Amanda Takes Off...

"[Cool Co-Teacher] taught me 찡찡대다. She says men love it." 찡찡대다 means "to whine, to whimper, to grumble."

"I love you the same."

I turn my voice into a whine. "But do you like thi-i-i-is mo-o-ore?"

"Um. Maybe not."

My school put me in a bit of an awkward situation last week. Last Wednesday they asked if Master could come down to our school and create some sort of taekwondo demonstration with some of our sixth graders. This would be for Sports Day, which was supposed to be Tuesday of this week. They didn't want to use a local Kwanjangnim because it would show favoritism in the area. But six days? That's just not cool, especially considering that Master would be getting strange kids.

I told them I didn't think it would be possible but passed on the message and Cool Co-Teacher's phone number anyway. Master declined and then apologized to me for it at least four times. I told him that I understood, which I did.

In the meantime, the school found a local guy, and changed Sports Day to today. We only trained Monday and yesterday for today's demo. I told Tiger Master that I didn't know Geumgang well, but he watched and decided he wanted me to do it. So for the demo I was the lead student/teacher. I stood in the front row, 12 students behind me, and called out all the commands, a first for me.

After bowing them in, we all did Koryeo together. Then I told the students to sit on one knee while I did Geumgang. I told them to stand up and they did jumping front kick breaks. Down on one knee again, while I finished the demo was a five-break series.

"고려 준비!"

My breaking series was a punch to each side, a side kick to each side, and then a jumping front kick. Ooooooh, everyone loved it.

Punching

Side Kick

It was a quick demo, but I was really proud of the kids. They'd been rushing in practice but today they actually went at my tempo. Wha hoo!

When the demo was finished, Cool Co-Teacher ran up to congratulate us and noticed that my left pinkie knuckle was bleeding. I told her it was fine, but she dragged me to the nurse for some iodine, antibacterial cream, and a Band-Aid. I swear, the iodine hurt more than the cut, but everyone else was making a big deal of my battle wound.

After the demo, we took far too many group photos. And yet I still don't have an accurate one! After the demo some congressman from the national assembly came and congratulated us all and signed his namecards for us. The kids were extremely excited. I was polite and spoke Korean in the high form, but the man couldn't even spell 아만다 and it's on my belt! He wrote it 야만다, Yamanda, which is a version I've never seen. Still, it was kind of him to deal with the 12 taekwondo kids and 3 random stragglers who were swarming around him.

Tiger Master, Some of the Demo Team, and a Congressman

Now, if Amanda Teacher in regular clothes is a movie star, then Amanda Teacher in a dobok must be an alien queen riding around on a mermaid something. Oh man—the kids, the parents, the other teachers! Some of the students were in a frenzy over the whole thing.

"Why are you so beautiful when you're whiny?"

It's a good thing Good Man thinks that way, because I've been sick with a really bad cold for far too long and I was incredibly whiny this weekend. The thing that sucks about colds is that you're supposed to drink tons of fluids. Yet it hurts so much to swallow, the last thing I want to do is drink anything.

On top of it, I passed the cold onto him. There's some saying in Korean, "Kiss someone and you'll get better." Well, considering how much better I felt between Saturday and Sunday, it seems to have worked. Thanks, Good Man!

(Side note to the people who felt the need to email me or call me, concerned about Thursday's post: No worries. Nothing is wrong. In fact, nothing was wrong when I wrote it.)

I got a haircut this weekend. You can't really tell because it was basically just a trim but I call it the perfect cut because the conversation with my stylist was short and yet got me exactly what I wanted.

Me (holding fingers apart a bit): 조금. A little.
Her: 3센티? Three centi? [I nod.] 레이어? Rayers?
Me: 네. Yes.

She was done rather quickly, but not so quickly that I didn't hear the other employees asking the shampoo guy about the foreigner. I thought maybe another foreigner had come in and they were conversing at the sinks. "다른 외국인 왔어요?" I asked my stylist. Did another foreigner come in?

The stylist was so shocked she jumped. Note to self: do not shock a woman who is holding scissors near your head.

After she was done, she pulled out a flat iron and asked if I wanted my hair straightened. This made me wonder if some shapeshifter had been cutting my hair because why in the world would I need my hair flat ironed?

