이것쯤은 정말 별거아냐*

* = this kind of thing is not really all that much (ee-geot jjeum-eun jeongmal byeolgeo ann-ya)

Week 4. Done.

The title for today's post (also from an SNSD song - sorry, I'm secretly 12?) marks a significant leap in my understanding of the Korean language. Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration - but generally, I feel like nearly all spoken Korean is beyond my realm of comprehension, and it's always exciting when I finally get something, especially if it's something I've heard without understanding over and over again. So the above line - I've known what it means for awhile, because I've seen translations of the song, but I never really thought about it until yesterday, when I was studying vocabulary for midterms (next week. doom.) Lo and behold, a bunch of vocab words that I've learned here miraculously and sensically broke down the translation!

이것저것 = this or that; the first part, 이것, is the same as in the song
정말 = really; I've known this one since Korean at Yale
별거 아니에요 = it's nothing at all; you're supposed to use this when you give a gift. The way this one's written is little more formal than it is in the song, but the root is the same.

So I guess I'm actually learning some practical/applicable Korean. Let's hope I've learned enough to deal with the listening portion of next week's midterm...

Some highlights of the week:

• venturing out to the Han River Park, which I'd been intending to go to for awhile and finally made it to yesterday. I underestimated the subway trip, and once I arrived in Cheonso, it took me a little while to actually FIND my way to the river, but once I got there, I had a very nice and quiet time. I studied vocab right along the riverbank, and it was a truly nutty experience to be sitting there. I don't know, it reminded me of being in Nyack, sitting on the boardwalk by the Hudson River; I think for the first time, I felt the thousands of miles between here and there. Not that I was particularly sad or homesick, just a little awestruck. Sitting on the edges of Seoul, I wish I hadn't been stupid and left my camera at the goshitel. I want to go back, though; in getting a little a lost, I stumbled upon a FABULOUS open market and almost bought some sweet ddeok from a street vendor. Hopefully, the weather will hold and I can head down there again sometime this week.
  
• Going out in Gangnam with Jihye on Friday night. I don't even have words to express how happy I was to see her. I also had the great pleasure of meeting her friend Hyerim, who is delightful and also plays violin in the Philharmonic. It was all so great, and I could gush about it for the next 8 paragraphs, but in this case, photos are perhaps better than words:

JIHYE UNNI :) @ the Rainbow Club in Gangnam

언니, 너무 사랑해요!

• Gathering up the courage to go get a haircut in a country where I can hardly express myself adequately in daily life, let alone in situations that require a specific set of vocabulary. But unfortunately, the haircut was kind of necessary after some hookah and a close interaction with an open flame. Don't ask. Anyway, a new place opened up above Red Mango, so I went to check it out (it looked uber swanky); I arrived and nervously bumbled out, "How much for a haircut?" The guy says the price, but I was so disbelieving that he got out a calculator and actually typed out 200,000 won (= ~$120.00). WTF. I wouldn't pay that much for a haircut even in the States, so that was out of the question. I left and decided to look near EDae, which is a woman's college. Surely, there HAD to be SOME sort of salon in an area drenched with that much estrogen. And naturally, there were many. I settled on a place called JaThree (question mark), which looked really posh and lovely from the outside. Again, I timidly approached and asked how much a haircut cost, to which the attendant replied, "이십삼천 원," (23,000 won = ~$19.oo). I asked her to repeat herself, because I'm bad with Korean numbers and really did not want to pay 230,000 won instead of 23,000; plus, a haircut at a place that nice for under $20 did not seem possible. Thankfully, I'd heard right, although I began to doubt myself again once I was shown in, given a cubbie to place my bag in, and a complimentary drink menu. Less than 20 minutes later, I was sipping an iced chocolate with whipped cream while getting a scalp massage along with my shampoo. BEST SERVICE EVER. The actual haircut itself was awesome as well - my lovely language partner, Hyojung, was kind enough to write out some useful words ("Please just cut a little and leave the length long," "Please cut layers," etc.) which were fortunately understood by the hairdresser. It was so great, I don't even have words to express it. Oh, and the result? Undeniably Asian-looking, but just what I asked for. Seriously, I can't get AMERICAN hairdressers to listen to me, and one with whom I could barely communicate did a better job. 2 thumbs up, JaThree. If/when I come back to Korea, you're going to be my primary hair-care salon. Before leaving, I joked to Hayeon that I was going to come back looking like Kim Taeyeon of SNSD. The funny part is, I actually sort of did. But without the bangs and without being Asian. That part's kind of important.

This morning, I met with the aforementioned Hyojung, the language partner I found on the KLEC message board. This was the only the second time that we've met, but already I've spent about 8 hours talking to her. We literally sat in McDonald's from 9:00 to 1:00 today. Conversation flows easily, and I feel like it's helpful to both of us. Her English is EXCELLENT, though, so it's much harder for us to talk in Korean. Luckily, she's really patient. I would much rather meet with her than meet with my Sogang-assigned language partner, who is still awkward and not terribly helpful. Oh, well - what can you do?

I have a great deal more to say on various and sundry topics, such as Korean standards of beauty and the ridiculous culture it creates, the place that plastic surgery has come to have among Korean young women, my progress in this language, and my future in this country - but all will have to wait, because my books are beckoning me to study for the midterms that I am almost assuredly not yet prepared to take. I'll check in soon, hopefully with some decently profound insights.

Jangmi out.

p.s. A preview: watch this. As this just came out, it will predictably be everywhere for the rest of the summer and thus the soundtrack to my daily walks to Sogang. Snippets of my life.