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I met with my conversation partner, Dongseok Lee, yesterday before class. We played chess for the fifteen minutes. I really enjoyed that; he’s a good player! We didn’t say much during the game, but it was still a shared experience where we got to know each other more.

The last 45 minutes we talked about various things. He had several questions on things, so I sent him some info on Facebook. The difference between billiards and pool (In America, Billiards is an umbrella term for different kinds of sports played with cues. Pool is one type of billiards; it is the most popular one in America). I referenced Schulz’s “Peanuts” and he didn’t understand, so I sent him to a site to check out the comics. I told him about Redbox and Netflix. He told me about their satellite TV, SkyLife, and their equivalent of Netflix, Qook TV. Lastly, he used “publish” incorrectly (Apple is going to publish their iPad and iPhone in October). I said most Americans would understand what he is trying to say, but that “release” or “come out with” would be more appropriate.

Towards the end we talked about military service in Korea, but I got the feeling it was a subject he didn’t want to talk about much. He said he is indifferent to his time there, he doesn’t want a career in the Air Force, but serving the minimum two years is something all Koreans have to do.

I can tell that there are definite improvements to his speech patterns. Dongseok pauses during conversations and asks me questions when he doesn’t understand something. When he messes up, he asks for correction.