Ladies this one's for you. All good ideas start innocently enough, right? I can thank my friend Randi for the content for this blog. Without her idea and introduction to sauna-ing in Korea, I'd have travelled through life with no idea of this wonderful and liberating pleasure.
How it all started:
Randi to Stephanie, "so you wanna go to the sauna and get a massage?"
Stephanie to Randi, "sure, I could really use a massage."
Randi to Stephanie, "now you know, you've got to get naked."
Stephanie to herself, "huh?"
Stephanie to Randi, "really, that's no problem. I'm good with that."
Stephanie to herself, "oh shit", while mentally mapping every single bodily imperfection she has.
Stephanie to herself, "oh get over it, the Claudia Schiffer's of the world are freaks of nature, you'll be fine."
The Experience:
The Koreans have developed saunas like an art form. I felt momentarily like I was juxtaposed back to Greek times when communal nude bathing was enjoyed by the men of that society. But this was so much better because we woman are enjoying and taking time to nurture our body and subsequently our souls. Besides the whole nude part, here's what I really enjoyed about the Korean sauna experience, you've got no time limits. Unlike an American spa, where you pay through your ass (excuse the expression) for an hour to and hour and a half of tranquility, here in Korea you pay a 7,000 - 10,000 won ($6.00 - $8.00) entrance fee to go hang out in the sauna for up to 12 hours! Yep you read it right - 12 hours! Hell if you want, you can sleep there! Talk about getting away from the hubby and kids!
But, I get ahead of myself. So here's how the whole thing works. You pay an entrance fee and that fee gives you access to the several pools with varying hot water and a icy cold pool in which to really get your circulation pumping. They have also provided little stools that you sit on and a rough glove that you put on your hand to slough off all of your dead skin. So, now I know why these gorgeous creatures have glowing skin - they're like super exfoliators! When you're done soaking and scrubbing, you can go downstairs and take a rest on a mat with a pillow and blankets for awhile, or you can grab some traditional Korean food for just a few won, or you can bake some more in the Hansel and Gretel-esq oven until you can't take it any more. If you feel like your "who-who" needs a little boost, you can sit on these wooden commodes where they have herbs smoking beneath you to help detoxify all your special womanly parts. After you get done doing all of this, you can do it again! Because you've got 12 hours to kill for your 7,000 won investment! By the way, most of these saunas run 24 hours a day. Randi and I went at 9:00 pm at night and the place was busy! I'm thinking all of these overworked, underpaid housewives wanting a break from the everyday grind are "checking in" to the sauna for a little RnR.
Now, if you want to go high end and spend a little more money you can pay to have someone exfoliate your entire body and then follow it up with a full body massage. At this particular sauna the price was 35,000 won ($33.00). So, Randi and I being the big spending ladies that we are opted for the 35,000 won deal. Now, if you just want a massage, you can get that done too for 30,000 won and the massages last for two hours!
Since I was a Korean sauna "virgin" (you know I use the term virgin loosely), Randi asked the ajumma who was going to work on me to be gentle. Now, I use the term "ajumma" because in Korean an ajumma is a middle aged woman. All of the ladies performing the massages and scrubs were at least in their 50s and I believe my lady was not a day under 60. Did I mention that even the help is naked? Yep, everyone is sans clothes. I pop up on the table which is plastic covered and the ajumma puts the scrub glove on her hands and starts working me over. Now ladies, I'm not going to go into the gory details here, but there was not a single centimeter of my body that did not get scrubbed. She had me in positions that I've only tried with my hubby after diligently studying the kama sutra. Let me tell you, it's liberating!
During my scrub the ajumma showed me all of the dead skin that was coming off of my body. I was shocked and horrified that I had been carrying around that much dead weight. I figured she probably scrubbed off at least 2 pounds. The ajumma proudly announced to me in her broken English, that she was using the "baby" glove on me and she was still getting that much crap?! I can't imagine what would happen if she took the real sander to me! Once my scrub was complete, she then gently scrubbed my face and applied a cucumber mask. That's right, a facial is included as part of the scrub.
