First Encounters: Introducing yourself in different situations

Lisa is a new employee at Samsung Lisa is a new employee at Samsung. She is meeting her co-workers for the first time at a company meeting.   Lisa: Hi! I’m Lisa. Jack: I’m Jack. Lisa: Are you new here, too? Jack: No. This is my second year working for Samsung. Lisa: Oh ya. So can I come to you for advice? Hehe Jack : Hehe. Yes, of course. I might not be able to help you, but I’ll try. Lisa : So, where are you from? Jack : I’m from New York originally, but I’ve lived all over the states. How about you? Lisa : I’m from Seoul, ugh, originally, but I went to university in Hawaii. Jack : Oh wow! Hawaii. That must have been nice. Lisa : It was. Oh! I think we need to take our seats now. It looks like the meeting is about to start.

Jenny : Are you from Seoul? Ki-Nam :Ya. I live near the University. Jenny and Ki-Nam are starting their first day of University. Before class begins they get acquainted with each other.   Jenny : Hey! I’m Jenny. Ki-Nam: I’m Ki-Nam. Jenny : Are you from Seoul? Ki-Nam :Ya. I live near the University. Jenny : Oh, ya? Me, too. What high school d’you go to? Ki-Nam : I went to ShinKwang Girls’. Jenny : Oh ya? Do you know a girl named Kim Yu-Ri? She also goes by Mimi. Ki-Nam : Ya. I know of her. She’s kind of well-known cause her parents are so rich. She’s like the Paris Hilton of the school. Jenny : Ya. I know! She’s well known at our school, too. Ki-Nam : Where d’you go? Jenny: I went to Yongsan high-school. Ki-Nam : So how do you know Mimi? Jenny: Well, I only know of her. Her boyfriend was the most popular boy at our school. All the girls loved him until Mimi snapped him up. Ki-Nam: Uh. That sucks. We can’t really compete with her. Jenny: No. So, how do you like your classes so far? Ki-Nam: They’re okay. I just feel so overwhelmed with all the homework and reading. Jenny: I know! I mean how are we ever going to find time to get all this stuff done. Ki-Nam: Well, there goes our social life.

Miss Nam : Yes, Mr. Park. I’m so pleased to meet you. Miss Nam is having a job interview with the manager of a company in an office. It is a beautiful day outside and the manager would like to move the interview location to the terrace.  Mr Park: Miss Nam right? Miss Nam : Yes, Mr. Park. I’m so pleased to meet you. Mr Park: You are applying for the job opening at our company. Could you tell me about yourself? Miss Nam: Yes of course. I’m originally from Busan, but I studied in Seoul at Sookmyung University. I graduated at the top of my class with a major in Business and a minor in English. After graduating I spent a year working in Australia in order to improve my English skills. When I came back from Australia I worked as a temporary administrative assistant at Sookmyung women’s university. It was a great place to work, but my contract will be finished soon. Mr Park: And what do you like to do in your free time? Miss Nam: I enjoy swimming. I swim twice a week at the local pool. I also enjoy hiking when the weather is nice. Mr Park: Hmm. You seem very active. Let’s continue this interview outside on the terrace, shall we?. Miss Nam: Okay. That’s sounds lovely. 

Mike and Jenna have been set up on a blind date through a mutual friend ,Tim. Their first meeting takes place in a coffee shop. Jenna arrives late.  Jenna: Hi! You must be Mike. Mike: Hi! Jenna? Jenna: Ya.Sorry I’m late. Mike: Oh no. I just got here. Jenna: Oh good. Mike: You speak English very well. Jenna: Oh, no. I mean, well… I studied in the U.S. for several years. Mike: Oh. Tim didn’t mention that. Jenna: He didn’t? Strange. So you know him from Church, right? Mike: Ugh yeah. And we played basketball together once a week. Jenna: Hmm. So, you like sports? Mike: Yeah. How about you? Jenna: Ya. Kind of. Well, I like… like, you know, individual sports. But I don’t actually play team sports. Mike: Oh no? Why not? Jenna: I don’t know. I just never have. I guess I just don’t wanna have to depend on other people. So I just do yoga, and swim and stuff on my own. Mike: I guess that explains why you look so fit. Jenna: Oh. Umm… thanks. You’re not so bad yourself. Hehe. Hey, I guess we’d better order something. Mike: Ya, ugh…What would you like to drink? Jenna: I’ll come up with you and see what they have. 

Vocabulary These words are high-frequency. They are important to know because they appear in texts very often. Make sure you know these words: advice, assistant, compete, cycle, independent, interview, minor, pool, popular, rich, several, skills, states, strange, temporary, weather. These words are lower frequency but may be useful to understand the dialogues. blind-date 소개팅 mutual (friend) 서로 (get) acquainted 사귀게 된 administrative (assistant) 행정상의 nickname 별명 overwhelmed 압도된 patio/ terrace 테라스