Duck-Canard-Утка-Pato

English

A duck is cleaning its feathers.

There are some ducks and ducklings in our village.

When I was a kid, a big duck scared me.


French


Un canard nettoie ses plumes.
Il y a des canards et canardeaux dans notre village.
Quand j'étais un enfant, un grand canard m'a effrayé.


Russian


Утка чистит перья.
У нас в деревне живут утки и утята.
Когда я был маленьким, большая утка напугала меня.


Spanish


El pato limpia sus plumas con el pico.
En nuestro pueblo hay patos y patitos.
Cuando yo era un niño, un pato grande me asustó.

Fireworks in Four Languages

Hi everybody, it's time for another 4-language post! Please add your language in the comments! And I'm still learning, so if you see anything wrong with my sentences, do let me know! :-)

- Michael

Busan, South Korea - 2010

English
I hear fireworks!
Did you see the fireworks last night?
He has always been afraid of fireworks

French
J'entends des feux d'artifice!
Est-ce que tu as vu les feux d'artifice hier soir?
Il avait toujours peur de feux d'artifice.

Русский
Я слышу фейерверки!
Вы видели фейерверки прошлой ночью?
Он всегда боялся фейерверков.

Español
¡Oigo fuegos artificiales!
¿Vio los fuegos artificiales anoche?
Él siempre ha tenido miedo de fuegos artificiales.

Dragonfly in Four Languages

Let's learn languages together! If you can add another language in the comments, please do!!!

Near Andong, South Korea - October 2010

English
It is a dragonfly!
I saw a dragonfly yesterday.
I hope that there will be dragonflies near the river.

Français
C'est une libuelle!
J'ai vu une libuelle hier.
J'espère qu'il y aura des libuelles près de la rivière.

Русский

Это стрекоза!

Вчера я видел стрекозу.

Я надеюсь, что около реки будут стрекозы.

Español

¡Esto es una libélula!

Ayer vi una libélula.
Espero que haya una libélula cerca del río.

A Korean Crash Course

Hello everybody!!! I spent last weekend on the southern coast of Korea in "Dynamic Busan!" Busan (부산) is a large, temperate coastal city bordered by hills that bloom with cherry blossoms in the spring to the north, and to the south, beaches!

Sunning myself at Gwangalli beach

This time I'd like to introduce some Korean words and phrases that might be helpful to anybody who is interested in starting to learn Korean or is planning to take a trip to Korea in the future! I'll start with a brief introduction to Korean characters.

Korean characters were invented and designed to be logical and easy to learn, Korean is nearly perfectly phonetic with very few irregularities.  I'll list the characters with their romanticized letter equivalent and then an approximation of the sound.  Most of the consonants can be doubled to give a stronger sound, and when a vowel is doubled it makes a sound similar to adding a "y" before a letter in English. (ㅑ= "yah").  Vowels can also be combined to make diphthongs, so the vowels ㅜ("oo") and ㅣ("ee") make a sound like "wee."

Consonants:
ㄱ - k/g - "k" or "g" sound
ㄴ - n - "n" sound
ㄷ - d/t - "d" or "t" sound
ㄹ - l/r - "l" or "r" sound, usually more like "l"
ㅁ - m - "m" sound
ㅂ - b/p -"b" or "p" sound, usually like "b" at the beginning of a word and "p" at the end
ㅅ - s - "s" or "sh" sound
ㆁ - ng - placeholder before a vowel and "ng" sound at the end of a syllable
ㅈ - j - "j" or light "ch" sound
ㅊ - ch - "ch" sound
ㅋ - K - hard "k" sound (doubled ㄱ)
ㅌ - T - "t" sound (doubled ㄷ)
ㅍ - P - "p" sound with a little puff of breath, sometimes used to represent "f" in foreign words
ㅎ - h - "h" sound

Vowels:
ㅏ - a -"ah" sound
ㅓ - eo - "aw" or short "o" sound like in "hot," but sometimes like the "u" in "hut"
ㅗ - o - long "o" sound, as in "coat"
ㅜ - u - long "u" sound as in "flute" or "boot"
ㅡ - eu - "eu" sound, kind of like in "good" or the unaccented French "e" sound
ㅣ - i - "ee" sound, as in "feet"

The language is read left to right, up to down and the characters are arranged in syllables the same way. Syllables usually contain 3 characters but occasionally they contain 4. The word for Korean writing in Korean is:

한 글

"han-geul"

Many people in Korea speak some English, so most of the time if you are in real trouble you can find somebody who can help you, but here are some essential words and phrases that might aid in getting around and understanding some of what is being said so you can respond appropriately. Adding 요 "yo" at the end of a verb makes it more polite in many cases.


