On August 17th, I received an e-mail from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul entitled: Civil Defense Drill on August 18, 2011. Here is part of the e-mail:
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is transmitting the following information as a public service to all U.S. citizens in the Republic of Korea.
Seoul Metropolitan Police authorities advised the Embassy that on Thursday, August 18, at approximately 2:00 p.m. an air-raid siren will sound for one minute to signal the start of a nationwide civil defense drill. Pedestrians in open and public areas should seek shelter in nearby buildings or subway stations. All drivers/vehicles on the road must pull over and come to a complete stop. At approximately 2:15 p.m. a second siren will sound, signaling the conclusion of the drill. Local authorities will give further instructions if necessary.
This has happened several times since we've been here, but this is the first time I have gotten an e-mail about it. The first time we experienced it was our very first full day in Korea. We were a little worried, to say the least. Now, it's not so concerning.
I uploaded a 30-second video on YouTube.com which has the siren. Sorry for the poor quality -- I was walking to work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGwsUF7FNmw
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Language Fail
Background
Zach and I know very little (I mean VERY little) Spanish even though we both took it in college. However, we occasionally break out into Spanish with one- or two-word phrases. Instead of 'thank you' I say 'gracias'. If I want to say 'yes' sometimes I will say 'si'.
After being in Korea for only a few days and not knowing any Korean, I would fall back on Spanish words knowing full well that 99% of Koreans probably have no knowledge of the Spanish language. Instead of saying 'sorry' in Korean, I would want to say 'lo siento'. I still don't know the word for 'sorry' in Korean and continue to want to use 'lo siento'.
Story
Zach and I were waiting for the metro in Seoul last week and a guy who obviously wasn't Korean approached us. I don't remember if he said 'hola' but he started to speak to us in Spanish and asked us if we spoke Spanish. I replied (in Spanish) 'just a little'. I was soooo excited to speak Spanish while being in Korea. He went on to tell us (in Spanish) that he was a missionary from Peru. We had a small conversation. We understood what he was saying just fine. I (being our spokesperson) had a slightly harder time responding but I managed just fine. Needless to say, I was very impressed with myself and just so excited to be speaking Spanish to this man!
Right before he left, he asked us one more question (I don't even remember what it was) that required a yes or no answer. That's easy, right? You either say 'si' or 'no'. In my total cockiness of talking to this guy, I reply 'nay' which is 'yes' in Korean. FAIL! haha. I caught myself right away and replied 'si'.
So, I'm speaking Spanish to Koreans and Korean to Peruvians. ahhhhh!
Zach and I know very little (I mean VERY little) Spanish even though we both took it in college. However, we occasionally break out into Spanish with one- or two-word phrases. Instead of 'thank you' I say 'gracias'. If I want to say 'yes' sometimes I will say 'si'.
After being in Korea for only a few days and not knowing any Korean, I would fall back on Spanish words knowing full well that 99% of Koreans probably have no knowledge of the Spanish language. Instead of saying 'sorry' in Korean, I would want to say 'lo siento'. I still don't know the word for 'sorry' in Korean and continue to want to use 'lo siento'.
Story
Zach and I were waiting for the metro in Seoul last week and a guy who obviously wasn't Korean approached us. I don't remember if he said 'hola' but he started to speak to us in Spanish and asked us if we spoke Spanish. I replied (in Spanish) 'just a little'. I was soooo excited to speak Spanish while being in Korea. He went on to tell us (in Spanish) that he was a missionary from Peru. We had a small conversation. We understood what he was saying just fine. I (being our spokesperson) had a slightly harder time responding but I managed just fine. Needless to say, I was very impressed with myself and just so excited to be speaking Spanish to this man!
Right before he left, he asked us one more question (I don't even remember what it was) that required a yes or no answer. That's easy, right? You either say 'si' or 'no'. In my total cockiness of talking to this guy, I reply 'nay' which is 'yes' in Korean. FAIL! haha. I caught myself right away and replied 'si'.
So, I'm speaking Spanish to Koreans and Korean to Peruvians. ahhhhh!
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