Korean Phrases You (Don't) Need, Part 1

I'm aware that most of you out there do not have the Korean font installed, so I'll just romanize whatever Korean I know. As in spell them on how they are pronounced. This is not a formal tutorial, just some basic expressions to show off you know some Korean. Sorry, these are very random expressions.

Arasso / Arachi (Ara)
No, this is not the famous actress daughter of Mel Mathay. This means "understand", and can be used as a question (Do you understand? Arasso?) and an affirmative answer to highlight understanding of a certain matter (Yes, I understand. Ne, arasso.).

Mollah / Mollah so / Nanen mollah
This equates to the Tagalog term "ewan", meaning "I do not know". If you want to make inis (refer to word below) a Korean, ask what "mollah" means and when he says "I don't know", tell him "Huh? You don't know?" and you know the rest.

Ja jeung nah
Means "annoying" (kainis) or "annoyed" and somewhat inappropriate expression. It also connotes a complaint or utter expression of dismay/protest to someone or something. (In Konglish: Eysh! You're very ja jeung nah!)

Hajima
Roughly translates to "stop", "stop what you're doing", "stop it".

Kwaen cha na yo
This phrase can be used in different ways. (1)In an interrogative way: Kwaen cha na? meaning "Are you okay?", especially after an accident has occurred. (2)As an affirmative answer to #1: Kwaen cha na yo. meaning "I'm fine" or "I'm okay". (3)After somebody says "I'm sorry": Kwaen cha na meaning "It's okay (don't mind it)".(4)As a response to a "Thank you": Kwaen cha na meaning "No problem" or "It's okay".

Sincha / also: Cincha
I think this is the second word Filipinos learn from Koreans (after ahnnyeonghaseyo) because it is most of the latter's favorite expression, which means "really" or "true". Can be used as an expression of disbelief (Sincha??? Really???), amazement and affirmation of the event (Sincha! Really!) or simply used as validation (question) or basically an expression when teasing.

Miane / Mianhamnida / Chwesonghamnida
Basically means "I'm sorry" or "My apologies". Miane (miya ne) is less formal for very small offense. Mianhamnida is more formal but chwesonghamnida for a more grave offense.

Cheori ka
Means "Get lost" or "Go away" and can sometimes be rude. (Antonym of Iriwa or Irowa, which means "Come here" in true sense.)

That is it for now. Will add more soon. Maybe a more structured one. Hehe...

 Add this blog to your feeds.

I wish my life was on auto-pilot

It is days like these- rainy Mondays- that life is worth contemplating upon. Between the traffic jam that threatens my timely presence at work and the tattling of rain on the cab's exterior, I can not help but ponder on the amphigory I call my life. There are instances when I wish I could go ten years forward and see what mess I could've done and then go back again so I can fix it. Then I would do this again and again until I am satisfied with how the future will turn out, living the life I've always wanted. The Hiro complex, I like to call it.

I seriously hate the future and the mystery it brings. This is probably due to the fact that the future is reflected by what you do today. And right now, I'm living a crappy life. I've always envisioned life post college as a grand adventure of some sort. A race to the final destination of a fantastic job, loving husband, cute children and Sundays at the Club. My mind is coñio like that.

I'm in a sea of conflict and my billable-per-hour job right now is an air vest waiting to explode. And when it does, I'm out of my comfort zone swimming for my life. And I do not know how to swim, and if I did, I wouldn't know in which direction I should head to so my feet can touch sand again.

The future fucks with my mind like crazy, so there are a lot of times I do not think about it. Except for days like these- rainy Mondays- when it is always nice to be afraid, to feel alone, so it will stir you to do something so you can see clearly ahead. Like turning your wiper on, perhaps.

 Add this blog to your feeds.

Wow Philippines

My Lakbayan grade is C+!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out atLakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Not bad, eh? I'm surprised to have gained this score, when most of the people I know got stuck with Cs or Ds (peace). And then I remembered I used to travel a lot when I was in high school, joining contests and such (mostly writing/journalistic events). My school would sponsor it which basically means free everything.

Then come college, I was given opportunities to travel wherever CEGP (College Editor's Guild of the Philippines) held their infamous national conferences. All I had to bring was my pocket money.

There were times in my life when I would come home only for two weeks and off to traveling again. Especially in my high school senior year, when all the good stuff came rushing in. The furthest I went is to the SOCSARGEN region. Stayed there for more than a week. All I could remember was that everything I ate was tuna-- tuna longganisa, tuna hotdog, sinigang na tuna, adobong tuna, tuna tocino, and a bunch of other tuna delicacies, especially when I was at General Santos City.

Maybe if I had gone to Boracay, Puerto Galera, and Bohol last summer, I would've gotten a B-.

 Add this blog to your feeds.

Trying

Everything is not the same nowadays. The sun has been missing most of the day and I've been coming home extremely early straight after work. The latter made my mother very happy, but I reasoned there was nowhere to go with anywhere basically.

Maika found a new job which required her to work until 7 in the evening, two hours more after I get off mine. Kubi is sweating in the lowland while she pursues her masters degree at UP Diliman. My college friends are either sulking at home or too lazy to go out. One of my closest one got into Medicine and is all giddy about it. My friends at work either had a family to attend to or are just too damn goody-goody for a late night out. The rest of my friends started school or started reviewing for NCLEX.

I suddenly missed hanging out at our favorite karaoke place. I also miss ogling at people while taking a sip of our coffees and juices. Am now trying to adjust to the life of a working adult once again.

