How is the Korean going?

Well, if you are anything like everyone else I know, you are probably wondering if we are learning any Korean. Other than "How are you?"  the most common question I here from friends in Australia and the USA is "Are you learning any Korean?". The answer is both simple and complicated. That is to say, both "yes" and "no." Let me explain.

Yes. We are taking a Korean class every Friday where we have learned the alphabet, learned to read, how to introduce ourselves, order food, make purchases, and count. That's progress, right? And, in as humble a way as possible, you should know that we are at the top of our class as well. Chris and I have both had recent triumphs in using our newly acquired Korean. Chris was able to order several dishes from a restaurant without using hand gestures to show how many of each. He was also able to order politely and in complete sentences! YAY! My experience was similar. I wanted to buy some apples and so I asked how much a bag of apples cost. The man told me that I could get 1 bag for 3,000 won but 2 bags for 5,000. I went with 2 bags. These may seem like small  victories, but I'm excited about them anyway!

No. We've been here for 3 months and our Korean is really quite minimal. Its difficult because nearly everyone we come into contact with (there are definite exceptions) speaks a bit of English, so the NEED for Korean doesn't feel as urgent. Also, English is a bit of a fad here, so most signs have at least some English on them as well as Korean. People also like to practice their English with a real, live, native English speaker On the bus, I've had people purposely sit next to me to talk English. We know people who have been here for over a year that know almost no Korean, and they've got along fine. We really don't want to be here for a year without learning the language, but its definitely possible.

Here are a few phrases you can try out.

Hello : an yeong ha se yo (this is phonetic, not in Korean script, obviously)
How much does it cost?:   ol ma ye yo
Does this bus go to Costco?: Ee bosu Costco kanayo?