Language Steps

I think Mark and I have hit a hit a big language milestone today. We had our one-on-one speaking interviews today. Rather than structuring it as a question and answer session, this semester it served as more of a counseling session.

It was probably one of the most useful talks I've had.

Basically our teacher told both of us that we're doing a good job learning the technical aspects of the language -- memorizing the new vocabulary and learning the new grammar points. However, now she'd like us to start trying to experience the language in everyday situations. Growing up the child of two teachers, I was shocked when my teacher told me to stop doing my homework and to start watching Korean dramas, listening to Korean radio, and talking to Korean people. She made a good point that I can do all the book learning on my own in the United States, but while I'm in Korea I need to take advantage of the environment... namely a country filled with people who natively speak the language I'm trying to learn.

Today's a great day because without even realizing it, I feel like we've finally reached the step I've wanted to be at since I first started studying the language.

I remember when Mark and I first came to Korea, we studied one month at a hagwon and basically learned the alphabet and to count. After that, we got a free Korean tutor through GOAL. It's embarrassing to remember what we said to the tutor... "We really don't have a lot of time to study vocabulary, so we'd just like you to speak to us and we'll just pick up what we can." Uh, we didn't know the words for come, go, look, chair, doctor, pencil.... how we thought we would just magically pick up the language from listening to her is the stupidest thing ever. That tutor was honestly a saint because how she managed to make it through those classes without punching one of us is a mystery. There was no way we could learn anything from her because we never bothered to try to learn the basics!

So now... after studying Korean for 25 weeks, we've finally reached the point where we've got the basics learnt (mostly) and we can start paying attention to real Korean in everyday life and we can learn from it. So now we embark on the next step... immersion and application. Wish us luck! :)

::Picture via Mango Languages blog::

Chatting with the cuz

Today Mark and I met for the first time with my cousin, Su Bin. She is a college student, and it seems that her father and Birth Father are close since I see her the most often at family events.

To jog your memory, here we are in the car going to SangKwun and ChunPing's wedding.

We've decided to start meeting regularly so she can practice English and we can practice Korean. Plus, this way I can try to get to know her better. We've had other language partners, but this is so much cooler because this is someone I'm actually blood related to and by learning the language am able to communicate better with. Seriously, this is something most people probably take for granted, but being here and getting to know people that I have the same genes and blood as is so amazing. I can't even put it into words.

We had so much fun chatting for a couple hours yesterday and though Mark and I can get a little frustrated with our level and where we think we should be, days like this remind us that we really can communicate fairly well and we just need to keep practicing.

Sogang Level 2

So here we are, several weeks into Sogang Korean classes, but at the frenetic level 2 pace. Back in the day, I blogged about how difficult Level 1 was... and now I find myself longing for those days. Yeah, level 2 definitely kicked it up a notch (or 10). The teachers don't spoon feed the information to us as much, definitely speak a lot faster, we don't get to practice new grammar and vocabulary nearly as much. They kind of teach us what we need to know and assume we'll learn/memorize it on our own.

This semester, Mark and I got put in different classes. At first I was kind of nervous to be in class without my support system. But as time goes on, I can see that it's definitely better for both of us, as it forces us to meet and mingle more with our classmates. Plus, we have the opportunity to make twice as many friends.

Speaking of classmates, our classes are still pretty diverse. Mark has South African, Malaysian, German, Turkish, Thai, and Japanese students in his class. I've got a far less diverse class, with half of the class coming from Japan.

One thing I've noticed this semester is that our classmates can speak SO much better this time around. A lot of them didn't attend Level 1 at Sogang, so came in with varying abilities. I know I can be overly modest at times, but I am dead serious when I say this time around I'm without a doubt at the bottom of the heap when it comes to speaking ability and vocabulary.

The semester is going okay, but it requires even more studying this time, which I didn't even know was possible. There are many days that I honestly feel like I'm barely treading water. But I'm not complaining. I came back to Korea to learn the language and it's not a pretty process, but that's what's happening.

More pictures next time. And now back to the never-ending task of vocabulary memorization.

A Helpful Shove off the Cliff

As I predicted here, our weeks have gone from relaxing to "I barely have time to breathe." Seriously. It's hard to remember what it was like to be sitting around saying we were bored. We've got an additional pronunciation class once a week, language exchange partners to meet with twice a week, and part time jobs to keep us busy before and after class. Throw in some homework and studying and you've got an idea how we're spending our days.

Not that I'm complaining... I know we're lucky to have the opportunity to take this time to learn another language. It's just that I'm really looking forward to vacation (방학대) in two weeks. I don't think we're going anywhere glamourous... and we're still going to be working... but the nerd in me is looking forward to having some time to catch my breath and master everything we've learned so far so I can finish the semester on a strong note. Woah, what have I turned into?

But that update isn't really why I'm writing. I'm writing to get some advice from those of you that have learned another language. My issue is this... I've only been studying for about a month, and I'm obviously nowhere near fluent. But I'm realizing I have a lot of the tools I need to communicate. And I can do it pretty well when I feel comfortable. But most of the time, I get nervous and forget words, or I speak ridiculously slowly trying to make sure every sentence is correct and every word pronounced perfectly. This doesn't really help with building fluency or communicating with actual Korean people. It's like my inner-perfectionist is holding me back big time.

Mark, on the other hand, is doing great. He's quick to speak and isn't really bothered when he makes mistakes. (Can you tell I'm a little jealous?) So he's been pushing me more and more lately both in class and in public to communicate, which I love/hate. But it just seems like this lack of confidence is going to be a big road block in learning the language for me.

