Trip to South Korea

So I've been learning Korean for two weeks now and I really feel like I'm improving. I have been using those quizzes I mentioned i my last post, but bab.la has finally launched its English-Korean dictionary now too :) !
I always find vocabulary learning hard, so hopefully this dictionary can help.

Anyway, in order to practice my Korean I have decided to take a trip to Seoul this Christmas vacation! We have family over there you see. I wouldn't usually go, but I guess I was inspired by a blog I read the other day about another American girl who's living in Korea now! How cool is that.

I think flights are quite expensive though, so I will have to save up. The nail in the coffin for me was when I read about the Korean president on the CNN news website. He is donating 26 million dollars to charity! I can't wait to meet some Koreans, hopefully they will all be this generous!!!

I am Korean and I can't speak Korean.

As you might have noticed from my last name, I am originally Korean - both of my parents are from Korea- though I have lived all my life in the United States. Whenever I was asked about my identity, I proudly answered "I am Korean." But then, people usually start to ask me to speak something in Korean. Then, I became embarrassed. Even though I can understand Korean- because my parents usually speak in Korean- I can not say more than very basic words in Korean. It is very disappointing and shame that you can not speak your own language when you admit that you are a Korean. Also, I am planning to go to Korea in this winter, and if I can't speak Korean when I look perfectly like Korean, people would regard me as a dumb. I don't want that to happen. Absolutely not. So, for this summer vacation, I decided to learn Korean- not only the language itself but also about Korean culture, music, life, and ideas. It's time for me to find the way to go back to my root.

For some basic information about Korea - of course, South Korea - I searched through Wikipedia.
In the middle of this page, you can see Bibimbap under the Cuisine section. That's one of my favorite foods from my mom! Today, I am gonna learn how to cook Bibimbap from mom. This page also explains about the Miracle of Han River - the great economic growth of South Korea. Now, what my parents used to tell me makes more sense ...

Furthermore, what a good news! the website I usually visit as an online dictionary for English and German, bab.la, recently launched Korean version. Though it doesn't have Korean-English dictionary yet, it still contains several Korean-English quizzes.

I also ordered some Korean Kids book to study Korean. I have two perfect Korean Native Speaker as my tutors - my parents! I have books, online quizzes, and basic information!
I am all ready to start studying!! :) Yay!