The Perfect Haircut

Dessert

Good Man

Good Man, Again

Good Man helped me get this picture of this very amorous young couple at the bakery. They were sitting perpendicular to us. He was sitting across the table from me. I leaned over, holding the camera towards the couple and said, "Pretend you're looking at the screen so I can take this picture." It worked, but they were crawling over each other so much I'm not sure it was necessary.

Young Couple

Last night I headed off to taekwondo. I asked Master if I could jump rope again, and he voiced his approval. He said, "아만다, 조금. 30분." Amanda, a little. Thirty minutes.

I wasn't sure I heard him correctly. "30분이요?" He nodded and I laughed and shook my head, "관장님, 보통 20분 해요!" Master, I usually do 20 minutes.

I only did 1,500 turns, owing to the fact that I still had a cold. Practiced a bit of 금강...a nice class.

After class I told Master of my worries again. He laughed, "Amanda, your country! Your country!"

I thought and said in Korean, "True. I was homeless last year, and it was OK." It was a sort of light bulb moment.

Master's Mother, whom I haven't seen in a very long time, was there. She stood there, just listening until I finished my ranting and then said, "Wow, Amanda, you're Korean is very good."

굿 맨 남자 친구: 요즘 스트레스 많이 받아서 난 너한테 나쁜 여자야. 우리가 만난 날부터 난 행복해. 사랑하고 미안해.

Since I'm leaving soon, I'm trying to use up as much food as I can, including a slew of baking supplies I've acquired, some of which has already expired (coconut flakes) or will soon.

Last night I made some bread. I found a basic quick bread recipe and then changed it.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a standard sized bread pan.

1 1/2 C flour, 1/4 C coconut flakes, 1/4 C left over musli cereal with raisins and nuts and stuff in it (was 2 C flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix dry ingreds together in a bowl or a very large mixing cup.

1/2 C butter, softened (I have no idea how much I used...I can't figure out Korean butter sizes)
1/2 C sugar and 1/4 C maple syrup (or honey or molasses) (was 3/4 C sugar)
1 egg (was 2 eggs)
1 C milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar (was 1 C buttermilk)

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar together, add syrup and blend, add egg and milk and mix well.

Put dry ingreds into wet, mix until just mixed.

A large handful of leftover dried cherries, soaked in boiling water for about ten mins (not in original recipe)
A large handful of mini chocolate chips (not in original recipe)

Gently fold in cherries and chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 55-65 mins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for about ten minutes, turn onto plate and let cool about 30 mins, then slice.

The batter was runny, much runnier than I'm used to, but I didn't want to add any more flour. I'm glad I didn't. It turned out perfectly; it was delicious.

Good Man even said so. "맛있어..."

Usually I substitute whole wheat flour for part of the all-purpose, but this time I used (basically) rolled oats for part of it and coconut for the other part. I was really pleased with the rolled oats, because I couldn't taste them or sense them in the texture. I will definitely do that substitution again.

I went to class tonight, even though my co-teacher told me she could "see fever" in my eyes.

I got there before 8 (a miracle) and greeted Master. Master asked if I was sick and I said yes. He asked why. I threw up my arms. "몰라요! 하지만 토요일부터 쉬도 있어요, 왜냐하면...그럼, 시간이 많이 없어요, 미국에서 집이 없어요. 일이 없어요. 기수는 비주가 아직도 없어요. 아이고! 스트레스 많이 있어요!" I don't know! I've been resting since Saturday, but... Well, because I don't have much time, I don't have a house in America. I don't have a job. [Good Man] doesn't have a visa yet. Oh God! I am very stressed.

I noticed Master was sniffling. I noticed Sabumnim the Man sitting on the couch, sipping tea. "그리고 관장민과 사범님이 아파요! 앗! 우리는 불쌍해..." I muttered to myself. And then Master and Sabumnim are sick. Oh! We are pathetic...

Master laughed and Sabumnim the Man smiled. I looked at Sabumnim the Man and knowing that what I was saying probably wouldn't be correct, but he'd understand anyhow, said, "오늘 품세 주세요. Today please give me poomse.

My hour of class went well. I seem to have gotten the basic form of Geumgang memorized, so now it's a matter of actually learning the form.

Friday night Jennifer invited Good Man and I out to some after-Korean-class-someone-from-Canada-is-in-town dinner.

On the way there, in the Seoul Subway station, we found this woman. She was selling puppies, kittens, and chicks from these boxes.

