Brain Freeze!

La Trinidad, the capital of Benguet Province has a relatively cool climate compared to other parts of the Philippines. This is where I grew up. Aside from staying in a place with a relatively low temperature, I wasn't so fond of drinking cold beverages.

Things changed when I went to Los Baños for my undergraduate. Everything was so hot, even water coming from the tap was so hot. During my first weeks of stay, I bought ice and added it to the water for bathing to make it more tolerable. And because of the very hot weather I started drinking very cold drinks. Slurpee anyone??? :)  And that's when I experienced and learned the phrase 'Brain Freeze'.

"I'm having brain freeze!" Oh no, not the kind one experiences when drinking or eating very cold stuff.

My brain just froze and stopped working! I've been trying, since December, to write a paper that my professor told me to write but I still haven't finished it. 아직도 안 끝났어요! Initially I say to myself that I can't concentrate because of the cold weather. It's my first time to experience winter afterall.

I guess, just like any metabolic process in plants like photosynthesis and respiration that slows down with low temperature, my brain also slowed down. So slow that I fear it might have stopped altogether. Especially when it comes to thinking how to put all the things I've read into a paper that could be published in a scientific journal.

I hope it will 'thaw' by this weekend. I only have a week or two left before the extension given by my professor ends. :(

First snow... November 18, 2013

Chopsticks and Smartphones

Chopsticks and smartphones are two things one has to have when in Korea. One is obviously used when eating and the other for a lot of things.

I've been trying to learn to use chopsticks since my college-days. Kuya Ron, a Chink friend, would teach me how to properly hold chopsticks and how to use it whenever we went out to eat in Chinese restaurants. I would try to use it but after about five minutes of not successfully eating anything I would ask for spoon and fork.  My fingers were so stiff instead of being relaxed so I couldn't pick up anything using the chopsticks. Oh yes, I've tried! Every time I eat in restaurants in the Philippines where chopsticks are used, but my fingers would hurt first before I finish a meal so I'd just give up.

Then, by some twist of fate I had to come to Korea, to a country where everywhere one decides to eat, one has to use chopsticks. So I had no choice but to learn how to use it.  A week or two before I left the Philippines, I brought out the only chopsticks in our house, a "pasalubong" (gift) from Korea, and used it every dinner.  During that time, the time we spent for dinner became longer because I ate slowly since I was using spoon and chopsticks instead of fork.  My parents couldn't do anything but smile and bear with me.

When I got here in Korea, I told myself that I should be able to use chopstick. So whenever we eat out, and 교수님 or  관희 or other Korean friends would ask me if I want to use a fork instead, I'd always tell them that using chopsticks is fine.  At first it was hard especially when eating noodles but I eventually got the hang of it. I guess it is largely because of necessity.

In 2011, when Janice and I went for a vacation in Singapore, almost everyone we meet was using an iPhone or other smartphones or tablets. I've seen how these gadgets were so useful not just for calling and sending text messages but for other purposes as well.  We used Rizza's (Janice's sister) iPad to know the best route to take from one place to another, to see the schedule of buses, and to locate a shop.  All of these are possible because Singapore has a good internet speed.

Smartphones, just like other technologies, have also flooded the Philippines market by that time but I didn't buy one. Not because they are expensive, I could always save up for one if I wanted to; but mostly because even if I had one, I won't be able to use it fully.  It is a fact that our country's internet facility and capability are not that good, especially when one not in the metropolis, so buying a smartphone is not a good idea. It's like buying a Ferrari and driving it to work in a place where you can only go as fast as 30 kph because that's the usual traffic situation.

It's a completely different story when one is in South Korea, the country which has the fastest internet speed in the whole world. Using phones other than smartphones in Korea is a waste of opportunity. It's like having a Formula 1 race track in your backyard but insisting on driving a beat-up beetle on it. The night I arrived at the dormitory, I was able to send an email to my boss and a message to my brother because there's a WiFi connection. Having a smartphone is no longer just a luxury and an accessory but a necessity.

So I got myself a smartphone. At first, just so I could call my family in the Philippines, but as time passed by my phone has become my ultimate 'personal digital assistant'. Aside from using it for calling, sending text messages, alarm, taking pictures, and listening to music which are the uses of my previous phones. I use my phone for other purposes, of course with the aid of the internet: calling and sending messages through Skype, KakaoTalk and other messaging apps, listening and downloading music, watching videos, viewing social networking sites, doing research, checking e-mail, taking pictures and videos and editing them, knowing the weather, locating a restaurant or bus stop, discovering bus and subway routes, learning Korean, and even the daily mass readings and reflections.

Chopsticks and smartphone. Things that didn't matter so much when I was in the Philippines but now that I'm in Korea, things that I can't live without.

재미있었어요! (It was fun!)

Monday after a long weekend, my mind is still on vacation mode.

