I love my Korean Class!

Due to school exams, I could not attend my lessons at their supposed timing, so I was scheduled to attend make up classes with another class and teacher.

The atmosphere was so different. I attended two make up classes actually, one with my original teacher but with another group of students, and another with a different teacher and different group of students. 

I think my teacher Ms. Kim really manages to bond the class together, which is really good as compared to the other teacher. Though generally, my class was lively and more responsive as compared to the other two...

In any case, we have finished unit 3 which is about ordering at a restaurant. Shall post the general conversations at a later time. Now, we are learning about shopping in general and referring to items at a shop or anywhere.

We are going to have our Basic 1 level exam on 13 Dec, and upon passing, can proceed to the next level which is Basic 2! Really looking forward to advancing.

25 days till I fly off to Korea for my vacation! Love it that it's going to be in mid-winter, and my coldest trip yet! Second time going to Korea, but still VERY excited about my trip. Counting down!

Double vowels: Difference between 애, 에, 얘, 예

When I first started learning Korean characters, I got stuck at the double vowels. To be honest, it isn't easy to be learning pronunciation without a proper instructor, and I must say that my teacher overall did a great job in teaching us how to pronounce them, the right way and the convenient way.

One question I find many ask is the difference between the four lookalike characters:

애, 에, 얘, 예

So I shall try to explain the subtle differences here, as well as I can.

애

Pronounced as: ae 

...as in 'hair', without the 'h' and 'r' sounds. 

Or 'care' without the 'c' and 'r' sounds.

This is actually a combination of ㅏand ㅣ.

However, it doesn't sound exactly like its combined components.

에

Pronounced as: yae

... as in the above 애, but add a 'y' sound at the front. 

It should sound like 'yea', or like 'yep' without it's 'p'.

This is actually a combination of ㅓand ㅣ.

But like the above character, doesn't really sound like it.

얘

Pronounced as: e

... as in 'eh', or 'May' without the 'm' and the 'y' sound.

This one is a combination of ㅑand ㅣ.

예

Pronounced as: ye

... as in 'Yeh'. Add a 'y' sound to the above character.

Sounds a little like 'yay', but without the 'y' sound at the back.

This one is a combination of ㅕand ㅣ.

At times, exact pronunciation is required. However, generally, people do not focus too much on the precise and accurate pronunciation, because when one speaks fast, the 'y' sound will be naturally omitted and is barely audible.

Do take note of 애 (ae) and 얘 (eh), as the difference in pronunciation between the two are more obvious and are distinguished more easily then if there was a 'y' sound or not.

Singaporeans might find it easier to pronounce the difference between the 'ae' and the 'eh'.

얘 is pronounced like the 'Eh!' we say almost everyday! 

I'm still in the process of learning the language so... in the future I will post more of such tidbits!

See you and thanks for reading my blog! Really appreciate it! 

2PM Meet-and-Greet 2011 @ Singapore

2PM had their concert today! Too bad I didn't get to go because I had to study for exams and also because of not having the financial circumstances to go... It's a shame really, to not be able to go T.T

I hope those who went had a great time and also that 2PM had a fun time with Singapore (:

In any case, I went for their meet-and-greet session at Jurong Point. I didn't go for their lucky dip for 300 high-five opportunity coz... for one, I do not have the Hands Up Concert Ticket >.< And secondly, being a new fan of 2PM I do not have their album =/

So on Friday (18 Nov), I reached Jurong Point at about 4.45pm. Couldn't go earlier coz I had to finish my studying for the day, before leaving. There was already quite a number of people there! So I went up to the third floor to try to find a decent spot, which I did, for my lateness...

Waited, and waited. And there were lots of shoving and pushing... I didn't really get to see the guys too well, only caught glimpses through the gaps of the arms of the person infront of me... And thus I resorted to trying to take pictures with my compact camera.

Sadly, the above picture was one of the better pictures that I've managed to take. Nonetheless, I was happy that I managed to see 2PM in person and managed to take half-decent pictures as souvenirs. Amidst my crazy exam studying, this could very well have made this stressful period less taxing!