Now we're ready to move onto the massage portion of my experience but before we do that I have to rinse off my body and she needs to get all of that yucky dead skin off the table. When I stand up to rinse I take a moment to touch my skin, no kidding, like a baby's. Soft, smooth and silky! This night is seriously looking up. The Koreans believe in using baby oil very liberally when they perform a massage. She oiled me up like a doughnut going into the fryer at Dunkin Donuts and begin to work her magic. This 60 year old lady whipped me around like a rag doll. She pulled and tugged and prodded and massaged with hands like a NFL linebacker (not that I know what a NFL linebacker's hands feel like, but I can only imagine.) Because the Koreans must have gotten the memo about the great benefits of milk, they also open up a small container of milk and pour it with the oil they spread all over your body. It's crazy insane. After what seemed like a minute, but was probably an hour and a half my experience was done. I got up shaky kneed and light headed and genuinely thanked the ajumma for this incredible experience.
After our treatments, Randi and I went downstairs to the massage and mat area and met a friend of hers who was chillin' out there and waiting for us where we spent some seriously excellent girl time drinking a sweet Korean dessert and eating eggs that had been steamed in the Hansel and Gretel-esq oven.
What a night! And I barely noticed that I or anybody else was naked.
Peace,
Stephanie
PS: for obvious reasons there are no photos to accompany this post!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
안 녕 하 세 요! Hangeul & Cultural Immersion
First, I want to thank everyone for the positive feedback regarding the blog. I try very hard to provide information that will accurately portray our lives here and common experiences of expatriates who move to a foreign land. I have read many expatriate blogs that are pretty useless and I wanted all of you to garner a fair assessment of what daily life is like and also understand some of the obstacles that we may face. I also am attempting to be your guide to Korea and the culture; albeit through the eyes of an American. There is a fantastic history here that has led these people to where they are today. And as I peel back the layers, I try to articulate the experiences and emotions to you. So, your affirmation of the blog is reassuring that what I'm writing is worthwhile.
As you all know, I have been studying Hangeul which is the Korean alphabet. I have been under the tutelage of a fantastic 산 생 님 (teacher) since early July. As part of our language class, we are also afforded cultural immersion sessions. After our last session, I thought that you all might find it interesting to learn more about Hangeul and the Korean culture as it pertains to language. I'm sure at some point in time during my english education, we were taught about the cultural genesis of english words, but honestly I cannot remember any specific cultural meaning for the letters of the roman alphabet. Had I studied Latin, I suppose I wouldn't be such a dummy now and have a better understanding of our own linguistic origins.
Hangeul as alphabets go is a "newbie" on the world stage. The alphabet was created in the 14th century by scholars under the Cheoson dynasty. This kingdom is the longest ruling dynasty in history. They came to power in the early 14th century and were dethroned in 1910 when the Japanese colonized Korea. Prior to the development of the Hangeul alphabet, educated and wealthy Koreans were taught Chinese. Laborers did not have the means nor time to study the very complex Chinese alphabet, so they had no form of writing or reading. All people during this time spoke Korean, so it was an oral language only. King Sejong was a generous and ambivalent ruler as well as very scholarly. He wanted to create an alphabet that would be very easy for even the simplest peasant farmer to understand and begin to use in written form. Additionally, because the Chinese alphabet was of foreign origin King Sejong did not feel that it could completely express the words and meaning of Korean thoughts and the spoken language. He asked his scholars to create an alphabet that could be learned by the common man in three hours and Hangeul was born. The modern Hangeul alphabet has 40 letters: 19 consonants and 21 vowels.
The basis of the vowel sounds in this alphabet are based on the shapes of the sun, land and human. The structure for the consonants are based on a person's speech organs. The scholars developed the shape of the consonants based on how a speaker's mouth and tongue forms when making those sounds. The pattern of the phonetic sounds are based on a consonant, vowel, consonant or more simply a consonant, vowel pattern depending on the word and it's phonetic sounds. Are you confused yet? It really is very simple and I will type a few basic vowels below and provide for you the romanized phonetic sounds they make to demonstrate this concept. A Korean syllable is divided into three parts: an initial consonant, peak vowel, and final consonant.
