My wallet is getting thick Version 2

A Person living in the modern society tends to have tons of plastic cards. Common The average person's wallets are usually filled with a lot of these cards.

Some of them are identification of for the card holder, like driver's license. Part Some of them are very important to do economical for monetary activities. These are the credit cards or debit cards from the banks. Some cards are also important to live well and to do some cultural pastimes recreational activities. Library cards or gym cards could represent are examples of these kind of things and these that help us live quality of life.

The rest of them are, generally speaking, optional cards. These are some membership or reward cards from the shops, service providers and so on. People can live well without these cards. The only disadvantage of being without these cards is that someone could buy something in a little bit for a slightly more expensive price.

One of the first things I did as soon as I arrived in Canada was cutting the cards that I brought from Korea. I cut tons of my optional cards and some cards for the library, gym, and even some debit and credit cards as well. Because The physical distance between Canada and Korea  made the most of these cards useless any longer now.

At last, my purse became very thin. I was a little bit sad, as I felt that my credit reputation accumulated for a long period in Korea had just vanished without any trace. My good economical history and credit grade are just nothing in Canada.

But there was no time being to be sad because there were many other things to do as a new permanent resident. I had to apply for my SIN, healthcare insurance and driver's license. Also I opened my bank account and applied for a debit card and a credit card at the same time. One of the most useful cards is my new public library card. Almost everyday, I go to the public library to study English.

As time goes went on, the Canadian federal government and Alberta provincial government began to send me the important cards such as driver's license, SIN card, health care card and PR card. Also the bank allowed me to get a debit and a credit card after depositing some money for my poor credit history in Canada. Furthermore, I even made a membership card to get some rewards from a supermarket where I usually buy groceries. My wallet is beginning to get thick again.

Although my purse is still very much thinner than in the past, it seems that the wallet would be thick soon.

Like my wallet is rapidly getting thick, I hope my English skill quickly improves too.

South Korea is a strange country

My origin country is South Korea. I think Korea is very strange country. When I was born, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. At that time, a politician of USA said that there was no any hope in the future of Korea. But now, Korea is officially treated as one of the developed countries in the world.

In Canada, I see many Korean brands like SAMSUNG, LG, KIA so on in TV commercials and on the street. In the past, Korean goods meant the cheapest and low quality. But now, even Koreans themselves tend to select Korean products without any concern about the quality although these are expensive.

It took a long period for many western countries to become developed countries. Most citizens in the rich countries do not have any experiences in poverty because they were born in developed countries. Therefore, entire citizens in a certain wealthy country have comparatively the same economic background.

But in Korea, it is a different story. Many middle aged Koreans remember vividly when they were poor. However, young Koreans never have any images that Korea was the poorest country in the world. It is weird that some people who struggled only for food through their youth and the rest of them who are living in rich since they were infants are being together in a small country. So there are big generation gaps in Korea.

Like many poor countries, South Korea was not a democratic country. A dictator ruled South Korea with his corrupted power and many Koreans were killed or tortured for their demanding for the democracy. At that time, a politician in Britain even said that anticipating South Korea a democratic country was impossible like waiting a rose to bloom in the waste bin. In 1980s, many Koreans did not obey against the tyranny and many people were killed.

Eventually, South Koreans gained their political power to be a modern democratic country. Even though South Korea is a democratic country now without any doubt, there are some problems. Many senior Koreans have misunderstood that the old tyranny made Korea rich in the past. There is another big difference between young Koreans and seniors. That is why the dictator's daughter was elected as the president of Korea by the old Koreans' support while most young Koreans did not want her.

I think Korea is very strange country because young Koreans have to live with people like living fossil and senior Koreans have to live with young Koreans like communists. Other countries do not have these problems because their seniors usually were passed away during their slow changes. Too rapid development and changes made South Korea strange and unique. South Korea is the country where people from the rich and people from the poor are living together. Also Korea is the country where the authoritarian and the democrat are living together.

Soon, new Korean government made by the fossil people will start. I wonder how Korea opens its future with their government made by the old thoughts.

My wallet is getting thick

Person living in the modern society tends to have tons of plastic cards. Common person's wallets are usually filled with a lot of these cards.

Some of them are identification of the card holder like driver's license. Part of them are very important to do economical activities. These are credit cards or debit cards from the banks. Some cards are also important to live well and to do some cultural pastimes. Library cards or gym cards could represent these kind of things and these help us live quality of life.

