These days I know I need to learn and use more Korean. Especially when someone asks me, "How long have you been in Korea?" To which I say, "Four years now." And then the usual response is, "Oh! You must speak Korean very well!" Sorry, not really.
It's a sad fact that clouds my life here in Korea, but don't get the wrong idea. I know how to read Korean very well and have a good bag full of phrases and sentences I can use to get by. I understand most of what people say around me, but as far as conversation and full understanding that is still yet to be accomplished. So I have decided to try out language exchange happenings through group meetups.
I found one such group through Meetup.com, and it looked promising. They have several locations you can go join, and I was pleased to see one open up near me in Hyehwa.
Yesterday, I finally decided to head out to the meet up and see what would happen. I was kind of skeptical since I don't really have a heavy Korean language background and was worried the folks there would be expecting a lot.
I showed up to the Serendipity Cafe, where I looked at their menu and decided to just get a bottled lemonade instead. After sitting around on the 2nd floor, I realized that maybe the party was upstairs on the 3rd floor. I was right, and found a check-in desk at the front where you write down your name and stamp the paper according to the languages you know. Mine received a "K" and "E" stamp for Korean and English. However, I wish I could have just stamped half the Korean one.
I sat down and found myself sitting next to some friendly looking people. Things started off with a few giggles but the basic questions were asked, in English. I told the folks that I knew Korean but not enough to make conversation, yet was fine with just speaking English if they wanted. Conversations started and I found myself having a good time.
As time went on and I got to know the other half of the table, I did find myself learning some Korean and practicing it. The most problem I see is that my brain starts to really get tired fast of all the new language learning, but I trucked on.
Generally, I mostly wanted to meet new people and I accomplished that. Plus I got a sense of what it is like to go to one of these exchange things and I can see it probably depends who you sit next to. Apparently, the Hyehwa meet up was a lot smaller than the usual ones in Gangnam or Hongdae. I kind of can't imagine being part of a huge crowd for language exchange. I think I like the smaller scene better. I also think what was best was making new friends and if you feel like it can meet later on for more practice.
Anyways, if you are interested in joining one of their meetups I would highly suggest it. You can find them on the following sources.
If you know of any other groups that have worked for you with language exchange, do share with me as I would love to see what they are like. Anyways, I hope this language exchange business helps motivate me to really learn and use Korean this year.
Vacation time lately feels like I have been sucked into a black hole. The cold air keeps me from wanting to sightsee and on top of that I seem to be thinking too much about life. You could say that I have been doing some soul searching.
I am in between jobs and that is why I have this vacation. As much as I try to relax and focus on the free time my mind tends to stray and think about the future. I will be starting my 3rd job in Korea and making my way through my second year abroad. Homesickness still occurs and sometimes it goes up a level. Nowadays it is more about just seeking a home. Living in the goshiwon is convenient but I wouldn't call it a permanent settlement. It seems that the life of an English teacher is similar to the roaming of a gypsy. Unless you are able to stay at one school for an extended period of time you are left to change locations. In some respects I don't mind this because it gives me the chance to explore a new area and get to know new people.
However, lately I have been feeling somewhere stuck in the middle between my life in Korea and my "home" back in America. If I am to stay here for a long time then I need to consider why and what I will do. Also I believe it is time to take the language seriously out here and help myself to some classes.
Nevertheless soul searching is good for you and I am sure all will be fine.
I did another kind soul searching last week and that was for a new pair of soles. haha
Ahem...well anyways I went shoe shopping last week in Myeongdong and I thought I share the fun I had.
I was relieved to find many shoe stores in Myeongdong with plenty of cute and fun shoes. Of course the problem was making a choice.
I came upon these durable and sporty shoes but knew I needed to look around more.
A shop nearby were selling these fun looking hi-tops that I thought would give me a hip edge. But I wasn't sure on the size or how they would hold up in the rain.