Many linguistics scholars believe Hangeul to be one of the most efficient alphabets and is praised for it's scientific design. Unfortunately for a native Roman speaker translating the sounds of the Hangeul vowels to the familiar sounds of the Roman letters can be quite difficult and furthermore articulating those sounds in speech can be sometimes frustrating. Additionally, many sounds in the Roman alphabet are made with the front of our tongue and the sounds are formed at the front of our mouth. With Hangeul, many sounds are made at the back of the tongue and deep in the throat. So, if you ever hear a native Korean speak you will "hear" what sounds to you as a lot of hacking and gacking in their throat, but they are actually articulating the sounds of their stronger consonants. As a native Roman speaker, I am continually challenged by this difference in using my vocal organ. I have come to the realization that I will always have a "foreign" accent and will gladly never be able to "spit out" words the way a native Korean speaker can.
The rewarding aspect of studying Hangeul is that the alphabet and syllabic make-up is very easy to understand and learn so that in a short period of time a student can begin to read and write simple words and phrases. In Hangeul there is no verb conjugation and sentences are structured in a subject, object, verb manner. Overall, with every day attention and diligence a student can learn Hangeul in a relatively fast time frame.
To augment my classroom studies, I have been blessed with Randi, my wonderful 한 극 미 극 친 그 (Korean American friend) who is patient to help me with pronunciation when we are together. I have also met 밍 경 Ming Kyung who runs a small coffee shop on our street who is a willing teacher and lets me practice my newly learned phrases on her. My friend 은 견 En Kyun is also a willing teacher who is able to teach me what the other ladies do not have time for. As I have stated in previous blogs, I am totally bitten by the linguistics bug and am so enjoying this time to learn and study a new language. I feel so fortunate that I am afforded the opportunity to "stop and smell the roses" for a while and invest in learning for the sheer pleasure of the pursuit. Of course, it is also helpful to know the native tongue when trying to move around the city in a taxi, or to know how to work your home appliances, or deal with the Korean repair man, or order a pizza, etc.... (you get the point).
6 Basic Hangeul Vowels:
아 - makes an "a" sound. This is the brightest of the vowels because your mouth is open when you say it. This vowel represents the sun rising.
어 - makes an "eo" sound. This is the second brightest of the vowels. Your mouth is still open when you make the sound but not as much as with "a". This represents the sun setting.
오 - makes an "o" sound. This is the third brightest of the vowels. Your mouth is more closed and your lips are round. This vowel represents the sun at it's peak - or noon.
우 - makes an "u" sound. This is the fourth brightest of the vowels. Your mouth is even more closed and lips are pursued together. This vowel represents the sun as its set.
으 - makes an "eu" sound. This is a darker vowel and represents man lying down.
이 - makes an "ee" sound. This is a happy vowel your lips should be in a smile when you say this vowel. This vowel represents man standing up.
Peace,
스 테 파 니 (phonetically would be said: Seu Te Pa Nee) or Stephanie
As you all know, I have been studying Hangeul which is the Korean alphabet. I have been under the tutelage of a fantastic 산 생 님 (teacher) since early July. As part of our language class, we are also afforded cultural immersion sessions. After our last session, I thought that you all might find it interesting to learn more about Hangeul and the Korean culture as it pertains to language. I'm sure at some point in time during my english education, we were taught about the cultural genesis of english words, but honestly I cannot remember any specific cultural meaning for the letters of the roman alphabet. Had I studied Latin, I suppose I wouldn't be such a dummy now and have a better understanding of our own linguistic origins.
Hangeul as alphabets go is a "newbie" on the world stage. The alphabet was created in the 14th century by scholars under the Cheoson dynasty. This kingdom is the longest ruling dynasty in history. They came to power in the early 14th century and were dethroned in 1910 when the Japanese colonized Korea. Prior to the development of the Hangeul alphabet, educated and wealthy Koreans were taught Chinese. Laborers did not have the means nor time to study the very complex Chinese alphabet, so they had no form of writing or reading. All people during this time spoke Korean, so it was an oral language only. King Sejong was a generous and ambivalent ruler as well as very scholarly. He wanted to create an alphabet that would be very easy for even the simplest peasant farmer to understand and begin to use in written form. Additionally, because the Chinese alphabet was of foreign origin King Sejong did not feel that it could completely express the words and meaning of Korean thoughts and the spoken language. He asked his scholars to create an alphabet that could be learned by the common man in three hours and Hangeul was born. The modern Hangeul alphabet has 40 letters: 19 consonants and 21 vowels.
