First diary

2015.11.23

Today, I felt sad. I am particularly interested in tourism industries such as Cruises, Airlines and etc. It was the theory of Brand strategy class and one of the group chose 'southwest airline' to introduce its successful marketing strategy. I listened to it really carefully, and this group made it quite well. I waited for other students to finish their questions, so I can ask my 'tiny' question with large curiosity. I just simply added 'I am just wondering...(in Korean)' to assure them I am trying not to criticize them but to purely inquire 'where is this airline based and which cities do they mostly fly?'

He introduced Lovefield. I asked if that's the name of region. he said 'yes'. I asked again where it is. He said he doesn't know. Well. ok.. I searched for it while the last student was questioning. At the moment the professor is about to terminate their presentation.
I raised my hand again to ask about their destinations.

However, I directly could hear some sigh like 'pewwwww' implying 'Why are you asking such an inappropriate question?' 'We are running out of our break time' (obviously It wasn't just one)

I felt really really bad. I got to think that it is not right to raise any question unless it is 100% optimal for it. From now on, I will hesitate more than thousands of times before I decide to ask something in that class.

and I personally think...that this is the reason why nobody took a chance when President Obama offered a right to question to the Korean press. (After that, Chinese press took it. this is quite famous anecdote in Korean education market)

What the French toast!

Two different types of French so charming!

Boeun Choi

     Bonjour, do you speak French? Not only French people, but also more than 80 million of people over 29 countries speak French. Again, spoken by 12% of the EU population, it is the fourth most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union. I now hope that you are recognizing the importance of French in line with the Chinese which is powerfully emerging in a short period.

If you are native English speaker, You can finish basic French tenses in 4 weeks, and even if you are a Non-English speaker, but familiar with it, You can still ‘travailler’ it much faster than those who cannot read this writing. So, before we start, please keep in mind that there are mainly two types of French. The first is the one used in European countries, and the second is Canadian French. Just like the American English and British English, there are also so many interesting differences between European French and Canadian French. Once you find the common words but conceived differently, you could have a big picture of usage of this language.

(1) Grammar and informal conversations (Between Quebec French and European French)

QF - J'ai trouvé le document que j'ai besoin (I found the document that I need)

EF -J'ai trouvé le document dont j'ai besoin (I found the document of which I need)

Genitive relative pronouns (GRP) are more often used in QF under the strong influence of the English. It is also shown among some prepositions, collocations with certain verbs are taken out together.

QF – j'ai toujours des travails à m'occuper (I still have some works to finish)

EF - j'ai toujours des travails don’t je doit m'occuper (I still have some works of which I have to ~ )

When I was in France, my French teacher emphasized the meaning of each of these types of relative pronouns. It seemed to me that European French abides by a strict grammar structure even when speaking. I could notice these differences and compare them to each other while staying in Montreal as well. They were speaking in French and English at the same time, sometimes mixed together.

Since there is only one word signifying ‘we’ in English, QF uses ‘on (normally ‘we’)’ and ‘Nous’, When you start to learn French, you are automatically directed to code ‘nous’ as ‘we’ first, because this is more formal. The same thing between ‘tu(informal)’ and ‘vous(formal)’ (Both are ‘you’ in English). If you ask someone for directions on the street in France, saying ‘tu sais où se trouve le Palais Royal?’ (Do you know where the Palais Royal is?), even if he looks the same age as you, you just insulted him. The exactly same thing happened to me. As soon as I spit out that word, the man instantly made a perplexed facial expression, then quickly realized that I was a student learning their language. After that time, I always ask for agreement before change the word from ‘vous’ to ‘tu’.

(2) Words and Idioms

- La voiture VS Le Char : The first word I gave was ‘La voiture’ when my French professor in France asked any word. It means a ‘car’. I was quite surprised after realizing that the Québecois calls it ‘Char’, because the ‘car’ has the simplest concept, so it is not expected to have a totally different form. A Char(Chariot) reminds me of a carriage with horses which is so funny. It’s like North Korean call ice-cream ‘alum bosungi’ which literally means ‘Ice paste’ whereas we (as South Korean) call it just Ice-cream.

- La Boisson VS Le Breuvage : When you enter any café in Paris, you can see all the drinks following ‘Le boisson’ on the menu. On the other hand, under the powerful influence of English, ‘le breuvage’ is derived from the English word ‘beverage’. Quebecois use the latter (le breuvage)

- Bonjour-Hi : One of the usages I wish to use in the future. When someone says ‘Bonjour hi’ to you, you can respond in either English or French. This salutation shows that a person can speak freely in both languages so that the other can choose one as she prefers.

