Friday, December 27, 2002
Sunday, December 22, 2002
Monday, December 09, 2002
Unable to download
The absence of posts these past few weeks is due to two factors. One, I was spending way to much time online so I've taken a wise break from the internet. Second, when I finally went back online, the software on my computer that I use to transfer pictures from my camera to my computer had become corrupt somehow so I was unable to bring new images online. I hope to fix the problem soon and resume regular if not daily posts.
Saturday, November 23, 2002
El Diablo
Utter the words "fresh cut noodles" and "fresh flatbread" and my mouth will water uncontrollably. Spicy, savory, hot, and addictive. And SO cheap when you're eating the real thing in rural China. This particular meal ran us a total of about $2, I seem to recall.
My cousin's devlish appearance can only be attributed to his anger at being forced to wait 2 more seconds to eat. Actually I'm getting a little angry myself that I can't walk outside indulge in a little authentic Chinese cuisine. Curse this mortal body and it's inability to time travel!
Friday, November 22, 2002
Casa de Chunchon
After many requests (well, OK, ONE request - you know who you are), here is a picture of my cozy abode in South Korea. It's a three story apartment building. I live on the ground level and my lone window faces the building next door, barely 10 feet away.
A pleasant picture to gaze upon as the green leaves on the trees are long gone and the ground is now covered in snow and ice. Brrrr!
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Would you like your face filleted today sir?
After two days in the filthy, street-torn city of Datong, China, I wanted a shave. Somehow I thought it would make a memorable end to my stay to get a shave in a salon with a straight edge razor. How I rue THAT decision. 've never had a shave this way so my mind was set (the many warnings from my cousin be damned!).
The razor was sharp and the poor woman assigned to tried very hard to baby my tender face but it all failed to ease the sense that she was slowly peeling the skin from my neck! As the pain intensified and all the muscles in my body tensed in anticipation of the next slice (notice my clenched arms and hands), the departure time of our train drew near and we had to rush out before she finished. What a relief.
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Potty humor
Many parts of China, I'm told, lack what we consider modern plumbing and what little I witnessed this summer supports this claim. Most of the public outhouses I saw were vile, some unspeakably so.
With that as background, my cousin and I spent an hour wandering the picturesque backstreets of a neighborhood in Zhangjiakou, some 4 hours northeast of Beijing. As normally happened, we attracted a following of young children, curious to know about the obvious foreigners. (I'm sure my cousin's excellent Chinese and the colorful stickers I handed out did nothing to encourage this.)
After I suggested we take a picture of this unusualy colorful community outhouse, I was initially annoyed that our entourage wouldn't take the hint to step out of view. Of couse now I'm glad they stayed as we caught them nearly doubled over with laughter.
Why are they laughing? I can't say for certain but wouldn't YOU laugh if some rich foreigner waltzed into YOUR town and decided to take a picture of such a humble, meaningless structure?
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Chinese canine
Missing my own mutt in Utah, I couldn't resist a close-up of this one we encountered in a remote and poor village some two hours outside of Datong in China. Like the children in the community who all seemed to share ownership with him, he was energetic, carefree, and seemingly oblivious to the outside world as it raced by.
the pain, the agony
So sick, so weak, so anxious to die. OK, slight exaggeration. Grand designs to write many delightful posts over the weekend faded along with my strength and energy. What I at first thought was a severe cold has, I believe, morphed into a severe case of the flu instead. Oh, for a cold. Or for a mild case of leprosy.
Monday, November 18, 2002
Samgyopsal in Yangyang
On our way to Seoraksan, we paused in the town of Yangyang to dip our toes in the East Sea and eat lunch. We feasted on my favorite Korean dish, samgyopsal, fried slices of pork, cooked at the table and eaten wrapped in a lettuce leaf with fresh, sliced garlic and red pepper paste.
Please excuse me while I indulge in a guided culinary meditation.
Sunday, November 17, 2002
Seoraksan smiler
Little Richard, a fellow teacher, and I took an impromptu day trip to Seoraksan Mountain National Park in early October, hoping to witness the Autumn changing of the guard. Unfortunately we were a week or two too early so we had to settle for a refreshing day of vigorous hiking, beautiful greenery, and brisk mountain air. What a let-down.
At the end of the day, as we were leaving the park, I shared a private moment with this darling Korean girl and she was gracious enough to hold the pose while I scrambled for my camera.
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Happy happy Chunchon mascot
The flood-control canal behind the hagwon is lined for a few hundred yards with various murals that depict different seasonal events in Chunchon. This is a shot of one of the paintings of the official town mascot. Happy, isn't he? (Or maybe he is a she. Who knows?)
The "happy, happy" is a reference to the "Happy, Happy Girl" song a Korean teacher has been repeatedly singing with her students lately as a means of teaching English. Has anyone else heard this song? It's a teeny bopper type of song and kinda catchy.
Friday, November 15, 2002
Halloween monster
I recycled today's picture from shylock in korea where I neglected to add an explanation.
We celebrated Halloween at the hagwon and to our horror this ghoulish-looking zombie-mutant crashed our party. And then he had to ruin this lovely picture of me by flashing his awful mug in the background. Scary!
Truthfully, the hagwon Director couldn't resist sharing the limelight with this photo of me modeling my great Dracula costume. Who was I to pull rank on the boss?
Thursday, November 14, 2002
Two vagabonds
Taken back in August as my globe-trotting cousin and China tour guide and I parted ways in Incheon: I to sultry though picturesque Chunchon, he to Taiwan, San Francisco, and finally New York. If not for him, my 12-day vacation in China would not have happened but it did, thanks to his previous experience in China and his impressive Chinese and Korean language skills.
What made our travels even more memorable were our lengthy, impassioned discussions about how to advance the cause of conservatism in America. Right cousin?
Doesn't this shot look more like some third world South American village plaza rather than a subway station in a modern Asian country?
(Note about yesterday's post: It has been re-brought to my attention that I'm not as farm animal-deficient as a certain "friend" previously implied. The burden of beast in the picture IS a donkey, not a mule. Ha!)
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
Language/culture clash
While studying my beginning Korean textbook at the school this afternoon during a break between classes, the Director walked into the room. When he noticed what I was doing, he was impressed ("Oooh!" "Aaah!"). In what then must have been a desire to test my abilities, he wrote a simple question in Korean for me on the white board. I was semi-confident I knew the answer so I blurted it out.
I was wrong. Obviously I jumbled the vocabulary because he immediately laughed, heartily, at my mistake and proceeded to share my blunder with several Korean teachers standing nearby.
Let me say as I proceed that I like this Director. He is kind, thoughtful (though perpetually late in paying his employees), relaxed, and he has a great sense of humor. I can only guess he was tapping into this "sense of humor" by laughing at me because I can find no other plausible explanation.
Normally I wouldn't be put out by such a response; learning a new language is challenging at best and everyone knows the best way to accelerate the process is by practicing in real world situations. But when I consider the plethora of mistakes I hear when every Korean speaks English, especially those made by this Director and the other Koreans working at the hagwon, I'm primarily angry that they would laugh at my mistakes when I am instead kind, supportive, and more inclined to focus on their language strengths rather than their missteps.
What aggravated this event was the Director's reaction to my reaction. He launched into a speech about how we foreign teachers are too sensitive, that laughing as he did is not offensive in the Korean culture, and that by being offended I was showing my failure to adapt to the culture of the land in which I was living. (My response to THIS preposterous accusations is fodder for another blog entry.)
This is not a colossal problem (though it did degenerate into an "us vs. them" debate for 15 minutes between the Korean and foreign teachers). I am a bit discouraged though that I must now selectively choose where and with whom to practice my budding language skills.
"Oooh, a donkey! I want a picture with a donkey!"
Another quote from my farm animal-deprived Korean friend.
Our day at the Korean Folk Village was drawing to a close. We were tired and cold but satisfied at a day well-spent. Two donkeys (see next paragraph) were tethered in a half-vacant cabbage field, looking lonely and in need of a loving carress from a fellow Korean. Little Richard delivered and this picture also shows I captured the setting sun as the day drew to a close.