The basis of the vowel sounds in this alphabet are based on the shapes of the sun, land and human. The structure for the consonants are based on a person's speech organs. The scholars developed the shape of the consonants based on how a speaker's mouth and tongue forms when making those sounds. The pattern of the phonetic sounds are based on a consonant, vowel, consonant or more simply a consonant, vowel pattern depending on the word and it's phonetic sounds. Are you confused yet? It really is very simple and I will type a few basic vowels below and provide for you the romanized phonetic sounds they make to demonstrate this concept. A Korean syllable is divided into three parts: an initial consonant, peak vowel, and final consonant.
Many linguistics scholars believe Hangeul to be one of the most efficient alphabets and is praised for it's scientific design. Unfortunately for a native Roman speaker translating the sounds of the Hangeul vowels to the familiar sounds of the Roman letters can be quite difficult and furthermore articulating those sounds in speech can be sometimes frustrating. Additionally, many sounds in the Roman alphabet are made with the front of our tongue and the sounds are formed at the front of our mouth. With Hangeul, many sounds are made at the back of the tongue and deep in the throat. So, if you ever hear a native Korean speak you will "hear" what sounds to you as a lot of hacking and gacking in their throat, but they are actually articulating the sounds of their stronger consonants. As a native Roman speaker, I am continually challenged by this difference in using my vocal organ. I have come to the realization that I will always have a "foreign" accent and will gladly never be able to "spit out" words the way a native Korean speaker can.
The rewarding aspect of studying Hangeul is that the alphabet and syllabic make-up is very easy to understand and learn so that in a short period of time a student can begin to read and write simple words and phrases. In Hangeul there is no verb conjugation and sentences are structured in a subject, object, verb manner. Overall, with every day attention and diligence a student can learn Hangeul in a relatively fast time frame.
To augment my classroom studies, I have been blessed with Randi, my wonderful 한 극 미 극 친 그 (Korean American friend) who is patient to help me with pronunciation when we are together. I have also met 밍 경 Ming Kyung who runs a small coffee shop on our street who is a willing teacher and lets me practice my newly learned phrases on her. My friend 은 견 En Kyun is also a willing teacher who is able to teach me what the other ladies do not have time for. As I have stated in previous blogs, I am totally bitten by the linguistics bug and am so enjoying this time to learn and study a new language. I feel so fortunate that I am afforded the opportunity to "stop and smell the roses" for a while and invest in learning for the sheer pleasure of the pursuit. Of course, it is also helpful to know the native tongue when trying to move around the city in a taxi, or to know how to work your home appliances, or deal with the Korean repair man, or order a pizza, etc.... (you get the point).
6 Basic Hangeul Vowels:
아 - makes an "a" sound. This is the brightest of the vowels because your mouth is open when you say it. This vowel represents the sun rising.
어 - makes an "eo" sound. This is the second brightest of the vowels. Your mouth is still open when you make the sound but not as much as with "a". This represents the sun setting.
오 - makes an "o" sound. This is the third brightest of the vowels. Your mouth is more closed and your lips are round. This vowel represents the sun at it's peak - or noon.
우 - makes an "u" sound. This is the fourth brightest of the vowels. Your mouth is even more closed and lips are pursued together. This vowel represents the sun as its set.
으 - makes an "eu" sound. This is a darker vowel and represents man lying down.
이 - makes an "ee" sound. This is a happy vowel your lips should be in a smile when you say this vowel. This vowel represents man standing up.
Peace,
스 테 파 니 (phonetically would be said: Seu Te Pa Nee) or Stephanie
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
I'm Back!!!
I can not believe almost three weeks has gone by since my last post to the blog. I'm sorry for the break in communication. I guess as we settled in more and longer here in Korea, our lives keep getting busier and more filled. I'm wondering if I should change the title from "a daily journey"... to a "monthly journey".
