their friendship were facing a big challenge. However, at the end of the movie, they came back together and regretted what they each had done wrong to others. Their friendship was consiolidated and reinforced. 

     I was moved and inspired by the movie when I watched it. These three girls were best friends with each other, but their firendship was in danger because of those hardships in life. However, their friendship was firm and everlasting. Even though they had a big fight with each other, they still helped each other out whenever one need the other two. I related to my experience right away. I had four best friends who I knew since elementary school. Our five girls grew up together and studied in the same middle school. We often went to school together and played together. Our parents knew each other as well. One thing that I would never forget was that when the school ended, one girl's parent would pick all of our five up and drive us home. Out parents would decide when they pick us up and take turns. That was one of my favorite memories. However, we were in high school now and we were no longer in the same school. We were really far away from each other and we even could not see each other for months. Everyone was busy. I felt like the distance grew among us, not only physically but also mentally. Everyone had their new friends and new group in new schools. I hoped we could go back to old times when we were together. I hope we could like those three girls in the movie, always think about and always love each other at any time. 

     A good movie should not just entertain you but also needed to make you think. I thought "Girls" was a great movie for us to watch. It was closely connected to our real life and gave us inspirations of life and friendship. I suggested every to watch this movie to learn not only to cherish your friendship but also to protect it and consolidate your firendship with your best friends.