okay okay

Post Office If you buy too many things and you have to send it through the mail, you can go to the post office.  If you don't have a box, most post offices sell boxes of all sizes.  "Do you sell boxes here?"  "Can I buy one of those large boxes?"  "What is the largest box you sell?"  "How much is the box?"  If you are sending it to a different country, you have to fill out a form.  You can either wait until you are ready to send it, or you can fill out the form before going to the counter.  They will have blank forms available next to the counter for anyone to take.  On the form, you have to specify what you are sending, how much it costs, and the address of where you are sending it to.  After filling out the form and packing your box, you are ready to go back to the post office to send it.  Because the box should already have the address, they will not ask you where you are sending it.  The first question they usually ask is how you want to send it.  You can send it by boat, and a variety of air mail.  "How would you like to send it?"  "How much is it for air mail?"  If that is too expensive, you can ask if there is anything cheaper.  "What is the cheapest way to send it?"  Because you are sending a box, they have standard questions they ask everyone.  "Are there any perishable food items in the package?"  "Are there any fragile items?"  They also ask if you want insurance on the package.  It's not that expensive so you can ask how much it is.  "Would you like to insure your package?"  "Would you like insurance?"  "How much is it?"  "It's $7.16."  After everything is determined, they always ask one more question.  "Do you need any stamps today?"  That is basically it.  Let's cover some general sentences you might need to know in the post office.  "How much does it cost to send a regular letter to Korea?"  "What is the fastest way to send this mail?"  "What time do you open in the morning?"  "What time do you close?"

Bank - Currency Exchange

If you are a traveler, then you don't need to open a bank account.  For more banking specifics, feel free to ask us.

 "Do you exchange foreign currency?"
 "What is your exchange rate for the Korean Won?"
 "Can I cash my traveler's checks here?"

 "The exchange rate is .0009 cents for one won."

 "I would like to exchange 500,000 won please."

 "500,000 won at the current exchange rate is $450.  Here you go."

Grocery Store

In the grocery store, you don't have to say anything except when you need to find something.  Here are some sentences to find general items.

 "Where is the fruit section?"
 "Do you sell ice cream here?"
 "Where can I find batteries?"
 "Where is the toothpaste?"
 "Can you point me to the medicine area?"
 "Where is the bakery section?"
 "Do you sell fresh seafood?"

 "Do you sell postcards?"
 "Where can I find film?"

 Be careful when you say film.  They will not understand you if you say it improperly.  If you have difficulty pronouncing film, you should say, "Where can I find camera film?"

 "Where are the shopping carts?"
 "Where can I find a shopping basket?"

Department Store I will have more coverage of these topics in the regular English Lesson section, but I want to provide some general things specifically for travelers.  In this lesson, we will cover shopping, bank, and post office terminologies and sentences for travelers.  Department Store  There are only a few things that you need to know how to say.  Here is a small list.  Finding something  "Do you have different sizes for this shirt?"  "Where are your blue jeans?"  "Do you have regular T-Shirts here?"  "Where is the dressing room?"  "Do you have a dressing room?"  Shoes  When you see a shoe that you like, you have to find a worker and have them bring your size out to you.  Here are some ways to say what you want.  "Can I try this shoe on in a seven?"  "Can I get this in nine and a half?"  "Can I get this in a size six?"  If you don't know what your size is, they will take your measurement.  "I don't know what my size is?"  "I don't know what size I am."  "Can you take my measurement?"  When you go to the register, you don't need to say anything.  However, they might ask you a bunch of questions.  "Did you find everything you needed today?"  "Was anyone helping you with this?"  "Would you like to open a credit card?  You can get 10 percent off of everything for today."  These are all yes and no questions so answer appropriately.

Fine Dining The process of fine dining is very similar to the previous example.  I'll list a couple of additions for fine dining that I didn't include above.  If you order wine, they will pour a tiny bit into your glass.  You should immediately take a drink of it and shake your head yes.  After you approve, they will pour your glass and other glasses full of the wine.  Some restaurants need to prepare dessert 20 minutes in advance.  That means they will ask you if you are going to have dessert while you are eating instead of waiting for you to complete.  Finally, these types of restaurants take reservations.  Here is an example of making a reservation through the phone.  "Hello, McCormick's.  How may I help you today?"  "I would like to make a reservation."  "What day did you want to come in?"  "This Friday at 7:00pm."  "We have a table at 7:15.  Will that be acceptable?"  "Yes."  "May I have your name?"  "Rich Yu.  That's Y U."  "I have reserved a table for Mr. Yu on Friday at 7:15.  Is there anything else I can do for you?"  "That will be all."  "Thank you for calling."  "Thank you.  Good Bye."  "Good Bye."  When you come in, you can tell them that you have a reservation.  "Hi, I have a reservation at 7:15 for Rich Yu."  "Oh, yes.  Mr. Yu, your table will be ready in just a moment.  You can wait right over there."

Restaurant/Eating and Requesting Bill

Regular Restaurant Eating and Requesting Bill

Most places will come by once when you are eating and ask how everything is.  This is a chance for you to order something else, complain about something, or get a refill on your drink.  Some of the things they might say are:
 
 "How is everything?"
 "Is everything ok?"
 "How is your dinner?"
 "How is your lunch?"
 "Are you guys doing ok?"
 "Do you need anything else?"
 
 When you are almost done with your meal, they might ask if you want some dessert.
 
 "Would you like dessert today?"
 "Would you like our dessert menu?"
 "Would you like to order any dessert?"
 "Any dessert for you today?"
 "Would you like to hear our dessert special?"
 
 If you are finished and want your bill, you can look for the server, make eye contact, and raise your hand.  When they come by, ask them for the bill.
 
 "Can I have my check?"
 "Can I have my bill?"
 "I'm ready for my bill."
 "I would like my check please."