Readjusting to Carleton and the US

Week 1 is over, and I’m glad to be back, although I’ve found myself having to adjust and readjust quite a bit. Adjusting to using contacts, Carleton intensity, and 500+ new faces. I’ve been able to see friends who I haven’t been able to contact for most of the summer and I’m happy to have lots of work to keep me occupied. I’ve also been able to start practicing guzheng (Chinese zither) again, and I’m excited to learn new songs.

As I’m readjusting to Carleton life, I’m also readjusting to life in America as well. I spent the majority of my summer in Asia, interning in Myanmar followed by a brief vacation in Thailand and Korea. In Myanmar, I served as an English teacher and research assistant to Prof. Tun Myint of Carleton’s political science department. I lived with a host family in Kaing Byin Gyi, a rural village in Minhla Township. I taught every day from everyone ages 8-60 and conducted interviews and surveys about village life on the side. It was quite the adventure, but extremely rewarding and worthwhile, and I sincerely hope to see the villagers I met again one day, the inevitable 1,000 bug bites notwithstanding. In Thailand, I relaxed in the Southeast Asian jungles and, in Korea, I embraced my inner K-drama and K-pop fan.

Being back, however, has led me to really realize how busy I am at Carleton. Every hour, I have some assignment, project, or social/club activity to do. At this point, it’s safe to say that I’ll give up Netflix for the majority of the term. The amount of work I have is both nice and stressful, but it’s something I’ve definitely adjusted to since freshman year.

This year, I’ll be one of the co-captains for Karl-Pop, Carleton’s one and only K-pop dance group, and have to spend many hours a week planning logistics, activities, rehearsals, and practices. We had a successful recruiting day at the student activities fair on Friday and I look forward to working with the new members from the Class of 2021. We will be performing at an upcoming cultural showcase and are rushing quickly to learn and practice some of our new, favorite K-pop songs.

Hoping it’s going to be a good year!

Chase is a junior linguistics major and is more than glad to exchange the year-round California heat for some Minnesota seasonality. In his free time, he enjoys directing K-pop dances for Karl-Pop, playing guzheng, and cycling around Northfield. When Chase doesn’t have free time, which is often, he’ll be in the libe or Sayles with a cup (or cups) of chai tea in hand.