Here's a bit of information about what I'm actually doing here.
The program that I'm participating in is called the Global Village Program. It's made up mainly of U.S. and Korean students. Each U.S. student is paired with eight Korean students with whom they we meet every week for one hour to practice speaking English. In addition, everyone is assigned a team in which we will prepare two presentations comparing U.S. and Korean culture. All of the Global Village students are required to take Beginning Korean Conversation as well as Korean Culture Experience. We all arrived a few days earlier than the other students, so we've been able to get to know each other pretty well so far. Everyone is great!
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Language Barriers
한국말 잘 못해요 (hangukmal jal mot-heyo) - I don't speak Korean very well!
I feel like my whole life I've taken for granted the ability to understand everyone around me. It really makes everything a little more difficult when you want to communicate with someone, but you don't speak the same language and there's no translator nearby. It has often been feeling like I've embarked upon a four month long game of charades. But it has shown me how powerful body language actually is. I'm surprised at how much I've been able to interact with people without speaking.
For example, eye drops were easy to ask for at the store because of how distinct the motion is that you make when you use them. Other things, though, like "I'm not sure how to use my locker, can you help me?" Have been a bit trickier. But for the most part, there have been Korean students all around who speak both English and Korean who are happy to translate. It's very helpful and it makes everything easier, especially if we're trying to go downtown or order food at a restaurant or anything like that.
There have definitely been some Korean students, though, who come up and try really hard to talk to me even though they speak very little English. It's confusing but pretty flattering. Yesterday, I was sitting with some other foreigners when a Korean who I had met earlier came up to me and started to wave and point and say things like "photo time!" and "Hi! Hi!" mixed in with a lot of other stuttered Korean words. He ran over and grabbed a friend who told me that he was just saying "Hi, remember me?" It was lots of fun.
For the most part, none of the older Korean who work in the dorms or the cafeterias speak English, nor do most of the people who work in convenience stores. But it hasn't been too bad. I've been able to get by for the most part with just a few simple phrases.
언녕하세요! - Annyeonghaseyo! - Hello!
감사합니다 - Kamsahamnida - Thank you
안녕히계세요 - Annyeonghigyeseyo! - Goodbye (If the other person is staying)
And another handy one to know:
사랑해! - Saranghe! - I love you!
For example, eye drops were easy to ask for at the store because of how distinct the motion is that you make when you use them. Other things, though, like "I'm not sure how to use my locker, can you help me?" Have been a bit trickier. But for the most part, there have been Korean students all around who speak both English and Korean who are happy to translate. It's very helpful and it makes everything easier, especially if we're trying to go downtown or order food at a restaurant or anything like that.
There have definitely been some Korean students, though, who come up and try really hard to talk to me even though they speak very little English. It's confusing but pretty flattering. Yesterday, I was sitting with some other foreigners when a Korean who I had met earlier came up to me and started to wave and point and say things like "photo time!" and "Hi! Hi!" mixed in with a lot of other stuttered Korean words. He ran over and grabbed a friend who told me that he was just saying "Hi, remember me?" It was lots of fun.
For the most part, none of the older Korean who work in the dorms or the cafeterias speak English, nor do most of the people who work in convenience stores. But it hasn't been too bad. I've been able to get by for the most part with just a few simple phrases.
언녕하세요! - Annyeonghaseyo! - Hello!
감사합니다 - Kamsahamnida - Thank you
안녕히계세요 - Annyeonghigyeseyo! - Goodbye (If the other person is staying)
And another handy one to know:
사랑해! - Saranghe! - I love you!
Food
I really like Korean food so far! And I really like the way that we eat in Korean restaurants. Whereas in the U.S. everybody orders their own separate dishes, in Korea, everybody shares the whole meal. Usually, everybody will have their own bowl of rice and maybe a bowl of soup, and then there will be like five or six side dishes that everyone will all eat from. Kimchi (김치) is almost always one of them. Nori (김) also seems to be pretty common. Maybe some fish patties, gelatin looking things, and other vegetables as well. I've eaten a lot of things that I haven't been able to identify. And everybody just eats out of the bowls that the side dishes come on, rather than taking some and putting it on your plate. So you just take one bite of rice and then one bite of whatever other dish you'd like. It's pretty cool!
And chopsticks! In the U.S., chopsticks are a sort of novelty that we play with when we get Chinese food. And they're always wooden and we throw them away when we're done. Here, they're legitimate silverware and made of metal. And forks are really uncommon and are mainly given to foreigners who look like they'll make a mess without one. It's been a little bit tricky getting used to chopsticks, but I enjoy learning, and I've only dropped food a couple of times. But it's all in good fun!
At home I haven't been eating meat for a while. That changed pretty fast. It's really hard to be picky when someone who doesn't speak your language hands you a plate of food. There's been chicken, pork, or beef at nearly every meal. On Thursday, our entire dinner was lots and lots of grilled pork with some paengi mushrooms (팽이버섯). So it's taken a little getting used to, but I've been getting along just fine. I even had squid today! You could see all the little suction cups. Wow.
And chopsticks! In the U.S., chopsticks are a sort of novelty that we play with when we get Chinese food. And they're always wooden and we throw them away when we're done. Here, they're legitimate silverware and made of metal. And forks are really uncommon and are mainly given to foreigners who look like they'll make a mess without one. It's been a little bit tricky getting used to chopsticks, but I enjoy learning, and I've only dropped food a couple of times. But it's all in good fun!
At home I haven't been eating meat for a while. That changed pretty fast. It's really hard to be picky when someone who doesn't speak your language hands you a plate of food. There's been chicken, pork, or beef at nearly every meal. On Thursday, our entire dinner was lots and lots of grilled pork with some paengi mushrooms (팽이버섯). So it's taken a little getting used to, but I've been getting along just fine. I even had squid today! You could see all the little suction cups. Wow.
안녕하세요, 세계!
Life is good here in South Korea. Every day has been a new and exciting adventure. It's been overwhelming and wonderful pretty much the entire time that I've been here. I've been here at Yonsei University for a week, but it feels like quite a bit longer. Classes are just starting tomorrow, so the last week has been filled with unpacking, exploring, and making so many new friends! I've been meeting people from all over the world: Korea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Lithuania, Mongolia, China, Canada, U.S.A., Uganda, Ghana, and probably others that I can't remember. It's really wild to be in a place where people are speaking so many languages that I don't know. It's really an awesome thing, though, and I'm enjoying all of the diversity. I'm so excited to be able to spend the next four months here. So much has happened already and so much will continue to happen that there's no way I'll be able to write about all of it, but I'll do my best to share my experiences as often as possible.
Much love from South Korea,
Oliver
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