Then I went to a "Landrover" store and found these Clarks, which as you should know I bought. They are really comfortable and fun. I like the style because they sometimes remind me of Elvin shoes like in The Lord of the Rings. Also for some reason wearing red shoes gives me a confidence booster. Myeongdong is a place to find many treasures and also find yourself encapsulated amongst the tall buildings. I went on a weekday and it wasn't as crowded as it would have been on the weekend. Meaning I didn't have to walk through elbows to get around. So if you need to shop and want to do it in Myeongdong then I suggest trying to get out there when you have time off during the week. Another traveling event that happened last week was that I was in the JongnoInsadong area. First I had a late lunch with JH and then strolled through Insadong towards the Chyeongyechon stream. Here you see lunch was some galbi of beef and pork with rice in a bamboo cup. The stream was decorated with lanterns as part of the Seoul Lantern Festival to celebrate the "Visit Korea Year". Actually this campaign is a mess because they designated the year as 2010 - 2012, which is two years really.
Anyways, it was interesting to see the set up along the river. I would have stayed to see it all lit up but it was cold and windy out. Maybe next time when I have my new warm coat! They say it is going to get warmer past Thursday so I will look forward to that. In the meantime I need to get a grip on my thoughts and not worry so much.
Going to Anguk station. Transfer at Chungmuro. Waiting for the train.
After the 2S2 initial meet up at the Twosome Place cafe near Anguk station, we took off to visit the newly renovated Gwanghawmun plaza. Although the new design was interesting and funky there was a strong lamentation by Rob that there are no trees. In their place were these, as he called it "plastic pods" which offered minimal shade.
Rob isn't the only one with lamentations on this treeless wonder. Blogger "Seoul Village" writes:
As pointed out earlier, the square itself cruelly lacks natural shade. It was a deliberate choice for security reasons : like Seoul Plaza, the area might be used as a demonstration spot, but this time right in front of the Government's headquarters. On the other hand, no more ginkgo trees means that you can enjoy the panorama on the mountain from any point. But this flat area will be as chilly in winter as it is mercilessly hot in summer. More than the embarrassing sea of flowers covering the Northern section of Gwanghwamun Plaza, waterworks do provide some welcomed refreshment, and flower pot benches do grow a few useful metallic umbrellas... but under a scorching sun, it's safer to bring your own shade.
Everyone must suffer the eye-sore of no trees and the berating heat and cold due to the fear that protesters will come to this area, which they often do. I also wonder if the scheduled water fountain display that shoots up water can double as a way to deter protesters..hmm? Consider this though, before the area was restored there were ginkgo trees but due to planning issues they didn't make it into the renovation. Actually you can still spot them on the other side of the road.
The plaza restores Gwanghwamun’s significance as the center of Korea’s history, politics and culture. To restore the uninterrupted view of Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbokgung, Mt.Bukak and Mt.Bukhan, the gingkotrees planted by the Japanese were transplanted in May of 2008, signaling the start of the GwanghwamunPlaza project.
One wonders that if those trees were of a different variety and planted by Koreans that they would have been spared being pulled out. I guess their main purpose was for one to get an uninterrupted view of it all, which yes is very possible now when you walk through the plaza.
Minus the trees and you are left with a granite floor, pod like shelters and various sculptures along the plaza strip.
The waterway, 2 centimeters deep and about 1 meter across, runs for 365 meters along the plaza's east side. On its floor lie 617 stones recording with major events from the beginning of Joseon in 1392 through 2008
The carpet of flowers is located at the northern part of the plaza. Measuring 17.5 meters wide and 162 meters long, it presents 220,000 flowers symbolizing the 220,000 days from when Seoul became the capital of the Joseon Kingdom up to the opening of the plaza.
For a great synopsis of the history of Gwanghwamun area take a look at My Nice Day!'s post. If you look through this post you will see design choices for the plaza, one of which includes trees.source
Apparently we came around the time when they recently revealed the new King Sejong statue.
The second quarter will be unveiled on Hangeul Day, commemorating the birth of the Korean writing system, on Oct. 9.
The long-awaited bronze statue of the Great King Sejong (1418-50), who is credited with promulgating ``Hangeul'' with a group of scholars, will join that of Admiral Yi Sun-shin on Gwanghwamun Plaza. It will be the landmark for entry into ``The King Sejong Story,'' an artistic underground museum space for pedestrians below the plaza's bed of flowers and water fountain streams.
