Follow up from Lesson #4

Somebody from the Holt-Korea chat board posted about a site to learn Korean. I checked it out, and it's great. Not only can you hear the vowels and consonants pronounced...but you can SEE how the mouth should look. There are also little quizzes and a printout where you can learn to write as well.
If you are still looking for a site to help learn how to pronounce and read Hangul, this may be for you.
Here's the site: CLICK KOREAN

New Look for LBOS

Since I write for you, my blog readers (ok and a little for myself too). I'd like to know what you think of the new look.
Please vote in the poll on the left.

It's a Major Award...

No, it's not THIS. It's a Lemonade Stand (but I can't get the picture to post).
One of my blogging friends, Jen at Waiting 4 Her, gave me the The Great Attitude/Spirit of Gratitude Award award for my Let's Learn about Korea posts. Jen was one of the first people I 'met' on line. She was so helpful in the early stages of deciding on an agency and the whole process.

So, here are the guidelines of the award and instructions for passing on the award. Nominate at least 5 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE! Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Reading other people's blogs has been so fun and encouraging for me throughout this process. So as I dive in the deep end of the blogland pool...here are some of my faves that have Great Attitude:

Jill at Farm Family. Not only does she have a great outlook but how cute is the background on her blog?

Sue at Finding our Sunshine. A fellow Illini that signed up a few weeks before us and always has a 'sunny' attitude.

Christine at Kinleys and Kimchi Be sure to read the very cool article that was written about her and her husband.

Kara at Our Adoption Journey I met Kara, her husband and son at the Korea party. She's leaving this weekend to pick up her son from Korea! She always has a great attitude and an even in low times she kept her chin up.

Cori at The Midwest Mohrs She is such a good writer and her son is seriously one of the cutest kids ever.

I hope their attitude and gratitude brighten your day.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #5

Hello class! Today will be talking about everyone's favorite subject...clothes!

Hanbok

Hanbok literally means "Korean clothing." However, today it is used to describe traditional Korean clothing that is semi-formal or formal and worn on special occasions. A woman's hanbok consists of a wrap around skirt and jacket. A man's has baggy pants and a jacket. Hanboks are known for their simple lines and vibrant colors, which is evident in the children's hanbok below:

Isn't it beautiful?
Our child will for sure have a hanbok from Korea. Usually the foster mother gives you one. If not, we will purchase one. I know my mom and mother-in-law are dying just thinking about how cute their future grandchild will look in one :)

In next week's classs we'll learn about one of the occasions that one would wear their hanbok.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #4

Annyong Haseyo or Good Morning!
Welcome back class. Today's lesson will be on language.

Hangul

The Korean alphabet or Hangul was invented in 1441. Hangul consists of 24 letters-14 consonants and 10 vowels. It is a syllabary alphabet, in which symbols are combined to create syllables. At least one vowel and one consonant are combined to make a syllable and each syllable is written separately. If you would like to see and hear the letters, click HERE. Hangul can be written vertically or horizontally. An example of a Korean word written in Hangul is below and means "family":

It is hard to Romanize Korean because there is no universal standard and some of the Korean sounds don't exist in English. The Korean government is trying to make a standard and in this case "family" is "gajok."
Hangul has been described as the most logical language writing system in the world. The simplicity of it has led Korea to enjoy one of the higest literacy rates in the world.

That being said....I am trying to learn at least some phrases in Korean. If anyone can recommend a tutor or on-line program that you found effective, please email me or post in the comments. My cousin Brian has offered to speak only Korean to me, but I'm not quite there yet :)
Thanks!

Nesting

Apparently Dave and I caught the 'nesting' bug or maybe it's just the start of 2009. But we both did MAJOR clean-up in our house yesterday. Dave woke up inspired to clean out the office. The paper tends to pile-up here and grows daily. I took down the tree and all the decorations, reorganized them and got rid of ones we weren't using. That inspired me to clean out the basement. The previous owner left a ton of junk in our house. The basement has been a thorn in my side for 4 years as it has been the last thing for me to tackle. Let's just say that disposing of a 40 lb, split-open bag of 'quikcrete' is NOT an easy task.
I will not buy anything for our baby until we know who our little guy is. So depending on when we get our referral...I could have a VERY clean house.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #3

I hope you had a nice Christmas or Hanukkah. To help kick-start you into the new year, today's class will be about Taekwondo.

Taekwondo
Not all martial arts are the same. China has kung fu, Japan has karate and Korea has Taekwondo. It is a form of self-defense using only your body as a weapon. The legs and feet get the most action, but a strong arm is also used. When you see somebody in martial arts breaking a stack of bricks with their hand or splitting wooden boards with a flying side-kick...that's Taekwondo. The side-kick is one of the more popular moves:


Taekwondo is the most widely practiced of all the martial arts. Part of it's popularity is because it helps one to develop self-discipline, mental concentration, flexibility and physical fitness. People of all ages and gender can and do practice Taekwondo.

Home Study Approved

DCFS sent approval of our home study and our 1st endorsement letter. We got it much faster than expected. We will send this paperwork onto immigration. Again, you don't necessarily need to know what it all means...just that we're moving along!
Also, our social worker said they have gotten a quite a few referrals and a few families that aren't quite ready, so we are moving up the list a bit quicker. It's getting exciting around here!

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #2

Do Koreans Celebrate Christmas?
Welcome back class. Today we'll be learning about Christmas and religion in South Korea.
The 3 most popular religions in South Korea are Buddhism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Buddhism has been in Korea since 372 A.D. and has influenced much of the culture. It may be surprising to some that Christianity is very prevalent in Korea. Many Korean Americans are very involved in the Christian community as well. Church is a very important way that Korean Americans connect with the community and their faith. South Korea is the only eastern Asian country that does recognize Christmas as a national holiday. So, while not all Koreans celebrate Christmas, it is celebrated by a large part of the population.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Wherever you may be in the world...

"A Home For the Holidays"

If you've never watched this annual show, I highly suggest you check it out this year. We've watched it for years and look forward to it again this year. It focuses on children here in foster care that need homes and success stories from children that have been adopted. Faith Hill and Kristen Chenoweth, both of whom were adopted, are just 2 of the celebrities that will perform. It's a touching show, perfect for the holiday season.

CBS-Tuesday, December 23 at 7pm CST