Odds 'n Ends

This is Yi Hyo-Seub, 이 효섭 (Seub is pronounced somewhere between ‘soup’ and ‘sub’). I mentioned him briefly at the close of an earlier entry. Hyo-Seub is a junior here at Yonsei, studying economics and business. He’s going to the U.S. next month to study at a college somewhere in Virginia (I’ve forgotten which college). To supplement classroom language practice, several of us volunteered to have a Yonsei University student as a conversation partner. I love meeting with Hyo Seub. We started with a one-hour meeting; the second meeting was an hour and a half. Then last Thursday it was two hours. Although the time flew, it was also in my mind that Hyo-Seub travels to campus by bus for an hour and a half each way for our meetings. I asked earlier if there wasn't a day when he had to come to campus anyway, and he said, no, he was glad to come just for this meeting. So, then, of course, I felt that our time together had to make the travel worthwhile.

Hyo-Seub's spoken English is amazingly good, considering he's never spent time in an English-speaking country. All of his English has been learned through school and, he says, watching American t.v. programs. He especially likes "House" and "Gray's Anatomy." Our conversations range over a variety of topics. He clearly keeps up with the news, and last week we started by talking about Levi Strauss-Kahn and the IMF. My Korean vocabulary is somewhat at the third-grade level compared to Hyo-Seub's fairly sophisticated English vocabulary. But there are words that elude him: we have frequent side-bar conversations about certain words, both English and Korean. Lots of pronunciation practice, too. If you learn vocabulary primarily by reading, a words such as 'subtle' is going to be a problem. Then, there are the generational gaps. I forget what the topic was, but it was clear to me that Hyo-Seub was trying hard to figure out where I fell on the timeline of world history. He finally asked if I recalled any of World War II. It’s a good thing I’ve become fond of him, and could gently orient him to the fact that it was my father’s generation that helped liberate Korea from Japanese colonization.

My conversations with Hyo-Seub have become a highlight of what eventually will be almost six weeks in Seoul. I am now a bit over half-way to departure day. And, in truth, I am eager to finish up. This hand-drawn calendar posted above my desk should tell you just how eager I am. You can't really tell from this photo, but I've started crossing off days. The physical inconveniences are not a problem. I'm reminded again of how really little it takes to create a reasonably comfortable living situation. When I get home I might have to continue to carry my sundries in a plastic basket to the bathroom whenever it's time for a shower. I think my Korean has improved mightily, and I am now completely immune to any embarrassment when I blurt out some deliciously mangled Korean "sentence" that the local speaker hears only as vague semblance to their native language. But, that being said, I've been disappointed by the instruction and the lack of opportunity to use Korean outside the classroom. Lesson 1: do not live in a dorm, sharing a room with another English-speaker if you want to learn a foreign language. Ellen and I might be learning more Korean if we were each living with a native Korean speaker. But if that Korean speaker were a 20-something year-old, we'd never survive. Just walking over all their shoes just to get to the door would drive us crazy. -- I need to think more about the program/instruction, although there is this other element that I've alluded to before. . . as follows.

Question from a friend: “Tell more about the other students. I'm guessing a few might be there at the urging of parents.” LH: Sorry if I’m repeating myself, but between a few emails and this blog I forget what I’ve said and where. Of the some 160 in the program, it looks fairly divided between males and females. I hesitate to say ‘men and women,’ as some will be just starting college in the fall. The majority seem to be Korean American college students, the “Kyo-po’s” who grew up speaking/listening to Korean but are here ostensibly to learn the formal grammar and how to read and write the Hangul. I think they range from “keenly interested and committed” to “let’s party in Korean.” Yes, a goodly number seem to be here because their parents not only urged them, but simply just sent them. One young woman said she was barely home from college when her father told her he had registered her for this program and she would be on a plane in a few days. Ellen and I have frequently heard, “My parents (usually, it seems, it’s the father) sent me.” This tells me that as American as these families may be, they are still deeply Korean in how much they value their culture, but also how parental prerogatives will have their way.

For the students who seem to be spending most of these five weeks practicing Korean in the karaoke (noh-rrae-bahg) bars, and then missing or sleeping through class, I want to grab them by their ears, whack them on the side of the head, and tell them how I’ve waited over 40 years to have this experience, while they’re hell-bent on throwing away the moment. But, I know that they really are so young; still all that time to make mistakes and learn.

Also asked: “Are you taking just language instruction, or will you take other courses?” LH: The most advanced levels here apparently are doing some readings in Korean studies. For us lower-level students, our vocabulary does not quite stretch to ‘dynasty, occupation, colonization, demilitarized zone, 48th parallel.” My class is working through ‘art gallery, beach, office worker, and persimmon.’

Oh, I was reading "The Daily Beast" online a few days ago, and saw that if I clicked on this one item, I could find out the top 10 monkey scenes in American movie history. After reading that, reading more about the craziness in D.C., I decided to appreciate where I am right now.

Be well, everyone.