Korean classes!

Apologies in advance for the long post with no pictures. It's a blog, not a novel, so I should insert pictures to break up the text...but I don't have any. Whoops. 

I finally started Korean classes today! I've been putting it off because I didn't know where to look for classes that fit my schedule - definitely one of the downsides of being an afternoon teacher. This place was recommended to me by one of the newer NETs (Native English Teachers).  She wanted to take classes there, but couldn't quite commit herself to taking classes for various reasons.  I went to check out the school a couple of weeks ago, and since it seemed nice I went ahead and signed up that day.  They have a pronunciation class that would LOVE to take, but it's during my work hours so I'm out of luck for now. Maybe eventually I'll switch to a public school and get an average schedule, but for right now my only option is weekend classes. Fortunately for me, this academy offers classes on Saturday mornings.

Signing up was an adventure in and of itself. The map led me to a building...that was gutted and under construction. The school sign was still on the side of the building, so it looked like I was SOL. I was about to give up, but I really wanted to take classes...so I braved my fear/hatred of using my phone for its true purpose and called the number on the sign. It turned out that they had just relocated to somewhere very close by. The woman on the phone was incredibly patient with me. I had trouble finding things and getting to where she was trying to have me go, and it didn't help that there were a few words I didn't understand. Normally I can get past unknown words, but these were kind of key to the sentence...there was a lot of difficulty and embarrassment involved. BUT. But but but. I eventually found it and the woman in the office seemed very happy to see the lost foreigner from the phone actually arriving in the office.

I knew from the website and brochures that my coworker had shared with me that the academy used Sogang's textbooks for most of the levels, which was good news. I had gotten through level 3A when I studied at Sogang, so I bought the 3B books to study from back in winter.  The website mentioned a level test, so I was nervous about that. I didn't know if they only offered it on certain days, how long I would have to wait to take it, if I would totally flunk it and get in a really low level, if I would somehow manage to accidentally do really well and get put in a level I wasn't ready for...so many worries. It turned out that I didn't need to be concerned. I mentioned that I had studied at Sogang previously and that we finished the 3A book, and the woman at the desk just basically went "well, cool, you can go to 3B." Easy peasy.

I got into class today a little bit early, still feeling very nervous. Whenever I do anything that involves people knowing I speak Korean (or, even worse, that I studied it at university), I feel like I have to perform to a very high standard or I'm letting all of my professors down. Even though I hear Korean every day and speak it multiple times a week, it's been over a year since I last took a Korean class. I had nothing to back up my suspicions, but I figured that while my speech fluidity may have gone up, I was probably going to have trouble with things like conjugating and applying certain grammatical rules. You know, the school stuff that you don't really practice when you're out and about.

As always happens, I was nervous for no reason. I didn't quite catch why, but our class had missed one class day in May so we were still on the last bit of 3A. I didn't have the books but it was a nice bit of review for me. There were a few words I didn't fully remember, including two that I always mix up - to turn off and to turn on. The class was entirely in Korean, which is what I was expecting (and, honestly, what I'm used to). My instructor is really nice, and she encouraged us to talk even if the subject wasn't entirely related to the material we were supposed to be learning.

My teacher says my classmates are all Japanese men, but only one was there today. I haven't interacted at length with any native Japanese speakers, so there were a couple times when I couldn't quite understand his accent. Give it a few classes, though, and it'll be much easier for me to understand him. The linguist in me kinda geeked a bit (internally, of course) when I could hear certain patterns in his Korean pronunciation that I could tell came from this or that rule of Japanese pronunciation...though I'm struggling to remember how I came to know anything at all about Japanese phonology. I don't remember it being one of the languages we worked with in my phono class...did I randomly look it up? Did someone explain it to me? I had to work with hiragana once in my crypto class, but that wouldn't quite do the trick...

Anywhos.

