It's A Man's World

 All he wanted was a man's game for his birthday.

Oddly enough:

a woman brought the chips,

a woman won the game,

and a woman got is goat. 

Great job girls,

great birthday Scott.

Steph is taking it home.

"Nice to Meet You" and Other Stupid Things Koreans Say

Each time I sit down to study Korean I discover new linguistic differences that explain many of the "mistakes" made by Korean speakers.  Each time I feel my heart break just a little bit as well.  The first reason my heart breaks is because I realize that, we English teachers, spend far too much time making fun of students, and far too little time trying to understand why they might make the same mistakes over and over again.

However, my heart is mostly heavy because I see how much Koreans are ridiculed for their English mistakes (even though they are making an effort to communicate in a new language while their teachers often make no effort) as if they are "stupid" for making them.  I've most certainly engaged in this without thinking, but no more.

First, let's look at how we judge our kids when they use "nice to meet you".  In Korean this is a perfectly normal expression to say over and over again, each time you "meet" a person.  In fact, it's the polite thing to do to your elders.  You are meeting, and it's nice.  For Korean students, it's hard to grasp that - in English - this is tied only to a FIRST meeting.  Students don't understand why it isn't always "nice to meet" English speaking folks.  English is the weird one here, not your students.

So, please, stop freaking out when your students always say, "Nice to meet you."  Slow down, explain the different perceptions of the verb "to meet".  They learn this simple phrase early in their language development long before they can understand the conceptual, abstract uses of phrases and verbs.  They are doing their best.  They are using a new language as best they can, based on the rules that they know.  They are trying to be respectful, so take a moment to respect them and their effort.  You are their teacher after all, not their school yard bully.

Second, lets look at how we judge the adults we meet.  Excited Korean's will often refer to everything they show you as being "famous".  Many Westerners get all caught up in this.  Annoyed because Korean's think everything is famous.  The Westerners start going on and on about how "Korea isn't all that" and Korean's need to learn that that what they haven't isn't the most famous thing ever.

Now, before we even get into the linguistic issues I would like to say, "This is their country.  Let them be as proud of it as they want to be."  We should all be proud of where we live and think it's the best.  It's not a big deal and doesn't make where you are from any less awesome.  Just because Korean's love Korea, doesn't affect that I think Alaska is the best thing to ever happen to the world.

But back to linguistics,  in Korean "famous" and "known for" are the same word.  So, when Korean's learn English they don't see any difference between "famous" and "known for".  They will just throw famous around like it ain't no thing.  When they say someplace is, "Famous for their noodles",  it's the same thing as saying they're , "Known for their noodles".  It's not some over prideful statement. It's just a statement of fact.

I beg of you, take a moment to consider the world from a perspective not your own.  Step back and respect the world around you before you jump on judging the world around you.  You are living in a new culture, in a new country, with people that don't speak the same language as you.  Maybe, just maybe, you don't have all the information.

Holy Tahini Batman

Ready for the oven.

 Tahini, if you can find it,

is terribly expensive in Korea.

So, it seemed the right time to make my own.

As I have mentioned,

I'm interested in sustainable recipes.

So I adjust everything 

for affordable local ingredients.

There is nothing more affordable 

 - and available in Korea -

than sesame seeds. 

Thankfully, 

I know just where to turn for help

www.dedemed.com/.

You might make a little bit of a mess.

You can count on Dede for 

excellent videos recipes and advice.

It's good, old Mediterranean home cooking.

Which is what I am always looking for,

food that tastes like my family.

I used a small bullet mixer that you can find for 30,000w.  It took longer but it worked just fine.

Note, it's going to be dark when you mix it unless you add enough water and oil. Don't panic.

 Of course, you don't really know if it's good

until you put it in something.

So I made baba ganoush.

This is Korea 

so we have to make adjustments.

1) You roast it at 200 Celsius

2) You will have to use Japanese eggplant. 

