The Renaissance Man of Mechanics

This is another character from the wife and I’s collab project. His name is Kisanim (기사님), which isn’t a name at all. It actually means “driver” in Korean. This character is actually based off of the driver of The Magic English Bus I used to work on, whom we all actually called “kisanim.” He was an older, gentleman whose real name I never knew. He was very sweet and was a real problem solver when it came to mechanics. In our collab project Kisanim is a stoic genius that can drive anything from buses and tanks, to planes and ships. He very rarely speaks, but when he does it’s always in Korean.

Awkward Korean 04: I Wanna Be Blanka

Sooo…in my 6th grade class the students have this small writing assignment where they have to fill in the blanks of a written letter with the key expressions they learned for the day. I was bored, so I decided to take a crack at it myself. This is what I came up with.

Awkward Korean 03 - Vanish!

I learned a new word - “사라지다 (sarajida)”. It means “vanish.” So I made this quick little strip to help me remember. It’s a magician trying to make a bird vanish. He does, but not the way he expected. He makes a quick exit in the last frame…I would too if I exploded a bird in front of a bunch of kids.

Incheon - Day 3

This was our last day in Incheon, South Korea, which also marked our last day of rest before the rush of EPIK orientation. Thank you, Incheon. You clothed us in comfort and rest. Don't forget to subscribe to my wife and I's travel channel on YouTube.

Awkward Korean 02 - City Hunter

If you know me, then you know I have a talent for overreacting to things. Such was the case when a key character from City Hunter, a Korean drama, was killed off! The featured picture is a literal translation of my wife and I’s reaction to the death of Prosecutor Kim Young Joo. He was a beloved character who operated on idealism, and sacrificed his own desires for what was right…and they killed him! They just killed him! Curse you Korean dramas for sucking me into your world of emotional turmoil!

Awkward Korean 01 - Basic Hangul

Since the wife and I are moving to Korea, we’ve been doing our best to beef up on our Hangul skills (Korean language and writing skills). I’m a Level 1 learner right now, so I’m learning very-very basic Hangul right now, and today I learned how to say “This is coffee!” I can only imagine how my simple Korean would play out if it were put to the test…I imagine it would go something like the awkward conversation pictured here.

TRANSLATION:

Me: “This is coffee!”

Random Korean Barista: “Yes…that’s right. This…IS coffee…”

Oh swizzle-sticks! I gotta get better at Hangul…quick-fast!

Ganda-Ganda

Here’s a quick little illustrated advert for my wife’s blog, Ganda-Ganda. The word “ganda” is the short form of the Tagalog word “maganda (mah-gan-dah),” which translates to “beautiful.” So basically her blog name translates to “beautiful-beautiful.” She’ll be posting tons of photos of all our travels, eats and holiday themed goodness. So drop by her blog and tell her how much you like it!