Any advice how to deal with this? Will it just diminish as I get better? Any inspirational words of wisdom I can tell myself when I start to feel myself freeze up? Who or what can give me that final shove off the cliff, so to speak?

This is what it's all about...

Tonight ranks up there as one of my favorite nights here. I had my first actual conversation with Birth Father! You should've seen his face when I was asking him questions and answering his questions appropriately... ear to ear smiles. (I am pretty sure I was looking the same way.) Granted our conversation was nothing deep or earth shattering, but being able to ask tell him how our classes are going, what we did last weekend, and find out how he's been lately was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

It's actually perfect timing because this morning I was complaining to Mark that I don't feel like I've made much progress. But then dinner tonight happened and I'm feeling so much more confident that all the studying and practicing is paying off. Three weeks into class, and seeing these kind of results... WOW!

Plan B

When Mark and I set off on this adventure, we told everyone back home that we would teach English for one year, come home, and everything would be back to normal.

Somehow between then and here things have changed a bit...

Being here, I've accomplished some of the things I've wanted to do. I met my birth father, mother, and brother, learned a little about Korean culture, become OBSESSED with the food, and even survived a year as a teacher. BUT, there is a big hole in what I've done and what I want to do. Most importantly, before I come back to America permanently, I feel that I HAVE to learn Korean. And while the Rosetta Stone is nice, it's just not cutting it.

It is literally killing me to have my entire birth family in my life and not to be able to understand or speak to them. It all really bubbled to the surface when I met my birth mother. She was looking me in the eye, speaking to me, and all I could do was stare blankly back at her. Worst feeling ever.

Mark has told me that he understands I'm on a journey and he'll just follow my lead. (Did I seriously win the husband lottery or what!) I found a Korean language program at Sogang University that seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. The focus is speaking and it is supposed to be the best at getting students speaking quickly.

Today, Mark and I went to Sogang and applied. The whole process sounds pretty painless and if all goes well, we can start classes on June 3rd. We will be attending Korean classes from 9-1 Monday through Friday. Two of those hours are devoted to speaking, one hour is listening and reading, and one hour is writing. We're going to start with a 3 month semester and decide from there if we want to continue.

SOOOO, long story short, we ARE coming home at the beginning of April... but for a visit instead of for good. We'll stay around for about a month and a half and then head back to Korea to try to learn some Korean.

I'm pretty excited about the future and for the first conversation I can hold with my birth parents. Cross your fingers that all goes well and we'll see everyone in St. Louis SOON!

::image courtesy of Genomics Law Report::

Hangul Hakwon

Mark and I have been keeping busy the last couple weeks in Korean (hangul) language classes at Metro Korean Academy. Father noticed us looking over a Korean book we purchased back in the States and immediately got on the phone and found us a class to take until we begin working in February.

The school (or hakwon) is located in the art district of Seoul and just a 20 minute subway ride from Father's apartment.

We are in class Monday through Friday from 10am to noon.

This is a very bad picture of the front desk/lobby area.

This is the break room / conference room.

And this is our classroom!

Here's our teacher. We call her Song Sang Nim, which translates to teacher. She speaks very little English, but is very good at acting out words and seems to have a bottomless pit of patience.

There are only three of us in the class, Mark, me, and Stephan. Stephan is from the Netherlands, but married a Korean woman back in 2001. He saved up 2 months of vacation time to come here and study the language. He speaks Dutch, German, English, and soon, Korean. The class is probably particularly challenging for him because the book and any translation is in English, which isn't his primary language!

Here I am feeling very awkward that Mark is taking a picture of me in the middle of class.

Here is our teacher pointing out my mistakes in the previous night's homework (or sukja).

Once again, highlighting the enormity of Mark in this country, look how tiny the desk looks when he sits in it!

Mark has really grasped the language quickly. He seems to catch things more quickly than I do, which is slightly frustrating for me since I actually AM Korean and knew at least a few words the first year of my life!

So far we have learned how to say the months, numbers, a little vocabulary, and a few handy phrases to get around Seoul. However, a majority of our time has been focused on sentence formation and conjugating verbs.

One thing we've found funny is that our teacher flashes pictures of various celebrities on the television so we can practice making sentences stating their nationalities and occupations. Some of the gems that she's used to represent Americans include: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Naomi Campbell, Brad Pitt, Obama, and Oprah. Go USA!

We've only been in class for a week and a half, but we can see ourselves making progress already. We can read (albeit slowly) and understand some things that are said to us.

We have a Korean cooking class tomorrow - we'll try to take some pictures. Should be fun!

Buzzing with excitement

K: I emailed my brother Sang Kwan to let him know that the tickets are bought and we will finally get to meet. His email back was so touching and his excitement is so apparent.

"Kim; That's a really good news for me .souds like you will be coming as soon as possible .oh MY GOD ! I can"t control my felling! I hope that the day is tomorrow. Maybe we can spend it in New year 's Day ! Now my best wishes is study english .if i can't speak it .i can't talk to you more .so iam so afraid! that's a imporint things for me this year !you bless me OK ? sang kwun"

Mark and I also need to start our Korean lessons ASAP. We have decided that we will commit to lessons every Sunday (at least). Though it's hard to stay on top of this, the ability to communicate with Sang Kwan will make it worth it! And he's making such an effort to learn English, I'd love to at least say a few things to him in Korean also! Can you imagine the surprised look on his face when we walk off the plane and say "Hello, nice to finally meet you" in Korean?!?!?