It has since been brought to my own farm animal-deficient attention that this is more accurately a mule, not a donkey. Boy, am I embarrassed!
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Life as a sardine
Simply the best b/w picture I've taken on the Seoul subways. It was rush hour and SO crowded which, in fairness, is the exception rather than the rule.
Monday, November 11, 2002
Put your shoulder to the wheel
Following church and a baptism, the ladies of the Chunchon Ward served a delicious lunch of bulgogi. (:o'''' <---me, drooling.) Elders Ellis and Clarkson, noble missionaries both, rose to the task of dish duty.
It also happened to be Elder Ellis' last Sunday in Chunchon where he has served ever since I arrived 8+ months ago. Sad times indeed.
Sunday, November 10, 2002
Got milk?
OK, so the caption and subject don't quite match. Got a better idea? Then get your own blog smart guy!
Seriously though, I welcome comments, suggestions for better captions, and even ideas for changing the mind-numbing drudgery that is my life. I haven't added a 'comment' link to this page yet but you can use the guestbook for now.
Saturday, November 09, 2002
Friday, November 08, 2002
Me and my pal Kyanna
This picture is sort of fuzzy but it's also overly-bright which I think is a nice effect as it was taken in a church on a Sunday. The day was unusually sunny and cold and we posed in the Chunchon LDS Ward building with it's bright white walls and ultra-glossy floors.
And Kyanna manages to be quite the doll, taking the edge off the vacancy I feel, missing my nieces/nephews back home.
daily.picture.post
Try as I do, I have lately failed to submit daily posts. Between teaching at the hagwon, teaching private lessons, attending my Beginning Korean class at Kangwon University, language exchanging with Little Richard, educating my political self at Rush Limbaugh.com, and indulging my guilty pleasure of listening to The Phil Hendrie Show, the time passes too quickly. Writing, I'm ashamed to say, gets displaced by other, often lesser priorities.
So to boost my output by 1,000 words a day, I've created a daily picture post page. Visit it often and you'll have another (or at least one) reason to get out of bed each morning.
Tuesday, November 05, 2002
15 hours a week is work?
The new school schedule is hot off the presses! I've dropped precipitously from teaching 28 hours a week to a mere 15 hours a week. It's likely to skyrocket to 17 hours when the long anticipated writing class begins in a week or two, but come on!
As of this day I no longer work in Korea; I live and play in Korea with a few brief moments per week of something that other people call work. Sheesh!
English/Korean Electronic Dictionaries
Zeromarket
- AP-25 W75,000
- SHARP PA-3100H W50,000
- SHARP PA-4720H W69,500
- SHARP PA-5200H W80,000
- SHARP PA-9100H W95,500
- SHARP RD-400 W115,500
- SHARP RD-400+ W135,000
Interpark
- SHARP PA-3100H W46,000
- SHARP PA-3900H W73,000
- SHARP PA-3900H W73,000
- SHARP PA-4720H W67,000
- SHARP PA-4920H W76,000
- SHARP PA-5200H W81,000
- SHARP PA-5200H W81,000
- SHARP PA-9100H W98,000
- SHARP PW-4100S W134,000
- SHARP PW-6000 W146,000
- SHARP PW-7000 W171,200
- SHARP PW-K300 W198,000
- SHARP RD-400 W117,000
- SHARP RD-1100 W167,000
- SHARP RD-2000 W187,000
- SHARP RD-2000 W561,000
- SHARP RD-3000 W240,000
- SHARP RD-3000 W720,000
- SHARP RD-3000 W1,200,000
Monday, November 04, 2002
Sunday, November 03, 2002
Saturday, November 02, 2002
Friday, November 01, 2002
The end of an ice age?
To what do I owe this shocking about face? The coworker who was the target of my "b" word rant appears to have grown up a couple decades and joined the world of the mature. I think it's thanks to our raving Halloween party and the arrival of the new teachers yesterday in that it's forced her to act normal or get left out of the loop. Two of my other coworkers who had recently commented about her odd behavior also noticed the change and wondered aloud to me what could have produced this miracle.
I know enough to not expect this improvement to be permanent or long-lasting. And oh that I could make her see and feel the effects of her wildly inconsistent behavior.
Thursday, October 31, 2002
Halloween
What a day! After attending my two-hour beginning Korean class at Kanwon University at 8:00 am, followed by lunch with two of my classmates from Canada, I arrrived at school at 1:00 pm. The next congested hours consisted of face painting, balloons, teaching the students about trick-or-treating and then rewarding them with candy, frequently spooking the current batch of kids with my dreadful vampire attire, entertaining the masses, and controlling the chaos. To quote a coworker, "Not a bad way to spend an afternoon."
The icing on the day was the arrival of the two new teachers from Canada after a month of waiting. They're a young husband/wife team and they seem eager and friendly. I expect I'll finally get a new teaching schedule by Monday with the long-awaited reduction in hours.
A bit more than four months left in my contract. Could the time be flying any faster?
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Halloween Eve at the hagwon
Acting as the planner, purchaser, and organizer of Halloween celebrations at school at the behest of the school director, I've run myself ragged the past two days. I was lucky to find a party/costume store in town and with a budget of about $100, I managed to buy ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, witches, banners, paper, and a Dracula costume (rented). Most classes spent time creating jack-o-lanterns from the black and orange paper I bought and I recruited my evening advanced students to build a gigantic orange and black paper chain to help decorate the hagwon.
When was the last time I had this much fun?
Monday, October 28, 2002
Reagan the seer
"The Democrats may remember their lines, but how quickly they forget the lessons of the past. I have witnessed five major wars in my lifetime, and I know how swiftly storm clouds can gather on a peaceful horizon. The next time a Saddam Hussein takes over Kuwait, or North Korea brandishes a nuclear weapon, will we be ready to respond? In the end, it all comes down to leadership, and that is what this country is looking for now." --Ronald Reagan (1994)
Thursday, October 24, 2002
The "b" word
I wanted to determine if the "b" word, admittedly a strong and usually offensive word, was an appropriate epithet for a certain trying coworker.
Let's see. The dictionary says a "b" word is a malicious, spiteful, and domineering woman. Sounds good. Let's dig deeper.
Malice: a desire to see another suffer that may be fixed and unreasonable or nor more than a passing mischievous impulse.
Spiteful: filled with petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart.
Domineering: exercising arbitrary or overbearing control.
Perfect! Too bad I can't use it without being accused of joining the aforementioned coworker in the gutter.
I'll admit it's unbalanced there isn't a corresponding word to describe men. The closest you get is the "b" word for men but the definition for this word is tame by comparison: an offensive or disagreeable person.
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
The days run long
It's going on two months now that I've been teaching 28 hours a week when the terms of my contract state I shouldn't work more than 25 hours a week and the other teachers are working an average of about 23 hours. It hasn't bothered me until the past few weeks when I've been sick and the burden of preparing for the classes and summoning the energy to teach a quality class has taken its toll.
My enthusiasm wanes, the days are long, and the two new teachers we expected to arrive from Canada and ease the teaching load fail to arrive week after week. I need a break.
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
The efforts of feeble minds
A bizarre conversation with a coworker tonight stumbled onto the noble topic of profanity, specifically the "f" word. In typical academic fashion, he dismissed people who are offended by vulgar words by explaining how "vulgar" or "vulgate" originally referred to the common man and his therefore "innocent" common language. Horse-hockey.
One might then conclude this coworker, whose language itself is frequently peppered with offensive language, is not himself offended by any kind of profanity. Right? Wrong. He was quick to list the many reasons why he finds the "b" word inappropriate, not the least of which is the disrespect it shows for women. Of course his objections to this word are valid but I found it both laughable and aggravating that he would arbitrarily brush off some words while declaring others taboo. Perhaps my frustration is better directed at myself for my failure to voice my objections to the profanity that surrounds me.
Coincidentally, I had several minutes previously researched the "b" word in the dictionary as I believed it was the perfect word to describe another coworker. (As I write this I'd hoped to include the definition I found but it appears I've left it at school. Check back later for a more complete blog entry.)
