Fan Mail

 

I just finished up a two week long English Camp for twenty third graders.  On the last day, one of the girls gave me this letter.


I have a feeling google translate was involved.  ;)

Direct Quotes:

To Jennifer Tudrinerme

Teacher Goodbye that English camp student possiblitiy present hereupon is teacher the paragraph in the thing which will know and writes the compiler my English capability to become insufficient.  Next vice in order to write with capability will end pavorto.  If also, there is a part which is incorrect to see as it is Jennifer Teacher me teacher was teacher there to be a blue fun the English camp which does to do freezing fun there was also teacher and Jennifer Teacher camped teacher and English increased a little grateful and happy is late plentifully but new next Jennifer teacher last goodbye orgin three.

2012 January 10th, Present Raising

My Interpretation:
To Jennifer Teacher,

English camp is over, so I am writing you a letter.  I am using Google Translate because I am not fluent in English yet.  I am sorry if there is a part that doesn't make sense.  English camp was fun.  It was cold outside. (?)  Thank you for teaching more English.  I am happy.  I am now done with third grade. 

2012 January 10th

In conclusion:
So, more or less, I have no idea what she was trying to say.  But I think it's adorable that a third grader would put this much effort into writing a letter.  It's like pulling teeth in class to get them to write one sentence.  I'm game to hear any other interpretations you all might come up with!

My Washing Machine

So, my parents are coming to visit in a week!!!!  Which means it's time to get all my ducks in a row.  I told them that they didn't need to pack 10 days worth of clothes because they could just use my washing machine.  Most Korean washing machines are both a washer and dryer in one.  This is awesome and super convenient, except for the fact that I have no idea how to work mine.  Figuring out what was detergent and what was softener was difficult enough.  Instead of trying to decode it, I have just been line drying my clothing for the past three months.  With two extra people staying here, however, it's going to be a bit more cramped.  It's time to finally leave the stone ages and figure this technology stuff out.



Along comes one of my Korean friends to the rescue!  She was kind enough to translate every function for me.  It goes as followed:

Let's Have a Sleep Over!

So, I felt like I was back in middle school.  Except not.

Let's set the scene:
1. A sleepover.
2. A sleepover with a coworker
3. A sleepover with a 27 year old coworker.
4. A sleepover with a 27 year old coworker who lives with her parents.

Haha, it might sound a little strange, but I have a feeling that in Korea, everything was right on par.

First, most people here live with their parents until they are married...which usually happens sometimes in their late twenties or thirties.  Second, Gina isn't just my coworker, she's definitely a friend now.

It has been just the two of at school in the afternoons for the past three weeks.  The students have vacation right now, but many of them have signed up for a class or two in the mornings.  Gina and I both host a winter camp in the mornings just down the hall from each other.  Every day for lunch she has stopped down in my office and shared her sandwich or salad with me.  The afternoons are completely free for us, which gives us more than enough time to prepare for the next day, so she would usually stick around for an hour or two while we chatted and watched various youtube clips.

We've gotten pretty close, and this next week will seem lonely without her.  So when she invited me over for a sleepover, I had to laugh, but was completely game.

First we stopped by the store to pick up the fixings for kimbop, my favorite Korean dish, and of course ice-cream.  When we got to her place, her mom gave us a quick tutorial on how to make it, and we went to work.  She informed me that I am the first foreigner that her parents have ever met and interacted with, so she wasn't quite sure what to expect.  As soon as her dad stepped through the door, though, he was all smiles, and even said, "welcome to my home." Gina's jaw dropped, because she has never heard her dad speak English before.  She thinks he must have looked it up and practiced before leaving work for the day.

 

Her parents ate dinner with us, and then we proceeded to go on a walk and watch a movie.  Her sister is in Spain for the month, so I was able to stay in her room for the night.  The next day, her parents invited us to go mountain climbing with them, but she had plans later so had to turn them down.  I guess they go every weekend.  Pretty typical for that generation here.

For breakfast she requested that I make grilled cheese sandwiches... something she hasn't had since she stayed with a host family in Canada a few years back.  I introduced her to the idea of dipping the sandwiches in ketchup, and she fell in love.  We polished off breakfast with a bowl of ice-cream (we kind of forgot to eat it the night before when we watched the movie), and then parted ways.

Oh, and I almost forgot, she surprised me at the end with a gift.  A beautiful gold scarf!  Couldn't ask for a better coworker!