Basics:

Hello: 안녕하세요 "an-yeong-ha-se-yo" (It sometimes sounds more like "annyeonseyo")
Goodbye: 안녕히 계세요 "an-yeong-hi kae-se-yo"
Yes: 네 "Ne" or sometimes 예 "Ye"
No: 아니오 "a-ni-o", or informally 아니 "a-ni"
Thank you: 감사합니다 "gam-sa-ham-ni-da" or 고맙습니다 "go-map-seum-ni-da"
This: 이것 "i-geo"
Teacher/Sir: 선생님 "seon-saeng-nim"
Really: 진짜 "chin-jja"


Transportation:

Taxi: 택시 "taek-shi"
Bus: 버스 "beos-uh"
Car: 자동차 "ja-dong-cha"
Airplane: 비행기 "bi-heng-gi"
Train: 기차 "gi-cha"
Here: 여기 "yeo-gi"
There: 거기 "geo-gi"
Left (direction): 왼쪽 "wen-chok"
Right (direction): 오른쪽 "o-reun-chok"
North: 북 "buk"
South: 남 "nam"
East: 동 "dong" - be careful, 똥 "ddong" means "poop," usually 동 is attached to something else: 동대구 "dong-dae-gu" - "East Daegu"
West: 서 "seo"
Korea: 한국 "han-guk"
China: 중국 "jun-guk"
Japan: 일본 "il-bon"
Russia: 러시아 "reo-si-a"
USA: 미국 "mi-guk"
UK: 영국 "yeong-guk"
France: 프랑스 "Peu-rang-suh"
Germany: 독일 "dok-il"
Spain: 스페인 "seu-pae-in"
Italy: 이탈리아 "i-tal-li-a"
Greece: 그리스 "Geu-ri-suh"


Verbs:

There's not/don't have/is it gone?: 없다 "eob-da" 없어 "eobs-eo" or polite "eobs-eo-yo"
It's OK, I'm OK, are you OK?: 괜찮아요 "kan-chanh-a-yo"
I am hurt, it hurts, does it hurt?: 아파 "apa", 아파요 "apayo"
Bring me please: 주세요 "ju-se-yo"
Eat/drink: 먹어 "mog-o", 먹어요 "mog-o-yo"
Don't/wait: 하지 마 "ha-ji ma"
No, stop doing that: 안돼 "an-de", 안돼요 "an-de-yo"
Sit down: 앉아 "anja", 앉으세요 "anj-euseyo"
Wait: 기다려 "gi-da-ryeo"


Questions:

Who?: 누구? "nugu?"
What?: 뭐? "mwo?"
When?: 언제? "eon-je?"
Why?: 왜? "wae?"
Where?: 어디로? "eo-di-lo?
How?: 어떻게? "eo-teo-ke?"


Numbers:

One: 하나 "ha-na" - or for money 일 "il"
Two: 두 "du" - 이 "i"
Three: 세 "se" - 삼 "sam"
Four: 네 "ne" - 사 "sa"
Five: 다섯 "da-seos" - 오 "o"
Six: 여섯 "yeo-seos" - 육 "yuk"
Seven: 일곱 "il-gob" - 칠 "chil"
Eight: 여덟 "yeo-deolb" - 팔 "pal"
Nine: 아홉 "a-hob" - 구 "gu"
Ten: 열 "yeol" - 십 "ship"
100: 백 "baek"
1000: 천 "cheon"
10000: 만 "man"


Foods and drinks:

Delicious: 맛있 "mash-iss"
Rice: 밥 "bap"
Seaweed: 김 "kim"
Spicy fermented cabbage and veggies: 김치 "kim-chi"
Rice rolled in seaweed: 김밥 "kim-bap"
Rice mixed with vegetables and egg: 비빔밥 "bi-bim-bap"
Ramen: 라면 "ra-myeon"
Noodles in black sauce "Chinese Noodles": 자장면 "ja-jang-myeon"
Meat (any kind): 고기 "go-gi"
Chicken: 닭 "dak"
Meat cooked over a flame: 불고기 "bul-go-gi"
Marinated meat: 갈비 "gal-bi"
Stew/soup: 찌개 "jji-gae"
Korean rice liquor: 소주 "so-ju"
Beer: 맥주 "maek-ju"

If you'd like to learn more Korean, there are many free sites like this one that can help you!

