Seoulo Journey: 당신을 봅니다

"I see you"

Probably the most famous line from Avatar, which I finally got around to seeing! And not just in 3D, but in what Korea calls "4D"! "What's 4D?" is the question I usually get and what I wondered when I first heard of it too. Well apparently it combines 3D with the experience of those motion simulators you have in theme parks and sights and whatnot. So the chairs will move when the ships fly for example, or when Jake jumps into the water, a tiny splash of water dashes across your face, Neytiri shoots an arrow and a sharp wind zips past your cheek, in fight scenes, something will hit the back of your seat, some strings or something whip your leg. It was entertaining for sure, but worth the 18,000W? Well, maybe just for the experience, but I wouldn't pay for 4D again. As for my thoughts on Avatar? Beautiful, amazing graphics. Like WOW I could watch scenes from that world for days. The story? Not original in the least bit (very much like Pocahontas actually...just add songs and you've got Pocahontas with blue people) but still a feel-good movie that causes you to hate the villains, love the protagonists, and possibly even shed a tear at the sad scenes. All in all, I enjoyed it a lot (I mean, I loved Pocahontas after all)! Not to mention me being a linguistics geek had fun listening to the Na'vi language--which was subtitled in Korean of course, so there was (a little) Korean reading practice! Also, strangely enough, some of the characters' mumblings were difficult for me to fully understand, at which point I ended up having to read the Korean subtitles to figure out what they said (I don't know if that's just me or if I'm really losing my grasp of English haha!).

The mall where the theatre was--very very modernized and cutting-edge architecture :).

Henry sports the 3D glasses.

Story Noraebang! Lots of fun since always! And free ice cream :)

The stars--singing Bohemian Rhapsody hahaha.

What else to update from this week? Well, our friend Xue Qing is back from China and starting college here! Level 6 is definitely a very different experience from 5, what with 5 classes collapsing into 2 and the complete difference of the lessons themselves. I have to say though, I'm learning a LOT of vocabulary (a never ending battle as always), including a huge list of "feeling words" we received (with, for example, 8 words for regret 아쉬움, 6 words for sadness 슬픔, 5 words for shyness/embarrassment 부끄러움, etc. you get the gest) and yet still more ways to say "because" (I think we may be up to at least 15 now...I will not bother counting). Regardless, the freer class atmosphere gives us much more time to talk--which I think is good for increasing our level to be able to talk about advanced topics. It's funny though when I can carry out a discussion about something like the different viewpoints of people on the former president 박정희 who was both criticized for being dictator-like but also praised for leading Korea to become one of the fastest developing nations in the world and yet I only learned the word for "light bulb" the other day. Go figure haha. Language learning really has no set order, but maybe that's what makes it so fascinating...

On the darker side, I woke up on Saturday with an intense ringing in my left ear, accompanied by a muffled sound and what I noticed was different pitch perception in both ears (lower in my left one) as well as a marked drop in my hearing ability. I went to the doctor on Monday, who was unsure of whether it was an issue with my nerves or what's known as Ménière's Disease, which can lead to permanent hearing loss. After a few days, I went back, and because I didn't experience vertigo or dizziness, he concluded that it's probably not Ménière's Disease, and I was put on medication for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL), which I found out after doing some research on Google, is a great mystery in otolaryngology and so hopefully this medication will work and hopefully I will not experience permanent hearing loss (which would suck for video class and just for using a language in general =[). Ah, traveling has really led me to a bunch of random illnesses, eesh! Going to the doctor though made me yet more aware of how language learning is not linear. At one appointment, I understood virtually everything the doctor said, and then at the next almost nothing went into my head. Of course though, I was able to get and confirm the important information, so I can only hope this gets better! :)

And of course, I should end on a bright note--on Tuesday after seeing Avatar, I went to have dinner with one of my mom's best friend's son, Heesoo, who I've known since I was really really young. I hadn't seen him for a long time so it was quite interesting to recognize him again (I still have clear memories of home videos of us when I was maybe 6 or 7 and he was in his early teens). How the times change! He's starting studies at Korea University soon for graduate school. We had some delicious bibimbap at this Buddhist restaurant he took me too and then rounded off the (super snowy--there should NOT be this much snow in March...) night with tea.