Wanting to check out the underground museum required waiting in a very long line. I will have to check it out when the crowds are fewer.
There will be five permanent multimedia exhibition halls focusing on King Sejong's humanity, democratic ideals, sagacious leadership, the creation of hangeul and developments in science and the arts under his rule. A sixth zone will be allotted for temporary exhibitions.
Seated up high above everyone and glistening amongst the sunshine you do feel a sense of awe. I tried to find out what material it was made from. My guess is bronze but really it doesn't look like it. Maybe a mixture of something.
Anyways, the statue sure sits proudly in the plaza.
Although there are a lack of trees and amazing urban design the plaza is a new hot spot to check out. Who knows? Maybe as time passes additions and subtractions will be made to the plaza. I hear it is a wonder to check out at night as the fountain performance is lit up. Finally, the Gwanghwamun gate itself will eventually be reveled and I guess the whole thing will be complete.
Chris in South Korea has come out with his round 2 of trivia. Once again I will attempt to answer his questions without looking up the answers. Here we go:
16. Seoul is Korea's largest city, while Busan comes in second. Which cities are third, fourth, and fifth?(Cities need not necessarily be in order)
Daegu, Gyongju, it starts with a G
17. Approximately what percentage of the Korean population is agnostic / non-religious? (Count your answer correct if you're over or under by 3%)
3.8%
18. Who or what is a chigwa (치과)?
I don't know. A special day or special person...uh something special.
19. Just because Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world doesn't mean they don't like kids. What makes a Korean child's first birthday so special?
Because of the low birth-rate. Is this the 100 day thing?
20. Who or what is a agasshi (아가씨)?
Unmarried lady
21. What are you ordering if you ask for 매운탕 (maeuntang)?
Dog meat? Something like that~?
22. Name two of the railroad lines that connect Korea via railroad. Any of the named lines that make up part the Seoul subway system do not count!
KTX doesn't count? Korail?
23. When you see a sign that says '24 시', what does that mean?
24 hours~!
24. Who or what does NET stand for?
Don't know~
25. Who or what is HBC?
mmmm don't know
26. Name three Korean newspapers / news sources published in English, without the word 'Korea' in the name.
Chosun Ilbo, Yonghap News, Joongang Daily (sp)
27. Who or what is Pascucci?
Coffee Shop
28. Jeju-do boasts Korea's tallest mountain, Hallasan. Within 50 meters, how tall is this mountain?
A+B=C
29. Lots of railroads criss-cross the country, and there is definitely a trade-off between speed and price. Excluding subways, name the four classes of trains.
What is with you and trains? I don't know man..umm first class, carriage, cargo...military?
30. Since we ignored subways in the last question, we'll ask about them now. As of June 2009, how many Korean cities have operating subway systems?
Work has been going well lately. I have gotten use to the new coteacher and we are getting along well.
A few weeks ago she brought to my attention extra work that I had the option of taking part in. I opted out of all the actual extra teaching stuff, because at this point I am not ready to take that on. But at the end of the list was a "Delight Your Hangeul" course.
About every Wednesday the Gunpo city is putting on a Korean class for native teachers. Today was the first meeting.
Like any meeting that happens to be organized by Koreans you usually go through a lot of confusion sorting at the beginning. "What time is this?" "Wait I thought..."
But the class looks somewhat promising. It is meant to teach us office Korean so that we can communicate with the people at our school. Also it will be geared more towards speech than grammar and writing.
I am a bit skeptical since the one's teaching are kind of normal non-trained teachers who have been given the job. *(But AS AMANADA SUGGESTED they are just like us English teachers who come here with no experience and little training.)
Hey there folks. I am working on getting my TESL through an online course. Basically the work consists of reading, taking a short quiz and then writing.
This is a course that will give me the TESL certificate which can be used to get more money added to my salary, and also an advantage when it comes to being hired.
However, I think the most important aspect of working on this is that it will improve my knowledge and skills of being an English teacher for EFL students. So I got started on this last week, after finally paying for it and printing out my first assignment. This course is not heavily weighed on grammar but that doesn't mean it isn't a part of it.