3) You will want to use at least 4 small eggplants. 

4) You might have to use lemon from a bottle.

I buy mine at the market.  They are super affordable.

My little babies looking good.  I roasted them a bit too long.

The magic.

The result was easy to make perfection.

You don't have to live without in Korea,

and you don't have to have it shipped in.

Everything I used 

was from the local market.

You can make healthy, delicious, authentic

Mediterranean food with local ingredients.

So stop bitch'n and get in the kitch'n. 

Here is the fantastic Dede 

showing you how it's done.

www.dedemed.com

Talk to Me, PLEASE!!!

Alright, so we all know that I'm 

"all up ons" learning Korean.

However, what you might now know is that,

despite wicked reading and writing skills,

my listening comprehension was jack-squat 

until I discovered 

Talk To Me In Korean 

Super Audiobook.

 It changed my life in a matter of weeks. 

If this was an infomercial 

I would be screaming at you emphatically 

and telling you to pick up the phone now.

I'd be wearing a gorilla suite and 

rambling about deals, deals, deals.

  

This is the only language learning tool

where I think it's worth far more than I paid.

IN FACT,

when I recently lost my phone

and the application was asking me to buy

all the content over again for my new phone,

I was ACTUALLY WILLING TO DO IT!

Except that when I clicked "buy"

it said I already owned it 

and wouldn't let me buy it again

- or download it. 

I tried everyday for weeks on end. 

To be honest, 

crying seemed like an option.

I was so bummed.

Finally, I bit the bullet.

I emailed them for help.

But we all know how that goes, right?

 WRONG!

I wrote them on Saturday night

and heard back immediately from a real person.

I was shocked, and well, verklempt.

They asked a few questions,

I sent a few answers and BAM!

They fixed the problem.

ALL of my purchases were restored!!!

it was the best customer service 

I have had with an app purchase.

Honestly, run, don't walk

to your smart phone and get this app.

It improves your listening,

reading, pronunciation, grammar -

ok, it helps with everything.

I think it might even cleanly cut a tomato 

after sawing through a soda can,

it's that good.

In fact,

I find it more useful than an actual instructor 

when pared with

Talk To Me Lessons

which I also have on my smart phone.

To top it off, 

they have amazing customer service.

Here is how the app works:

Each week you download a Vocab list for $1.99

Each day you focus on a new word.

Each word builds into complex sentences.

Each sentence is broken down into all it's parts.

In Summary:

The app is awesome.

$1.99 is nothing.

Learning is everything

Get your Super Audiobook app today.

www.talktomeinkorean.com

Japan-easy Lunches

Pyeongtaek Restaurants
We Love

My family is something I have built,

not something I was born with.

The hardest part of living in Korea

 is missing this homemade family.

So, as you may have noticed, 

the way I handle all these missing

parts of me is with food.

It all ties together in my drama.

Which is why I end up in Pyeongtaek 

eating Japanese comfort food more often than naught.

Seeing, as missing Paula and Aimee

can be considered one of my hobbies.

(UPDATE: CLOSED ㅠㅠ RIP)
The place I drown my sorrows

in udon is near Del Vino,

near the bus stop.

Even if you aren't desperately missing

your Japanese family.  

The food there is what you need

for chasing away the winter cold,

and of far better quality than most lunch spots.

Come on.

Who doesn't love a lunch that's

 quick and Japan-easy.

ps They don't speak English here 
and nothing is really in English  
BUT
There are lots of pictures to point at,
so you should be just fine.

If you want to get your Del Vino and Japanese,

Do this:

Step 1

Look out from AK Plaza.  

Take the road that goes to the right of This phone shop.

Step 2

Turn right on the street before

system G.

Step 3

Take the soft left at Mr. Pizza.

It's at the intersection on the right.

Now, to get to the Japanese lunch,

just turn around and go the other way, 

it will be on your left just past the bus stop