For those of you who don't yet know, I've decided to return for another three months of study. I want to make more progress on my Korean, and also take advantage of some research opportunities here.
This time I'll be taking classes at Seoul National University, instead of Yonsei. I took my placement test yesterday and it looks like I will have no trouble advancing to the next level, despite going two months without any Korean practice. Classes start Monday.
In the meantime I'm hanging out for a few days with Erma's parents.
I've taken a new name. In an earlier post on Korean names, Erma pointed out that my Chinese name 蘇懶思 Sū Lǎnsī (which sounds quite similar to my English name, at least if you are a Chinese speaker) doesn't work all that well as a Korean name if the characters are read with their Korean pronunciation, So Nasa (소 나사). While So is a perfectly good Korean surname, Nasa is a weird-sounding given name. I could, of course, just call myself Laenseu (랜스), rendering my English name into its closest Korean equivalent. That is in fact what I did in the fall, but it's not much fun to have an awkward, obviously Western name, like all the other Americans and Europeans here.
This time around I'm trying something different. I've dropped one character/syllable from my Chinese name, becoming in Korean just So Na (소 나). I like it 'cause it's short and punchy, and connects to my Chinese name.
I don't like to leave blog entries picture-less, so here are some photos of a mystery substance for you to contemplate. Brownie points to whoever can identify the brown(y) stuff attached to this wall.
Clue #1: These photos were taken on November 24.
Clue #2: These photos were taken not far from where Erma and I lived.
I guess it would be cheating if I said anything, so I'll keep quiet.
ReplyDeleteok, so i'll take a feeble stab at this one... looking back at what was going on november 24th on your journal, which was your singing competition at the university, i will guess that it's either some kind of magic singing gum or perhaps the collective congealed and dirty tears of the losers in the competition?
ReplyDeleteanyhow, glad you're back!
Hmmm, I'm going to guess that it has something to do with the address signs. Perhaps it's some gloopy gluey goop used for affixing address signs to the wall.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's gum...
ReplyDeletetraditional korean candy.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it is something organic that is or once was alive.
ReplyDeleteI didn't expect such a great set of guesses. Brownie points to all! kn4n came closest to the correct answer, but arajane wins on creativity.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures were taken during the day of the big college entrance exams. Yonsei campus was full of high school students putting pens to paper, while their anxious parents stood around outside waiting. There's an idiomatic expression in Korean for passing a test: you "stick" it. A number of superstitions have developed around this turn of phrase. For example, you are not supposed to have seaweed soup the day before an exam, because the seaweed is slippery. Another tradition is for parents to affix pieces of yeot--a very sticky, traditional Korean candy made of steamed, fermented grains--outside the door where the child is taking an exam, to bring good luck. The afternoon of the exam, I walked all over campus with my camera, looking for yeot, and in the end found only those few samples stuck outside the main campus gate.
Incidentally, there is also a Korean expression "Eat yeot!" I've been told my some people that this is simply a rude way to say "Shut up!", the idea being that yeot is so sticky you can't talk while eating it. But others have said it's a much more offensive expression than that.