I have come to a part in my writing assignment, which deals with grammar. I am not a grammar whiz, as my Mom would tell you. But I am very willing to learn and get over my own mistakes.
I am asking you, my readers, to extend your grammar knowledge to help me with this assignment. I'm not trying to cheat here, I just really don't know where to start when it comes to figuring out grammar. So if anyone can give me some pointers that would be terrific!
The Prompt: The assignment is to write down three sentences that Foreign language English learners commonly make that are mistakes. These sentences have to be grammatically incorrect and all relate to each other with the same grammar problem.
Their example:
from French:
I have twenty years.
I have cold.
I have ill.
The reason for this error is due to the use of have in French.
My choices:
I goes to a PC Bang. I go to church. I was go to home. These are common answers to the question "What did you do you yesterday?"
The Help I Need: I know that these sentences are grammatically incorrect. I just can't tell you which grammar rule it relates to. I am thinking it relates to getting the past-tense incorrect, but I know there must be more to it than that! (See how badly I need grammar help folks, my poor students...so sorry)
The Twist: The assignment requests the following:
Explain why you think the error takes place.
Explain in terms of grammar.
Explain in terms of the MT (mother tongue, Korean language) and then explain it in terms of the English Grammar. This is the part that I need help with, mostly because I don't know Korean grammar.
Point out the differences.
At least I have a set of sentences that I thought of on my own. That alone was pretty tricky.
In the meantime I will hit up google and see what I can come up with, and try to get myself on the grammar path.
If you know of an explanation I could start thinking of that would be great. Or of any websites that would be awesome, too.
Maybe you don't have this memory but I do. As a child, living in South Florida on 1 acre of land, I hung fresh laundry on a line. Although a chore, it was one of my favorite ones because I enjoyed trying to get everything on the line without anything overlapping. After everything was dry it was time to collect it in a wicker basket. And so it was that I learned how to take care of laundry at an early age.
Then comes the time when you leave your family's house and have to do all the steps by yourself. Living in dormitories during college is a great starter for learning the social etiquette that comes along with communal washing machines.
When sharing laundry facilities often times you run across some drama:
What to do when there is washed laundry in the machine you need to use?
If you move that person's laundry where do you put it?
Is the timer right?
How many machines can one use at once? Is using all the machines greedy?
Moving to Korea means that you may face these same questions, but with the language barrier you have a whole new problem.
For the lucky ones out there who have their laundry machine neatly tucked inside their office-tel, then these Korean Laundry Etiquette tips won't be much use for you.
For the rest of us who live in accommodations that are less fortunate, where we have to share the laundry facilities with other, then please take in these words of wisdom. Incidents: I am going to start off with two incidents that occurred while I was doing laundry in my building.
1. Using both machines / Taboo: Since it has been winter I have a lot of sweaters that I wash. After finding my clothes full of fuzzies I decided that it was best to separate my sweaters from my regular batch of clothes. This means I need to use two machines (or one machine...one at a time). But I'm American, and I want to use two machines! haha
I took my clothes over to the machines and filled them both up. But before I was able to close the lids and press the buttons a guy came over. He had about 3 shirts in his hand and maybe some towels. After noticing I had filled up both machines he started speaking to me and gesturing. I did not know what he was saying, but I figured it had to do with my use of two machines. So I said "Gwen chanai yo" or "okay, okay" and took out the sweaters and put them in the other machine.
He seemed pleased and loaded up the machine. But the tone of his voice and attitude when he talked to me was very unpleasant. I know I was being selfish and using two machines, but you don't have to freak out about it. In the end, I couldn't really say much back to him because of my lack of Korean. So it was that I learned to look out for other people when I want to use both machines.
2. Mixing with somebody else's clothing/ You might as well have signed a pact with the Devil! When I came home from Winter Camp last month, I was really tired. But I needed to do some laundry. So I gathered my clothes and brought them to the machines. Without really looking I put my stuff inside, added soap and pressed the buttons.