It's been a fun and exciting three weeks. First and most importantly, we celebrated Mike's birthday on July 29th! We actually celebrated it on July 30th because he was in China for his birthday, but nonetheless we had a great time. My Las Vegas friends will appreciate that we purchased a CostCo birthday cake and it is as delicious here as it is in the states. CostCo must use a universal recipe for their baked goods. Michaela picked out the cake theme and flavor. (picture to follow) We spent the evening with our good friends the Lowrys and the Chadwicks. This was the first time each family had a chance to meet one another and after several bottles of wine and some empty beer bottles, the party was a rip roaring success!
We also celebrated the loss of Michaela's first top front tooth this past week with another loose tooth on it's way to the Tooth Fairy. Here in Korea, they do not observe the "Tooth Fairy" concept and some of Mike's colleagues told that to Michaela when she went into the office with Mike last week. Instead they shared with her how they pull teeth in Korea and it has to do with string, a blow to the head, and then a missing tooth and after all of that no money for the little one. Michaela was pretty horrified at this custom and equally as concerned that the Tooth Fairy would not know to come to Korea and deliver her money under the pillow. Thankfully, the special nymph came to UN Village and even delivered the goods in the form of kwon, which Michaela can actually spend here.
Life has begun to gather a rhythm here for our family. Today Michaela started her first grade year at YISS (Yongsan International School of Seoul). She is one of 19 children and I'm not sure how many countries are represented in her class. She shares a desk pod with four other Korean children, but there are many more other nationalities represented in her room and throughout the school. All of the children in Michaela's class have to be able to learn in english as their primary language although most of them have secondary languages they speak at home. Michaela told me tonight that she met one little boy from Mexico in her first grade class who is eight years old because his parents held him back for two years in pre-school because he wasn't learning english appropriately to attend foreign school.
This leads me to my main topic today and that is the absolute desire by parents to have their Korean children speak english fluently. I never really understood fully this issue before living in Korea. In Korea, specifically, english has only been taught as a second language in the public schools over the last fifteen years; prior to that, chinese was the second language. This makes complete sense since the chinese alphabet is the basis for many words and letters in the hangeul alphabet. From a practical standpoint, it also makes sense to teach chinese because, let's face it, China dominates this part of the world and frankly is rapidly starting to dominate the western half of the globe too. However, english is still the recognized business language and in order for this generation of Koreans to move their country forward to the next tier they need to know and speak english fluently.
Affluent Korean parents will go to many ends to ensure their children are being taught and exposed to english and western culture (as a learning experience primarily). Many Koreans will leave Korea to study in the United States. Many earn their upper level degrees in the universities there and may stay on afterwards for a professorship post or another job in the private sector. In the meantime, they may have started a family and those children born in the U.S. have dual citizenship. In some instances, mom or dad may be a second generation Korean-American who is planning on coming back to Korea, but also has American citizenship. This allows their children to attend foreign schools with other english speaking children from around the world. Please put in context that compared to other industrialized nations, Korea has some of the lowest english speaking rates - I've heard figures of around 40% of the population speaks english, but I'm unclear how accurate that truly is. Suffice it to say, many Koreans understand english, but do not feel comfortable speaking.
I have become friendly with several well-to-do Korean mom's at Michaela's taekwando studio and all of them are planning on leaving Seoul by the time their children are around middle school aged to come to the US or Canada to live so that their children can be educated in an english speaking environment and understand western cultures so that when that child is ready to go to college and then join the workforce s/he will be able to compete at the highest levels within society. As my friend Robert recently told me, a mark of a successful Korean child is one who only gets four hours of sleep at night. An unsuccessful child will get five hours of sleep. There is obviously some tongue in cheek to this statement, but behind it lies much truth in the work ethic and drive that is instilled in these children from infants upward. (P.S. If you ever desired to take in an exchange student, a Korean student would be a warm and welcome addition to your family.)
Since I'm studying hangeul, I am often very eager to speak to native Koreans to practice my phrases and vocabulary. They are as interested in talking to me to learn english phrases and make sure they are using the proper vocabulary. I am often spent at the end of a day because I feel like I have been in an intense learning environment from the moment I leave my home until I retreat back at night. My senses are overwhelmed with trying to read and learn and speak the native tongue all the while sharing and cross educating with my Korean friends. Selfishly, I so desire a Korean chat buddy that will solely help me to improve my pronunciation and grammar, although I know that a one-sided relationship like that is really not possible; the desire is too great to learn english proficiently. Even the most fluent english speaking Koreans will not believe you when you tell them how wonderfully they speak. I read not long ago in a local expat magazine that english in Korea is bought and sold like a product and I have to say that is a true statement. I know I feel it conversely in my desire to master hangeul.
