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Where to Learn Korean for Free Online
안녕! You are trying to learn Korean, that’s great! There are many great resources to learn Korean for free online. I learned a lot of Korean online by watching YouTube videos, learning through Korean learning websites and apps, etc. Some of my favorite free Korean learning websites and activities include:
- Talk To Me in Korean: (The essential Korean courses) https://talktomeinkorean.com/
- Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/
- YouTube videos: (I learned the Korean alphabet by watching Professor Oh) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdiR-6e1h0o&list=PLABF2F59A4530A359
- Watch Korean dramas on Netflix, Hulu, etc.
2022 Life Update
It’s hard to believe that two years has already gone by since I’ve last wrote. It’s been a busy two years. Since I last wrote, I graduated college with my second Master’s degree, accepted a job as a teacher, and moved to a new state! In a couple of weeks, I will be going on a cruise to the Caribbean with family. Should be fun!
2020 Life Update
It’s been over a year since I last wrote. For the past year and a half, I’ve been working on my Master’s degree in Secondary Education for World Languages: German. I’ve been busy with studying and taking Praxis tests, completing education courses on campus and online, observing German classes, and student teaching. Since the beginning of 2020, I started student teaching German classes at a local high school. Of course, it was short-lasted because of the current pandemic. In the middle of March, student teaching for me moved from being in the classroom to online instruction.
Besides student teaching and taking online courses for my degree this semester, I’ve been trying to keep myself busy while staying at home. Mainly I’ve been reading, catching up on TV shows and series, working on my teaching portfolio, and spending time with family. Now that the semester is over and I’ll be graduating with my first Master’s degree, I’ll finally have time to start writing more in the summer. Stay tuned!
Japanese Pocky vs Korean Pepero: The Battle of the Chocolate Biscuit Sticks
Pocky and Pepero are both chocolate covered biscuit sticks. So what’s the difference?
Japanese Pocky (ポッキー ) came first and were first sold in Japan in 1966 by the Glico company. Since 1966, Pocky has produced a variety of different flavors for Pocky. Some flavors include strawberry, cookies and cream, orange, banana, green tea, and coconut. Pocky also has some unusual flavors such as lychee, sweet potato, black sesame, and kiwifruit mango.
Korean Pepero (빼빼로) were sold in South Korean since 1983 by the Lotte confectionary company. Pepero also has a variety of flavors for their biscuit sticks such as chocolate, strawberry, white chocolate, almond with chocolate, mint chocolate, peanut butter, dark chocolate, blueberry yogurt, tiramisu, melon, and so on.
I personally do not have a preference. I have tried both pocky and pepero and to be honest, I don’t taste a difference. They pretty much taste the same to me, probably because they are almost the same thing except for the fact that they produce some different flavors. I have noticed in the United States, however, it is much easier to find and buy pocky in stores such as your local grocery store than it is to find and buy pepero. The only places I was able to find pepero were Asian food markets and possibly F.Y.E.
What do you prefer: Pocky or Pepero?
How to Say Hello in 15 Languages
One of my goals in life is to be able to greet someone in 15 different languages. So here is my list on how to say hello in 15 different languages:
- Hello/Hi-English
- Hola-Spanish
- Olá-Portuguese
- Bonjour-French
- Hallo/Guten Tag/Servus-German
- Hej/Goddag-Danish
- Ciao-Italian
- 你好 (nĭ hăo)-Mandarin Chinese
- こんにちは (konnichiwa)-Japanese
- 안녕하세요 (anyeonghaseyo)-Korean
- नमस्ते (namaste)-Hindi
- Salve-Latin
- привет (privet)-Russian
- Merhaba-Turkish
- مرحبا (marhaba)-Arabic
2019 Life Update
It’s been a little over 2 years since I have last written. Unfortunately, time has slipped away from me for various reasons. A lot has happened since 2017. First off, I have been on several trips both internationally and domestically. The first being the Europe trip that I mentioned in one of my previous posts in 2017, but never got the chance to update about it. One of the next posts that I plan on writing will be about the Europe trip for sure.
The domestic trips that I went on last year were to Niagara Falls and to Wildwood beach. I’ve been to Niagara Falls several times since I have family living in that area, but my boyfriend and daughter have never been so I thought it would be nice to take a trip there again for their sake. The beach was also a nice little getaway to enjoy the ocean and the boardwalk. Plus it was nice to have my daughter enjoy the beach, now that she’s old enough to actually enjoy it.
Next important event that happened was that I finally graduated college last fall with a Bachelor’s in German and also a Bachelor’s in Multidisciplinary Studies. It’s been a long couple years in getting my bachelor’s degrees, but it can be done with hard work and determination. Now I am working on my Master’s in Secondary Education. I just finished up with my first semester in my master’s program, so I finally have some time to relax a little until the fall. Now now I finally have some time, I can finally get into the groove again on posting about different languages, cultures, and places around the world. So stay tuned!
Baek-il: 100 Days
Baek-il (백일) is a Korean celebration of a baby’s first 100 days of life. It is a big milestone for a baby to reach 100 days. Back in the day, babies would pass away because of illnesses and poor living conditions. Parents would try and avoid bringing their babies outside until they were 100 days old, since 100 days was a sign that babies would see their first birthday.
On baek-il, parents pray and worship the spirit, Samshin. They offered rice and soup to the spirit to thank her for helping the baby and the parents through this difficult time period. Afterwards, family, friends, and relatives celebrate with rice cakes, fruits, and other treats. Usually during this celebration, the parents dress their baby in a traditional Korean hanbok.
Creating & Maintaining a Blog
If you decide that you want to blog, then that’s great! There are many different reasons why people blog. People blog to share their experiences to the world, to inform others about topics they are passionate about, to write their opinions, etc. No matter what the reason why you want to blog, there is a couple of things to keep in mind.
First, you have to consider where to write your blog. There are many different free blogging websites to choose from: WordPress, Weebly, Tumblr, and so on and so forth. Once you have explored the different blogging websites and have chosen a website that works best for you, then you have to create a domain name aka your blog/website name. Make sure when you are creating a blog name that is something unique and easy to remember. After creating your name and password, then it’s time to start customizing your blog’s theme and background. There are many free themes to choose from. Once you finally finish customizing your blog, then it’s finally time to start writing!
You can write as much as you want or even as little as you want. If you really want to maintain your blog, then try creating a schedule or write as much as you can. Sometimes life does get in the way and you don’t get to blog as much as you would like to. And that’s okay. I’ve been blogging since 2012 and there are some times that I go on a hiatus. I am guilty of forgetting to write, because I’m so busy with schoolwork or doing other things. But I always try and write after I travel or want to talk about something I care about like culture, language, photography, etc. Your blog will always be there whenever you decide you feel like writing.
So if you want to blog then blog, add pictures, and most importantly, have fun!
Planning a Trip to Europe
In a few months, I will be going back to Europe for the third time! The past two times I went to Europe, I traveled to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Belgium, Holland, and Denmark. This time I will be going to Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Italy, Luxembourg, and France.
So far, I’ve traveled to 13 countries. After this trip, though, I will have traveled 17 countries in total. Right now, I’m still currently in the process of planning the trip. Some of the places I’ll be revisiting and some of the places are going to be completely new to me. I’m not going to say exactly where I’m going just yet. I’ll leave that for after I come back and can post pictures.
christinathepolyglot 