Spencer W. Kimball said it best: "Profanity is the effort of a feeble mind to express itself forcibly."
Monday, October 21, 2002
Blog puberty cometh
Like a young man no longer eligible to join the Vienna Boys Choir, blog changes are impending. Excited? (Fake it, if not.)
What to expect? How about a new look to the blog, a daily photo gallery, a book report chamber, political commentary, and the long awaited, globally discussed China diaries. No timeline promised but if you'd like to hold your breath, you may start . . . . . . . . . wait . . . . . . . . NOW!
Thursday, October 17, 2002
Do'h!
It's going on almost four months now since I ditched the TV/VCR. It remains one of the better decisions I've made in recent history.
That said, I ache for The Simpsons.
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Monday, October 14, 2002
Say the Time
My favorite recent download: Say the Time. An alluring male or female voice periodically announces the time and an appealing digital clock replaces the standard Windows horologe in the system tray. It's free for a 30-day trial and a snap to download and install.
Sunday, October 13, 2002
Heavenly chorus
I finally succumbed to rest this afternoon as I was lulled to sleep by the soothing strains of the recent LDS General Conference. It was welcome and peaceful.
As I began to awake, the Sunday afternoon session was drawing to a close. It concluded with the choir singing that beautiful song . This group had been introduced as a family choir from the Hunter, Salt Lake City region. I was in a dream-like state, aware only of the music and overcome with the spirit. The song seemed to last forever. It had a near-healing effect upon my soul. As I fully awoke and realized the music was real, I marveled at the inspiration of those who orchestrated this amateur choir.
Saturday, October 12, 2002
Body politics
A nice little head cold has knocked me flat. How I much prefer being healthy! Unfortunately, though my body lacks energy, my mind won't stop racing down the list of things I'd rather be doing other than resting in silence: newspapers and books to read, online audio programs to digest, school lessons to prepare, housecleaning to trudge through, Korean cooking to practice, and on goes the list.
So, as the junior member of my body parliament, my mortal shell doesn't carry the necessary clout to override the threat of a brain filibuster and so the rest that might help me recover faster must wait until the next emergency session of its corporeal congress.
Remembered by my family!
Just got off the phone with Mom! We talked for 45 minutes with Dad joining in the last few minutes. This is the first time they've managed to call me and I couldn't be happier. (Well, if Mr "ex-" (hint-hint) president Clinton gets a hangnail tomorrow, that might make me a LITTLE happier. While I'm dreaming, how about TWO hangnails and a big canker sore?)
Friday, October 11, 2002
Missionary photos
Pictures of the missionaries and church in Chunchon have been posted for you to view and in consideration of the family and friends of said missionaries. Click 'missionary.photos' in the upper-left hand corner. Happy viewing!
Tuesday, October 08, 2002
Monday, October 07, 2002
Sunday, October 06, 2002
Friday, October 04, 2002
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
Tuesday, October 01, 2002
The language barrier vanishes - briefly
Saturday, September 21, was Chuseok, Korea's thanksgiving harvest celebration. An invitation to join a family for the day had been postponed until Sunday so, with no other plans, I headed out, hoping my new favorite lunch spot, Subway, would be open.
On the way I sat down on a vacant bus bunch to send a text message - "Chuseok chun pahl nay say oh" - to a friend, in Hanguel, on my hand phone. A middle-age Korean man soon sat on the bus bench next to me, curious to see what I was doing. His breath smelled of alcohol, his hands where those of a laborer, and the fact that we spoke no more than a handful of words of the others' language didn't stop him from holding a lengthy, one-sided, thirty minute discussion with me. At one point, he took my hand and appeared to read my palm. He was rather animated and surprised as he pointed to this and that and told me who knows what.
I'm sure we made quite the spectacle, sitting in the shade near a busy intersection, to the Koreans driving by, dressed in their hanboks in apparent observance of the holiday. I tried to focus on his words and accent thinking, "How often, even living in the country, do I get the chance to immerse myself in pure Korean?"
Several times he appeared frustrated and almost angry that I couldn't understand him. In the end, though, he appeared to be beckoning me to follow him, to his home for Chuseok I imagine. I declined as I was very hungry by now so he walked away in mild disgust. I laughed, marveling at the unique adventure of it all, and walked away happy.
Subway was closed so I had to settle for Burger King as most everything else was closed.
Banned Books Week
"Every year, the American Library Association dedicates a week to highlighting works challenged as inappropriate for schools and libraries. The ALA defines a 'challenge' as a formal, written complaint filed (usually by a parent) with a library or school. 'Banned Books Week' features readings nationwide of controversial material."
So let's see. The simple fact that a book has been 'banned' [usually by a parent? the nerve!] is grounds for the ALA to shine the light on something that some people find objectionable, irrespective of the legitimacy of the objections. Hmm.
"Focus on the Family, a 'pro-family' [shocking!] group based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, released a statement saying that 'Banned Books Week' was a lie.
'Nothing is 'banned,' but every year this organization attempts to intimidate and silence any parent, teacher or librarian who expresses concern about the age-appropriateness of sexually explicit or violent material for schoolchildren,' said Tom Minnery, vice president of public policy for Focus on the Family.
'What the ALA calls 'censorship,' most Americans would call common sense,' he said."
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Saturday, September 28, 2002
My New Roommate
I'm happy to report that after months of being lulled to sleep by the living, breathing thing that was my noisy, less-than-effective refrigerator, I now have a functional icebox which is whisper quiet and, comically enough, only four feet tall.
Of course this means I now lie awake, staring at the ceiling all night, feeling lonely as I ponder the solitary, hopeless, brain wracking, void-of-meaning, pitiful journey that is my life.
(Yes, yes, I know. You wonder why would I exaggerate my plight by using such superfluous language. It's probably more appropriate to substitute "tortuous, death-march" for the dramatic "journey." I was weak. It won't happen again.)
Friday, September 27, 2002
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Friday, September 20, 2002
Sunday, September 08, 2002
Saturday, September 07, 2002
Big changes are in store at shylockorea. Soon the address will change to shylockutah.blogspot.com (you may visit the site now though it's incomplete), everything will be centralized, and I'll post my pictures in a photo gallery. Hooray!
Friday, September 06, 2002
Great Expectations Review
Great Expectations Memorable Quotes
David Copperfield Review
It's not often I've read a book of such scope and magnitude as Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. My only motivation in reading it is that it was the biggest, cheapest book I could find at Media Play before I left for Korea that was also a classic, an area I've wanted to concentrate on recently. I knew nothing about the book and I never anticipated it would take me over three months to read and become one of the most difficult books I would ever undertake. At over 800 pages and full of the language commonly used when it was published in 1850, be prepared for a challenge.
In the end, the undertaking was more than worth it. The story purports to be the autobiography of the fictional character David Copperfield. It was originally published in serial form in England and then later released in book form.
I have little worthwhile to report on the book other than how it affected me. I can't recall reading a secular book that had such a profound impact as to make me want to be a better person. Copperfield recounts the people and events of his life from birth through, I believe, his early thirties. Without preaching, he weaves a credible and vast cross-section of experiences that show the triumph of honesty and hard work, the consequences of deception, and the importance of character. The book contains, by my count, 44 significant characters, most of whom wind up reaping the consequences of their actions, good and bad. Just as Dickens expressed his fondness for Copperfield, I was sorry when the book came to an end.
In perhaps the same way I am enamored by Shakespeare, David Copperfield won me over through Dickens' insights into human nature. His observations are keen, succinct, and timeless. This book was a chore but I am a better person for reading it. I am conscious that may sound silly but it remains a statement of the truth.
Monday, September 02, 2002
David Copperfield Memorable Quotes
"Barkis is willin'." -Mr. Barkis, page 60.
