한글

Today I begin my first real push to discern order from the written chaos around me. Up until now I hadn't thought it'd bothered me that much, but just a few symbols easily digested, and suddenly the power of literacy sets it claws in me.

There appear to be only 34 characters in Hangul, and the phonetic construction is highly regular...none of this ghoti business. Heck, I'll have it down in no time.

To suddenly be able to order food by sound, not pictures (For some extremely frustrating reason Koreans don't always seem to understand when you point to something on the menu, even if it's a picture. Sometimes a circling motion helps, but not always. I just don't get what can be more clear than actually touching what you want with the tip of your primary digit.), to be able to use the bus system, to hike and know where you're going and where you've been. The very universe unfolds.