Selling Animals in the Subway Station

On Their Way

I can't believe this ad has been up for nearly 2 years without being changed. It's rather daring for Korea.

This is the ten-year kiss.
This is the ten-year hug.
I will love you today like it's ten years.

Because I love you, it's OK.

We went to a dalk kalbi restaurant. I am pretty sure that's the same place I went with Michael when I first got here.

Fixing Her Hair

"건배!"

종가

In Korea, friends of the same sex (male or female) hold hands. The men seem to stop in their teens, the women seen to continue this through their twenties; I suspect when they marry, they stop.

Friends

There were a few homeless guys sleeping near a palace. Korea doesn't really have any sort of social net to help people. Charity is not common here, soup lines are not common here, Good Man says there's subsidized housing of some sort, but not much. There are a few organizations that will help people, but there's no such thing as welfare (in the form of food stamps, for example). If your family won't or can't take care of you, there is no support.

Good Man says most of the homeless guys are alcoholics, but I am sure, like home, many of them are also mentally ill. The mental health care system in this country is...not good. The doctors are probably fine, but the sense of shame and lack of awareness is even worse than back home.

Homeless

Friday Night with the Guys

The grating at the top of the subway station was throwing shadows on the stairs.

Light and Dark

Good Man

Me

Yesterday afternoon I was waiting for the bus when I spotted one of my coworkers, the science teacher. She seems nice, but we haven't spoken much. We eat lunch together every day, but she's a quiet woman and neither of us tend to talk much at lunch.

I asked her which bus she was catching, and it was mine. I said, "I don't see you in the mornings," and she explained that this was a one time thing.

After we'd sat down, I asked where she was going. She put her hand over her mouth as if she was going to laugh and said the department store. I asked if he was shopping and she again put her hand over her mouth. I thought she was acting weird and she said, "비밀이에요." It's a secret.

"남자 친구 만나요?" Are you meeting your boyfriend? I guessed.

She flushed and asked me how I knew that. "비밀..."

We continued chatting in Korean about how we met our boyfriends, how long we've been dating them, whether or not we've met the parents, if we want to get married, all four of our respective ages, jobs, and such. We showed each other handphone photos and loosely planned a double date.

I can't really articulate why it was so nice, but I think it's because it was so unexpected. I've never studied for such a situation, I've never tried to mentally prepare for such, but if I hadn't've been studying just for the sake of learning, that conversation never would've been possible.

Today at lunch we sat across from each other and just grinned at each other the whole time, two women with a secret.

After taekwondo tonight (2,250 turns of the jump rope) one of the boys said Master wanted to talk to me. I went downstairs and he said, "Amanda, phone, your friend."

I thought. Good Man would call my handphone. Have I given anyone Master's number because he can speak Korean? No... I'm faxing off some paperwork to get my teaching certificate in a new state, but they're all using Mark's numbers...

I was so confused. "The phone?"

"Yes."

I took of my shoes and sat down behind the desk he wasn't sitting at. "Hello?"

"Hello, Amanda. How are you?"

"I'm fine, you?"

"I'm good."

I still couldn't tell who it was, but he didn't sound American. "Um, excuse me, who is this?"

"Daniel."

Daniel, whom I haven't seen in 19 months, whom I've only talked to on the phone maybe twice since he got back from the Philippines, whom I've corresponded with maybe a half dozen times. That Daniel. He couldn't find my phone number, but he remembered which taekwondo studio I said I went to, so he called last night. Master told him I wasn't there and to call again tonight.

We're having dinner tomorrow night after class. I told Good Man and he was fine with it but said with a sly little grin, "Nineteen months and he remembered your studio? Maybe he has a little crush. You call me if there's a problem..."

Before taekwondo class I had to run to the bank. There were four or five middle school (maybe lower high school) boys there being noisy, rowdy, and just plain annoying. One of them yelled, "Hi!" when he saw me. I wasn't in the mood, so I ignored him, figuring he'd see that I was listening to my iPod and shut up.

He didn't.

He came closer and yelled again, "Hi!" He was right next to me while I was trying to enter my PIN, acting like an oaf, trying to get my attention, waving his hand in my face.

The younger the kid talking to me, the nicer I am. Heck, I've had fun with older students, too. But this boy was just plain rude. He would never, ever treat a Korean like that, and if he did, any self-respecting ajumma would give him an earful.