"I feel as if it were not for me to record, even though this manuscript is intended for no eyes but mine, how hard I worked at that tremendous short-hand, and all improvement appertaining to it, in my sense of responsibility to Dora and her aunts. I will only add, to what I have already written on my perseverance at this time of my life, and of a patient and continuous energy which then began to be matured within me, and which I know to be the strong part of my character, if it have any strength at all that there, on looking back, I find the source of my success. I have been very fortunate in worldly matters; many men have worked much harder, and not succeeded half so well; but I never could have done what I have done, without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one object at a time, no matter how quickly its successor should come upon its heels, which I then formed. Heaven knows I write this, in no spirit of self-laudation. The man who reviews his own life, as I do mine, in going on here, from page to page, had need to have been a good man indeed, if he would be spared the sharp consciousness of many talents neglected, many opportunities wasted, many erratic and perverted feelings constantly at war within his breast, and defeating him. I do not hold one natural gift, I dare say, that I have not abused. My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest. I have never believed it possible that any natural or improved ability can claim immunity from the companionship of the steady, plain, hard-working qualities, and hope to gain its end. There is no such things as such fulfillment on this earth. Some happy talent, and some fortunate opportunity, may form the two sides of the ladder on which some men mount, but the rounds of that ladder must be made of stuff to stand wear and tear; and there is no substitute for thorough-going, ardent, and sincere earnestness. Never to put one hand to anything, on which I could throw my whole self; and never to affect depreciation of my work, whatever it was; I find, now, to have been my golden rules." -David Copperfield, page 559
"There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose." -Mrs. Strong, page 610
". . . I should be thankful to him for having saved me from the first mistaken impulse of my undisciplined heart." -Mrs. Strong, page 611
"It's very much to be wished that some mothers would leave their daughters alone after marriage, and not be so violently affectionate. They seem to think the only return that can be made them for bringing an unfortunate young woman into the world - God bless my soul, as if she asked to be brought, or wanted to come! - is full liberty to worry her out of it again." -Betsey Trotwood, page 613
"Of all my books I like this the best. It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them. But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield." -Charles Dickens
Sunday, September 01, 2002
David Copperfield Cast of Characters
A nearly exhaustive list, probably of interest to not many but me.
- David Copperfield - title character, also called "Trot " or "Trotwood" by his Aunt Betsey, Mr. Dick and some of his friends, "Daisy" by Steerforth, and "Doady" by his wife Dora.
- Clara Copperfield - David's young unfortunate mother.
- David Copperfield Sr. - David's father who died before he was born.
- Betsey Copperfield - David's fictional sister, kept alive by his Aunt Betsey.
- Pegotty - David's "nurse" or nanny from childhood.
- Betsey Trotwood - David's aunt and guardian.
- Mr. Chillip - David's childhood doctor.
- Mr. Murdstone - David's wicked stepfather.
- Miss Murdstone - Mr. Murdstone's cruel sister.
- Mr. Barkis - the town carrier and eventual husband to Pegotty.
- Mr. Dan Pegotty - Pegotty's brother, uncle/guardian to Ham and Emily.
- Ham Pegotty - Emily's noble, betrayed fiance.
- Emily Pegotty - Ham's cousin, David's first childhood crush.
- Mrs. Gummidge - Mr. Pegotty's "lone and lorn" housekeeper.
- Mr. Omer - the town undertaker in David's hometown.
- Mr. Joram - Mr. Omer's son.
- James Steerforth - David's popular but deceptive schoolmate.
- Mrs. Steerforth - Steerforth's wealthy mother.
- Rosa Dartle - Mrs. Steerforth's tenant, victim of Steerforth's cruelty.
- Littimer - Steerforth's butler.
- Traddles - David's childhood schoolmate and adult friend.
- Sophy Traddles - Traddles' wife.
- Mr. Wilkins Micawber - David's inept but well-meaning friend.
- Mrs. Emma Micawber - Mr. Wilkins' wife.
- Mr. Wickfield - town attorney, provided room/board for David.
- Agnes Wickfield - Mr. Wickfield's daughter and David's best friend.
- Uriah Heep - Mr. Wickfield's 'umble employee/business partner.
- Mrs. Heep - Uriah's equally spineless mother.
- Mrs. Crupp - David's London landlord.
- Mr. Francis Spenlow - David's employer at court and Dora's father.
- Dora Spenlow - David's "child-wife" bride.
- Jip - Dora's annoying little dog.
- Julia Mills - Dora's bosom friend.
- Mr. Jorkins - Mr. Spenlow's silent business partner.
- Miss Clarissa Spenlow - Mr. Spenlow's sister, Dora's guardian.
- Miss Lavina Spenlow - Mr. Spenlow's sister, Dora's guardian.
- Old Creakle - Traddles' tormenting schoolmaster.
- Miss Mowcher - a wise dwarf, introduced to David by Steerforth.
- Mr. Dick - Betsey Trotwood's mentally-challenged but insightful tenant.
- Doctor Strong - David's schoolmaster, would-be author of the Dictionary.
- Mrs. Strong - Doctor Strong's young wife.
- Mrs. Markleham - Mrs. Strong's overbearing mother.
- Jack Maldon - Mrs. Strong's cousin and would-be suitor.
- Martha - a servant girl who helps Emily run away with Steerforth
Saturday, August 31, 2002
Friday, August 30, 2002
Oliver Twist Memorable Quotes
- "The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration, -- a troublesome practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence." -page 1
- "But, none of these taunts producing the desired effect of making Oliver cry, Noah attempted to be more facetious still; and in this attempt, did what many small wits, with far greater reputations than Noah, sometimes do to this day, when they want to be funny. He got rather personal." -page 51
- "'Oh, you know, Mr. Bumble, he [Oliver] must be mad,' said Mrs. Sowerberry. 'No boy in half his senses could venture to speak so to you.'
'It's not Madness, ma'am,' replied Mr. Bumble, after a few moments of deep meditation. 'It's Meat.'
'What?' exclaimed Mrs. Sowerberry.
'Meat, ma'am, meat,' replied Bumble, with stern emphasis. 'You've over-fed him, ma'am. You've raised a artificial soul and spirit in him, ma'am, unbecoming a person of his condition: as the board, Mrs. Sowerberry, who are practical philosophers, will tell you. What have paupers to do with soul or spirit? It's quite enough that we let 'em have live bodies. If you had kept the boy on gruel, ma'am, this would never have happened.'
'Dear, dear!' ejaculated Mrs. Sowerberry, piously raising her eyes to the kitchen ceiling: 'this comes of being liberal!'
The liberality of Mrs. Sowerberry to Oliver, had consisted in a profuse bestowal upon him of all the dirty odds and ends which nobody else would eat; so there was a great deal of meekness and self-devotion in her voluntarily remaining under Mr. Bumble's heavy accusation. Of which, to do her justice, she was wholly innocent, in thought, word, or deed." -page 58 - "There is a drowsy state, between sleeping and waking, when you dream more in five minutes with your eyes half open, and yourself half conscious of everything that is passing around you, than you would in five nights with your eyes fast closed, and your senses wrapt in perfect unconsciousness. At such times, a mortal knows just enough of what his mind is doing, to form some glimmering conception of its might powers, its bounding from earth and spurning time and space, when freed from the restraint of its corporeal associate." -page 72
- "If he [Mr. Fang, a police magistrate] were really not in the habit of drinking rather more than was exactly good for him, he might have brought an action against his countenance for libel, and have recovered heavy damages." -page 88
- "Thus, to do a great right, you may do a little wrong; and you may take any means which the end to be attained will justify; the amount of the right, or the amount of the wrong, or indeed the distinction between the two, being left entirely to the philosopher concerrned, to be settled and determined by his clear, comprehensive, and impartial view of this own particular case." -page 103, written as a sarcastic commentary on the behavior of Jack Dawkins and Charley Bates.
- "The persons on whom I [Mr. Brownlow] have bestowed my dearest love, lie deep in their graves; but, although the happiness and delight of my life lie buried there too, I have not made a coffin of my heart, and sealed it up, for ever, on my best affection. Deep affliction has but strengthened and refined them." -page 119
- "There must always be two parties to a quarrel, says the old adage. Mr. Sikes, being desappointed of the dog's participation, at once transferred his hsare in the quarrel to the new-comer [Fagin]." -page 129
- "There is something about a roused woman: especially if she add to all her other strong passions, the fierce impulses and recklessness and despair: which few men like to provoke." -page 143
- "'He's [Bull's Eye, Bill Sikes' dog] an out-and-out Christian,' said Charley [Bates].