Rest of them are, generally speaking, optional cards. These are some membership or reward cards from the shops, service providers and so on. People can live well without these cards. Only disadvantage of being without these cards is that someone could buy something in a little bit expensive.

One of the first things I did as soon as I arrived in Canada was cutting the cards that I brought from Korea. I cut tons of my optional cards and some cards for the library, gym, and even some debit and credit cards as well. Because physical distance between Canada and Korea  made the most cards useless any longer.

At last, my purse became very thin. I was a little bit sad as I felt that my credit reputation accumulated for a long period in Korea just vanished without any trace. My good economical history and credit grade are just nothing in Canada.

But there was no time being sad because there were many things to do as a new permanent resident. I had to apply for my SIN, healthcare insurance and driver's license. Also I opened my bank account and applied for a debit card and a credit card at the same time. One of the most useful card is my new public library card. Almost everyday, I go to the public library to study English.

As time goes on, the Canadian federal government and Alberta provincial government began to send me the important cards such as driver's license, SIN card, health care card and PR card. Also the bank allowed me to get a debit and a credit card after depositing some money for my poor credit history in Canada. Furthermore, I even made a membership card to get some rewards from a supermarket where I usually buy groceries. My wallet is beginning to get thick again.

Although my purse is still very thinner than in the past, it seems that the wallet would be thick soon.

Like my wallet is rapidly getting thick, I hope my English skill quickly improves too.

Strange sounds system of the English lanuage

Korean has a very scientific notational system. It can describe most sounds in the world. Also it is very simple and it represents it's own pronunciation. In other words, Korean alphabet is exactly the symbol of it's sound. So Korean does not have to use any pronunciation symbols. Therefore, even foreigners who learned Korean alphabet a few hours can read and write Korean words although they do not understand the meanings.

Many Koreans are confused when they begin to learn English. As English words have irregular spelling rules with their sounds, and there are many unsystematic sounds methods, Koreans are usually shocked at the fact that they have to memorize the spelling of the words and the pronunciation separately.

I was wondering why English has only five vowel characters(A, E, I, O, U) even though it has more than 10 vowel sounds until my LINC instructor told us the reason yesterday.

In the past, Roman Emperor ruled England. Their language was Latin and they used Latin alphabet as the notational system. After ruling of the Rome, England was invaded from Anglo, Saxon and so on originally from the German area. Their language was similar with old German, but they did not have any alphabet.

As the ruling class of the England, they became to need some notational system to rule their new territory and they finally found the Latin alphabet. However, very sadly, their sounds did not perfectly match with the Latin characters. So many complex spelling rules were derived with the loose pronunciation methods.

In the end, the poor English learners, especially from the East Asia, are struggling to memorize the spellings and the pronunciations separately.

It was very interesting story to me.

Canadian is polite but not friendly : version 2

Somebody correct some errors in my writing and it is really helpful for me.

제가 쓴 것이 반드시 정답은 아니고, 다소 제 마음대로 고쳐보았습니다.  ()안에 든 것은 빼도 무방하거나, 빼는 것이 낫다는 생각이 든 단어들입니다.

(저보다 훨 뛰어난 영어실력자가 보시면, 제가 첨삭한 것이 우습게 보일지도 모르겠습니다만)

Before I came to Canada, I have been to Melbourne, Australia and Washington DC, USA. These are my all experiences in the western culture. I did not have any special occasion when I was in Washington DC because I stayed at an isolated hotel attending seminars and having business meetings just for a week.

But I had many kind invitations from very friendly Australians during my three-week (long) business trip. They brought me to their home and I enjoyed wonderful times with delicious dinner and BBQ almost everyday.(이 문장에서는 invited를 쓰신 것이 전혀 잘못된 것이 아니지만, 제가 앞에서 invitation을 언급했기 때문에, 반복을 피하기 위해 고쳐보았습니다.)  I was impressed very much that almost Australians, who I came across on the street, were smiling at me and said hello to me.

I was excited before I came to Canada as I expected that Canadians (or a Canadian) must be hilarious like Australians(or an Australian).  But I was wrong, I guess.  Canadians who I see at (the) Calgary usually have moody expression like Koreans and they hardly exchange greetings. I was a little bit confused. (이 부분은 시제의 일치 때문인데, 아직 캘거리에 계신듯 해서, 현재형이 맞지 않을까 싶습니다.)

A few days ago, my instructor at LINC told us that Canadians are polite but not friendly.  I (can) quite understand now what he said.