After the time was up I came out of my room to see an Ahjumma (40-50'ish woman) standing over the laundry machine. At first I thought she wanted to use the machine and so was taking my clothes out. So I rushed over. But then I realized the expression on her face read more like something must have pissed her off.
It turned out I had put my clothes in on top of hers, without checking first. She was really upset! And was doing the usual Ahjumma yelling at me. I was surprised and felt very ashamed. I said "Mian ham nida..." (sorry) many times. But she just did that typical Ahjumma clicking of her tongue.
She figured that I didn't speak Korean and finally gave up yelling at me. And so she fished through the laundry pulling out her stuff and scoffing at the fact that I had jeans in my wash. Then she put her stuff in the other machine and washed them for a 3rd time. No wai-guk germs for her !!! haha
I wasn't mad at her for yelling at me, although I wish she wouldn't have freaked out.
I learned a valuable lesson: Check the bottom of the machine before putting laundry inside.
So here are some valuable etiquette rules I have found out:
If you are going to use all or most of the machines, make sure no one is around.
Check to make sure it is empty before putting your stuff in.
Be quick to unload, or someone will come and do it for you without care.
People in your building, when walking by, will give you 2nd or 3rd glances at the sight of a wai-guk doing laundry. Pay no-mind and continue on.
How to Use the Washing Machine: Let me remind you that there are no dryers, that is done on an elaborate drying rack. Also everything on the machine is in Korean. So you gotta be careful when pressing those buttons, or you could wash your clothes on a destructive cycle. At first site it looks pretty daunting and complicated. Also you ask yourself why there are so many choices?
To make life easier for you I made a little diagram in Photoshop. Also, I didn't use BK to translate the buttons, I used the dictionary on my cell phone. Guide to using a Korean Washing Machine: Review of the Buttons: Use the picture to understand my references
A Button: This turns on the other buttons. It does not make the machine run. That is a separate button. I would say it is like the on switch to your computer.
B Button: This does start the machine to wash your clothes. PRESSED after you make your choices.
C Button: These are your cycle options. Going from top to bottom these are your choices...
Regular Cycle (I use this to wash everything but my sweaters, takes about 48-58 min depending on your load size.)
Unsure (My translator comes up with something very worn. So I guess this would be a super-cleaning cycle?, All I know is that I don't use it.)
Scour cycle (Hmmm .... scour doesn't sound pleasant... I don't use this one)
Wool (Used for sweaters and delicates, it only uses cold water.)
Bedding (Cycle choice for washing quilts and bedding. I don't know if it uses hot or cold water.)
D Button: Within each kind of cycle are certain washes. This button highlights which ones will happen in the cycle you chose. It is a progressive thing, for example from top to between it goes from rinsing to washing to rinse and then drain. You don't really need to mess with this after you pressed the C button, since it presets itself.
E Button: This button has pictures of measuring cups next to it. I don't mess with this button either and just leave it alone. I don't really know what its function is.
F Button: Hot or Cold? I usually always leave it on Cold. I think if you want hot you have to change the hose connected to the machine.
G Button: The timer. Do I really need to explain? One thing though is check it often, because it seems to take longer than you think.
Washing Whites: If separating is your thing, then I would press the on button and leave it at the regular cycle. Washing Colors: Same for whites, I guess just double check hot water is not going into the machine. Sweaters / Delicates: Turn on and select the Wool setting using the C button, don't touch anything else and turn on.
Well, that should do it for the tutorial on how to use a Korean washing machine. Again remember every one's machine may not be like mine.
Finally, when doing your laundry and interacting with other people in your building try to remember that they more than likely have the upper hand. So get along with your neighbors, despite that they may act unfriendly.
Goodluck~!
Bonus!~ A video of the music the machine plays when done washing:
A Korean lesson hasn't come in today, because BK is busy getting ready to go do his training. The company requires that he leave his home and stay at a hotel north of Seoul, to receive 2 weeks of training. I won't see the guy till Christmas.
He may give me some lessons to go by in the meantime. Actually, I think it is kind of a relief because I can now study the lessons I already have. But I am going to miss the guy.