This was merely intended as a tribute to the animal's abilities, but it was an appropriate remark in another sense, if Master Bates had only known; for there are a good many ladies and gentlemen, claiming to be out-and-out Christians, between whom, and Mr. Sikes's dog, there exist strong and singular points of resemblance." -page 162 - "In short, the wily old Jew [Fagin] had the boy [Oliver] in his toils. Having prepared his mind, by solitude and gloom, to prefer any society to the companionship of his own sad thoughts in such a dreary place, he was now slowly intilling into his soul the poison which he hoped would blacken it, and change its hue for ever." -page 167
- "'That's it!" observed Mr. Sikes, approvingly; 'women can always put things in fewest words. --Except when it's blowing up' and then they lenghtens it out.'" -page 186
- "The younger lady was in the lovely bloom and springtime of womanhood; at that age, when, if ever angels be for God's good purposes entrhoned in mortal forms, they may be, without impiety, supposed to abide in such as hers." -speaking of Rose Maylie, page 260.
- "Thus, a strain of gentle music, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or the ordour of a flower, or the mention of a familiar word, will sometimes call up sudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were, in this life; which vanish like a breath; which some brief memory of a happier existence, long gone by, would seem to have awakened; which no voluntary exertion of the mind can ever recall." -page 264
- "Oh! if when we oppress and grind our fellow-creatures, we bestowed but one thought on the dark evidences of human error, which, like dense and heavy coulds, were rising, slowly it is true, but not less surely, to Heaven, to pour their after-vengeance on our heads; if we heard but one instant in imagination, the deep testimony of dead men's voices, which no power can stifle, and no pride shut out; where would the the inujry and injustice, the suffereing, misery, curelty, and wrong, that each day's life brings with it!" -page 268
- "We need to be careful how we deal wth those about us, when every death carries to some small circle of survivors, thoughts of so much omitted, and so little done - of so many things forgotten, and so many more which might have been repaired! There is no remorse so deep as that which is unavailing; if we would be spared its tortures, let us remember this, in time." -page 303
- "But, tears were not the things to find their way to Mr. Bumble's soul; his heart was waterproof. Like washable beaver hats that improve with rain, his nerves were rendered stouter and more vigorous, by showeres of tears, which, being tokens of weakness, and so far tacit admissions of his own power, pleased and exalted him." -page 331
- "He [Mr. Bumble] had a decided propensity for bullying; derived no inconsiderable pleasure from the exercise of petty cruelty; and, consequently, was (it is needless to say) a coward. This is by no means a disparagement to his character; for many official personages, who are held in hight respect and admiration, are the victims of similar infirmities. The remark is made, indeed, rather in his favour than otherwise, and with a view of impressing the reader with a just sense of his qualifications for office." -page 333
- "Mr Sikes [lacked] the niceties of discrimination, and [was] troubled with no more subtle misgivings than those which resolve themselves into a dogged roughness of behaviour towards everybody." -page 364
- "'When ladies as young, and good, and beautiful as you are,' replied the girl [Nancy] steadily, 'give away your hearts, love will carry you all lengths - even such as you, who have home, friends, other admirers, everything, to fill them. When such as I, who have no certain roof but the coffin-lid, and no friend in sickness or death but the hospital nurse, set our rotten hearts on any man, and let him fill the place that has been a blank through all our wretched lives, who can hope to cure us? Pity us, lady - pity us for having only one feeling of the woman left, and for having that turned, by heavy judgment, from a comfort and a pride, into a new means of violence and suffering.'" -spoken to Rose Maylie, page 376.
- "'Do not heed my friend, Miss Maylie,' said Mr. Brownlow; 'he [Mr. Grimwig] does not mean what he says.'
'Yes, he does,' growled Mr. Grimwig.
'No, he does not,' said Mr. Brownlow, obviously rising in wrath as he spoke.
'He'll eat his head, if he doesn't,' growled Mr. Grimwig.
'He would deserve to have it knocked off, if he does,' said Mr. Brownlow.
'And he'd uncommonly like to see any man offer to do it,' responded Mr. Grimwig, knocking his stick upon the floor.
Having gone thus far, the two old gentlemen severally took snuff, and afterwards shook hands, according to their invariable custom." -page 382 - "'Then what the devil is to be done?' said the impetuous doctor [Mr. Losberne], when they had rejoined the two ladies. 'Are we to pass a vote of thanks to all these vagabonds, male and female, and beg them to accept a hundred pounds, or so apiece, as a trifiling mark of our esteem, and some slight acknowledgement of their kindness to Oliver?'" -please don't miss the saracasm, page 385.
- "I [Mr. Brownlow] make this request with good reason, for I might otherwise excite hopes destined never teo be realised, and only increase difficulties and disappointments already quite numerous enough." -page 388
- "The heavy bell of St. Paul's tolled for the death of another day. Midnight had come upon the crowded city. The palace, the night-cellar, the jail, the madhouse: the chambers of birth and death, of health and sickness, the rigid face of the corpse and the calm sleep of the child: midnight was upon them all." -page 427
- "The sun - the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to man - burst upon the crowded city in clear and radiant glory. Through costly-coloured glass and paper-mended window, through cathedral dome and rotten crevice, it shed its equal ray." -page 445
- "It is a world of disappointment; often to the hopes we most cherish, and hopes that do our nature the greatest honour." -page 496
- "How the two orphans, tried by adversity, remembered its lessons in mercy to others, and mutual love, and fervent thanks to Him who had protected and preserved them - these are all matters which need not to be told. I [the narrator] have said that they were truly happy; and without strong affection and humanity of heart, and gratitude to that Being whose code is Mercy, and whose great attribute is Benevolence to all things that breathe, happiness can never be attained." -page 511
Weight loss. What a great thing. The latest visit to the scale shows a loss of 2 kilos (4.4 lbs.) in just two weeks! I have expended considerable energy trying to understand just how did and does it continue to happen? I think it's the culmination of a hundred daily decisions, made consistently over a period of time. But specifically what about the areas people tend to focus on in the whole weight management equation?
Such as...
- Coke. I still drink it though only about a third of what I used to. (Koreans call it cola. If you ask for cola - more accurately pronounced "coh-la" - it's universally assumed you mean Coke, not Pepsi, even though Pepsi is nearly as available as Coke - to the chagrin of free thinking people everywhere.)
- Carbs. I eat much less bread than I used to. Most food markets almost treat bread as an afterthought when it comes to stocking a wide variety and it's rarely if ever served with meals. But any benefit from eating less bread seems in my mind outweighed by all the rice I eat.
- Fats like sweets, desserts, and butter. I eat much less of everything though I still often indulge when the urge, which is quite real, hits. (You know, like indulging in a nice stick of room temperature margarine, drizzled with hot fudge, for dessert.)
- Deep fried foods. Almost non-existent, though potato chips are still available, especially Pringles, and who can resist Pringles? Not me. Nor can I resist (no joke) deep-fried octopus tentacles. Tasty!
- Fruits. As if!
- Vegetables. Of course I eat truckloads more than I used to but it's not like Korean cooking is totally virtuous when it comes to serving veggies that aren't fried, sauteed, or swimming in some other evil substance.
- Multi-vitamins. I took them faithfully when I first got here but haven't bothered with them for about three months. (Doug, what do you call a multiple ingeston of multi-vitamins?)
- Exercise. One can't excuse the voluminous walking and biking I do though it's not anything to write home about (So, Richard wonders to himself, exactly what am I doing right now?). I'm not doing anything structured besides moving around from place to place, though that will soon change.
Since the usual suspects don't explain it, here's my revolutionary thought as to what might be one if not THE biggest variable contributing to my plummeting body mass and the ruination of my extensive Big & Tall wardrobe: milk.
