Monthly Archives: May 2010

31 May

camping story

Samgyupsal with lettuce, garlic and miso

Every year, my church holds an annual camp at Jumonville during Memorial day weekend. (For those of you who are not American, Memorial day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May to commemorate U.S. soldiers who died in the military service.) Jessy and I also went to the camp with many of our church friends. It was so gorgeous days. In my opinion, as much as different cultures of different countries, people enjoy very different type of activities in these events. The first thing Korean people enjoy is food. Every time there is any kind of outdoor event, people bring a lot of food such as fruits, soju, beer, and pork belly. (FYI, it is allowed to drink outside in Korea.) The most famous one for Koreans is pork belly. You would see people grilling μ‚Όκ²Ήμ‚΄ (Sam-Gyup-Sal) in beaches, parks or even at home. It is basically the same part of pork as bacon but Korean people grill the fresh pork belly and eat them with lettuce, miso, garlic and rice. After the food, they play usually soccer or kickball. If they stay overnight, they usually have campfire time. Surrounding the fire, people sing or talk and also at the same time, people cook potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams.

playing frisbee

In America, people usually eat in the kitchen. And, unless they have any designated area where they can grill, they would not set any fire and grill anything. (Regarding regulation related with drinking, it is all different per state. In Pennsylvania, basically, you cannot drink outside. In some parks, you can drink with permit.) During free time, they play frisbee, corn hole or softball or throw football. There might be some other things but those are the main things you can see from any picnic areas or beaches in America. If I would choose the most famous thing, it would be frisbee. I doubt many people would know what the frisbee is. The picture of a girl playing frisbee is a very typical scene you could see in beaches of U.S. What? You wanna come to the U.S. only because you can see it? Haha! You should! πŸ™‚ During the campfire time, people roast marshmallow. Well, I have never heard of marshmallow before I came to the U.S. I think it is basically made of sugar or syrup. People also put marshmallows into a hot chocolate.

Speaking of marshmallow, there is an expression I learned. It is a type of food American people enjoy a lot whenever there is outdoor events. “S’more” Here is the definition I found from the Wikipedia.

Roasting marshmallow

S’more is a traditional nighttime campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada, consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.

I am not sure who made this one first. Is it American or Canadian? I do not think European people eat this. Even though I know this is not really good for my health, I have to admit that this one tastes really good. One boy whom Jessy and I talked in the camp said, “IfΒ  you have not eaten s’mores, you did not live a life!” πŸ™‚ So…. Have you lived your life?

27 May

on your soapbox

Who taught: Jake and James

These days, James and I are working on the same project. It is really fun to work with other coworkers, sharing ideas and talking about different approaches to solve any issues. Today, there were some requests from the customer. As we work on the items, James and I were sending emails to them and ccing each other. I sent an email with the status regarding an item and, a few minutes later, he sent an email and, in his email, he started with the expression, “To add to that, …….”, referring to my status update. And, a few minutes later, as I finished one of the other items, I sent an email, starting with the expression, “Above that,….” After the email, James pinged me and taught me that he would use the other expression, “on top of that”, instead of “above that.” “To describe a situation when something is stacking up, ‘on top of that’ is correct,” he said. Well, I was kind of confused because I always thought “above that” is the same as “on top of that.” And the literal translation into Korean of the two expressions is exactly same. Well, again, this kind of subtle difference is something I have a hard time. But, it is good because I am learning from my mistakes. (As long as they are not really huge and critical ones to make. I hope I do not make those in the future.)

At around 4:30 pm today, Stan and I started to talk about a woman outside. (FYI, Stan and I are sitting right beside window so that we can see outside.) She was surrounded by some other people and it almost looked like she was trying to teach them. Suddenly, one expression that I learned from Jake the other day came to my mind, “get on your soapbox.” “Yeah, she looks like she gets on her soapbox,” I said. Stan was surprised by the expression I used. “Wow, that is really perfect one to describe her. Nice!”

The simple definition of the expression is : Someone is expressing his/her opinions openly.

soapbox

If you hear its etymology, you will have a better understanding about the expression. So, what is a soapbox? Let me guess! Do you now think about a small box which can contain soap? You know something you can find in your bathroom. Well, it is not that one. It is a wooden box where you can put bunch of soaps. Here is a picture for you! Think about a situation that someone is trying to get attention from other people to make a prompt presentation. You want to be taller than others. That’s why you are getting on a soapbox. But, remember! It does not mean that you need to literally get on a soapbox. The expression just describes someone is openly talking about something he/she strongly believes in. Now, what if someone becomes obnoxious, speaking about something stupid, what would/could you say to him/her? That is right! You can say, “Hey! Get off your soapbox!”

