I could hear the words but…

I couldn’t make out the meaning. The words were flying past me with way to much speed. Tonight I sat down with friends, Myeong-yeon, and Kyeong-sun at the new BBQ Chicken and Pizza restaurant in Buan. It had been a month or since the two friends had seen each other. Myeon-yeon went to India for the summer break and Kyeong-sun had a month of camps at the elementary school. They had a lot to talk about. I sat there listening to their conversation in Korean trying to comprehend. While I didn’t grasp much, I could hear the beginnings and the endings of words and occasionally I heard words that I did know. I was content, sitting there feeling some sort of accomplishment for just being able to do this. I then briefly thought to the future. One year from now,  “I perhaps, might, possibly, maybe, perchance be able to make out a conversation like this.”  That was enough to make me smile inside.