I was selling something on a secondhand marketplace app called “Carrot”.
I was supposed to meet the buyer at 4:00 pm, but I got a message around 3:30.
Although our conversation was in Korean, it went basically like this:
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“I’m coming now.”
“Oh, will you arrive before 4 then?”
“No, warning upon arrival.”
“Ok. I will be there at 4.”
The reason her replies tended to be a bit slow was probably because she was using a translation app. “Warning” upon arrival?
I was dumbfounded for a second, but immediately and casually replied like nothing had happened. It was a bit funny though (and cute), and got me curious. What language does she speak that she would got that word out of the translation app?
I arrived at the meeting spot, and she was indeed a foreigner. She only said two words in Korean – her name and the word “money” as she handed me an envelope. From her use of words, I thought she really couldn’t speak Korean.
Yet, she had a higher sales record on the Carrot app than me, and it made me wonder how tiring it must be for her to use a translation app every time she wants to say something.
For me, that’s why I learn languages. Really.