Apparently open 24 hours in Korean means something other than it means in the US. Instead of being open 24 hours a day/seven days a week except for the occasional holiday, it actually mean being open 24 hours from Monday morning through Friday night, Saturday during the day, and sporadically on Sundays. Thanks gym for making it clear which Sundays you are open and not making me walk all of the way there only to discover that you are closed. They should really write something different on the signs. But I guess there is no really succinct way to explain there hours of operation that would fit in the same amount of space that the "24 hour" sign takes up.
I went to one of my coworker's baptism today. It was the first time I'd been to a church since Christmas I believe. I can't say it was really my ideology of Christianity but it was an interesting experience to say the least. It was essentially like an American church. The pastors and the congregation all spoke English and the ideas where similar to some churches that I have been to in the US. Honestly, I'm more curious about the other religions practiced in Korea mostly because the majority of visible religion in the US is Christian. In Korea, Christianity is only about a third of practiced religion. The other two thirds are comprised of mainly Confucianism and Buddhism with a very little amount of Muslim and Baha'i sprinkled in. The interesting thing about Buddhism and Confucianism are interesting as religions because in practice they are more a set of ethical values than a religion so the numbers for people who practice can vary greatly depending on what you count as practicing these religions. In any case, since I rarely get to see anything else, especially being from the white-bread Midwest, I think it would be really interesting to see how the other religions are practiced here.
Korean character of the day: ㅉ - j sound; like yesterday, this is a sound that we don't have in English, the best way that I can tell you that it is formed is by holding the b in a little longer and putting some pressure behind it like it is stuck and you are pushing it out
Korean word/phrase of the day: 역(yeok) - station (subway, bus, etc)
Saturday, September 24, 2011
I love it when my breath smell like trees.
Apparently, forests taste kind of minty. At least according to the 'Fresh Forest' flavored Korean toothpaste that I found in my apartment. Koreans have some very unusual ideas of 'fresh mouth' flavors. I have heard that you can find toothpaste flavors from green tea to salt, and a lot of others in between. I would prefer not to try most of these considering that I don't want my mouth to taste like salt or 'purple' (as someone described the grape flavor) all day. I also don't really understand how these flavors make your mouth feel clean afterwards, which to me, is the whole reason for choosing a toothpaste. I have also been told that Korean toothpaste does not have fluoride in it, which is a little worrisome. So I will be sticking with my good old American Crest and Colgate for my regular routine wherever I can find it.
The interesting thing about living in a country where you know most people don't speak your language is that you begin to loose your public brain to mouth filter. I have had some of the weirdest and not completely street appropriate conversations walking around the city because almost no one can understand us. While everyone seems to know at least a little English, the level of comprehension and fluency is generally very limited. They know enough to do their job, but not much past that. After a while, you just kind of take for granted that no one can understand your conversations anymore. When I was in a room with a bunch of Americans on the ferry back from Jeju Island, it was a very weird experience to be able to understand what people were saying around me again and to have to censor my speech. It wasn't too pleasant of an experience because I was reminded of how dumb some of the things that people say are. Then I started thinking about whether Koreans are saying anything of importance around me as I'm walking around clueless to their conversations.
It took a little under two days for the seasons to switch. It was summer last Saturday, and then BOOM, Monday morning it was Fall. I guess it is more than half way through September so it should be Fall, but there was very little warning. Weird Korean seasons.
Despite the overwhelming plethora of coffee shops in Korea, I have mostly had to stick to Starbucks and the Coffee Bean which has been fairly lame. For some reason, low fat and skim milk have not really made it to Korea, the land of the weight and looks obsessed women and men. I would imagine that their preoccupation with their appearance would make them desire this lower calorie alternative, yet some how this is not true. In any case, being as that I am slightly lactose intolerant, I really can't handle whole milk or I feel sick, and the only two places that I've found that have any kind of milk options are American exports. Considering I now drink coffee everyday during the week to keep my self perky for the wee ones I teach, I would be nice to have a little more alternative, possibly of things that I couldn't buy down the street in America.
Korean character of the day: ㅃ - b sound; this is a sound that we don't have in English, the best way that I can tell you that it is formed is by holding the b in a little longer and putting some pressure behind it like it is stuck and you are pushing it out
Korean word of the day: 빵 (bbang) - bread
The interesting thing about living in a country where you know most people don't speak your language is that you begin to loose your public brain to mouth filter. I have had some of the weirdest and not completely street appropriate conversations walking around the city because almost no one can understand us. While everyone seems to know at least a little English, the level of comprehension and fluency is generally very limited. They know enough to do their job, but not much past that. After a while, you just kind of take for granted that no one can understand your conversations anymore. When I was in a room with a bunch of Americans on the ferry back from Jeju Island, it was a very weird experience to be able to understand what people were saying around me again and to have to censor my speech. It wasn't too pleasant of an experience because I was reminded of how dumb some of the things that people say are. Then I started thinking about whether Koreans are saying anything of importance around me as I'm walking around clueless to their conversations.
