Welcome, reader, to our Student Spotlight Series on the blog. Today, Junpil’s story is the highlight - one of our Intensive English students who has been with our program for nearly one year.
During the past year, Junpil has experienced new friendships, seen some of America’s most wonderful National Parks, and made enough memories to last a lifetime. Read on and relive Junpil’s journey through the Intensive English program, as he reflects on a time in his life that is soon reaching its conclusion.
Junpil’s story begins at home in South Korea. We join his journey at a crossroads - his relationship of three years had been transformed into a long-distance one due to his significant other’s reassignment to Houston within her company.
Luckily, Junpil said, his own company had just recently rolled out a new long-term leave program designed for employees’ personal growth. His long-distance relationship, then, became a language-learning opportunity.
“After having one year of a long-distance relationship and preparation, I made up my mind to…study English abroad,” Junpil said. This decision didn’t come without its doubts, however.
Junpil said his now-fiancée, who had lived in Austin for a year in her childhood, helped convince him to take the leap.
“I was worried about my English proficiency and [was] not sure that I could really live abroad,” Junpil said. “[My fiancée] encouraged me [and told me] that my English was enough, [my] speaking would grow fast, and I would make it.”
After Junpil’s arrival in the United States, he quickly realized there was a significant cultural difference from his home in South Korea. He gave us an example of an interaction with a resident at his apartment complex, who asked him if he’d be joining their social event.
“I was confused and didn’t get the context of why she asked me about it,” Junpil said. “I gave her an empty reply, subtly showing the ring on my finger, [but] I realized later that it was just random small talk.”
Junpil recounted that, in South Korea, people typically avoid making small talk and smiling at strangers unless they have something specific to say to them.
On the subject of his home country, Junpil told us he also greatly missed authentic Korean food during his time here. While there are Korean supermarkets here in Houston, basic groceries were different to those in South Korea, which made a noticeable difference in his cooking.
“My fiancée and I often talk about the new [and] emerging restaurants in Seoul and what we should try when [we go] back to Korea,” Junpil said.
While studying here at Rice, however, Junpil was also able to visit some of America’s most stunning natural landscapes - the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, White Sands in New Mexico, and Guadalupe Mountain in West Texas.
“I love the mountains in Korea…[but] the untouched nature in the U.S. is even more amazing,” Junpil said. “With the annual pass, we have been exploring several National Parks in the U.S. whenever we could…[and] we deeply enjoyed these rich natural wonders and breathtaking landscapes.”
Junpil mentioned that he was also able to see Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Someday, he said, he’d like to return to the U.S. and visit Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
“It was just a brief visit, but if we had known the Rocky Mountains would be that stunning and idyllic, we would have planned [a] longer [stay] there,” Junpil said.
As the year went on, Junpil found a lot to love about Houston as well. Particularly, the sunshine and large parks in town proved a great combination for jogging and being outdoors.
“Instead of mountains, Houston has great forest[ed] parks…which have both nice sunlight and cool shade,” Junpil said. “Except for very humid days, I [would] go running at Memorial Park and sometimes the Rice campus and Hermann Park too.”
Junpil’s time in the Intensive English program was marked by meeting friends from all around the world. He said the most valuable lesson he learned was one of perspective. Through meeting such a diverse group of people, Junpil was able to reflect on his past journeys with a fresh lens.
“I took my culture, behavior, and even mindset for granted over thirty years in a small and limited well,” Junpil said. “The [Intensive English] program connected me with a wider and borderless sea, [and] now, I can see my background from a distance and have more room to understand myself.”
During his time as an Intensive English student, Junpil believed his favorite activity was the new Conversation Partners Program. This initiative, headed up by our ESL Enrollment Coordinator, Bianca Perez, in collaboration with Rice’s Center for Languages & Intercultural Communications (CLIC), gave our Intensive English students an opportunity to be matched up with a native English-speaking Rice undergraduate student learning their language.
“Thanks to [my] generous friend and partner, I had the chance to hear her unique experiences and perspectives as a second-generation immigrant,” Junpil said of his conversation partner. “It was fascinating! Where else could I hear this kind of story?”
Junpil said that Conversation Partners, when combined with the teachers, students, and experiences he had, made the Intensive English program a truly special experience.
“I understand that this might be the last chapter where I can focus entirely on studying…” Junpil said. “Every moment with Rice was special and precious to me…[and] I want to express my deep gratitude to every hard-working ESL teacher at Rice.”
One of the four ESL teachers in the program, Neda Zafaranian, was Junpil’s teacher for a few sessions and had equally positive thoughts about him.
“I had [Junpil] in two sessions, both times in Level 7,” Neda said. “He is smart, funny, curious, sociable, and all around…one of the best students I’ve ever had.”
As Junpil now prepares to head back home to South Korea, he said the lessons he’s learned during his time with the Intensive English Program will be a great benefit to his future plans.
“I will return to my work and look for ways to keep improving [my English] and apply the global perspectives I have learned,” Junpil said. “I am certain that my one year experience at Rice will be beneficial to my life.”
Junpil left us with a quote in his native Korean which has helped him throughout his life. “겨울이 다 되어야 솔이 푸른 줄 안다,” which translates to, “You can see the pine trees are green when winter comes.”
“It technically means your resilience is revealed in tough times, but I think it can be interpreted in [a different] way,” Junpil said. “Don’t be swayed and keep honing yourself; you will be recognized when the right time comes.”
Thank you for reading another story in our Student Spotlight Series. There are always new stories to be told, so stay tuned on our social media channels and here on the blog for more entries in the future.
By Hadrian Barbosa