Yes, milk. That wonderful milky fluid, milk. For as long as I can remember, wait, what was I talking about? Oh, yeah, my new physique. Actually I was talking about milk. For as long as I can remember, I've managed to guzzle 2-3 gallons of skim milk a week. Consistently.
Then I came to Korea where, unfortunately, it's not available in large containers and, though I've seen ads promoting civic responsibility in supporting Korea's two dairy farmers, I've managed to skate through the last six months (SIX MONTHS!) by drinking probably less than two gallons! This wasn't a conscious choice, just happenstance. I've always loved milk and I thought ,since I was drinking skim, that quantity wasn't an issue but now I wonder, because of all the variables I've considered, this represents perhaps the most dramatic departure from my previous habits.
Is it possible this radical drop in my dairy intake could be responsible for my dramatic weight loss?
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Oliver Twist Cast of Characters
- Oliver Twist, Work'us, Nolly, Ned, Tom White
- Mrs. Mann
- Mr. Bumble
- Mr. Limbkins
- Mr. Gamfield
- Mr. Sowerberry
- Charlotte, Mrs. Bolter
- Noah Claypole, Morris Bolter
- Trip
- Jack Dawkins, The Artful Dodger
- Dick
- Fagin, The Merry Old Gentleman
- Charley Bates
- Bet
- Nancy
- Mr. Losberne
- Mr. Brittles
- Mr. Giles
- Jack Ketch
- Mr. Monks, Edward Leeford
- Phil Barker
- Mr. Lively
- Old Sally Thingummy
- Mr. Grannett
- Mrs. Corney
- Mr. Toby Crackit
- Tom Chitling
- Bull's Eye
- Barney
- Mr. Grinwig
- Bill Sikes
- Mrs. Bedwin
- Mr. Brownlow
- Mr. Fang
- Rose Maylie
- Mrs. Maylie
- Harry Maylie
- Mr. Conkey Chickweed
- Jem Spyer
- Mr. Duff
- Mr. Blathers
- Kags
- Agnes Fleming
Some time ago I arranged to do a language exchange with a student at Kangwon University in town. His name is Yoon Hyun-sung but he goes by his family name of Yoon for short. A friend of an acquaintance works in the English Department on campus and she found Yoon for me based on his English language skills, which are superior, and his interest in improving them - he's studying to take the TOEFL test for the third time. This is an important English language benchmark test which is used, among other things, as a university placement tool in Korea. His scores have been excellent the previous two times he's taken it but he wants to take again to further improve his chances of transferring to a better school.
Now for a list of things we have in common - they're spooky. Like I did, Yoon is majoring in English, and based on his appreciation for Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, he adopted, long before we met, the English name of Richard! Wow! That's the list. I never said it was a long list, just a spooky list. S P O O K Y !
Our plan is to meet twice a week for an hour at a time - one hour studying Korean and the other studying English. I'm thrilled at our fortuitous meeting as we share the common interest of English literature and it appears our alliance is already bearing fruit: today he helped me find and register for a beginning Korean language course which will be taught on the Kangwon University campus twice a week, for 1 hour and 40 minutes at a time, for twelve weeks, for 140,000 won (about $112). I'm full of optimism.
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
07.28.2002 | china | day three | sunday
The steady rain that had fallen all morning didn't deter our plans to visit Tiananmen Square. We caught a bus which seemed to take forever but likely only took 30 minutes. Along the way we passed an endless procession of shops - old and modern, hundreds of bikers - many of them carrying passengers (mostly women precariously balanced side-saddle on the back equipment rack - in dresses no less!), dozens of Chinese food restaurants (oh, to dream of tasting authentic sweet and sour chicken - drool, drool), plenty of poverty mixed with prosperity, at least four McDonalds restaurants, and hundreds more cars than I ever expected - many foreign brands I didn't recognize but also recognizable labels like Volkswagen, General Motors, Audi, and BMW.
The closer we got to Tiananmen Square the more the scenery changed. Small shops and cafes gave way to modern malls, expensive restaurants, and massive office buildings. When I say massive office buildings, I'm not overstating the imposing nature of these modern structures. Whereas Korea has it's share of tall buildings, they tend to be tall and narrow; the large buildings in Beijing impressed me as being equally tall but much beefier in shape. The size and the surprising actual number of buildings put a facade on Beijing that it is prosperous, modern, and open. And sprinkled among the various high rises are the occasional ancient temples and royal palaces. Don¡¯t forget to add an endless parade of bicycle commuters on even the busiest of roads and you¡¯ll have a rough sketch of Beijing.
We paused for a tasty lunch of kung pao chicken in an obscure back alley restaurant and proceeded to walk the remaining distance to Tiananmen Square in a drizzle of rain. By my imperfect estimate, Tiananmen Square is a third of a mile wide by two thirds of a mile long. It¡¯s nothing much more remarkable than a flat plaza flanked on all sides by the most imposing of government, historical, and cultural buildings. A simple pillar forms a monument of some sort in the center and the south end is framed by two dramatic stone statues representing and dedicated to ¡°the people.¡± (Of course the plaza is infamous for the "Tiananman Square Massacre" which was a government quashed rebellion in 1989 and the lesser known "Tiananmen Square Incident," a pejorative term for a similar affair which took place some years earlier at the same site, though on a smaller scale.) I was able to take a handful of pictures but they are unremarkable as the day was overcast and we were still battered by inconsistent rain. After an hour of milling around the square with a few hundred other visitors, we caught a the subway to the next site on our agenda: an ancient functioning Lama Temple.
This was the first real touristy place I visited, crowded with buses and camera-toting sight seers, from such unexpected places like Sweden. The pricey admission charge and the crowds made me wonder how it could still function as a temple but I got a few clues as we entered and walked from building to building. At the entrance to each structure lay a supply in incense and a place to kneel, bow, and worship, which we say a few visitors doing. Pictures inside the temples, as in most places we visited, were not allowed so I was limited to taking shots of the buildings which wasn¡¯t a bad consolation prize though I regret I wasn¡¯t able to capture the increasingly larger statues and idols we encountered as we moved from building to building, apparently moving progressively deeper into the overall sanctuary.
At the time (and as I write, now that my trip is over) I regretted not being able to better identify the differences between the various religious strains common in Asia. Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, et. al. ran together in a blur and though I knew the many temples we eventually visited did not all belong to the same traditions, to me, as I suppose to most Westerners, I couldn¡¯t help but glob them all together. Brian called this site a Lama Temple which, he said, is associated with the Dalai Lama, though only in name. The Dalai Lama used to be the state-recognized leader of the religion but at some point he neglected or refused to pay some sort of homage to the government leaders and he was banished from China. (Though religion is supposedly prohited under communism rule, some groups are allowed to function as long as they somehow acknowledge the supremecy of the state government.) And although he still maintains his title, party leaders placed another in his stead who now functions as the official leader of the religion in China. (PLEASE recognize that this is a crude and likely imperfect description of a religion that is alien to me. Hopefully though it is putting the sites I saw into some sort of context.)
The Lama Temple was beautiful and inspiring for it¡¯s size, history, mystery but I was relieved to get away and walk down a nearby quiet, undisturbed street overgrown with trees and moss. We found a similar tourist attraction - an ancient government examination compound - that charged considerably less to enter and had fewer than half a dozen tourists in addition to our party of two. The charm here was plentiful - quiet gardens, mostly decaying structures in the midst of a few restored buildings, wild trees with long limbs and vines, and a stone moat surrounding the primary exam building full of green, stagnant water. The rain had ceased but the air was still heavy and oppressive so Brian and I paused for a good hour to soak in the solitude in attempt to appreciate the history.
Dinner that night included a pile of strange but tasty potato strings at a nice restaurant off campus. A stroll back to our dorm room with a pause to buy a phone card and some water completed our day and we were in bed, exhausted from walking, by 10:30.
