I can read!

While it may not seem like a very big accomplishment to most Enlgish teachers working in Korea, but the fact that I can now read Hangul is a huge improvement upon my condition here; even though its only at turtle speed for the time being, it helps a lot.

I first started taking a Korean language class three weeks ago, and now I'm able to read most sentences given enough time; I don't know what they all mean, but I can read them, which seems to impress most of my Korean co-workers.

It has exceptionally helped with my class work, as now I am able to read children's actual names, instead of refering to them solely by their English names. There is also the novelty of writing my own name: 저스틴.

Although most public school teachers don't have to, some hagwon (private school) teachers are responsible for and required to correct their students' tests and submit monthly report sheets; I'm one of the unlucky ones I guess.

Its something which is a very arduous task, but with the capability of actually reading my students' writing (some are just completely illegible due to poor handwriting), I am no longer as dependent on my co-workers to correct them for me.

Its funny how many English words you'll find "Koreanized" everywhere you look. Just this morning I was reading the label of my instant coffee packet: 커 피 (pronounced kaw-pi, which sounds a lot like coffee) and 오리지날 (oh-lee-jee-nahl, which is "original"). There is no "r" equivalent in korean, so it comes out sounding like an "l", something which takes a bit of getting used to.

The writing seems to be said backwards as well, like Japanese, where you would say coffee original, instead of original coffee; the same goes for a line of questioning. Instead of saying, "who are you?" They would say, "you are who?"

I'm learning slowly, step by step, but hopefully after another few weeks of classes I'll be able to order something off a menu without having to look for a picture.