Konichiwa!

Despite being in Korea, interestingly enough I have been picking up on a few Japanese words as well. My housemate Yoon-Seo (윤서) sometimes in the midst of speaking Korean and English to me, he also adds a few Japanese words as well.

At first it was really confusing, because I don't speak neither Korean nor Japanese, and I couldn't distinguish between the two. But after living with him now for almost 3 months, I've picked up on some of the Japanese.

Furthermore, we met a women named Momoko who is an exchange student at Korea University, and she offered to teach some Japanese classes for free. So while I am trying to learn how to speak Korean, I also decided that since I have been presented with the opportunity to learn Japanese, I thought I'd give it a shot.

I had my first Japanese lesson yesterday, and in terms of speaking it went pretty good. But reading and writing for the time being is really difficult. Some of the letters are shaped similarly to letters in English and the Fidel (Ethiopian Alphabet), but so far I haven't found any specific pattern within Japanese writing. What also makes it difficult is that some letters in Japanese, which look almost the same with maybe a slight difference in the way they are written, often have two very different pronunciations.

I'm not 100% invested in learning Japanese, but since I have the opportunity to learn, I thought I might try it anyway and see how it goes.

Shoes, Shirt, No Pants!

So I had an interesting experience while trying to use the bathroom, and although it's a little embarrassing to talk about, I thought I'd share my experience anyway.

In Korea (as well as other countries that I've been to) sometimes the toilets aren't the typical toilet that you sit on, but rather they are built into the floor. Because of this difference, sometimes it's necessary to squat when using the bathroom. (Unfortunately for women this is always the case in this situation).

A couple of days ago I was at a train station with some of my friends here, and I had to use the bathroom, and decided my need was great enough that I couldn't wait until we took the train to where we were going (the train ride was about an hour and 20 minutes long). So I went to the bathroom and discovered the floor toilets.

Now at first I thought I could do it. I mean, when I was in Ethiopia I faced the same situation and it worked out okay. But not having much practice with squatting while using the toilet recenlty, I was worried about my pants at my ankles, and the unfortunate consequences that would come from not aiming correctly.

So, seeing a hook on the door of the bathroom stall, I decided to hang my pants on the hook, but being worried about getting my feet dirty, I put my shoes back on.

Shirt, Shoes, No Pants! I was ready!

Things worked out okay, but I couldn't help but be amused. I mean, how awkward is it to be in a position where your fully clothed from the waist up, and from the ankle down, but not from the waist to the ankles? It would have felt more natural to just wear only shoes! But I guess I wasn't making a fashion statement. Maybe when someone comes out with a toilet fashion magazine, then I can be worried about the way I look in the bathroom. (Maybe I should create a toilet fashion magazine...)

To say the least, while slightly embarrassing as it may be, it was too funny not to write about. Maybe next time I'll try and keep my pants on!