Although the temperature read 9 degrees Fahrenheit I trekked my way to Itaewon to meet up with Rob. The only details I had were that he was meeting some other friends and it was at the Rocky Mountain Tavern at 11 am.
I tend be somewhat of an early bird or I make it to a place at the time someone tells me to get there. I got there exactly at 11am, and so I ended up waiting about 30 min for Rob. It wasn't a big deal, the place was warm.
While I was waiting I took a look around. It had a bar and tables. The place was decked out in Canadian knick-knacks (flags, license plates...). Seeing the English on practically everything, and the atmosphere of wooden walls made me feel like I was in a Tavern somewhere back in North America.
Unfortunately I didn't get any snapshots from this place, so you are just going to have to read my story.
Well Rob came by and with him was Danielle, which was a great pleasure to finally meet. We ordered the "Truck Stop" breakfast menu item, which included 2 eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast.
Then sometime later, Joe joined us. And the laughing and story telling really started to kick in. When we first met I think I had to adjust myself to their humor and inside jokes. So today I found myself more comfortable.
And sometime even later, Gomushin girl and her friend showed up. And there we all were, like some kind of crime fighting group, except we don't fight crime. Instead I think we just all took some time to let off a little wai-guk-in steam. (Venting on being a foreigner)
The Food at The Rocky Mountain Tavern:
Time: 3 orders of the same thing (eggs, bacon and toast) took the cook 35 minutes to whip up. It took a bit longer for Joe's and Gomushin girl's to come to the table too. So we were all very perplexed as to why it took so damn long.
Taste: Ordinary. Nothing special here folks. You can get the eggs done in any way you like. I chose scrambled and they were pretty decent. Except you could tell the cook did not clean off the grill and so there was quite an extensive amount of grease. My potatoes tasted pretty good, but Gomushin girl and her friends had a strange acidic sour taste. This left us all wondering why potatoes would have this taste.
All in all, the food at the Buttermilk Pancakes place in Apgujeong is way better.
We ate, we talked, joked around and had some relaxing moments. Somewhere in the middle of all that Danielle had to leave for more of her wedding photos. And we had a special guest join us, that is Garrett. (He is kind of a new guy, like me, living here in Korea.)
I guess since I don't hang out in Itaewon often, or in general at the bars...that I am not familiar with these kinds of places. But I have to say they are SMOKEY!!!
Cigarette Smokey! I come from California where if you light up in front of an entrance or at the bus stop people do not have a problem telling the smoker to go somewhere else. So having to adjust to a smokey indoor environment is a big hassle for me. I am grateful that most of the places BK and I go to eat and have fun at, do not involve people smoking inside them.
Allright...let us move on!
Next Stop was The Wolfhound, due to that some members of the group were starting to crave their burgers. This place boosts itself as being an Irish Pub, however I would like to know what made it "Irish" except for the Guinness beer logos of 4-leaf clovers.
The place was serving up late lunch, and we found ourselves at one of the corner tables. This place too was a pub/restaurant deal, and so it came with the indoor cigarette smoke. Yet, they had some fans going somewhere so at least it was able to circulate.
Anyways I did manage to get pictures of the food at this joint.
I ordered an Apple Crisp (although it was called something else). That large square chunk you see on top is actually vanilla ice cream. Underneath the crumb layer were some warm apple slices in a cinnamony goo. It was good and satisfying.
Here we have Gomushin Girl with here lovely camera.
Here you see Joe and Gomushin Girl's friend. Joe ordered a speciality item on the menu that included baked beans, sausage, croquettes, toast and maybe something else.
What is this??
What could this be???
LIMES!!!!!!!!!!
While we were sitting at the table I looked across to another diner's table and saw atop their Corona bottle a slice of lime!!! My heart skipped a beat as I identified the green sliced thing to be a lime! I immediately told everyone of my discover. But it seemed I was the only one amazed by this site.
What is one kind of food that you could not live with out? I am not talking a certain kind of meal... I mean what kind of food - thing? Strawberries? Chocolate?
Well for me that is limes! I eat these raw! They are the best things on this earth! And I can not find them at the grocery stores, and believe me I have looked. So it was like seeing hope atop a bottle.
