Korean is made of 24 characters. 10 vowels and 14 consonants. Lucky for me, Korean is a phonetic language which makes reading easy to do. When you compare it to the English alphabet, there are only a few sounds missing: b, v, f, z. It took me about 2 hours to learn the alphabet just by practicing with flashcards and reading all the signs outside. Reading comes slow, but I literally read all the little Korean words/signs that come my way. Do I know what I am reading... Not a clue, but it does make my reading skills faster.
Speaking Korean.
When I had just started Korean I was sure I would be able to learn quite quickly, but boy was I wrong. Anyone can repeat the simple phrases learned from a class, the web, or some language CD. BUT Korean sentence structure is almost completely opposite from English. In the sentence word order, you put the object/subject of the sentence first. Basically you end up talking like Yoda but in Korean.... For example, I would not say 'Where is the bathroom?', I would say 'Bathroom, is where?' If learning a new language isn't already hard enough, let's add talking like Yoda to the mix. Since Korean is so different from English, it almost makes sense that the word order should be 'backwards.'
Once a week I attend a Korean class for just over an hour. It is free, open to the public, AND they have one on one tutors. I am so thankful for these volunteers, because I can save a few won (Korean currency) and still learn the language. Also, I have met some wonderful foreigners and Koreans through this class. 남 미(Nami) has been a wonderful help. She is an English teacher at a local high school and such a sweetheart. She also reminds me a lot of my mom, which is a comforting feeling. On Christmas she was kind enough to invite me over!!! I did have Christmas plans already, but I was amazed at the kindness, since Christmas is a family holiday in Korea. (Mainly used for rest.)
After 4 months you might ask, well can she even speak Korean? I would answer 'Just a little bit.' My most successful use was recently in a cab. I wanted to go home after having dinner with some friends. I hailed a cab and got inside. After I sat down and said hello, I told him the name of my apartment building. He didn't see to recognize it, so I said it again. Still the driver looked confused. He pulled over and began to search for it on his GPS. As he was doing this, I noticed he was spelling it wrong and wouldn't be able to find it. Then I remembered.... Britta, you can correct his spelling in Korean, DO IT! So I did just that. Then on the search results for my apartment I read the one which was correct and he selected that as our destination. Because I was able to correct his spelling and read my apartment building name, CLEARLY I would be able to converse with him right? Well, that's what he thought. He proceeded to try and talk to me. I had to listen to his questions many times before I understood but it worked out something like this...
Cab driver: "Where are you from?"
Me :(looks confused while he repeats the question about 5 times.)
Me: (Finally, I understand.) I am American.
Cab: How long have you been in Korea?
Me: (Again.... confused looks until I understand.)
Me: I have been here 4 months.
Cab driver: Is this the building?
Me: (I understood this one right away.) Yes, right here.
When I exited the cab, I felt great! I had actually talked with a Korean all by myself. Was it the best or most stimulating conversation? Definitely not. But I felt so accomplished after.
Maybe in a couple more months, I can start asking the questions. But for now, this will have to suffice.
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