It took a little under two days for the seasons to switch. It was summer last Saturday, and then BOOM, Monday morning it was Fall. I guess it is more than half way through September so it should be Fall, but there was very little warning. Weird Korean seasons.
Despite the overwhelming plethora of coffee shops in Korea, I have mostly had to stick to Starbucks and the Coffee Bean which has been fairly lame. For some reason, low fat and skim milk have not really made it to Korea, the land of the weight and looks obsessed women and men. I would imagine that their preoccupation with their appearance would make them desire this lower calorie alternative, yet some how this is not true. In any case, being as that I am slightly lactose intolerant, I really can't handle whole milk or I feel sick, and the only two places that I've found that have any kind of milk options are American exports. Considering I now drink coffee everyday during the week to keep my self perky for the wee ones I teach, I would be nice to have a little more alternative, possibly of things that I couldn't buy down the street in America.
Korean character of the day: ㅃ - b sound; this is a sound that we don't have in English, the best way that I can tell you that it is formed is by holding the b in a little longer and putting some pressure behind it like it is stuck and you are pushing it out
Korean word of the day: 빵 (bbang) - bread
Sunday, September 18, 2011
catch-up time
I have been remiss in my posting as of late. I have has some super busy time that included Chiaki visiting, massive graduate school apps, a vacation to Jeju Island just south of Korea, and various random school things that have been put on my pile.
First, lovely time with Chiaki and her friend Mie in Seoul. They knew more about what to see in the city than I do. I had work on two of the days that they were here but I still got a fair amount of quality time and food sampling fit in.
Making progress on my graduate school apps but still not done. So much writing. Ugh.
My Korean co-teacher is getting a promotion because another one of the teachers is leaving so I've had more classes and more work lately, which is not all bad because I'm making overtime wages.
The Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving was last week so Brittany and I took a trip to a Korean island just off the southern coast. We took a ferry over which was quite an interesting experience. Instead of having seats, the ferry was divided up into larger rooms with floor mats and you just kind of found a space and sat down with your stuff. It was really weird and not particularly pleasant. The island was beautiful and we saw a couple of waterfalls, a beach, some mountains and ate a huge, expensive, delicious meal of sushi. Jeju is known for a couple of different kinds of fish that only live there, a certain type of citrus called hallabong, chocolates, volcanic rock and women divers. We saw/tasted everything except the divers. It's also really interesting because it is a matriarchal society, unlike it's mainland counter part which is extremely patriarchal. Right away you can notice that the traffic cops are female, and women have a more prominent role in the society. All in all I had a good time, Jeju is definitely worth a visit.
Made a trip to Costco finally. Yummmm, cheese. And oatmeal. It was good to see basic things that they don't sell in Korea. And then eat them. Yum yum yum. I think it shall have to be a monthly occurrence.
Korean character of the day: ㅒ- yae, kind of like beginning of "yet" without the t
Korean word/phrase of the day: 제 이름은 ______ 이에요. (jay ee-rheum-eun ______ ee-ay-yo) - My name is _______.
First, lovely time with Chiaki and her friend Mie in Seoul. They knew more about what to see in the city than I do. I had work on two of the days that they were here but I still got a fair amount of quality time and food sampling fit in.
Making progress on my graduate school apps but still not done. So much writing. Ugh.
My Korean co-teacher is getting a promotion because another one of the teachers is leaving so I've had more classes and more work lately, which is not all bad because I'm making overtime wages.
The Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving was last week so Brittany and I took a trip to a Korean island just off the southern coast. We took a ferry over which was quite an interesting experience. Instead of having seats, the ferry was divided up into larger rooms with floor mats and you just kind of found a space and sat down with your stuff. It was really weird and not particularly pleasant. The island was beautiful and we saw a couple of waterfalls, a beach, some mountains and ate a huge, expensive, delicious meal of sushi. Jeju is known for a couple of different kinds of fish that only live there, a certain type of citrus called hallabong, chocolates, volcanic rock and women divers. We saw/tasted everything except the divers. It's also really interesting because it is a matriarchal society, unlike it's mainland counter part which is extremely patriarchal. Right away you can notice that the traffic cops are female, and women have a more prominent role in the society. All in all I had a good time, Jeju is definitely worth a visit.
Made a trip to Costco finally. Yummmm, cheese. And oatmeal. It was good to see basic things that they don't sell in Korea. And then eat them. Yum yum yum. I think it shall have to be a monthly occurrence.
Korean character of the day: ㅒ- yae, kind of like beginning of "yet" without the t
Korean word/phrase of the day: 제 이름은 ______ 이에요. (jay ee-rheum-eun ______ ee-ay-yo) - My name is _______.
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