Learnin'

Ga-Hae, Hyun, and Jessica

We had a great time last night with Jessica's two new friends from Dunkin' Donuts.  The menu consisted of ham and cheese omelettes and chips....all eaten with chopsticks.  One thing that I really like about young Koreans is that they are eager to learn English.  Hyun (center of picture) even brought her English study book.  We have a Korean language book as well, so after eating we learned new words and phrases in the other's language while enjoying various drinks...just one example of the wild parties at the Hollingsworth household.  Last week Jessica and I had the random conversation of regretting things we haven't done.  We're both in agreement that coming to live in Korea was one of the best decisions we've ever made.  We miss home, but this experience is one that we could never get if we didn't leave everything we've ever known and traveled to the other side of the world.  Along those same lines, I realized that if I don't make it a point to take a part of this experience back to the US with me, I will definitely regret it.  That was the day I decided to learn the language.  Up until this point I really had no desire to learn Korean.  I'll have no use for it at home.  There's one Korean restaurant in Greenville, but I've never been.  I don't run into any Korean people (that I know of) on the streets of Greenville.  If I learn to speak Korean I'll simply forget it when we return for lack of use.  What's the point?  However, I came to the realization that this entire year will be a waste if I don't do what it is we came here to do...experience life in a way we never have.  Learning a language is not an easy process, but it can be an exciting one.  I have by no means learned to be conversational, but I have at least learned to not be socially awkward.  I can say hello and goodbye.  I can say please and thank you.  I can order coffee, with milk, and ask a shopkeeper how much a particular item costs.  There's a little more, but these are the phrases that have been most helpful so far.  So we'll see where this little journey takes us.