Tell us about a business trip you took overseas.

I went on a business trip with three coworkers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore to visit three universities in January. The trip lasted for eight nights and nine days, and was mostly focused on looking at their laboratories and how they manage them in the aspect of space and human resources. I visited the University of Malaya (UM) in KL, the National University of Singapore(NUS) and Nanyang Technological University(NTU) in Singapore. I did have a few days for sightseeing though, especially the Bintan Resort which is famous for wonderful landscapes and very expensive prices.

The reasons why I visited those universities are ;

1. How does the university generally manage their laboratory?

2. How does the university maintain their space and human resources in their laboratory?

3. How does the university support the material cost for their students' projects?

4. Does a term project progress between two or three departments which are closely connected?

and so on.

The most impressive thing was that almost all the students who were in KL or Singapore spoke English very well when they explained their projects. I was surprised that they didn't hesitate to present their project to us at all. They seemed to eager to explain questions about their work to me. I felt they strove to concentrate on their studies at every university I visited, differing from our university students. And there was a lot of space where the students were able to study in chairs and desks everywhere such as hallways or around the buildings. The company wanted to hire the students who were graduating from those universities as soon as they graduated. The employment rate of those universities is amazingly over 90 percent.

After officially visiting all three universities, I started to look around tourist spots. I was anxious to see the Petronas Twin Towers in KL and Julong Bird Park in Singapore. I was astounded at how tall the Twin Towers were and how smart the birds were. Actually, I have already visited the Twin Towers in 2005 because I had a three-day stopover during a European trip.

I ended up taking over five hundred pictures while visiting those marvelous places, I also ate a lot of various foods during that trip.

Tell me about your hobbies. What kind of hobbies do you have? When and where do you do your hobbies?

===== Thanks! Samuel~!

My hobbies are riding my bicycle, taking pictures and traveling around the world. I think they go together very well. They make me happy when I am tired, bored or exhausted about my life. I've already taken trips on my bicycle, taking beautiful pictures many times.

I usually ride my bicycle to commute to work because I want to lose some weight. It only takes 30 minutes by bicycle along a road by the river. But if I take the subway, it takes over 40 minutes. The reason why is that it's very far from the subway station to the building whereI work. I kill two birds with one stone by riding my bicycle some of the time when I commute to school.

In 2002, the year of the Korea-Japan World Cup, I went to 10 World Cup stadiums which are located all around my country by bicycle, even to Jeju stadium which is located on Jeju island. Whenever I think about going the stadiums, I feel very excited. And I have also been to Europe, India and Taiwan. Last February, I rode my bicycle in Taiwan.

The thing that interests me about traveling around the world is that I really want to have good memories to carry with me forever. So I decided to learn how to take pictures well with a nice digital camera. Although my memory may fail as I get old, the pictures which I have taken willalways be with me.

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If I took the subway, it would take over 40 minutes. (but I never do)

If I take the subway, it takes over 40 minutes. (So I don't like that.)

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"Mad men"

- 1 hour each episode

- about a 1960s advertising agency in New York

- shows a lot of changes in American culture

- the English is very clear

=====

Forgiving someone who has some faults.

She told me her thoughts.(09-12-22)
I am very lonely and depressed today even though I have a girlfriend. She told me that she feels mixed emotions about our relationship. She has lost trust in me but in her heart, she still loves me. So, she doesn't know how to handle this. She has started to lose interest in me and now ignores me. I lost her trust the time I blacked out and couldn't answer her phone calls. It is difficult to build a reliable relationship between couples and unfortunately it is easier to spoil it. I totally regret what I did and take responsibility for it. What can I do to change her mind? How can I change her mind and the way she feels about me so I can take her on a date today? This is the worst night I've ever had in my life!

Christmas, the time to forgive(09-12-24)

In my case, I am so happy to have someone to spend Christmas with. I usually spent Christmas with my girlfriend. If I don't, I just stay at home and watch some Christmas TV programs or the movie such as Home Alone or non-stop TV variety shows for 10 hours. These days, my girlfriend and I aren't getting along because of my faults. I hesitate to ask her out. I tried to find some special place to have dinner together even though it was tough to reserve because of Christmas eve. She said it must be so crowed and expensive. Just let's go to a small coffee shop in front of her house. I met her there and told her my thoughts, my plans for the future and my true feelings about her. What if we break up with each other? How would I feel? She feels differently between her mind and heart. Anyway, she smiled at me and gave me one more chance to save our relationship. To strengthen our relationship, we must not discard the good time we shared since Feb, 2007.

Talk about legal ages in Korea.

# The English you can speak, 16 Dec 2009

In Korea, you are legally considered a minor until you reach the age of 19. When you reach that age, you are legally allowed to purchase cigarettes and consumealcohol. 19 is also the age when you can legally start entering the bars and night clubs or work at places where alcohol is sold. In the United States, you may buy cigarettes when you turn 18, but you can't have your first drink until your twenty-first birthday. Also, you can get your driver's license when you turn 18 in Korea. That's quite a difference from the United States, where you can get your learner's permit at age 15. You are given the right to vote in Korea when you become 19. However, you must be at least 25 to run for public office and 40 to run for president. You also have to be at least 19 to be able to buy lottery tickets in Korea.