I feel like being a teacher has definitely made me a better student. Up until now, I was always on the quiet side in classes and I hated being called on because I felt like it put so much pressure on me to perform well. It felt like a quiz or mini-exam every time. I paid attention, took good notes, and did my homework (well, usually), but participation was scary. Now, I think about what I'm always wishing my students did or didn't do and try to follow those guidelines. I'm super-conscious about making sure I don't speak up significantly more or less than other students, asking questions even if it's a minor thing that I'm trying to clarify, getting creative during dialogue practice and not just repeating the example with minor changes, talking around the words that I can't remember or don't know, and other things like that.

I'm really happy that I'm finally taking classes and doing something to improve my Korean.  I've been self-studying vocabulary, but it doesn't feel like enough. I don't practice my Korean on a daily basis...or even a weekly one, for that matter. The most I usually speak in a week is a couple short interactions with whatever cashier happens to be at the convenience store or mart I go to. I hear Korean at work a lot when the Korean teachers talk to each other or when my students chatter during break, but I almost never contribute to conversations. Hopefully these classes will help me give my Korean the boost it needs.

Cycling!

I've taken multiple bicycle outings since the weather started warming up.

The first one I went out with a coworker and we rented bikes. I'd bought a bike back in fall, but she didn't have one yet.  (That problem has since been remedied.)  We took a train to the other end of town, rented bikes with no fee but a two-hour limit, and rode out to Seoul Forest Park. It was a bit chilly and everything still looked dead, but it was still a very enjoyable ride. I'm really looking forward to returning once everything is a bit greener.

The second time, I set out alone from home on my bike and rode for the trail that starts at Eungam Station and leads all the way to the Han River.  I had no particular end point in mind, which was nice.

I had a great view the whole way.

 

 

I even saw some gorgeous little flowers next to the bike path.

Eventually I made my way to the other side of the river via the Banpo Bridge (반포대교) and tried to figure out the best place to get myself some lunch. I had meant to stop at a kimbap place and pick something up before I hit the trail, but I completely forgot.  Eventually I picked a random side-road and followed it. I had no idea where I was or where I was going, which made me a bit nervous.  I had to keep reminding myself that everything was fine - I could always just ask for directions or use my phone to find the nearest subway station.  Eventually I found a really nice kimbap place, got a roll to go, and took it back to the river.

The wind going back was terrible. It was very strong, very cold, and very annoying. I couldn't feel my hands by the time I got to Yeouido (여의도), where Ingrid was going to meet me.  I ended up hanging out by a river monster while I waited.

It even made sound when you stood in front of it.

We decided it was far too cold to ride all the way back home with no gloves, especially as it was dusk at that point, so we caught the subway back.


Sunday was supposed to hold a trip back to Yeouido for the cherry blossoms, but it was too rainy to be worth it. This weekend ought to have better weather, though, so hopefully I can make it back out for the flowers.

It's not freezing!

Warm weather has FINALLY arrived!  It's still a bit chilly at times, but I've been able to leave my gloves at home and cut down on the layers.

In the colder months, there was a conversation between the Korean teachers and the American teachers regarding the weather. Neither party could make much sense of the other because the Koreans only knew the temperatures in Celsius and the Americans only knew Fahrenheit. After that, I resolved only to use Celsius and have removed Fahrenheit from my phone's weather notifications.  It was a bit rough for quite a while (My daily thought process was basically "is it above zero? I can survive today. Under zero? I'm gonna die.") but I'm finally getting a good guesstimate for temperatures.  Unfortunately...I still can't do mental conversions on the fly.  Thanks to some conversion tools online, I know it's been in the 50s and 60s here as of late.  However, in my head, it's been in the teens. Lately it's been tending toward the upper portions, and there have even been days where we hit 20 or 21.

Yes, this DOES mean I have been out and about doing things. In turn, that means that YES, there will be more posts from me coming up. I've been out cycling, and I'll be hiking (I think?) for some school thing (I have no idea what I got dragged into but I'm going so we'll see) tomorrow.  Well, it's past 2am here, so technically it's today.  9am. Buhhuhuhuh whyyy.

Anywho. Be on the lookout for photos from my bicycle outings, hiking, random walks through the city, and whatever other shenanigans I get up to~