In the morning I tried to finish one subtopic in the paper I'm writing but all I was able to manage was write one paragraph. I couldn't extract more.  The same thing happened early in the afternoon. I just stared blankly at the monitor.

But I guess I wasn't the only one.

In the morning, 관희 (Kwan Hee) asked me if I know what 윷놀이 (Yut Nori) is?  He's just so fond of asking "Do you know" questions. Just like: Do you know Ryu Hyun Jin? (starting pitcher of the LA Dodgers) Do you know Kim Yuna? (2010 Olympics figure skating champion) And as always, my answer is "No." I thought he was talking about a person again, but apparently he was talking about a Korean traditional game which is usually played during New Year.  He then explained how it is played and then he said that it is best played when there are more players so we'll play it in the afternoon when 소라 (Sora, another member of our laboratory) comes to the laboratory.

Around 3 p.m., 교수님 (professor) came to the laboratory from his office and called us to the larger room of our laboratory.  I thought we'll have tea time. We usually have one when he calls everyone to gather. Instead we played 윷놀이.  교수님 and 소라 teamed-up and as 교수님 instructed, 대학권생 (graduate students) which meant 관희 and I, formed another team.

And so we played... 관희 and I lost.  Four times!!!! Even if at the start of each game we were leading, 교수님 and 소라 still ends up winning.

Be that as it may, the game was lots of fun! ^,^ Not just because of the game itself but mostly because of the experience of playing with them. I got to see 교수님 think of strategies to remove our 말 (token) out of the 말판 (board) and watch 관희 throw the 윷 (sticks) in various ways to hopefully get the needed number of points to get our 말 cross the finish line.  소라 and I laughed a lot. Just looking at them and their reactions was such a joy. 진짜. 대박!!!

Since we lost, 관희 ended-up buying chicken which we ate together.

Tomorrow again? I wish! But I hope more that my mind will no longer be on vacation mode so that I can finish the paper and give a draft to 교수님.

윷놀이 말판과 윷
(Yut Nori Board and sticks)

LOST: Translation

X: 안녕하세요?
     (Hello)
Me: 안녕하세요?
     (Hello)
X: 한국말 잘 하시네요.
     (You speak Korean well.)
Me: 아니요. 한국말 잘 못 해요.
     (No. I can't speak Korean well.)

X: 한국에 언제 왔어요?
     (When did you come to Korea?)
Me: 네?
     (Yes? Which means: Pardon? because I didn't understand)

X: 뭐 먹고 십어요?
     (What would you like to eat?)
Me: 네?
     (Pardon?)

And so almost all conversations end with me saying: 미안합니다 (I'm sorry). I don't know Korean that well.

I'm lost.

No, I have not experienced getting lost in Korea just yet. Yeah, sometimes I take the wrong turn but I still manage to go to wherever I'm supposed to go. Mostly because I seldom go out without a companion who can speak the language, especially during my first months of stay.  It was only after more than 4 months in Sangju that I dared to go to downtown alone. I asked for directions but in a mixed Korean and English sentences.

So it is more of being lost in a conversation because at first, I don't know what they were saying but now it's more of, I don't know how to answer them in Korean.

I started studying the language when I was still in the Philippines but all I was able do was to learn how to write, and in a way read Hanguel, and memorize some phrases, like hello, thank you, good bye.  I told myself, I'll learn it fast when I get to Korea. Boy, was I wrong!

I never thought that learning a new language is this difficult. I had Korean Language class last semester and I did learn new words and some grammar points. Answering workbooks is easy. But it was not much of help in speaking. I still can't answer in Korean when people I meet ask me questions.

I watched a video saying that one can be fluent with a new language in just 6 months. I really wish that was true, but I'm on my 6th month already.  The speaker in the video said that a person can be very good 'theoretically' while learning a new language but may become 'deaf' when in a situation where the language was to be used. Deaf because she can't understand what is being said.

In my case, I think it's more of being 'dumb' - unable to speak. Most of the time, I can understand what people are saying especially when it comes to daily conversations because I already know the words or at times based on the context. So when I'm asked a question I know what to say but don't know how to say it. I become dumb - 'Korean dumb'.

My friends in the Philippines know that I tend to set very high standards. Not just on other people but more so to myself.  At first, I didn't want to use the language until I'm sure that my pronunciation or grammar is correct. But as the days passed by, I became at ease in just answering in English instead of using Korean. It then became my handicap. I didn't develop the confidence in speaking the language. And this is made worst because not a lot of people can speak English or would like to speak with me because they, just like me, are not so confident in using it.

I can't go on like this! I will not be able to gain much from this experience if I can't communicate with the people around me or attend symposiums, which are almost always in Korean, and just listen without understanding.

I'm trying different ways to help me learn the language: books, videos, audio files, and online lessons.  Now, I no longer care if my pronunciation  or grammar is correct. I try to use the words that I know mixed with English words. I hope all of these will be of help.

Books, online lessons coupled with prayers