# A minor is a person who is still legally a child. In Britain and most states in the United States, people are minors until they reach the age of eighteen.

# Cigarettes are small tubes of paper containing tobacco which people smoke.

# Drinks that can make people drunk, such as beer, wine, and whisky, can be referred to asalcohol.

# The president of a country that has no king or queen is the person who is the head of state of that country.

## Extra Topics for Study Group

1. What is the age restriction for alcohol in Korea?

2. What were you legally allowed to do when you turned 19?

3. How old do you have to be to vote or to run for office in Korea?

# You have to reach 19 to be able to get married without parents' consent.

# One of my dreams as a young child was to run for president.

# My opinions

Oh my God-! I'm already late in twenties. I'm absolutely allowed to do anything what I want now. At the freshman of university, my buddies and I had to find a bar to sell us a bottle of soju. The reason why it's against the law to consume alcohol until my or his nineteenth birthday. But some bars sold it without any verification. So, there was always crowded with a bunch of freshman and we also went there to drink soju. In order to drink a soju at a bar, I used to memorized another's identification registration number and his name of Chinese character. The bar owner sometimes requested my ID number and Chinese character to verify whether I was allowed or not. It's old days. Anyway, the time is flying never to return. I hardly understand how fast time is. Someone says the speed of life time is as well as his age. In other words, if I were 10 years old, the speed of life time is 10km/h. It's too slow and nothing to do. Unfortunately, the speed of life time would be 30km/h when I become 30. There are not enough time to do something. For me, it's a time to go on the next step and get a job for my life. My girlfriend is more worried about my future, my job and me than I worried myself. I'm one of the happiest persons in the world to meet her as a girlfriend and I honestly appreciate her even though she start not to concentrate on me, a person who really like to drink and sometimes not to receive her phone call at the bars. I'm sure I should keep in touch with her every day. Please pray for me and her.

== Thanks- Mike!

Oh my God-! I am already in my late twenties. I'm absolutely allowed to do anything I want, now. As a university freshman, my buddies and I had to find a bar to sell us a bottle of soju. The reason is in Korea, it is against the law to consume alcohol untilyour nineteenth birthday. But, some bars sell it without any ageverification. So, that bar was always crowded with a bunch of freshman and we also went there to drink soju. In order to drink soju at a bar, I use to memorize another person's identification registration number and his Chinese name. The bar owner sometimes requested my ID number and my Chinese name to verify whether I was allowed to drink. Those were the days! Anyway, time flies never to return. I hardly understand how fast time passes. Some people says that the speed of life timematches your age. In other words, if I were 10 years old, the speed of life time is 10km/h. It's too slow and I have little to do. Unfortunately, the speed of my life time would be 30km/h when I become 30. There is not enough time to do anything. For me, the next step in my life is to get a job. My girlfriend is more worried about my future, my job and me than I am. I'm one of the happiest people in the world, have her as a girlfriend and I honestly appreciate her even though she thinks I may be losing interest in her. She now sees me as a person who really likes to drink and sometimes ignore her phone calls when I'm at the bars. I think I should keep in touch with her every day. Please pray for me and her.

Explain what "gye" is in English.

## The English you can speak, 12 Dec 2009

There's something called a "gye" in Korea. A gye is a rotating money club comprised of a set number of people. Each member pays a equal amount to pool of money every month. At the start of each period, one member is entitled to take the whole pot. The order in which you collect your payout is determined when the gye is formed. People who get paid later in the rotation get a little more as an incentive. In other words, you would get paid the most if you the last on payout list. These calculations are all managed by the gye-joo, the one in charge of the gye. People do gyes for various reasons ranging from traveling to ranging capital for business. This rotating credit system not only serves financial purposes but also social ones.

# A pool of people, money, or things is a quantity or number of them that is available for an organization or group to use.

# If you have pots of money, you have a lot of it.

# A payout is a sum of money, especially a large one, that is paid to someone, for example by an insurance company or as a prize.

# If something is an incentive to do something, it encourages you to do it.

## Extra Topics for Study Groups

1. If you have had an experience joining a "gye", please tell us how it was.

2. Why do people engage in "gye?"

3. What are the benefits of joining a "gye?"

## My opinion

I think a "gye" is originated from "품앗이", which is a tradition to exchange their labor instead of paying money in the old days. So, if someone need a big cash, other people gather it and give him. After that, he who takes the whole pot and the others continuously paid a equal amount to pool of money every month. The last person who takes the money get paid the most because he waits for a long time to get his turn. My mom also participated in a "gye" when I was 6 or 7 years old. I didn't exactly remember, anyway my mom went to some place every month to send in the money with me. I thought the bank is the best place to keep it up. But the interest of "gye" is higher than the public bank. In my case, I usually save the money every month to travel abroad. It's kind of "gye"