Korean Lesson 1: Ordering at a Restaurant

I'm learning Korean here.  I have a class that I just started.  I'm also teaching myself.  I use online materials and books, and I have obliging Korean-speaking friends who also help me.  On occasion, I'm going to post things I learn about Korean to this blog.  I think this will help me remember things, and it might be interesting for you to read as well.

얼마나요?  (olmanayo) This is a simple way to ask ‘how much?’  The ending "yo" is a polite particle.  Korean loves to add little particles to the end of words.

When ordering food, say the menu item and then add 주세요 (juseyo) at the end of the sentence.  Basically, this is like saying "I would like," although the literal translation to English is "give".

One final, and essential, phrase to know is 여기요 (yeogiyo). To get a server's attention in a restaurant, you need to call them over.  To do this, you say yeogiyo and then they come over to you.

Cultural note: No tipping required in Korea!  Tipping is an American thing.

Finally Some Pictures

Bedroom

Kitchen

Korean Bathroom...note that there is not separate stall for the shower and that it's right next to the washing machine

Daejeon street

View from our balcony

Sherry with view of Daejeon from mountains

Scott wearing my sandals

me

Scott's First Week - Week 4

This week has been busy for me. My full time class schedule has kicked in.  The children's class is a handful, but the adult class is a breeze, so things kind of even out.  The university class are very similar to my work at university language centers in the United States.

Scott is adapting pretty well to things here, I'd say.  He's taken a liking to a Korean dish, bipmbap, and he has been very helpful with cleaning and shopping.  Scott will be writing a weekly blog entry, giving the other side of the story, so look for that. :)

Week 3 continued

journal 2

wednesday

unwisely, I had a coke tonight so I'm going to write a blog entry instead of sleeping.

I've been wanting to try out the mountain trail near the university since i got here, and i finally got my chance today. i met up with sherry at the coffee shop in shorts, a teeshirt, and nikes. we chatted with some folks, and then we were off. only a few blocks from alex's apartment, the road starts bending skyward. then the dense city ends at a strange green fence.  there is an entrance where at least two trails begin. sherry and I took the one with strange bricks rather than the steep dirt one with neglected wooden stairs.  our trail headed up through a forest alive with cicadas.  in the forest, there is an outdoor gymnasium where old Korean people come to work out. it's adorable. I must say that the seniors we encountered on the trail seemed quite fit.  some old women were outpacing us! 
we made it up pretty high and could see down on unfamiliar parts of the city with tall towers and on other mountains. i think both sherry and I will be regulars on that trail.

in other news, the children's program began tonight with testing. there were three teachers conducting speaking exams with five students.  I was expecting more students!  the student I tested was pretty good in English; I was impressed. it will be interesting to find out if there will be any students for me to teach.

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Friday and Saturday 

poor Scott has had multiple delays in his flights. he was delayed in Rhinelander, chicago, and Tokyo. he had to unexpectedly stay overnight in tokyo last night. I'm sure he's going to be pooped. Alex and I are waiting for him in the train station.