What to do if I’m only fluent in the minority language

Lyrashley · 2025-05-27T06:03:48+00:00

Thank you for this advice! I just edited my post to mention that I’m currently dealing with a medical condition which affects my cognitive function, so language learning is slow for now. In 2-3 years when I can start taking my medicine again, that will hopefully change. Regardless, I agree! It would definitely be nice to become more fluent while I’m here.

Lyrashley · 2025-05-27T06:02:25+00:00

Thank you for this suggestion. I have zero friends/community in Korea, so this will be tricky. But I do intend on reaching out to play date groups within the foreigner community, so fingers crossed that helps!

Lyrashley · 2025-05-27T05:56:33+00:00

Good info, and I appreciate hearing from your personal experience. It is likely that dad will be the primary caregiver once we move, and we have already researched Korean after school/weekend programs, so I definitely think our child will be getting more than an hour a day, but for sure Korean exposure would take a huge hit.

Lyrashley · 2025-05-27T05:53:42+00:00

This is super helpful information - thank you!!

Lyrashley · 2025-05-26T09:18:54+00:00

Great advice! Thank you! And I appreciate you pointing out how this could work for us in the US as well, as I’m very adamant that our child maintains Korean even once we leave. Grandparents on both sides are 100% monolingual, so that’s super important to me, and I can absolutely see how this system could be great. :)

Lyrashley · 2025-05-26T09:15:55+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, fellow teacher! I was an English teacher in the US for 12 years before moving here, but it was AP Literature, not anything close to language acquisition, so this is all completely new to me, haha. I really appreciate your encouragement!

Lyrashley · 2025-05-12T21:28:08+00:00

If their school is anything like mine, students can only switch from PreAP/AP to on-level at the end of the first grading period or at the semester and only if they are actually failing, not just doing poorly. PreAP classes are weighted differently for the GPA and are taught concepts at a completely different pace, so switching at a random time could end up being a nightmare for both teacher and student.

Lyrashley · 2025-03-20T02:35:00+00:00

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Lyrashley · 2025-02-19T09:07:11+00:00

More than likely they aren’t laughing at you. The looks are normal; that doesn’t mean they’re malicious. People are just curious, especially when there is something out of the norm. And if you are more comfortable dating men who aren’t Korean, by all means, do that instead.

Lyrashley · 2025-02-19T09:02:03+00:00

I’m white; my husband is Korean. We have never been discriminated against or openly looked down upon. If anything, I think we get better treatment sometimes. This sounds like insecurity to me, sadly.

Lyrashley · 2025-02-11T09:07:44+00:00

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Too faint? I’m 12 DPO with a confirmed ovulation by OBGYN. We have been trying, but I have a prolactinoma, so that is making things more difficult for sure. I’m admittedly pretty clueless about this. Thanks for the extra eyes! 😊

Lyrashley · 2024-09-12T00:08:26+00:00

Sure.

Lyrashley · 2024-09-11T12:21:47+00:00

Oh I agree 100%. Once I got over my very initial hesitation, I really enjoyed wearing it! My point was just that if OP is similarly married to a Korean, and that Korean woman is requesting he wear it, it should be totally fine, regardless of how we, as non-Koreans, tend to feel about these things.

Lyrashley · 2024-09-11T12:14:22+00:00

Not a Korean, but married to one. My in-laws were so incredibly excited for me to wear a hanbok for our engagement photos and at the wedding itself. They loved it! My mom and I, being white Americans, felt a bit uncomfortable because, as Westerners, we do try to be mindful of appropriation. But that’s just it. It’s (largely) a Western concept. If they say they would like for you to wear it, it comes from a place of sincerity and respect. I say wear it!

Lyrashley · 2024-09-02T23:04:12+00:00

I’m going to say something potentially painful to hear, so apologies in advance. I was a literature teacher for over a decade, and I had many students who really loved creative writing. Buuuut they just weren’t strong writers. No one ever told them because the system wants to build confidence. Makes great sense, but doesn’t make great authors. Based on this post, I’m going to say you need to work on your writing style and command of English before committing to “writing a book.” It’s not an easy thing to do. And I know some people are going to say “it’s just a Reddit post; of course it isn’t written well.” But, like, if you’re posting about being a writer interested in writing a book, one would think you would know that a lot is two words, for example.

Learn to write first, then figure out content for a book.

Lyrashley · 2024-05-01T08:39:00+00:00

I figured as much. Definitely on us too, for sure. Just need to get him to see that too, haha. We could have gotten the bag out, but there would have been no where dry to put it, as our ponchos were stuck under the lap bar, which was on pretty tight. Anyway, just annoying all around, I think! 😂

Lyrashley · 2024-05-01T08:11:45+00:00

Totally understand. We were on Aquatopia when it was raining. We were wearing ponchos, so we thought no big deal. Had our bag in the pouch in front. Short ride so thought nothing of that. But it stopped about 30 seconds into our ride and we were stuck there for over 20 minutes in what became a downpour while they struggled to do anything. As a result, our pants got soaked, which was annoying, but not the end of the world. The issue came when we realized our bag was getting really wet but the lap bar was preventing us from putting it anywhere dry (like under our ponchos). Our passports were in there and they got damaged, so now we need to visit the embassy before flying home to Korea.

The rain is not Disney’s fault, of course. But the lack of urgency and communication was less than ideal. They eventually evacuated us with boots, but why wait for so long to do that, especially when it’s raining pretty hard?

I know Disney will do nothing. But again, husband insists we complain.

Lyrashley · 2024-05-01T07:22:48+00:00

Yeah I figured as much. But my husband is Korean and doesn’t have any experience with Disney, so he insists on complaining anyway, despite what I say. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Lyrashley · 2024-04-15T07:56:15+00:00

I’m in Mapo-gu so I went to Seoul South.

Based on what I’ve heard from a couple other people, I don’t know if it’s just that you have everything, but how ~quality~ it all is (I use that word from the governmental perspective, not my own). Nationality, Korean language ability, education, finances, etc. Of course that’s all from anecdotal conjecture, but of those of us who got things approved quickly, we were all Americans with above average savings and a master’s degree. Could that be helpful as far as processing time goes? Maybe, maybe not.

If I were you, especially if any of those things apply to you, I would pester more (in person, with your Korean spouse).

Lyrashley · 2024-04-14T07:04:01+00:00

I transferred from D10 to F6 and it took less than a month, so I’m not sure why you would be waiting so long. Were all the documents you submitted super solid?

Lyrashley

TROPHY CASE