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Hello! My name is Shin Hae Yoon. Shin is my last name and Hae Yoon is my first name. I also go by my English name which is Judy, but I prefer my Korean name because I think it's more special! I was born on November 1st 1995 to my two loving parents. I was the first child in my family and so my dad and my mom were very happy. They say that I was a healthy baby and that I slept and ate better and more than any other kids in the same hospital. Then 3 years later my younger brother was born! We used to fight a lot when we were little but now, we’re getting along quite well. I think it was about when I entered middle school that I started to become more close to him rather than to treat him as an enemy. Even nowadays we would watch football or movies together, areas which we are both interested in. Our family was finally completed 2 years ago when Richy came to our house. Richy is a brown, furry poodle that was given to me as a belated birthday present from my parents. She loves sleeping and eating just like me and we go out for walks very often. She is very smart so she knows tons of tricks. Her favourite treat, as predicted by how desperate she is to have the treat, is probably half dried half moist chicken breast. I've always wanted a dog so I love her so much! Anyways, that makes the five of us, our family.

 

I was born in Seoul Korea and that's where I lived the majority of my life in. But when I was 6 years old, I moved to the outer area of Seoul, Gyeong-gi-do and attend Hwajung primary school. I was always an energetic extrovert so I rarely studied. Instead I would run around and play outside all the time. Because gyeong-gi-do was sitted in the outer area of Seoul, there were lots of parks with trees and flowers that my friends and I could run around. I would spend the typical day in one of those parks with my friends to play hide and seek or tag. I was definitely a tomboy. I fell down and scratched my arms and legs very often so my parents worried a lot. They hoped that I would do something calm like playing the piano or playing with dolls. I never met my parents expectations as a kid but I was always happy.

 

Then 3 years later, my family moved to Singapore because of my father's job. I went to the Canadian International School there. At first it was terrible because I couldn’t speak any English. I was never a scholastic kid back in Korea, so my English was very poor even as a non native student. I only knew basic words like dog and cat. I didn’t even know how to introduce myself. So, I naturally became a Asian stereotype: Timid and speechless. But as time passed by, I eventually learned English and made lots of friends, which allowed me to learn English even faster and make more friends and this cycle continued. So Singapore is where I learned a lot of the English I can speak now. Besides that it was such a life changing experience for me. Going to an international school in such a multicultural country exposed me to diverse opportunities to encounter “difference” and “new”. I experienced so many different cultures and religions. It was like being in 4 and even more different countries all at the same time. I learned to be open minded and interest in learning different languages. I would love to go back there one day.

 

 

Like I mentioned in the previous page, I have been influenced a lot by the experiences of being in Singapore. First of all, my interest in language has grown tremendously. Because there were people from many different countries, we all spoke different languages. I listened to a lot of those that I wouldn’t have heard until I was older if I had lived in Korea. Different languages had different accents and pronunciations. For example, I always thought that Spanish and French sounded so romantic and exotic. Ever since hearing those two languages, I have always wanted to learn those two languages. And I plan on taking action. I started learning French this year at an institution called Alliance Francaise. When I get used to speaking in French, I hope that I will also learn Spanish. Secondly, it has changed my appetite completely. One of the biggest merits of living in Singapore was that there were so many different dishes available and affordable prices. One of my favourite dishes was Tika Masala, or Indian curry. I loved having this dish with a type of bread called nan. I enjoy this meal even till today. As for dessert, I love Ice Kachange which is similar to Korea’s PAtBingSu.

 

So this is it for my story and I hope you guys got to know me a little better. Bye!