Quarantine: Some tips about learning Korean

3 13 2020

Dear Reader,

After a nice evening nap (that turned into a full blown slumber) I found myself up at 1 AM wondering what to do with myself. I have been practicing Korean and feeling like I'm getting a little stuck, so I said to myself: what the heck, why not try to study now.

I googled 요리사 to try and find something familiar to start with. After some time in TTMIK (talktomeinkorean.com) I know the word for cook and a bunch of other words to help me me get started talking more deeply about regular areas of life. I talk a lot about food, engineering, and school, so I look up the words 요리사 (cook) and 공학 (engineering study) a lot. As I try and read, it's really a walk through the dictionary, but it's fun to discover nouns and verbs used in a context that I actually find useful. So I don't mind the dictionary walk because I know I will  be using what I learned very soon. Even when there's no one to talk to, I just keep a diary and talk about what interests me. Sometimes I write in Korean to practice the new words I learn. my goal is to one day be familiar enough with Korean that I can write my everyday kind of thoughts in Korean. So the familiar things I tend to learn about in Korean are also words pertaining to love, dating, family, and money. I also end up turning to TTMIK (a great resource that I highly recommend checking out whether you're a beginner or advanced) to learn more grammar so that I can express more complex ideas in Korean. Right now though, I'm just trying to get more creative with the basic structures and transition words I already know.

This brings me to a point about language practice that I really wanna talk about: breaking down your English thinking into simpler sentences so that it's easier to start thinking in Korean. What I like to do is write a paragraph about some in English. Then, if it's too complex for me to translate in Korean, instead of going to a translator straight away I start to wonder if there is a simpler or more concise way of expressing my ideas.
For example....

When an English sentence is hard, I make an easy sentence that means the same. Then I use a dictionary with the easy sentence. [long sentence, subordinate adverbial clause, descriptive clause]

or

This sentence is too hard. I'll write an easy, similar sentence. Then I'll use the dictionary. [simpler grammar structures, Subject-predicate, subject-verb-object, subject verb object, fewer words to look up]

Which sentence is easier to translate? The second one. Sure, maybe I'll get more out of trying to translate the first, but the second is just as useful in a similar context especially if I am talking to someone and I can point to what I'm doing. And progress is progress. If you're just not ready for the big stuff, write or speak smaller sentence. You have to start somewhere!

If you have an interest in any language--not just Korean--this was for you :)

Bye,

Waterfall girl.

Meditation reflection no. 1

 Today I started my day with a 5 minute meditation. I am sad that it was only five minutes, but I was sitting in an uncomfortable position and had a hard time focusing. I think to myself: how can I ever be a meditation practitioner when I can hardly sit still for 5 minutes? But I don't need to be too hard on myself--I'm not quite practicing as a meditation teacher yet. 

During meditation, I focused on my in and out breath, the top and bottom of the breath, and the parts of my body that weren't uncomfortable. I forgot that lack of discomfort is an opportunity to be happy about pain that isn't present. It's the concept of turning a neutral feeling into a positive one. I have been suffering a lot, so I want to increase my chances for happiness these days. 

After meditation, I decided I needed to write, which is what led me to blogger. Writing brings me happiness. So does reading, painting, and rides in the car (especially on a sunny day). I like a sunny room as well or spending time with loved ones. It's things that give me inner calm even when my outer world is chaotic. It's what brings peace, structure, and order to an otherwise disorganized life. 

Start a story with someone who lost everything but finds solace in photography.

 https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/

*Click*

The rickety, old, foreclosed house rings eerie as the wind blows and the walls creak. You can hear it from the outside. "Damn", Neal says to himself. "They lost it all, just like me". He raises his camera, steps a few large strides to the right, and takes another shot. 

*Click*

"Hey....Hey! What are you doing over there? You can't take pictures here!" A shrill voice calls from the distance. It's getting louder. "There are children here! We protect identities here." 

What the fuck. "I don't take pictures of random people, ma'am", Neal replied calmly. How uncanny, for a man to fall victim to identity theft and have some middle-aged woman off the street accuse him of attempting to do the same. It must be more commonplace than he thought, to have someone steal your life from him. Resentment edged into his brain as he remembered the drained bank accounts, the missed rent payments, eviction notices, and enraged phone calls with creditors. Neal Cochran. There was another Neal. After resentment, the woman's worry made him feel not so alone in this world. 

"I'm only taking pictures for realtor. I'm a videographer", he lied. He had no job. This was just a hobby and he liked buildings.