My students are all still the same, but some of them had new faces. I was able to exercise my vocal chords when one of the notorious one went attitudinal on me. I was able to shut him up and we went through his workbook in such a breeze. One certain student (little boy aged 9), who I learned from Kubi was a 'touchy' one, suddenly kissed me on the cheeks on my second day of return to work. I first found it weird because he barely knew me (he was a new student) at all. But later on found it to be sweet and told him not to do that to his male teachers. He didn't get it.

When the new kids found out I was the one who taught the High School Musical dance to the previous students during our Christmas Party last year, I became an instant celebrity. Apparently, HSM is still popular at our school and the girls and boys alike found the dances and songs enchanting. Thank God they are not making me dance just yet!

I am now seriously trying to shed off some weight, because my brothers suddenly realized how big their only and youngest sister has become. Last father's day at the dinner table, they refused to pass me anything except water. I had to excuse myself from the table upon getting their hint and watched TV instead. My mother said I should go vegetarian if I wanted to lose weight but I'm not about to give up my PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals) membership yet. Maybe in a month's time. I'll have to ponder hard on that.

 Add this blog to your feeds.

I don't know if this is funny or sad

A short French movie that you should watch from start to finish. It is subbed, so do not worry. :)

As Bryan Boy puts it "Never trust men who are poor or take the public transport." Ang harsh.

This brings to mind a conversation I had with Lisa and her friend Marie during my stay at Atenara. Can't remember the exact details, but Marie's father had a rule that any boy who's going to or is currently dating his daughter must afford her. We laughed so hard when Marie said "But I can't even afford myself!"

And so was the start of Lisa's infamous princess seminars, lecturing me why I should stay away from "mongrels" and stick with the "pedigrees". A guy who knows how to use the chopsticks and can eat using a knife and a fork, without asking the waiter for an extra spoon. A guy who acts his age and not his shoe size. Well-mannered boys from good families. Not necessarily rich, as we know money can't buy breeding.

In the end, we women do not need men who will love us. We need men who will respect us.

 Add this blog to your feeds.

Angel VS Devil: Cultivate the strong, cull the weak

I reluctantly went back to my old job teaching English to young Koreans. Adult world is far more complicated as I had expected, thinking I could live off with my mother's money in the next billion years. Turned out I had the innate need to work for my own money, spend it as wisely as I can (on clothes, shoes and bags) and be proud to tell everyone one I live on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. It gives a little thrill to my rather dull and boring bratty life.

This afternoon, our newly appointed manager decided to include 'call-back' teachers (the ones who worked there previously and are granted teaching load again) to a Behavior Orientation meeting with Mr. Ahn, our company owner and president. Along the way, he asked what happened to the Philippines' economy when it was eleven times stronger than that of South Korea forty years ago. The teacher beside me said it was primarily due to the corrupt and inept officials we have. Mr. Ahn, who will later I would admire as a businessman, disagreed. He pointed out that their government is also quite corrupt. It could be a reason for the declining economy, but what sustains it?

He answers because our leader is, according to him, an ANGEL and theirs is a DEVIL. This was met with a wide range of disagreement. For one, I will never agree to an idea, even if it is as such, that GMA is flying on white wings on her little white robe. It is torture to even call her president, much more an angel.

I finally got his idea of angel/devil when he drew a triangle and said that the Philippines, as kind culture we have, tends to focus more on the people on the bottom of the pyramid, the not so good workers, while practically ignoring the 'top performers'. Now, you ask, what is the connection of this pyramid to a success of one's country?

Mr. Ahn points out that we Filipinos do not know differentiation. We tend to view everybody as equal, which is okay in a humanitarian point of view, but not on the basis of economic progress. Because of this, our 'top performers' are easily discouraged when they see that the government pays more attention to the 'not so good workers'. They (government) tend to focus more on how to alleviate the suffering of the weak and the poor, while the strong and abled are left to expand their talents somewhere else. The 'not so good workers' now tend to be so independent to 'dole outs' and would not really strive for success, as there is always somebody there to help them. It is like rewarding those who do nothing but be poor.

Korea believes the opposite. He said that in his country, the 'top performers' are rewarded far more than the others, which in turn encourages and motivates the others to be 'top performers' to enjoy such benefits. Which also tantamount to retaining skilled workers in their own country to benefit their own people. So Koreans continuously strive for perfection for they strongly believe that for success to be achieved they have to cultivate the strong and cull the weak, as barbaric as it may sound.

Made me think. I'm all for equal chances-- rich, poor, whatever. But I also do not agree in investing in something of no use. Better we develop the talents and abilities of our own people before they sell their services to foreign soil. But what do I know, I'm just a 20 year-old girl who got her ideas from a chinky-eyed businessman who cannot even speak straight English and ironically owns an international English academy.

How about you, what do you think?

 Add this blog to your feeds.

Can you guess why...

we had to do this after the exam?

PS
I'm back. And yes, I'm still alive. Let the wait begin...

 Add this blog to your feeds.

Imagine life without board exams...

Then maybe I don't have to be on this hiatus.

I'm checking in at Atenara for five days starting tomorrow, so I could concentrate on reviewing. The tranquility will help me retain things in my head. Maybe to meditate on things too. *wink

*****************

I wanted to post more pictures (and videos!) of what happened today, but since I am now officially sealing my hiatus, I am letting Kubi and Maika do that. Suffice to say that I enjoyed our little tea party and finally Kubi delivered with the cake. I also learned that I'm better off singing with a partner than singing alone. I was a sore loser without Emil. Nevertheless, it was a rockin' evening.

*****************

Kids, I'll see you all after the eleventh. Prayers are highly encouraged.

Add this blog to your feeds.