02 Aug

on your left

Who taught : Andrew and Stacy

PMS

Have I told you that Jessy is watching “Everybody Loves Raymond” show almost everyday these days. The only reason she bought this show was because it was the cheapest. But, as we watch together, we find that it is quite entertaining. When I was in Korea, I thought there is no tension between wife and husband’s mother (her mother-in-law) in America. But, watching the show, I realized that there is in America. I do not think it is as much as the one in Korea. This show has very funny stories about the tension. I would recommend you to watch this show. The tension between wife and her mother-in-law in Korea is pretty severe and, sometimes, it could become out of control and I do think people even get divorced due to this. Well, anyway, we were watching one episode this evening in which Raymond and Debra fight. In the middle of fighting, she said, “You think this is because of PMS.” Well, do you know what it is? It stands for premenstrual syndrome. And here is the full definition of it on wikipedia.

a collection of physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms related to a woman’s menstrual cycle.

Urban dictionary says it is basically men’s nightmare. Well, I guess it is good to know the expression as well as the syndrome. In the episode, Raymond was not good at reacting to Debra and that is why they were fighting. What is a man supposed to do when a woman is going through PMS every month?

Are there any other similar expressions?

Having a lunch together with Andrew and Stacy today, we talked about the situation that you find yourself in the middle of a race. What is happening is runners or bikers tell you something if you are in front of them and blocking them from their path. For example, imagine that you are walking on a narrow road and there is a runner behind you, she/he will shout to you like, “On your left!” if she/he wants to go through your left side. So, then which way should you move aside? It is easy, right? To the right! But, when it comes to the time that it really happens to you, it is hard to figure our and react quickly. This is one small cultural difference between America and Korea. In Korea, runners or bikers would not tell you anything and they will just pass by you any side they want to take.

So, if you are in America, you gotta have a good sense of direction, especially to right or left, when you walk on a road. 🙂 I am pretty sure you would have a hard time to figure out which side is right or left in English if things happen so fast.

29 Jun

funny sound words

These days, I have been watching a TV show, “Everybody Loves Raymond (ELR).” Funny thing is that I do not intend to watch it but I do not have a choice because Jessy is watching it all the time. She used to watch “Friends” so many times. Maybe around 20 times! Or even more…. Honestly, I was the one who encouraged her to watch it to help her English but I got so sick and tired of it. Then, I said to her. “Don’t you want to try something else?” So, finally, she decided to move on to the other one, ELR. It is pretty fun to watch. In my opinion, I think ELR is a little bit harder than Friends. I mean English-wise. Watching it, I heard a few interesting sound words which, I think, are quite useful to know.

1. Mopey : similar to depressed and sad but a little bit like someone bringing gloomy moods.

Example : Hey, why are you being so mopey? Cheer up! The world is not gonna disappear.

Korean equivalent : 시무룩한 (Si-Mu-Ruk-Han)

2. Grumpy : similar to angry and bad-tempered but more like fume and fret

Example : Sometimes, she gets grumpy easily! So you gotta watch out your mouth!

Korean equivalent : 짜증내는 (Jja-Jeung-Nae-Neun)

This one actually seems to be an expression you gotta be careful. I found another definition from the Urban Dictionary. It says it is a slang term for the act of defecating. And the following is an example.

I need to take a grumpy.

3. Tushy : basically good looking butt

Example : Jessy always tells me, “Honey, you do not have tushy at all.” Then I am like, “Asian guys are not supposed to have butt. My lack of tushy is my charm!”

Korean equivalent : 엉덩이 (Eung-Deong-Yi) I cannot find any better word for this but this should be good enough.