I also took a video, for keepsakes, since photos are not that clear and my compact camera seems to be able to capture them better on video. But the quality isn't very fantastic. Note that I was taking from the 3rd floor while they were on the first floor. Gotta factor in the crowd and shoving as well.

Seeing them in person was really different from just looking at them through music videos, or through the shows that they have been in. It's really not easy to get to see Hallyu stars since they aren't local. Well, we don't even have local artistes that have made it internationally, except for like one? Or two? And we don't even have famous artistes who had their roots in Singapore.
Yea, seeing international stars... Is quite a privilege already...

I have never in my life been a big fan of anything. And even for 2PM, I can't say I'm a big fan either. But 2PM tops my list of favourites! And yes, I am still definitely a 2PM fan~!

The next time they come for a concert, I'll definitely attend. =]

(P.S. I also took a very short clip of their high-five session from where I was, but since it is taking some time to be posted onto YouTube, I shall post it on this blog later!)

If there are any 2PM fans who have chanced upon my blog, HI! Please leave a comment to say hi~ ^^
I don't have friends who are particularly fan-ing upon 2PM so I'm really glad if I could meet some here... Hehehe...

2PM Hwaiting! <3

Introductions in Korean

So far, my Korean lessons have been fun and enjoyable. We spent the last three weeks memorizing Korean alphabets and building up on a few vocabulary. We also learnt how to greet and introduce in Korean.

The good thing about having lessons at Daehan is that they do teach reading, writing, and conversation at the same time. That is the true essence of learning a language. It doesn't mean that Basic Level 1 means pure conversation. Learning a new language constitutes reading, writing, and conversation.

Let's say if you put me in Korea, I would need to converse often, read signs, and maybe less often, write.

This was what I wrote for my recent homework for self-introduction:

안녕하세요?
저는 카산드라예요.
저는 학생이에요.
만나서 반갑워요.
저는 2PM을 너무 좋아요!

Translated:
Hello, how are you?
I am Cassandra.
I am a student.
Nice to meet you.
I like 2PM very much!

We were first taught to form sentences when the teacher got us to put subject and adjective together using our and our classmates' names.

성생님은 예뻐요.
Teacher is beautiful.
한국어는 재미있어요.
Korean is interesting.

Up till now, I am still no confident when speaking to the class. Last lesson I stumbled a lot and appeared like a fool trying to speak fluently... But when I practice at home, it was fine T.T

I enjoy my Korean lessons, even though I have school exams to worry about now... But going for my lessons isn't as I thought it would make me. In fact, I find it fun, and is a great stress-reliever after all that studying!

In the previous lesson, teacher gave us a couple of song lyrics to encourage us to improve on our reading. We still take a long time to decipher the alphabets and put them together into a word. Nevertheless, with more practices, I'm sure we will get better at it and will read at a faster pace. And sing the songs well.

I will be going to Seoul + Jeju in January! Hopefully, my speech would be better and I can communicate those few sentences fluently!

What is my dream?

Everyone has a dream, and so do I.
Mine has always been changing. I've been shooting too high when I was younger and one by one I just see how difficult and almost impossible it is for me to work towards my original goal.
And to be honest, not many people are able to hold on to a childhood dream their entire life. Some lucky people do get that chance. For that, good for you.

But I knew, a long time ago, that I didn't want to remain in my country. It would be tough because I'm an only child in the family, and also that my family isn't financially rich.
Nevertheless, my Mummy made the first step in stepping out of her country to live in another, and I am going to take this to a whole new level.

I've dreamt of moving to California in the future, and others like Australia, Japan, and South Korea...
And as I turn 20, I realise that this isn't going to work if I don't start planning now. When I have to chance to plan my route after University.

I have decided that I am going to work in South Korea one day. I want to live there.
I want to at least, at the very least, get to live and work there for as long as I want to.
And the final crowning achievement I'd like to see, to be a resident or citizen.

Big dreams.

Currently, I'm starting on my little baby steps towards this dream, and on 1 Nov 2011, I attended my first Korean Language lesson.

This blog will, for now, take you through what I have learnt in class, and things I have been doing to make my dream possible.

For passersby readers out there, wish me luck! <3