Sunday morning and we were quickly ushered out of our room; too soon in spite of the extra hour Brian had pled for as we hadn't checked in until nearly midnight. Fortunately we had time for a warm shower first and then we made our way back to the foreign teacher's dorm to see if any rooms had opened up. This time a different attendant was on duty and, unlike the night before, this one trusted Brian enough to grant us a vacant room. Brian was upset for a few hours afterwards because he learned there had been a room available the night we arrived in town but the kid on duty chose not to give it to us. Brian's goal during his summer in China has been to live on $100 a week, or about 800 yuan, which by the end of the trip I learned was quite reasonable. Blowing 220 yuan unnecessarily on a pricey hotel room took a big chunk out of that 800 a week. We stowed our bags in our new room and left to eat a late breakfast in the school cafeteria. I ate a couple servings of a pita-type bread, one with hash browns, the other with Spam. Rather greasy but filling.
The steady rain that had fallen all morning didn't deter our plans to visit Tiananmen Square. We caught a bus which seemed to take forever but likely only took 30 minutes. Along the way we passed an endless procession of shops - old and modern, hundreds of bikers - many of them carrying passengers (mostly women precariously balanced side-saddle on the back equipment rack - in dresses no less!), dozens of Chinese food restaurants (oh, to dream of tasting authentic sweet and sour chicken - drool, drool), plenty of poverty mixed with prosperity, at least four McDonalds restaurants, and hundreds more cars than I ever expected - many foreign brands I didn't recognize but also recognizable labels like Volkswagen, General Motors, Audi, and BMW.
The closer we got to Tiananmen Square the more the scenery changed. Small shops and cafes gave way to modern malls, expensive restaurants, and massive office buildings. When I say massive office buildings, I'm not overstating the imposing nature of these modern structures. Whereas Korea has it's share of tall buildings, they tend to be tall and narrow; the large buildings in Beijing impressed me as being equally tall but much beefier in shape. The size and the surprising actual number of buildings put a facade on Beijing that it is prosperous, modern, and open. And sprinkled among the various high rises are the occasional ancient temples and royal palaces. Don¡¯t forget to add an endless parade of bicycle commuters on even the busiest of roads and you¡¯ll have a rough sketch of Beijing.
We paused for a tasty lunch of kung pao chicken in an obscure back alley restaurant and proceeded to walk the remaining distance to Tiananmen Square in a drizzle of rain. By my imperfect estimate, Tiananmen Square is a third of a mile wide by two thirds of a mile long. It¡¯s nothing much more remarkable than a flat plaza flanked on all sides by the most imposing of government, historical, and cultural buildings. A simple pillar forms a monument of some sort in the center and the south end is framed by two dramatic stone statues representing and dedicated to ¡°the people.¡± (Of course the plaza is infamous for the "Tiananman Square Massacre" which was a government quashed rebellion in 1989 and the lesser known "Tiananmen Square Incident," a pejorative term for a similar affair which took place some years earlier at the same site, though on a smaller scale.) I was able to take a handful of pictures but they are unremarkable as the day was overcast and we were still battered by inconsistent rain. After an hour of milling around the square with a few hundred other visitors, we caught a the subway to the next site on our agenda: an ancient functioning Lama Temple.
This was the first real touristy place I visited, crowded with buses and camera-toting sight seers, from such unexpected places like Sweden. The pricey admission charge and the crowds made me wonder how it could still function as a temple but I got a few clues as we entered and walked from building to building. At the entrance to each structure lay a supply in incense and a place to kneel, bow, and worship, which we say a few visitors doing. Pictures inside the temples, as in most places we visited, were not allowed so I was limited to taking shots of the buildings which wasn¡¯t a bad consolation prize though I regret I wasn¡¯t able to capture the increasingly larger statues and idols we encountered as we moved from building to building, apparently moving progressively deeper into the overall sanctuary.
At the time (and as I write, now that my trip is over) I regretted not being able to better identify the differences between the various religious strains common in Asia. Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, et. al. ran together in a blur and though I knew the many temples we eventually visited did not all belong to the same traditions, to me, as I suppose to most Westerners, I couldn¡¯t help but glob them all together. Brian called this site a Lama Temple which, he said, is associated with the Dalai Lama, though only in name. The Dalai Lama used to be the state-recognized leader of the religion but at some point he neglected or refused to pay some sort of homage to the government leaders and he was banished from China. (Though religion is supposedly prohited under communism rule, some groups are allowed to function as long as they somehow acknowledge the supremecy of the state government.) And although he still maintains his title, party leaders placed another in his stead who now functions as the official leader of the religion in China. (PLEASE recognize that this is a crude and likely imperfect description of a religion that is alien to me. Hopefully though it is putting the sites I saw into some sort of context.)
The Lama Temple was beautiful and inspiring for it¡¯s size, history, mystery but I was relieved to get away and walk down a nearby quiet, undisturbed street overgrown with trees and moss. We found a similar tourist attraction - an ancient government examination compound - that charged considerably less to enter and had fewer than half a dozen tourists in addition to our party of two. The charm here was plentiful - quiet gardens, mostly decaying structures in the midst of a few restored buildings, wild trees with long limbs and vines, and a stone moat surrounding the primary exam building full of green, stagnant water. The rain had ceased but the air was still heavy and oppressive so Brian and I paused for a good hour to soak in the solitude in attempt to appreciate the history.
Dinner that night included a pile of strange but tasty potato strings at a nice restaurant off campus. A stroll back to our dorm room with a pause to buy a phone card and some water completed our day and we were in bed, exhausted from walking, by 10:30.
Is there a place alongside a pursuit of spiritual goals for assertive, even aggressive pursuit of temporal goals? Must one sacrifice such trivial things as charity to compete with others who appear to hold no such standards? After recently receiving a tougue-lashing from a co-worker over some problems that could have been rationally discussed and easily resolved, I found myself succumbing to self-doubt and realized I was at a crossroads.
Should I grant a victory to the negative voices in my head, become immobile for fear of offending yet another poor, magnanimous soul, fade away, and acquiesce to those around me with harsher tongues and stronger wills? Or should I instead write such people off as jealous, self-centered hypocrites with nothing but destructive, ulterior motives?
I choose neither. They aren't in my nature, contrary to what some might think. To allow others such dominion over my behavior grates on my nerves and while I acknowledge it may indicate a need for greater humility, I can't see past standing up to gross mischaracterizations of my behavior or personality. Rather I must conclude I have no choice if I am to remain faithful to my own mores but to filter out the harsh language and its symptomatic self-doubt, review my behavior and make necessary changes in light of divine principles, re-examine my long-term objectives, renew my efforts to obtain them, and alternate distracting voices be damned!
Monday, August 26, 2002
07.27.2002 | china | day two | saturday
Life aboard the ferry was somewhat mundane. With so many of us crowded into the econmy bunks and everyone stashig their luggage, bags, bulky boxes, and other miscellaneous items in every available corner of the room, I felt something akin to the faceless lower class passengers stowed away in the bottom decks of the Titanic. Though people were happy, chatty, and friendly, it almost would have been fitting if someone had started playing a sad, hardship song on a harmonica or banjo.
For breakfast I had kimbop and some Pringles, both of which I'd brought with me. Food was available, I believe, from the restaurant on board the ferry but I didn't want the hassle of communicating my order as as I wasn't very hungry anyway, it felt good to be frugal.
I passed the day sleeping watching the horizon on deck, writing a letter home, and reading a two-day old copy of the International Herald Tribune I'd brought with me. Occasionally we would pass a large freighter in the distance, otherwise we were alone. The novelty of taking the ferry began to wear thin, much like the way the thrill of taking a long bus ride or airplane flight starts to become dull as you grow impatient to arrive at your destination.
At length we finally did arrive, on time, at 7:00 PM. For an hour before we reached port, we passed dozens of various hulking frieghters, anchored at sea and dormant, I imagine, so as not to crowd the available docking spaces in Tianjin. An hour passed before we were allowed to disembark but after we did, and after a short bus ride to the customs terminal, I officially entered the country.
What a strange but unremarkable experience to finally walk the soil of a land with such a grand history and such a tempestuous present. Korea has been such a unique and enjoyable experience but the sheer size and depth was, for me, quite a leap in magnitude. On the other hand, the sights and sounds and smells were rather ordinary. Perhaps many people have a similar reaction the first time they set foot in a place that for them has figured so prominently in their own educational upbringing.