26 May

Mile high club

Who taught: Mark, Andrew, Jake, Pete and Shawn

Peanut butter jelly

First, let me start with a very simple story. I think one of the favorite lunch box menu in America is peanut butter jelly. Do you know what peanut butter jelly is? I am pretty sure there are some people do not know what it is. Here I am adding a picture for you. Yeah, it is a sandwich which has peanut better and jelly in it. I found one interesting statistics from the Wikipedia.

A 2002 survey showed the average American will have eaten 1,500 of peanut butter jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school.

So, if you go to a Walmart or Giant Eagle (if you are in Pittsburgh), check the Jam aisle. You will find some different types of stuff. They are Jam, Preserves and Jelly. You know what the difference is between them? Here is the good comparison I found from TLC cooking.

It all depends on the form that the fruit takes.
1. In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.
2. In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result).
3. In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks.

So, which one is your favorite? Mine is preserves. I like to chew something. So, jelly is not my cup of tea. Well, then, what if you put preserves into your sandwich along with peanut butter. Is it “peanut butter jelly”? Technically, NO! Some may argue though. πŸ™‚

Mile High Club?

Shall we move on to the main expression I learned today? Eating lunch, we were talking about some stories. And, suddenly, Mark used an expression, “Mile High Club.” At first, I thought it is a sort of special mileage membership club. But, it turns out it has nothing to do with mileage. Here is a great definition from the Wikipedia.

a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have sex while on board an aircraft in flight.

Well, one of the questions I asked my friends was “Is there really a club?” Well, it turns out there is. Check this (www.milehighclub.com) out! They also have an instruction page about how to become a member. Here is one of the steps they mentioned. “Before you start your aerial pleasures, make sure you are at least 5,280ft AGL (a mile high above the earth), just to make it official.” So, if you dare to become a member, please keep in mind this rule! I was not able to find any benefit information page though. They should have some benefits to make people be motivated. πŸ™‚

25 May

Money and mouth

Who taught : Carol and Jake

Apple streusel

Let’s suppose that you are in the following conversation with me!

Terry : “Hey, guys, what are you playing?”

You and other friends : “We are playing blackjack.”

Terry : “Who is winning?”

Jake : “I rule now. Can’t you see my chips here?”

Terry : “Huh, Jake, if I were playing here, I would totally beat you and get all of the chips.”

OK, now, what kind expression would you use? There is really good one I learned from Carol today. She actually gave me the page she found from her magazine. I really like the expression. It is “put your money where your mouth is.” So, simply, Jake or you can say to me, “Yo, Terry! Shut up and put your money where your mouth is!” Then, I would be like, “Sorry, I do not have money now.” πŸ™‚

Jake told me the similar expression which I also like a lot. “You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?” The shortened version would be, “Dude, you gotta walk the walk!” Well, the meaning of the expressions are “anyone who claims or says she/he can do something should prove with action.”

Here is another example from the paper Carol gave me.

When your sister tastes your apple streusel and tells you she could do better, you know what to say to your sister.

That’s right! She can say, “You b**tch! Put your money where your mouth is.” Oops! Pardon my French! I thought using strong word would help you to remember this expression longer. πŸ™‚

24 May

play hookie

Who taught: Phil

Dog playing hooky

This morning, I got a text message from one of the golf courses I have been. A while ago, I subscribed for their text message service. It reads, “play hookie and golf!” It was weird that the golf course is encouraging me to play hookie for golf. The definition of the expression is

To miss school or work without suitable excuse, for example, saying you are sick or you have a death in your family.

“Play hooky” is also the same thing you can use. It is just a different spelling but the same pronunciation. Not sure which one is more common though? As always, I was very curious about the origin of the expression. Here is the one I found which sounds very reasonable.

The first printed use of the phrase is 1848 and it is related to the 19th-century phrase “hooky-crooky,” which means “dishonest or underhanded.” The parent of this phrase is “by hook or by crook,” meaning “by any means necessary.” (source : word detective)

Then, my question is do you guys still use “by hook or by crook” expression?

When you use this, you should be really careful with your pronunciation or spelling if you are writing this because there is also another expression, “nookie.” Nookie means sexual intercourse and knowing the meaning of nookie, you can easily figure out what “play nookie” would mean, right? Well, who knows? There might be some people who play hookie to play nookie. I found very funny cartoon from the Internet. You know, even your dog plays hooky. πŸ™‚ I have to be honest. Days like today are very hard to resist to play hookie! Have you ever played hookie? I guess the answer would be yes, right?