Lost in Translation

Several months ago, I started teaching myself hangul, the Korean alphabet. I often try to read the labels on things to see if I can recognize the name. However, many sounds in the English language don't exist in Korean, and they are replaced with other sounds. So it often makes for interesting translations. For example, my name can become Roose or Lusa.


Today while we were out, I picked up a bag of my favourite peanut M&Ms. I had never noticed the Korean writing on the bag before, so I tried reading it for the fun of it.

In translation, "t's" are often replaced with "s's." So, change the "t" to an "s" on the word peanut and see what you get...

How old are you?

I always get confused when I ask my students that question. That's because the aging system works differently here. If a child says he is 11, he is actually 9 or 10 according to western thinking. He is 9 if he hasn't had his birthday yet this year.

Here's how it works. When a baby is born, they are automatically one year old. A couple students told me, however, that sometimes they refer to the babies' ages in months in their first year.

Then, on what we would consider the child's first birthday, he is really 2 years old.

But that's not all. People don't actually "age" on their birthday. Instead, on January 1st, everyone gets a year older. Birthdays are celebrated in a similar fashion here, complete with parties, presents, cakes, and candles. But, they are the same age the day before their birthday as they are the day after.

I was born in April, 1983. So, for me, last fall I would have been 24 years old in Korea (if you can do math, I was only 23). As of January, I would have become 25 years old (2 years older than my actual age). And, on my birthday in April, nothing would have changed. I would still be 25 years old, but now only a year older than my Canadian age. And next January, I would become 26. You get the idea.

So, how old are you in Korea?

My guess is that most of you would prefer to stick with your Canadian age than make yourselves sound older!

It is especially confusing to me regarding my youngest (phonics) class. They are in their first year of school, and they all tell me they are 8 years old. So they are really 6 or 7, but some of them are so small that to me they look like they are only 4 or 5!

Happy Birthday

My niece's 6th birthday was last Sunday on July 29th. So this is for her!

Happy (belated) Birthday!

This picture was taken nearly a year ago. She was a perfect little flowergirl. I haven't seen her in several months, but from her recent pictures I can't believe how grown up she looks. I love you!

Unique Pets

There are some pretty unique pets in Korea. Jordan and I were browsing at one of the local superstores, and in the pets section next to the cage of bunnies, we saw some cute little chipmunks for sale! I had never seen that before. They were quite expensive actually. They also had tiny lobsters, a scorpion, and some other creatures crawling around in shells.

Jordan thought we should buy a lobster, feed him, and then eat him. We could call him Pinchy.

On a similar note...

One of my students showed up to class the other day with one hand painted with bright red nailpolish and the other with robin's egg blue. The student is a twelve-year-old boy. It was difficult for me to refrain from laughing.

When I finally asked him what happened to his fingernails, he told me his mother did it.

Clothing for Men?

As we were wandering around some shopping centers this weekend, Jordan made a pretty accurate observation that I wanted to share.

He said, "The men's clothing stores in Korea make Le Chateau look like Mark's Work Wearhouse."

I think it's pretty funny! If you could see some of the stores here, you would understand.

Popular colours for men here include pink and purple. When we do go to the occasional clothing store, we're often not sure if we're in the men's or women's section. Many of the men's ties that are prominently on display are what I would consider "Easter" colours and are lavishly decorated with sparkly rhinestones.

Here is an example of such a store.

Rafting

Last weekend we went white water rafting! It was with a tour group for foreigners, mostly English teachers I think. So it was fun to hang out with other people who speak the same language.

There wasn't really that much white water, but it was still a lot of fun. We took our waterproof camera case, so during the calm sections, we were able to take a few pictures.


At one point as we were going over some rapids, we got stuck on a big rock! The boat was full to overflowing with water! I was sure we were going to tip. But our guide jumped out and pulled us over. Danger averted.

Part way down the river, we stopped for some boat-sliding.



After rafting, everyone had an opportunity for some bungee jumping. I had never seen it in real-life before, so it was cool to watch. I emphasize the word "watch."