Here’s the google maps view of our hotel in the old quarter in hanoi:
New Year’s was a very uneventful evening as we arrived at the hotel almost at the stroke of midnight, extremely tired from our almost 34-hour trip. The old quarter in Hanoi is very much as I envisioned it, but maybe a [...]
It’s been a beautiful fall so far. I don’t know if fall is normally like this in Korea, but it’s been sunny and warm and altogether pleasant. Nights have been getting a little cooler, but the daytime temperatures were still getting up over 20 degrees. That is until last week… All [...]
At home, resting before a night on the town with our visitor Mr. Nathanuel Ku. Right here:
View Goyang in a larger map
첫술에 배부르랴
cheot sul e bae bu-reu-rya
첫 (Cheot): first
술 (sul): spoonful; alcohol
배(bae): stomach
부르다 (bu-reu-da): to be full; to be pregnant; to be swollen
So you get: Will the first spoonful fill the stomach? The ~(으)랴 ending means will it do/ will it be, in a rhetorical sense. So the gist of the proverb is that you can’t [...]
도토리 키 재기
Do-to-ri ki jae-gi
도토리: Acorn
키: Height
재다: To measure/gauge/survey/weigh, and many others
Adding it all up: ‘Like measuring the height of acorns.”
This is used either when you’re trying to compare ‘apples to oranges,’ or when you are trying to compare two things that are so similar that the differences aren’t even really worth mentioning- like [...]
급히 먹는 밥이 목에 멘다.
or
빨리 먹으면 체한다.
geup-hi meog-neun bap i mok-e men-da.
급히: hastily
먹는: eaten (as adjective)
밥: rice
목: throat
메다: to choked; stopped up.
In other words, the hastily eaten rice chokes the throat. Or the English proverb that’s usually chosen as an equivalent is: ‘Haste makes waste.’
거지도 부지런하면 더운 밥을 얻어 먹는다.
geojido bujireon hamyeon deoun babeul eodeo meogneunda
거지 = beggar
부지런하다 = to be diligent or hard-working
덥다 / 더운 = to be hot (descriptive verb) / hot (adj. form)
밥 = rice (but also is used as meal)
얻다 = to get; to obtain; to win; to receive
먹다 = to eat
But apparently the combination [...]
We found out that there are a few movie theatres in Seoul which show certain Korean movies with English subtitles. The choices are extremely limited, in fact, often there is only one choice.
So we went to see 국가대표 (gukgadaepyo) at CGV Yongsan in Seoul. The English title is Take off I think, but the Korean [...]
I actually came across this when I was looking for powerpoint games to play with the students at school. Unfortunately it looks like it was just a one-off. It’s honestly the most entertaining and educational language learning experience I’ve had in a long time. I feel like I learned more in the 5 min going [...]
개밥에도토리
kaebap e dotori.
The truth is that I don’t really understand this expression. I’m going to try and get an explanation for it when we start Korean class again on Monday. According to the Naver dictionary, and a few other online sources, it means, ‘an outcast,’ or ‘an ostracized person.’ The literal translation is what I’m [...]
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Wednesday, Sep 8
Light Rain
Currently: 23˚ C
Feels Like: 23˚ C
Hi: N/A˚, Lo: 20˚
weather feed courtesy of weather.com - thanks!