 

How charming they are! I still make a numerous mistakes when using English (Sorry for my bad English so far, and here is the potatoes). However, as long as you can create a well-structured sentence, all you have to do is change each word (or phrase) into French. For me, it has been about less than a year since I studied French, and it is definitely possible to interpret the news on Figaro.fr with general level of vocabulary. None of the languages are connected like this. If you have some free time after work, school or even after study, try to be addicted to the French with its adorable accent and culture!

le violon

     Tiny loss of memory in France

Choi boeun

In July, 2015, surrounded by dozens of people in a music school in France, there was a girl standing rigidly, starting to play a song last only one minute. People could notice enough that her hand was trembling slightly as she put the bow on the strings. In fact, she was almost about to faint, because that was her very first performance in public. It had been already over one year since she grabbed a bow for the first time. She thought she was ready to perform it, as she could play it perfectly at home. However, she was not. No. I was not ready at all.

           About two months before the performance, Tiffany, my violin teacher who introduced me to the sorrowful tunes of a violin, asked me tacitly. “Do you want to play a song in the upcoming concert?” I was not interested in it, because I always preferred to play it alone like putting myself in a cave where nobody can see me. I said straight “No”. “It will be a great experience for you”, “How many people are coming?” “Don’t worry. It’s just a small concert, there would be only few people” I was not fascinated enough but, Yeah, It was one simple song. I thought that would not bother me.

           Two weeks before the show. I had been preparing this piece from time to time whenever it came to my mind. Now I made few mistakes, and most of the time, I played that perfectly. The music paper got tattered as it was in and out from the file which put a smile on my face. I imagined that I could safely come down from stage. Everything seemed fine until the day before the very day. I could not close my eyes in bed. I pretended not to be nervous, but obviously this did not help me at all.

After I realized that it was already morning, and still had three more hours to practice. I tightened my bow, and tried to hear the sound. Oh my Jesus, Buddha and the Virgin Mary. Everything feels so different. I couldn’t stop looking at the score which gives no time to glance at the finger board. This was a serious problem. I had to give up one of them. Even in the practice room where everyone looked so calm and ready to show off, all of my stem cells were intensionally stimulated. As one by one was called, my hands started to sweat. When it was finally my turn, I saw the white world. The paper was not just white, but vivid lily-white which was about to vanish.

           Of course, I don’t remember anything about it now. Well, it doesn’t make sense, but I really don’t. Probably, my brain erased it right away as people want to forget what they want to forget. The only thing I know is I trembled a lot like a vibrating phone. People could hear awesome (Irony) vibrato, even though I didn’t learn it. The only thing I got to know is priceless though. If you are preparing for a concert, practice not until you play it perfectly, but until you make no mistake at all.

some articles on blog(gish.. site)

http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/yancouba-dieme/011015/la-traduction-est-le-lieu-ou-l-se-sent-chez-soi
Translation is the place where we feel that we are at home.

http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/jean-paul-baquiast/071015/avez-vous-conscience-de-ce-que-vous-avez-fait
Do you have consciousness of what you did? (Great article about consciousness)

http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/eliasawad75/171015/la-france-en-panne-de-francais
Look at the comment.

warm-up

http://jamienoelle.blogspot.kr/
http://fabulouslyfrench.blogspot.kr/
http://marianneenfrance.blogspot.kr/
http://jamienoelle.blogspot.kr/
http://translatorfrenchtoenglish-l.blogspot.kr/

http://blogs.mediapart.fr/

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I will not be swayed by sentiment, nor let a person read me.

I will be honest.

and I will also be honest.

Forget what you share, but remember what you receive.

As I grow older, I will rather open my wallet than my mouth.

I will save money for a sunny day (=unexpected opportunity)

I will thank

(please let me know if you wrote this for referring)

So

(me and my younger brother)

At the very first, constantly check the bucket list to be reminded

1. Be punctual (even if you get to think that you will be waiting for the others)
2. Heartily celebrate others' birthdays
3. Never ever judge people by their appearance
4. Put down your phone when you are with people (as far as possible)
5. Express how you feel when in love
6. Do not avoid. Confront it.

last but not least,
Be humble.