There are many western countries and they are not the same even though they speak English and are the same common wealth countries.

When I am walking around the city, I am sometimes confused if I am still in Korea.

쓰신 글 내용에 대해서는, 도시의 규모와 분위기에 많이 좌우되는것 같습니다.

저는 인구 16만 정도의 소도시인 벌링턴에 삽니다만, 산책할 때마다 왠만하면 처음 보는 사람들이라도 서로 인사를 합니다. (물론, 모른척하고 외면하는 사람도 가끔 있습니다만)  하지만, 토론토에서 그러한 상황을 기대하기는 어렵겠지요.  그리고 아무래도 따뜻한 곳에 사시는 분들이 더욱 프렌들리 할 지 모르겠습니다.

Differences between Seoul and Calgary in public library

I like studying in the public library. When I was a highschool student in Korea, there were not sufficient public libraries so I always had to line up in front of the library to enter.

Nowadays, there are many public libraries in Seoul, Korea. I used to go to the public library to study English to prepare IELTS examination.

Now, I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada as a permanent resident since November last year. However, my English skill is very low, so I have to learn English yet. As usual as I was in Korea, I go to the public library everyday to study English in here.

There are a lot of differences between Seoul’s public library and Calgary’s.

In brief, the public libraries in Calgary seem like a facility for families. Whenever I go to the library, I always can see variety kind of people from babies to seniors. Also there are wide range of facilities and books for teen and children such as small desks, chairs and even computers. It seems that the library is for all family members. Therefore many parents come to the library with their children. The library is not only for adults but also for children as their playground. So it is common to hear noise from children like crying, laughing or shouting at the library.

The other hand, the public library in Korea is commonly treated a facility to study for students. I hardly see any other kinds of people except students at the public library in Korea. There are only a few seniors in the news papers and magazines room.
Preparing for this situation, the public library in the Korea lays many desks and chairs in a large room for only studying. Many students use the room for their study. The room is filled with almost students, and it is usually very quiet and prohibited making noise. The atmosphere of the room is heavy and serious. So it is not a good place for children and families.

Canadian is polite but not friendly

Before I came to Canada, I have been to Melbourne, Australia and Washington DC, USA. These are my all experiences of the western culture. I did not have any special event when I was in Washington DC because I stayed an isolated hotel attending seminars and having business meetings just for a week.

But I had many kind affairs with very friendly Australians during my three-week long business trip. They invited me to their home and we shared good times with delicious dinner and BBQ almost everyday. It was very impressive for me that almost Australians, who I came across on the street, were smiling at me and said hello to me.

I was excited before I came to Canada as I expected that Canadian must be hilarious like Australian. But my expectancy was wrong. Canadians who I saw at the Calgary usually have moody expression like Koreans and they hardly exchange greetings. I was a little bit confused.

A few days before, my instructor at LINC told us that Canadian is polite but not friendly. I can quite understand now what he said.

There are many western countries and they are not the same even though they speak English and are the same common wealth countries.

When I am walking around the city, I am sometimes confusing if I am still in Korea.

Differences between Korean housing and Canadians

This is my first homework at LINC.


Korea is a small country but there are so many people. Actually Canada is 100 times bigger than South Korea, and there are about 35 million people and South Korea's population is over 50 million. So the population density of the South Korea is extremely high.

In Addition, most part of the land of Korea are mountains. So most Korean buildings to live are very tall apartments. They are usually more than 20 stories.
Yes, we, many South Koreans, are literally living in the sky.

These buildings are for families, not for business. Seoul, South Korea

When I arrived in Canada, I found out that most living houses are made of wood. I like wooden house because I think it is natural and seem to be good for human health. However in Seoul, it is illegal to construct buildings or houses by using wood.
We have to build houses only using iron bar and concrete.

I think it is weird because when I lived in Japan, a neighborhood country of South Korea, I could see many wooden houses even though they have usually suffered from the frequent earthquakes.
But Korean law prohibits that builds wooden houses in Seoul although Korea hardly experiences the earthquake.

I am here, Calgary.

I am in Calgary, Alberta, Canada since just two months.

I was in Seoul, South Korea just before two months.

I think I was a good senior C/C++ developer in South Korea.

But I am not a good developer anymore because of my poor English.

I have to learn English for living in Calgary.

I was old in South Korea but I am too young to get a job in Calgary.

I wonder what will be happening.

I have just started.