And here are some more pictures from my trip to Dynamic Busan!

On a pier with the "Me-World" amusement park in the background

Can you find me?

Enjoying a mocha at "Fuzzy Navel" by Gwangalli beach.

Dried fish!

Did you know I could do this?

And here I am riding the bus back home.

Until next time!

Michael TheMonkey

A Petersburg Tale

Привет, my friends! Last summer I took a trip North from Moscow on the overnight train to magnificent St. Petersburg!

St. Petersburg was founded on a swamp in 1703 by Peter the Great, the emperor of Russia, to become the heart of modernization in Russia and the capital of the country. Moscow became the capital after the Revolution in 1917 when the Soviet Union was established. St. Petersburg is considered the most "westernized" Russian city - it’s also called Petrograd, Leningrad, Piter and known as the “Russian Venice” because of the numerous canals that burst through the city.

The imposing St Isaac’s Cathedral, standing not far from the shore of the Neva River, is one of the world’s largest churches.

Often considered a symbol of Russia, St. Petersburg is actually an entirely atypical Russian city. Situated so close to Europe on the shore of the Baltic Sea, it expresses everything European that Russia has to offer, but in a unique and strange way that also incorporates old Russian tradition. Some think it's a mad city; some find it very inspiring! Many great Russian writers, poets and dancers began their work here. To get a feeling for this one-of-a-kind place, read one of Russia's most prominent authors - Feodor Dostoyevsky (Crime and Punishment, Notes from the Underground, The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov). Even nowadays, people in St. Petersburg are considered a bit more intelligent, refined and polite than Muscovites.

 Peter the Great has me on his lap.

The city is situated on the banks and islands of the Neva river and Finsky bay. There are many natural and man-made canals and islands.

The city center is well organized - all of the streets are perpendicular. The main and oldest street in St. Petersburg is called the Nevsky Prospect. It runs from St Petersburg’s center of religion, the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, to the symbol of Russian power, the Admiralty, and passes by everything else along the way! The 4.5km length of the Nevsky Prospect goes over four different islands and across multiple channels and rivers. It is truly one of world’s great promenades - anything you'd want can be found along its course: stunning architecture, incredible palaces, world-famous museums and grand opera houses; the most fashionable shops and the latest fashions; sparkling five-star hotels, small bed and breakfasts and all manner of restaurants, cafes and nightclubs!

The Bronze Horseman - another Peter the Great Statue in St. Petersburg.

Here are some special things you can do with your time in St. Petersburg:

- Walk along the Nevsky Prospect and have a banana milkshake for breakfast in one of the little cafes.
- Take a boat trip along the channels.
- Climb up St. Isaac cathedral for a view of the city.
- Sunbathe on the green grass of the Summer Garden under the northern sun.
- Visit the wonderful Hermitage museum in Winter Palace! (Of course) But not all at once. It's so large that it's better to choose something specific you would like to see and to go especially for that.
- Walk along the Moika river embankment in the evening.
- Spend a sleepless night out during White Nights to watch the moveable bridges and The Scarlet Sails.
- Pet the Griffin Statue on the Bank Bridge over the Griboedov Canal and make a wish!

A good Russian tradition - to pet the Griffin's foot and make a wish. Does it mean I could make 2 wishes if I climbed it or even 3 if I made friends with this creature?

And here are some basic words and phrases which can make your life much easier. Even if you don't have any plans to speak Russian, learning these can be a real ice-breaker when you meet a Russian – they'll love it if you can say "hi" or "thank you" in Russian.

Yes                              Да                                                  Da
No                               Нет                                                Net
Hi!                               Привет!                                         Pri`vet
Bye!                             Пока!                                             Po`ka!
What                            Что                                                Ch`to
This                              Это                                                `Eto
I                                   Я                                                    Ya
I love you!                    Я тебя люблю!                              Ya tebya lyublyu!
Banana                         Банан                                             Banan
I don't understand.        Я не понимаю.                              Ya ne poni`mayu.
Thank you!                   Спасибо!                                        Spa`sibo!

The Winter Palace, well-known for the Hermitage collection. 

Spasibo and Poka, dear Friends!