Speaking of that, I am still plugging along with my language classes. I have learned many conversational phrases, I can read about 50% by slowly sounding words out, I'm starting to pick-up vocabulary and my Korean friends tell me my pronunciation is spot-on. I take that as a high compliment because to learn to speak this language is difficult because sounds for words are formed more in the back of the throat and mouth then when speaking a "roman" language. I'm proud of the fact that Mike is beginning to rely upon me a bit now to find our way about the city and I'm taking the lead with taxis and basic conversations. I have found a new and true love, and that is learning languages. I wish I could study it every day and speed up my learning process. I would love nothing more then to be able to become conversational in hangeul and then start with chinese. My personal goal is to be fully conversational here within nine months. We'll see how I do...
I've uploaded some pictures from over the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy them and the blog. I promise I will talk back at you sooner then three weeks next time!
Peace,
Stephanie
It's been a fun and exciting three weeks. First and most importantly, we celebrated Mike's birthday on July 29th! We actually celebrated it on July 30th because he was in China for his birthday, but nonetheless we had a great time. My Las Vegas friends will appreciate that we purchased a CostCo birthday cake and it is as delicious here as it is in the states. CostCo must use a universal recipe for their baked goods. Michaela picked out the cake theme and flavor. (picture to follow) We spent the evening with our good friends the Lowrys and the Chadwicks. This was the first time each family had a chance to meet one another and after several bottles of wine and some empty beer bottles, the party was a rip roaring success!
We also celebrated the loss of Michaela's first top front tooth this past week with another loose tooth on it's way to the Tooth Fairy. Here in Korea, they do not observe the "Tooth Fairy" concept and some of Mike's colleagues told that to Michaela when she went into the office with Mike last week. Instead they shared with her how they pull teeth in Korea and it has to do with string, a blow to the head, and then a missing tooth and after all of that no money for the little one. Michaela was pretty horrified at this custom and equally as concerned that the Tooth Fairy would not know to come to Korea and deliver her money under the pillow. Thankfully, the special nymph came to UN Village and even delivered the goods in the form of kwon, which Michaela can actually spend here.
Life has begun to gather a rhythm here for our family. Today Michaela started her first grade year at YISS (Yongsan International School of Seoul). She is one of 19 children and I'm not sure how many countries are represented in her class. She shares a desk pod with four other Korean children, but there are many more other nationalities represented in her room and throughout the school. All of the children in Michaela's class have to be able to learn in english as their primary language although most of them have secondary languages they speak at home. Michaela told me tonight that she met one little boy from Mexico in her first grade class who is eight years old because his parents held him back for two years in pre-school because he wasn't learning english appropriately to attend foreign school.
This leads me to my main topic today and that is the absolute desire by parents to have their Korean children speak english fluently. I never really understood fully this issue before living in Korea. In Korea, specifically, english has only been taught as a second language in the public schools over the last fifteen years; prior to that, chinese was the second language. This makes complete sense since the chinese alphabet is the basis for many words and letters in the hangeul alphabet. From a practical standpoint, it also makes sense to teach chinese because, let's face it, China dominates this part of the world and frankly is rapidly starting to dominate the western half of the globe too. However, english is still the recognized business language and in order for this generation of Koreans to move their country forward to the next tier they need to know and speak english fluently.
Affluent Korean parents will go to many ends to ensure their children are being taught and exposed to english and western culture (as a learning experience primarily). Many Koreans will leave Korea to study in the United States. Many earn their upper level degrees in the universities there and may stay on afterwards for a professorship post or another job in the private sector. In the meantime, they may have started a family and those children born in the U.S. have dual citizenship. In some instances, mom or dad may be a second generation Korean-American who is planning on coming back to Korea, but also has American citizenship. This allows their children to attend foreign schools with other english speaking children from around the world. Please put in context that compared to other industrialized nations, Korea has some of the lowest english speaking rates - I've heard figures of around 40% of the population speaks english, but I'm unclear how accurate that truly is. Suffice it to say, many Koreans understand english, but do not feel comfortable speaking.
