Korean alphabet. Man, we didn't exactly put our best foot forward in creating the English alphabet, did we? I know firsthand what it's like to try to teach a child the English alphabet. "Okay, this little guy is called an "E" and he says a lot of different things. Sometimes he says his name /ee/, sometimes he changes a preceding vowel from short to long so long as the word is relatively small, and his friends "C" and "I" don't get along so he has to stand in between them so they don't fight, but if "C" isn't there, "I" likes to be in front of "E" because "I" is bossy. And please note that when "E" is next to "R", he is controlled by "R" because "R" is even more pushy than "I". Oh, and sometimes "E" says nothing at all. Come to... Show more

Sorry that I've been absent from the blog in recent weeks...but I am returning this week with a 2-part post for your translation pleasure.  My contract is finishing in less than 7 weeks, and I am leaving Korea.  Here is the text from the letter I wrote to half of my students.  The other half got slightly different, and simpler letters. It was a really interesting experience.  As I was thinking about doing it, I was a little daunted by the Korean I would have to use.  I wasn't sure I was up to the task.  I couldn't decide if I should start in English because then I could get the right emotions out, and look for translation help, or if I should just try to write from scratch in Korean....I decided to give it a go starting in Korean.  I... Show more

Tolerance of language learning. I find it so charming that foreigners can seriously slaughter a common phrase in Korean and still get a nice "한국말 잘 하시네요!". You just don't have that in America. Or France for that matter. In America, even though we recognize that there are more cultures and languages represented here than any other country, we still don't do so well in being forgiving with our language. We tend to have a mindset that if you are in America, you must speak English. The use of any other language is often subtly considered sub-par, if even acceptable. It's a little uncomfortable to admit all that, sure. But Americans haven't exactly been politically correct despite our long standing history of immigration. ... Show more

I have just returned from teaching english to 승진. The last few weeks I have been teaching him how to spell and write, and as a result he is also learning to read. I still don't really think I know what I'm doing when it comes to teaching a 5 year old English, but he is doing really really well. He used to attend the pre-school where I work, but it's been a few weeks, so the only time I see him is at his house on Wednesdays. During our lesson time I only speak to him in English now, because he is understanding well, and I no longer get a chance to speak to him in Korean at school (because he's not there). So, tonight, after our lesson he was playing with his brother as we were getting ready for dinner (which was amazing 김치 순재비 -... Show more

This will be a short entry because I am late for work. ^^ This last week I received my first phone call from Korea! I was on my lunch break at work, and my friend called me. It took me all of about two minutes to realize that she was completely drunk! I asked her what time it was and she said it was 3 a.m. I had forgotten about the time difference for a minute and thought it was hilarious that she was calling me drunk on my lunch break. It was even more funny when I went back in to work and told the other teachers "..Uh... I think I just got a drunk phone call.. From Korea..." I talked to the same friend a few days later (sober this time) and she told me that she was upset about her wedding that is coming up next summer... Show more