The last few days of December and early January were spent in Seoul. My mom and sister came to visit!! Words couldn't describe how excited I was. They would say things that they noticed were interesting, which made me realize how immune I've become to the way things are here. Anyway, it was also my second time in Seoul, so I was the fearless (or maybe not-so) leader as we navigated our way through the city. We had some pretty stellar times.
This month is pretty much a gateway to exciting things to come. We had originally planned on going to Jeju for Lunar New Year (this Thursday), which is pretty big. The few traditions I know of are: the consumption of 떡국(duk-gook, or rice cake soup), spending time with family, and playing 윶놀이(yut-nori). Nori mean "game", and the game involves 4 wooden sticks. The giving of gifts is a big deal, and I've gotten a few gifts from my students already. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
In the meantime, I've moved to a new apartment. I love my new place, but the entire moving ordeal was...interesting. First of all, I didn't know that I was moving until the night before, when my director came into my classroom while I was teaching and asked "Is it ok to move your furniture to 208?"
...What? 208? Why does my furniture need to be moved?
After we got on the same page, it was settled that I would move the next day. Fortunately, I already had 1 1/2 suitcases packed. The worst thing about the whole situation is that the landlords have zero communication with me. They would come and show my apartment without letting me know beforehand. The first time was ok; I was at work so it's not like I had to talk to them. Then again, who's to say that they couldn't take anything? The second time wasn't as great. It was a Sunday and I was just about to get out of the shower when my doorbell rings. I stood there thinking "Who could be at my door?" It wasn't until I heard my door unlocking that I started to freak out. So I did as much as I could: "Hello?...Yes. Hold on a minute." (This was all in Korean) So I rushed out and hurried to get some clothes on. I don't think she realized what she was about to walk in on until I answered the door with towel around my head. So there I stood, waiting as these strangers looked at my mess of an apartment for a few minutes, then left.
..awkward..
I brushed it off. Moving back to the day before I moved. I slept on the floor (my bed had already been moved, and it was actually nicer than I thought it would be). The people that moved my furniture did a fantastic job, let me tell you. They removed the food from my fridge before moving it to the new place, my washer, and my bed. They must have thought "She's probably a strong person. Let's let her move the tv, couch, and desk as well as all of her other stuff." AWESOME. Thankfully my couch can be separated into 3 chairs, so carrying them wasn't that bad. The kicker was Saturday morning, when I was woken up at 8am by the landlady coming into my apartment to clean the bathroom. Yes, please, just kick me out of my apartment. Anyway, I'm officially, officially settled here (it only took this long).
Ok! That is quite a lengthy story. I apologize. I tend to go into too much detail.
Since the Jeju trip fell through, I'm going to Seoul! That's always an exciting time. The end of February is going to be the series of LEGENDARY events (yes, that is
From here on out, instead of counting how long I've been here, it'll be how many months are left (eek!) So much time, not enough to do! Strike that, reverse it. So much to see, experience, and explore! Anxiously awaiting warmer weather...
PS: I feel like I should add some kind of Korean phrase to show off--I mean, demonstrate my Korean skills! Also, you can learn how to say something in Korean! Ok, let's learn: "I can('t) play the piano"
Alright, let's build it up:
I = 저는 (jeonun)
piano = 피아노를 (same pronunciation + r/l-ul)
can play = 칠수 있어요 (chilsoo issoyo)
Here's the grammar: 저 is the formal version of "I"
는 denotes the subject of the sentence that focuses on the object.
를 denotes the object of the sentence.
치다 means to play and from what I know so far, is used for playing at least piano and tennis
-since you want to say that you can do it, take the verb before the infinitive ending (다).
-this verb's last sound is a vowel, so all you have to do is add -ㄹ수 plus the verb 있다 (which is not
conjugated at this point and means to be)
-let's use the informal formal verb ending (that's right, within the formal conjugations, there is a
formal and informal). Separate 있다 from the infinitive ending. The last vowel sound is ee, and
when that is the last vowel sound, the next vowel sound in the verb ending is uh. The final "yo"
sound isn't needed if you're talking to:
-a close friend
-someone younger than you
but I'll keep it in here because you add it for everyone else.
And that's how it works!! So here's how it is all together: 저는 피아노를 칠수 있어요 | jeonun pianorul chilsoo issoyo.
To say that you can't, you only have to change one thing: the final verb. Instead of saying issoyo, say ohbssoyo (which looks like this: 없어요 and means to not be)
Yay! You're a trooper for making it through my language explanations.