I have become friendly with several well-to-do Korean mom's at Michaela's taekwando studio and all of them are planning on leaving Seoul by the time their children are around middle school aged to come to the US or Canada to live so that their children can be educated in an english speaking environment and understand western cultures so that when that child is ready to go to college and then join the workforce s/he will be able to compete at the highest levels within society. As my friend Robert recently told me, a mark of a successful Korean child is one who only gets four hours of sleep at night. An unsuccessful child will get five hours of sleep. There is obviously some tongue in cheek to this statement, but behind it lies much truth in the work ethic and drive that is instilled in these children from infants upward. (P.S. If you ever desired to take in an exchange student, a Korean student would be a warm and welcome addition to your family.)
Since I'm studying hangeul, I am often very eager to speak to native Koreans to practice my phrases and vocabulary. They are as interested in talking to me to learn english phrases and make sure they are using the proper vocabulary. I am often spent at the end of a day because I feel like I have been in an intense learning environment from the moment I leave my home until I retreat back at night. My senses are overwhelmed with trying to read and learn and speak the native tongue all the while sharing and cross educating with my Korean friends. Selfishly, I so desire a Korean chat buddy that will solely help me to improve my pronunciation and grammar, although I know that a one-sided relationship like that is really not possible; the desire is too great to learn english proficiently. Even the most fluent english speaking Koreans will not believe you when you tell them how wonderfully they speak. I read not long ago in a local expat magazine that english in Korea is bought and sold like a product and I have to say that is a true statement. I know I feel it conversely in my desire to master hangeul.
Speaking of that, I am still plugging along with my language classes. I have learned many conversational phrases, I can read about 50% by slowly sounding words out, I'm starting to pick-up vocabulary and my Korean friends tell me my pronunciation is spot-on. I take that as a high compliment because to learn to speak this language is difficult because sounds for words are formed more in the back of the throat and mouth then when speaking a "roman" language. I'm proud of the fact that Mike is beginning to rely upon me a bit now to find our way about the city and I'm taking the lead with taxis and basic conversations. I have found a new and true love, and that is learning languages. I wish I could study it every day and speed up my learning process. I would love nothing more then to be able to become conversational in hangeul and then start with chinese. My personal goal is to be fully conversational here within nine months. We'll see how I do...
I've uploaded some pictures from over the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy them and the blog. I promise I will talk back at you sooner then three weeks next time!
Peace,
Stephanie
First lost top tooth! Woo hoo! Way to go Michaela!
Just looking cute with Dad. Michaela said this would be a good FB photo! Too Funny!
When you order pizza in Korea - as with most other western foods - you always, always get pickles and honey mustard as a side and of course pickled radishes both yellow and white (which by the way, I LOVE!) Koreans love pickles and honey mustard so they think you should always eat it with everything - even pizza and fried chicken.
On the left is my new friend Jenn - Just Kidding!!!! My friend Jenn is on the right! But dig that visor! Look closely ladies because you're all getting one for Christmas! I can buy them cheap here! You have been forewarned!
Choco CostCo birthday cake - need I say more...
Heading out to dinner with Mr. Sung, Director of Operations at SKT and V.P. Ahn, SKT
One more time - standing up and looking good!! Whoop Whoop
Here comes the Mom unit in front of the camera this time...
The Diva wanted us to take a billion photos of her all dressed-up - of course our cab is waiting outside the whole time - meter running - oops!
First day of 1st Grade at YISS! Yay!!!
Sassy pants in her school uniform. It's a Christian school with strict uniform guidelines - skirts have to be at the knee. Of course I purchased Michaela's uniforms in the states about 2 sizes too big, so I think we'll be good with the whole knee length thing for awhile.
One more - a little less sassy
One more time - here's the Mom unit in front of the camera
Robert with the kiddos - Michaela would like to "keep Pierce" as her little brother. Lucky us, Conrad and Michaela are in the same class this year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)