안녕하세요

Christmas was excellent! We went to see the Ray Charles movie, 'Ray', it was really good. It was also the first time I had seen Jaimie Fox, and I thought he was very good. Of course the music was great and I discovered that alot of my favourites were written by him!

Apart from that I held down the fort while the kids were in and out as much as their social lives would allow. I am so sick of doing dishes. All in all it was a very peaceful, happy time.

I had intended on studying 한국어/Korean language for at least an hour a day, but it is more like two hours a week, so I'll have to improve on that. I have started carrying the Korean Phrasebook with me whenever I go out, that way if I run across some unsuspecting Korean- Canadian, I can pick up some more 한국어/Korean Language.
Pronunciation is progressing both on the computer and down at the variety store. I feel fortunate to have that kind of access to the language just down the street from our home. The site at http://korean.sogang.ac.kr, has writing practice as well as spoken and reading. I discovered an indispensable language site at www.kangmi.org. This is where I got all the links to the other sites I use, such as: www.langintro.com/kintro, www.bensmatrix.com/culture/basickorean1.html#korean. I am checking out http://www.blinger.org/korean/index.php next.
Even though I don't consider myself gifted or good at language, I am enjoying the learning process. Any corrections to my translations are appreciated.

I still am planning on going to the Oriental Market in Windsor, to see what they have there, and to see if I can get some photos for the webpage. Hopefully I'll be able to do and see more things Korean this week.

I hope you and yours in SouthEast Asia are all safe and sound. It's painful to see all the misery that resulted from the tsunami.

안녕이계세요. 마익.

즐거운 성탇이되기를 바림니디!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

너무추워요

/It's so cold. The wind chill is -21C, the temp is -12. 겨울/Winter is here. Of course, with an inch or two of fresh snow, it looks beautiful. It's slightly colder in Mongolia today, so I should be grateful, I suppose. And to think I live in southern Canada.

I hope I'm not making the Canucks in Korea homesick! Hee hee hee. 안녕히계세요/Goodbye.

만나/Manna, 마익/Mike.

December 18, 2004.

안년하서요, 친구/Hello friends! Finally, back in London after ten days away! Work went well. I did manage to pick up the pen and start to write in Hangeul, or at least made an attempt. Slow yes, but it has to be done.

Two things of note: I met someone who is leaving for 대전/Daejeon on Dec. 28, and secondly I have found a Korean Market in Windsor, On.

Mo had already spent a year in Daejeon until two months ago. He is heading back there on the 28th of Dec. He also gave me a book on 서울/Seoul by Lonely Planet. If you are going to travel check out LP's phrasebooks and other books on the place you are going to. To say the least, they are more than helpful! So I plan to return the book to him when I get to Korea. He told me to keep it, since he doesn't want it, I may leave it here with my friend Ted, who is planning to move to Korea in about a year..... at fifty-four years of age!

And then of course, there is taxation. I believe that in Canada, Ontario in particular...the effective tax rate is 47%. I arrived at that uneducated guess by calculating the difference between the gross and net income that I earn.

As for the Korean market I will check that out next week with the camera. So, next week I will try to post a photo of that. The postings are coming along a little slower than I anticipated, but that's life, I guess. Maybe all this learning will teach me patience.

I still have to learn how to set up a sidebar where I can place some links. One day at a time, sometimes feels like one hour at a time.

Whatever you believe, whatever your faith....I hope we all have a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year. I would like to thank all the people who visit this site.

만나, 마익. /Manna, Mike.

But Is It Hangul?

When I post in Hangul, it appears as Hangul to me. What I would like to know is when you read the post, does it appear as Hangul or gibberish?

Check out Nathan's site at www.hifromseoul.blogspot.com
He's been in Seoul for a few months.

Manna, Mike.

안녕하세요

The phrasebook is a great tool for learning. What a bargain...only $12.62 tax inc.....Canadian $'s of course. Christmas is fast approaching.

한굴

My thanks to www.kangmi.org for showing me where to go to make it possible to post in Korean.

P1191011

P1191011
Originally uploaded by korea-bound.

This is 'The London Korean Community Newspaper'. Excellent for practicing the alphabet and finding things to look up in the dictionary.

Korean Phrasebooks

There are Korean Phrasebooks available at Novacks downtown. These things are cheap! They cost under $15, and you can pick up the dictionary for that as well.

Anybody who would like to leave comments are more than welcome to do so.

I will be learning how to post pictures shortly, so I'll be able to show some of the stuff I've been taking pictures off.

Two nights ago I stopped in at Pate's Pantry Variety to hit up Chun the hyun for some Korean. He seemed very pleased that I was able to read and pronounce the Hangul in his Korean newspaper. I think he was still pleased somewhat after I explained that even though I could read it and say it, I had no idea what most of it meant. It's still a learning experience for myself so either way I'm grateful.

If anyone can tell me what I need to know or get in order to post in Korean, I would appreciate the info.

Kum sa hum ni da. Manna.