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| A couple of my summer camp students! They hate having their photo taken...but not me! |
Today I understood!!! Let me explain how the majority of my conversations with Koreans go: Them: "sjdflajweo skjalsjg asdjfosd?" Me: "ummm....uhhhh....aneyo (no)?" Them: "jjsldkfjasljjj. jjsldkfjasljjj.??" Me:"uhh...well....umm...?" It should be clearly demonstrated here that the majority of my conversations are not conversations, they aren't even mutually intelligible, which explains why i'm so excited to UNDERSTAND!!! The first instance happened when a co-worker was asking me if I wanted some coffee, I understood and was able to say, "Nay cansamnida! (yes please!)" HOW EXCITING! Especially because drinking coffee is a very communal thing for Koreans so my being able to understand and accept means that i'm not insulting anyone, Molly-1 day-0. The second instance happened while I was trying to figure out the damn copier, let me tell you, copiers in English are exasperating. Copiers in Korean are impossible. So I was scratching my head trying to figure it out, half way listening to the unintelligible conversation on my right when I heard the phrase "migook?" Which means American, I looked up like a startled deer, met eyes with my co-workers and shyly responded "Nay migook saram."(Yes, i'm an American) I smiled and my co-workers giggled behind their hands at me. WIN! Then one of them said a string of common phrases that I understood about 3 of, which is ALSO exciting because it means that i'm starting to recognize and pick out key phrases when my co-workers speak!!!!! Ah this is so exciting! It means that the 40 minutes of Korean study a day plus the classes are really working! I'm actually ingesting Korean!!! I'm just so so proud of myself not only am I capable of moving to a new country and being sustainable, but i'm also capable of inserting myself into the culture! YAYME!
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| Gwangryeo Summer camp 2010! This is Emily's School |
Anyeong!
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