I turned around and glared at him. I said in an icy voice, "What?"

"Ung!"

"What. Do. You. Want?"

He looked shocked, and his friends were starting to laugh. I switched to Korean, to the low form. "누구야? 아는 사람이야? 내 친구야?" He simply stared at me, not answering. His friends were standing with their mouths open. The instigator, the fattest kid of the bunch, was trying to hide behind his friends. He was not small. It was not working. I went on. "아냐! 말하지마! 무례해!"

They started trying to run over each other to get out of the cash machine area. I turned back to the machine. When I looked up not ten seconds later, they were nowhere in sight.

Who are you? Are you someone I know? Are you my friend? No! Don't say a word! You are rude!

"공 팔 공! 오 공 공 사 구 사 구! Kong pal kong! Oh kong kong sa gu sa gu! 080-500-4949 ahhh!"

Good Man said very seriously, "You need to go to sleep."

But earlier...

"I think I have 'Oculocutaneous Albinism.'"

I laughed. "What? Are you crazy?"

"Look at type 3."

"Do you have poor vision? Loss of eye pigment? No."

"Point oh-two vision, red-green color blind, and weird knot on my hair," he said.

I laughed, "No, hon. No. You're silly."

"I don't know, sometimes I do pre-worry."

I went to college in the South. The magnolias at my college in Georgia were large, thick-trunked, low-branched trees. You could sit on their branches and climb the trees. The flowers and leaves were huge. The leaves were thick, glossy, waxy, and often longer than my face.

Koreans magnolias are different. They are tall, wiry trees with thin branches. The flowers are still large, but not as large as they were back home.

Still, when I see the magnolias here, when I catch their faint scent, I am reminded of studying under "my" magnolia tree behind Buttrick Hall. These photos were taken around my apartment complex on Thursday.

Magnolias I

Magnolias II

Magnolias III

Magnolias IV

And there were some other flowers getting ready to bloom, too. I'm not sure if these are magnolias or what. I'll be keeping on eye on them.

Bloom I

Bloom II

(한글)

Back in October, I had a taekwondo tourney. I was interviewed at that tourney but never saw the article. This isn't uncommon. My parents and I were interviewed twice during their visit (for TV) and I saw neither of those.

Last night I asked Master if he'd ever seen the article. He went off somewhere and dug out about a half dozen copies of November's 스포추월드, Sports World. I bopped him over the head with a newspaper. "11월??"

He grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, Amanda, very tired." Master, his wife and I laughed; before class I'd said, "관장님, 피곤한 것 같아요." Master, you look tired. He'd disagreed at the time.

Sports World, November 2007

Sports PHOTO FACE

아만다

I could read most of it. The words I didn't know I could mostly guess. The reporter did me no favors, since he made the entire piece all of six sentences long, one of those sentences being that long paragraph after my quote. He made good use of that relative clause... (Many thanks to Good Man for helping me translate!)

Amanda (elementary school assistant teacher) American female taekwondoist.

"Working in Korea is very interesting and fun."

While teaching English at an elementary school, she has become a dan certificate holder and has experienced Korean life and culture through practicing taekwondo. Last week she participated in the poomse division of The Lifetime Sports Taekwondo Competition, at Gwangmyeong City Gymnasium and sponsored by the governor of Gyeonggi province. She participated in the competition well.

She is planning to come back to the states next July. She earned her first black belt grade eight months ago, and she plans to earn her second grade in 2008. She told me that she will continue to practice taekwondo in Minnesota. She is still single and she single-mindedly devotes herself to taekwondo practice at Tongil Studio (Master [Master's Father's Name]).

I expect my left foot to be multiple shades of blue, green, and purple tomorrow.

Blame soccer.

Blame Goalie's Brother.

I can't bend my toes.

Monday night I must have slept funny, because my back has hurt since then. Last night I did 2,000 turns of the rope again (in 20 mins with a single 1-2 min rest to stretch), which didn't exactly help my back.

Today there are elections, so Good Man and I had the day off. I asked him to find a love motel with whirlpool baths, because I figured the heat and movement would be good for me.

Oh, heaven.

I can not remember the last time I took a bath since (private) baths are not common in Korea and the last house I lived at in the States only had showers. Such a dream. Just one more reason to love love motels.

