Sebastian - CP2 - Week 1

Last Thursday I met another CIES student by the name of Sungsub Song. I really enjoyed speaking with him. His English was very impressive. He told me that he was from a small town in Korea. He started asking me about my background, and I told him that I am Puerto Rican. Apparently, he did not know where Puerto Rico is, so I had to show him using Google Earth. I even showed him my town via the software! He also pointed to the place where he came from in Korea.

The conversation started getting more exciting when we talked about languages, accents, and dialects. I told him that, although most Spanish speaking people understand each other in daily conversation, we share certain words that mean totally different things. For example, I shared with him a story about something that had happened to me while I was knocking on a door in a Mexican neighborhood (I am a Jehovah's Witness). As you all know, we usually preach with a partner when we go door to door. My partner happened to be Mexican. As I approach the door, I am thinking "I got this". I knock. My partner looks at me in horror. I am dumbfounded. I had no idea what I had done wrong. You are probably thinking, "Man, just spit it out". I will...

In Puerto Rico, we have a certain way of knocking that indicates to the resident that we are friendly. Apparently, the same knocking pattern means something totally different in Mexico. Instead of saying "I come in peace", I was saying something cruel about their mother. Hence the horrified look (this happened to be a neighborhood with a very bad reputation). Thank God nobody was there (maybe they were hiding because of the message I inadvertently sent them).

So, after sharing this somewhat embarrassing story, I asked Sungsub if people experienced the same issues in Korea, or if the language is more standardized. He told me it did vary, but the biggest difference is between the people of the North and the people of the South. However, they can still understand each other.

Next time we talk, I hope we can exchange more stories and information about our different cultures. It feels so good to share experiences that seem exclusive to our culture, but in reality, are so universal.

'Till the next time!