Hey folks, Steve here.  Nikki and I were talking the other day and realized we just passed our 4 month mark here in South Korea!  In some ways, it seems like time has really flown by, but in other ways it seems the opposite.  It is hard to explain, but when we talk with other foreigners here they feel the same way.  When we talk to friends and family on the phone or Skype, it seems like we've been gone forever and have forever until we can see them again.  But, when we are out having fun exploring beaches and other sights, it feels like our time is nearly up.

We talked with another foreigner here a few weeks ago about what it is like to live here.  He mentioned that he felt like he knew nothing even after living here for 6 months.  I'm of the opinion that you learn as much as you try to learn when you are here.  It is possible to live here and not speak Korean or even eat Korean food or even ride the local city bus, if that is what you want.  Life can be much like life back home if you are willing to pay the price for it.

I thought I'd take a little time to do some inventory of the things we can do and the things we can't do after living here for 4 months.  I hope that this list gives our friends and family a look into what we do here and I hope that it helps others considering living in South Korea to realize that we carry on very rich lives here despite being far from home.

What we can do:

Language- We can say the following words/phrases in Korean
please give me
please go to
thank you
hello/goodbye
teacher
bus driver
train/subway station
grandmother/grandfather/mommy/daddy/sister
how much does it cost?
water
beer
milk
take-out
shopping bag
numbers 1-10
ten thousand won
thousand won
various menu items like chicken, fish, tofu, rice, pork, duck, stew
don't do that
hurry up
let's go
I'm finished
bathroom
eraser
left, right, straight
here/there
this one/that one

I can also read most signs and menus, although I don't know what most of them say.  I can read cities and any words that end up being English, such as peh-peh-roni  pi-ja :)

We can ride the inter-city bus from one city to another, navigate and purchase bus tickets, navigate and use the subway in Daegu, Seoul, and Busan, hail taxi cabs, ride trains around the country.

We have Korean cell phones (with English menus) and charge them with minutes.  We take it to the store and put about 10,000w on per month.

We pay our utility bills.

We make wire transfers at the bank as well as manage our own accounts and debit cards.

We can buy clothes, shoes, food, candy, drinks, groceries, and house items that we need.

We can go to the doctor, dentist, and pharmacy.

Use a foreign language ATM.  (always choose the top left button, works every time).

***
What we can't do:
It would only be fair to have a list of things we have not yet managed to figure out.

Order food delivered to our house.  I think I know my address but ordering I just can't imagine.

We don't know very much about prices.  We can recognize some of the numbers but usually just hand over the bank card and not pay attention.  This can be fixed with a little practicing.

We don't know the routes of local buses.  We can ride one bus in Changwon that goes to a few places we know of but other than that, no clue.  It kind of takes living in the actual city to master the local bus and Jinyeong doesn't have many buses and we can walk everywhere anyway.

We haven't quite mastered buying movie tickets. Thankfully, there is always a uniformed teen nearby who is eager to help us use the machines.

We don't have the use of an oven or clothes dryer.

We can't find beers with hops as a main ingredient.

We can't have small talk conversations with local people that we see frequently.  It would be nice to chat with the landlord, bus driver, cab driver, or cashier sometimes.

We can't read local newspapers or magazines or websites.  Can't watch the local news to learn about anything that is going on.  We are completely unaware of any local happenings.

***
Well I think that almost covers it.  I'm sure I'll think of a few more for each category the second I close the computer, of course.

Queen’s avenue is meaning which is

a space of the queen.

It comes to the four-star hotel and it equips

luxury ist person reel rear facility and

the top grade acoustic system of one

impression sourly

***

Because we all know queens worry about sound systems. Seen outside a noraebang in Suwon.

TOG exceed a fastidious customer

***

Hey, I had to work in a high-level vocab word into the Konglish! Especially when I’m selling stuff in Gangnam.

 

Oh, dear:

From Work Smart to Move Smart, for smart workers to be smarter

The third empathetic message ‘Use Smart’ for the TNGT’s business people using

and sharing anything smartly. For the age of 2535 living in a smart

civilization with flowing information, accepting andstudying it – the time

when people’s thinking is smart. Understanding and using SMART, a part of

our daily lives now lies in a mind that we all share and enjoy together, not alone.

Looking smart is as good as making me smart.

TNGT is the must-have brand that show me like that.

***

Seen in front of a high-end-looking store in Gangnam.

 

© Chris Backe – 2011
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.

What if I told you that I had an immediate, guaranteed, easy, pain-less and side-effects free remedy, that costs you nothing? It can help you relieve stress, get rid of headaches and bad moods, alleviate exhaustion, help you sleep better and encourage good health! Would you be interested?

Well, this miracle cure I speak of nothing more than getting outside!! There are lots of great things about living in a city. There are restaurants, bars, and movie theaters on every corner. You can get from one place to another quickly and easily. Anything you may need or want at any given moment is at your fingertips! However, getting outside does so much for both your mental and physical health!

This is my expat tip for this week! Regardless of weather or not you are a city person you can gain huge benefits from spending some quality time amongst the dirt and trees! Spending time outside is very grounding. It gives you a chance to spend time with yourself without your TV, Ipod, or computer. This helps to clear your mind and gain clarity and get rid of headaches!

It can energize you! Even if you are feeling tired and exhausted, getting yourself to spend some time outside, even for just 30 min. will encourage your body to wake up. This stimulates the neurotransmitters in your brain to begin firing more quickly to your muscles helping you to shake off that tired, groggy feeling.

With the sleepy feeling held at bay and your body moving it starts to produce endorphins which are important neurotransmitters with pain relieving qualities similar to morphine! Feel like going for a hike now?!

While you are outside you can’t help but breathe and this is such an important part of the whole experience. It’s a chance for your body to take in fresh, clean air. If you live in a city like I do this is hard to do on a regular basis because of all the pollution and lack of green space. Breathing in fresh air helps to calm your body and mind while relieving the built up stress from the day.

Getting outside also helps you sleep better! Your body is outside, moving and breathing while ridding your tired brain of stress and anxiety, and because of this your body and mind will quiet more easily at night ensuring you have a restful night’s sleep!

Now, I know that it’s hard to get outside as much as we should so I’m going to share some of my tricks for getting these benefits if you don’t have the time. First, get some plants or flowers and bring the outdoors to you! Next, during your lunch break leave 10 min. early and walk around the block or just stand in the sunlight! Lastly, instead of taking the bus or subway to the next destination in your crazy, busy life walk there! Or if you can’t walk because the distance is too far, just walk some of the way!

If you enjoyed this article and want to know more, I am studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a Certified Health Counselor. I work with expats who struggle with stress management, weight loss and living a balanced life abroad. If you would like to talk more about your own personal health goals and what I could do for you I am doing FREE health consults. You can email me at [email protected] for more information or check out my website www.thegoodfoodmood.com