After love moteling, we headed Jamsil station to have some dinner and study Korean. I spotted this man and had to take a photo as I've never seen anyone so creative with their shoes here. I mean, I've seen really ugly shoes on women here, but never this. Reminded me of what we did with our socks in fifth grade.

After some dinner, we had some coffee and studied Korean. Yesterday I found a copy of The Giving Tree in Korean at the subway book stall where I bought The Little Prince. The woman gave me a discount because she wants to encourage my Korean.

I read it with Good Man. I read the first half out loud and translated, then he read the second half out loud while I translated. I mentioned that I remembered that in the English edition, the tree is female. Good Man wondered if this was normal (like cars and boats usually being female). I said no, and he couldn't figure out why the tree had to have a gender in English. Using pronouns, especially gender pronouns, is so rare in Korean.

I like this story for some reason, but it's so depressing! Give, give, give and be happy! Take, take, take and never say thank you! I read it like the tree is the boy's mother, which makes it no less depressing.

Nothing too special, but a nice, relaxing day.

Good Man

Me

"The new parents asked me if I was staying another year. I told them no and they got upset until my co-teacher explained why I'm leaving. Then they were happy."

Good Man grinned. "It's because I'm Korean."

Last night at the restaurant, I left the table for a moment. While I was gone, washing my hands, I trust [Good Man] popped into my head.

Before coming to Korea, I was with a man who flirted with women in front of me. He did it just enough to make me feel like maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.

But whenever I complained, he told me I was overreacting. My friends generally excused the behavior—either I was "jealous" or "controlling" or their boyfriends/husbands did the same thing so was it "normal." (Or, worse, I played it off as nothing with my closest friends, giving them no way in, so they couldn't tell me the truth.) When faced with these responses, I concluded my discomfort was due to my own issues, and had nothing to do with him and his disrespectful behavior.

I ignored my intuition, instead calling it insecurity.

But Good Man doesn't makes me feel uncomfortable. Whether we are alone or with friends in private, in public, or in a public-turned-private space, I feel like he only has eyes—and a heart—for me.

...I was evicted from my apartment because my boss didn't pay my rent.

Today I spent a lovely day (gorgeous weather) with Good Man, Diana, Jennifer, and a friend of hers. We went to the bookstore, hung out near the Han, and then Good Man, Diana, and I had Indian food.

A whole lot has changed in a year. A lot will change two months from today.

While at the bookstore, two middle school students found us to do one of those Interview a Foreigner assignments. I think these assignments are terrible but always do them. These two hit the jackpot when they came upon three of us in one spot.

Middle School Interviewer

And Han River Park Diana, Jennifer and I studied Korean. My goodness, aren't we exciting?

Jennifer

I spotted this older couple and this younger couple and liked the contrast. I do wonder how that woman will walk when she's older considering that her ankles are already turning out. Most young Korean women really don't like their feet.

Turned Ankles

I think Good Man took this photo. Apparently someone spotted him...

Spotted

Good Man took the next two.

Flight

Studying

This couple appeared to be playing their hand-held video games.

Playing Games

Good Man took this one, of course.

Sneaky Smile?

I took this one. I really like it.

Amanda and Good Man

Cherry Blossoms I

Cherry Blossoms II

Diana has red hair, and Koreans won't let her forget it.

Diana

Recycling

Figurines

Good Man wasn't feeling too well. He said his nose was "malfunctioning."

Malfunctioning Good Man

Latern

"How do you say 'a dying cat?' I was using 죽고 있는 고양이."

Good Man's eyes are closed, but I see him smile. "죽어가는 고양이." There is a long pause, but he can't stop himself. "Why?"

"Tonight in class I wanted to tell [Crybaby] that her whining made her sound like a dying cat."

In true Totally Ignorant of World History but We'll Tell You All About the Fabulous Joseon Dynasty form, a Korean company is once again using Nazis in their advertising. Apparently "even Hitler didn't get East and West together" has to do with Coreana makeup. How? Well...

A Korad official, Seo Sang-hee, confirmed the ad was meant to invoke a Nazi soldier and Hitler, which she said symbolized "revolution" in keeping with the lotion's "revolutionary" moisturizing and calming effects.

