Sunday, February 27, 2011

My major is Portuguese!


          My major is Portuguese. Every time I tell about my major, people ask me again why I chose Portuguese for major, because it is not common to study Portuguese for the major in Korea. As a result of this kind of reactions, I’ve been so used to answer why I decided to learn Portuguese.
           There are several reasons that made me be interested in Portuguese. The first one is a bright economic outlook of Brazil. Brazil has been nominated as one of BRICs, whose economic potential is such that they could become among the four most dominant economies by the year 2050. Brazil has a massive territory, abundant resources and population. The consequence of these advantages has been the positive economic view of Brazil.
           On top of that, the scarcity was another reason why I determined to study Portuguese. Portuguese is available to be taught at only two universities in Korea, and what is more is they admit only about 30 new students every year. The demand for people who speak Portuguese has risen due to the bright outlook of Brazil, and the Portuguese speakers are only a few; hence, they are in very high scarcity.
           The great economic view and the scarcity are main reasons why I chose Portuguese for my major. While having learned Portuguese, I’ve found that it is so worthy to study foreign languages and that I love it! I really hope that I will accomplish my goal by taking advantage of my major in the future.

Monday, February 21, 2011

February, The Month of Love!


           Many companies always begin to relieve commercials about hotel packages, chocolates and jewelries at this time of the year, because February is the month of love. February has been considered the month of love because of Valentine’s Day. Some people say that Valentine’s Day is just a lucrative marketing gimmick of chocolate companies. No one can deny that it was initiated by the chocolate companies as a means of increasing their income. However, the Valentine’s Day has played an important role of showing and verifying love between lovers.
           In Korea, females usually give chocolates and gifts to males who they love. It has been very common to make the chocolates by themselves; therefore, every candy shops is always crowded by many women who are willing to buy some ingredients of chocolates and spend a day making sweeties for their sweethearts every February.
           I also have made chocolates and cookies a couple of years ago. It took quite long time to make and wrap it. After finishing it, I really got sick of chocolates, and I didn’t even want to smell at any chocolates! =( However, making something sweet for someone I love, and seeing him so happy made me pleased too.
           Even though it started as a marketing gimmick of some companies, I think it would be a good opportunity to show love between couples. A month filled with love in a harsh world, how romantic and wonderful thing it is!