Anyways, we got the waitress to give me some, and so I was a happy camper.
Again we all ate, talked and shared some good stories. I really enjoyed everyone's company and I think it helped me feel less alone here in this crazy yet cool country.
Now for a few follow up things: *Garrett: the VPN service I use is: Strong VPN
*The Korean Lessons: BK and I talked about it and we agreed that it is good to still post my lessons, but he would like me to not allow comments for those posts. I kind of wish it wasn't such a big deal but I want to come to a compromise and this seems to be it. Again, if you ever do have something to say you could email me.
Dear patrons of my blog, Bo Kwan is really a nice guy and doesn't mean to offend anyone. He just sometimes gets a hot temper and goes off-the-wall. I will work on convincing him to continue teaching me Korean on a daily basis as was done this week.
But, it seems, he doesn't want to hear the feedback that was given to his lessons. Therefore, I will not post my lessons on here. If you want the daily dose of Korean that he gives me for your own personal use, please email me.
Anyways, I want to say that I appreciated everyone's comments and do not feel the same as BK. I thought it was important to have the comments because it would help others who are reading my lessons.
During my time in college I took Chinese. I worked my ass off and got an "A" in that class, but it took practicing everyday for 1-2 hrs and taking a daily class at school. It was exhausting, due to that you had to learn the tones, characters and romanization. But I was able to get it down.
With learning Korean I wish I could take a class, but I am not willing to travel into Seoul during the week to do so. There might be a school around here, and so I will look for one. But there is the time in between and I need to keep going with it.
As we all know BK is giving me weekly sentences to start getting my brain on the speaking / thinking Korean path.
But memorization is not enough I need to get down my pronunciation. Therefore I am left with internet resources:
The rain comes down and the clouds shadow the sky, but warmth is found next to a heater fan.
Today's lesson is:
나는 오늘 피곤해요.
I`m tired today.
피곤= tired
오늘=today
나는=I'm
보고싶어요
I miss you.
BK chose these, I feel, due to that these are sentences we usually say to each other normally. So now we can practice saying them in Korean. I already know how to say "I love you" so I can add on the "I miss you."
I should be at the lunchroom eating with the teachers but I am scheduled for my health check. This is a requirement for my school transfer. The hospital told my coteacher I shouldn't eat lunch due to a certain blood test. But I know that it doesn't really matter. Anyways, what does mean is that we will go after she finishes lunch to the hospital. And after that I will go eat lunch. Also she is going to accompany me to the bank, as I need to transfer money back home. I wish I could wait and wait till the exchange rate settles down but my American bills have deadlines.
Reading is just one part of learning a language. The other parts are speaking and listening. So for your pleasure I made a quick video lesson of the first sentence BK gave me.
ENJOY:
I hope my pronunciation was on target, if not I welcome correction.
Today is going okay, I tought the 6th grade and sometimes they can be a pain. But today's workthrough went without any headaches.
Anyways, here are today's sentences:
지금은 몇 시 입니까?
What time is it now?
지금은 =now
몇=what
시= time
지하철역은 어디 입니까?
Where is the subway station?
지하철=Subway
역= Station
어디= Where
I think we studied the second one when I was back in America, so it sounds familiar. Also I have seen the word subway station before, due to of course taking the subway.
*By the way I have been writing these sentences down in a little notepad, as a way to do quick studying.
These ones are not so hard for me because I am familiar with some of the words. Just now during the lunch break I had the cleaning children help me pronounce it. hehe (These are the kids that come in and clean the class.)
So I finally broke down and begged BK to do his duty and teach me Korean. He decided that he will give me two sentences everyday during the week, and on the weekend he will test me.
Already he has given me today's Korean:
날씨가 춥습니다.
Weather is cold.
저는 비빔밥을 좋아합니다.
I like Bibimbab.
So far I have the first sentence down more than the second. It is time to start using the memory muscle in my brain, which I think has become weak with too much leisure.
Anyways, I am a bit anxious that by Friday there will be 10 sentences. I can do it! hehe