Ooooh! Yippe! Let's use the name and imagery of a man who killed millions of people! Cause you know, using a Korean revolutionary like Yu Gwan-sun, now that would just make too much sense. Maybe that's a Klogic lesson for another time.

According to Good Man, the advertised product is...whitening cream. I could not make that up if I tried.

For as much as Korea likes to issue lame apologies and claim they know nothing about Hitler, and for as much as many Koreans refuse to let Japan go re: the Occupation Period, I can't figure out why nobody has realized that Hitler and Hirohito (Showa) were a team. The same Hirohito who was around during the occupation.

Many thanks to Brian for loading these. Head over to his blog for a bit more info.

Today Cool Co-Teacher and I got talking about Korean women and how much plastic surgery and dieting is done in this country. She asked me if I ever want to be thinner.

I thought about my weight over the past ten years. About how the scale hasn't proportionally matched the waist size of my jeans. About being able to wear anything in a store. About the side effects of the Pill. About giant clumps of hair falling out in the shower. About how every doctor I've discussed it with has warned me that my PCOS makes it "extremely difficult for [me] to lose weight and keep it off." About denying myself something and thinking that denial made me a better person than I was before. About jumping rope 2000 times and earning two black belts and dashing up the stairs after a student. About losing weight without trying, probably due to the stress of a really bad work situation. About not being comfortable eating. About loving running and how it damaged my knees in a way that $500 orthos (after insurance!) couldn't repair them. About my taekwondo involvement fluctuating with my general level of happiness in Korea. About "love weight." About the fact that many Korean women are thin but still mostly made of fat, even if they look tiny. About how my current crop of friends—and Good Man, most definitely—don't give a damn about my weight. About which dresses and cuts of clothing look great on me. About being emotionally and mentally consumed with calories, fat, fiber. About being consumed with this and yet being told by society that this obsession was perfectly appropriate and considered "healthy." Healthy?!?

I looked at my co-teacher. "Do you know Margaret Cho?" She shook her head. After a brief explanation, I quoted her.

"'For me to be ten pounds thinner is a full-time job, and I am handing in my notice and walking out the door!'"

Last night I started actually learning the 2 Dan form, 금강. Geumgang is a mountain in North Korea, right over the border, and is considered may many Koreans the most beautiful mountain on the peninsula. (I believe Sorak-san is considered the second most beautiful.) You can do tours to the area or drive in your own car, but I haven't gone and probably won't before leaving.

Now, Geumgang the taekwondo form is another beast entirely. There's this waist-twisting, foot-stomping thing that confusing the heck out of me. When you do the foot stomp, you end with your arms in the air so that the shape of your arms and head makes the Hanja for mountain: 山. The shape of the entire form (as seen from above) is also that of a mountain.

Sabumnim the Man could tell I was struggling a bit. He patted me on the back and said, "어려워요." It's hard.

"이상해요." It's strange, I replied.

During our break I started jumping rope while Sabumnim the Man started doing stretching exercises. A student would sit in front of him, legs spread, and he'd also sit, legs outstretched, pushing his feet against their legs while pulling their body forward as he leaned back as far as possible. My studiomates were whining, but I really wanted to try it. After I'd done 600 turns and it looked like he was going to start class again, I said, "그 하고 싶어요." I want to do that.

He seemed surprised and pulled me into position. He also seemed impressed by how far I stretched. It felt really, really good though. Sometimes you need that extra push.

Tonight's class was good, too. Lots of kicking drills and then some sort of calisthenics obstacle course. It was hard work and my entire body ached by the end of it. A nice feeling.

Good Man came over Monday night and we ended up speaking Korean—only Korean— for a good 45 mins to an hour. At one point I lay down on my bed to think about what I was going to say next. I was trying to formulate something or other in my head.

We also got into a minor cultural tiff over something. I didn't know the word for "private" but kept speaking Korean with "비밀! 비밀이야!" Secret! It's a secret!

It was nice only speaking Korean with Good Man. I need to figure out how to convince him to do it again.

Finally, I've started working on the 3A workbook. One thing I like: the grammar summary at the back of the workbook, meaning I don't have to tote around the textbook while working on the workbook. Things I don't like: the grammar summaries no longer seem to include irregular rules and the examples in the workbook are in this faux handwriting font.

Also, I've passed the midway point of the graphic novel version of 어린왕자. Despite the ups and down of studying Korean, I know the only way I'll become fluent is to keep at it.