Amanda Takes Off...

With this post, I'm introducing a new category, Triumphs and Defeats (Language).

I feel like a jerk. I hurt Cocky's feelings unintentionally.

Class was odd tonight because for whatever reason, Master didn't run it. Whenever he's gone, the teenage boys act like...well, teenage boys. They sort of go crazy and just run around and hit each other a lot. He isn't usually gone the entire class period. He came up, sought me out, told me to do each poomse twice, and apologized.

At the end of class, Cocky asked me if I'd take them out for dinner. I said I couldn't because Heidi and I were having dinner together since she leaves for Japan and Hong Kong tomorrow. He went on and on about taking them out for dinner and I was yelling, "No! Not Cocky, not Studious, not Blue, not..." and so on and so forth.

The class after I took them out last time, I had asked Cocky if he'd take me out with his own money when and if I get a black belt. He whined no, that he didn't have money. A few days ago, Studious had a huge wad of cash on him and I asked him, in the middle of class, if he'd take me out for dinner. (Master burst out laughing.) He said, "No, not my money." I was put off for a half-second before Cocky said, "University money." Then I understood.

Well tonight I asked him again about the black belt thing and he didn't seem to understand, so I got his handphone number and had Heidi call him. He understood and said yes, the boys would take me out, then asked her to take them all out again. I texted him afterwards, "Are you a beggar?" using the word he'd taught me.

He wrote back something that I had to have Heidi translate. She said it was "Amanda, don't think about yourself so much. Korean people don't act like that," or something along the lines of that. I said, "WHAT? I've taken THEM out to dinner!" Heidi explained that he was being defensive because he didn't understand I was kidding and I'd hurt his feelings. She reminded me that when we first met, she had to get used to my American sense of humor, because she didn't understand it. I know I sure don't understand most of the Korean humor I see on TV.

So she texted him back for me, said that I was joking and that it was the way Americans played around and that I'd take them out to dinner on the 29th, after our belt tests. He wrote back, "Yes... first degree black belt, fighting!"

She said to be more careful with him, since he's young and somewhat sensitive. She also said not to worry about it, that she explained it and thinks he understands, but still...I feel bad.

Speaking of language learning, I managed to make myself understood (partially) with Tired Guy and (completely) with Blue. Before class, some of the kids were counting backwards and forwards, using their fingers as they counted. I noticed that they used their fingers differently than we tend to in America.

I know, I know, What Amanda?

Most Americans show one with the index finger, two with the index and middle, three with the index, middle and ring finger, four with all the fingers (no thumb) and five includes the thumb. I tried asking Tired Guy and Blue in several ways how they counted.

At one point Blue said, "OK, five fingers. Good, Amanda," in Korean. He looked at me like I was crazy. Oooh, the American can count to five... I thought Tired Guy was with me, but then he just looked very confused and the poor guy was trying to understand and I was trying to make myself understood and it just didn't work...

I said in Korean, "Blue, in America, this" and knocked on the wall like we knock on doors in America with a fist, palm facing downward. "In France, this." I turned my wrist so the palm was facing up. "In America, three," I held up three fingers. "In France, this." I held up three fingers the French way. "In Korea, what?"

He seemed to halfway understand me. I said, "Show me 세손가락." He held up three fingers. Thumb, pointer, middle. I held up three fingers, thumb and pinky held down. I said, "Show me 네손갈마." He held up four fingers like we do.

He understood. "Oh! OK!" He showed me the counts for one through five. All of them are like American finger counting except for three. Three is the odd one. For a few minutes after that, many of my studiomates were trying to do the American three while I tried to do the Korean three. It's funny how such a minor gesture can feel so strange when you change it.

On a related note, there is some funky tally system here that I can barely understand. I'll ask about it tomorrow; we're supposed to play soccer. I'm also going to ask about numbers six through ten.

Finally, I found out from Studious that I've been confusing 맛있어요 and 멋있어요. Look at those two words. The only difference is the vowel in the first character. 아 is like the a in father and 어 is like the o in son. These are close enough sounds that I still have problems with them.

Well, 맛있어요 means "delicious!" and 멋있어요! means "handsome, dapper, swanky, chic."

Ahem. I thought they were the same word. I wonder how many times I've called a man delicious and food handsome.