If I was eyed with suspicion checking through customs, it didn't register. It only took a few minutes. I exited the terminal and found Brian. We took a very long ride in a cramped, dirty red taxi into Tianjin. We bought tickets at the train terminal and as the next train wasn't scheduled to leave for an hour we walked down a side street to find some food. We settled on a small restaurant and ordered potstickers, a sort of dumpling - quite delicious.
The trip to Beijing took 90 minutes on a cramped, dirty train. Fortunately the weather was pleasant and some of the windows were open which allowed a strong breeze to flow through our car.
We arrived in Beijing around 10:45 PM. A short jaunt on the subway and another taxi brought us to the campus of the university where Brian taught for 12 months nearly four years ago. (It's official name is The University of Science and Technology Beijing.) It was quite late but we had hopes of finding a room in the foreign student's dorm. Unfortunately we were told no rooms were available so we had to settle on a room in the nearby convention center hotel at about three times the cost. (70 yuan or $8.75 for a dorm room versus 200 yuan or $25 for the hotel! Yuan is pronounced quickly and sounds like U.N.) But we were exhausted and couldn't afford to be picky so we paid for our room and finally went to sleep around midnight.
After a peaceful nights rest on the rolling ocean, I awoke and went on deck to view for the first time the vast, watery expanse. Though I knew the distance between China and Korea was great, it was a little unsettling to see nothing but water, stretching far to the horizon in every direction. The morning was a bit overcast and a haze in the air turned into a light fog as the day advanced and made our lone presence feel surreal.
Life aboard the ferry was somewhat mundane. With so many of us crowded into the econmy bunks and everyone stashig their luggage, bags, bulky boxes, and other miscellaneous items in every available corner of the room, I felt something akin to the faceless lower class passengers stowed away in the bottom decks of the Titanic. Though people were happy, chatty, and friendly, it almost would have been fitting if someone had started playing a sad, hardship song on a harmonica or banjo.
For breakfast I had kimbop and some Pringles, both of which I'd brought with me. Food was available, I believe, from the restaurant on board the ferry but I didn't want the hassle of communicating my order as as I wasn't very hungry anyway, it felt good to be frugal.
I passed the day sleeping watching the horizon on deck, writing a letter home, and reading a two-day old copy of the International Herald Tribune I'd brought with me. Occasionally we would pass a large freighter in the distance, otherwise we were alone. The novelty of taking the ferry began to wear thin, much like the way the thrill of taking a long bus ride or airplane flight starts to become dull as you grow impatient to arrive at your destination.
At length we finally did arrive, on time, at 7:00 PM. For an hour before we reached port, we passed dozens of various hulking frieghters, anchored at sea and dormant, I imagine, so as not to crowd the available docking spaces in Tianjin. An hour passed before we were allowed to disembark but after we did, and after a short bus ride to the customs terminal, I officially entered the country.
What a strange but unremarkable experience to finally walk the soil of a land with such a grand history and such a tempestuous present. Korea has been such a unique and enjoyable experience but the sheer size and depth was, for me, quite a leap in magnitude. On the other hand, the sights and sounds and smells were rather ordinary. Perhaps many people have a similar reaction the first time they set foot in a place that for them has figured so prominently in their own educational upbringing.
If I was eyed with suspicion checking through customs, it didn't register. It only took a few minutes. I exited the terminal and found Brian. We took a very long ride in a cramped, dirty red taxi into Tianjin. We bought tickets at the train terminal and as the next train wasn't scheduled to leave for an hour we walked down a side street to find some food. We settled on a small restaurant and ordered potstickers, a sort of dumpling - quite delicious.
The trip to Beijing took 90 minutes on a cramped, dirty train. Fortunately the weather was pleasant and some of the windows were open which allowed a strong breeze to flow through our car.
We arrived in Beijing around 10:45 PM. A short jaunt on the subway and another taxi brought us to the campus of the university where Brian taught for 12 months nearly four years ago. (It's official name is The University of Science and Technology Beijing.) It was quite late but we had hopes of finding a room in the foreign student's dorm. Unfortunately we were told no rooms were available so we had to settle on a room in the nearby convention center hotel at about three times the cost. (70 yuan or $8.75 for a dorm room versus 200 yuan or $25 for the hotel! Yuan is pronounced quickly and sounds like U.N.) But we were exhausted and couldn't afford to be picky so we paid for our room and finally went to sleep around midnight.
Sunday, August 25, 2002
07.26.2002 | china | day one | friday
My day began at 6:00 AM. I woke before the alarm sounded, anxious to shower, dress, and pack, though my train for Seoul wouldn't leave until 9:00. Packing was easy, especially as I was excited to use my new backpack, purchased a few days ago from the underground shopping mall in Myungdong for 25,000 won ($20). "From London," the vendor said as I showed interest in the black Genova bag, thinking perhaps it would impress me to buy it. Plenty of pockets, rain protection built into the design, and a heavy-duty black carrying handle to use when you tire of carrying it on your back are the features that ultimately convinced me to buy it.
I walked out the door at 8:40 to make the walk to the Namchunchon Station. True to form for me, I had to return to my apartment because I'd forgotten something: my Teva sandals. Fortunately I only had to return that once.
I arrived in Seoul at 10:55 with three hours to blow until I had to meet Mi-kyoung. I went to a nearby Chohung Bank branch to exchange won for dollars. Much easier to do than I expected, and rewarding too: I love the look, smell, and feel of American currency. And who can deny feeling a bit of pride that the American Dollar is so universally respected?
The only PC room I could find afterward to check my email and read up on China was a dark, grimy joint several blocks away from Cheongyangni Station. The ick got to me after an hour so I left and returned to the train station complex to wash my hands and eat at a clean place I could trust - Burger King.
What started out an overcast day with a gentle breeze in Chunchon had now turned into a sunny, sweltering day in Seoul. I took a walk to look for a camera shop to buy an extra memory card for my camera. I'd been wondering if I'd exchanged enough money. I hate the idea of being vulnerable in a strange land, carrying around too much cash, but if I run out in that strange land, won't that be worse? I found another CHB branch and traded more won for some American Express Travelers Checks.
I returned for the last time to the train station to meet Mi-kyoung at our pre-arranged site in front of McDonalds. She is the younger sister of Yun-kyoung, Brian's friend in Seoul who has been so helpful getting my Chinese visa and my ferry ticket. She was out of town today so her sister came instead and after she arrived we sat and visited for about 45 minutes before I had to leave to make the journey to Incheon.
The subway ride took a little more than an hour. A short cab ride brought me to the International Terminal #2, port to the Jinchon Ferry, located in Incheon, just west of Seoul. (Incheon is famous for being General MacArthur's landing site when the American Forces helped turn the tide in the Korean War in September 1950. Back then it was a lot of swampy, unuseable real estate but now much of it has been reclaimed and it's home to the new and impressive Incheon Int'l Airport, my own arrival site to Korea almost five months ago.) Several long lines later and I boarded the bus that made the one mile drive to the ferry itself. I boarded at 6:30, found my bunk, explored the ship for 20 minutes, and we departed on time at 7:00 PM.
As I walked to Namchunchon Station this morning, a beautiful white crane with a long graceful neck skimmed and flew along the river that paralleled my path. Though I often see these birds along the river beds and at the lakes, I was touched by it's artful flight and felt it might possibly portend good things as I begin this exciting journey.
As I lay in my assigned bed, the ship begins to tremble as we leave port and begin our 24-hour journey to Tianjin, China. The bed is one of many in a large room, built into the walls, stacked bunk-style with only a draw-curtain for privacy. A flourescent light in my 'bed chamber' allows me to read and write. My fellow passengers come and go. A young child with a raspy voice whines incessantly, disturbing my peace.
My day began at 6:00 AM. I woke before the alarm sounded, anxious to shower, dress, and pack, though my train for Seoul wouldn't leave until 9:00. Packing was easy, especially as I was excited to use my new backpack, purchased a few days ago from the underground shopping mall in Myungdong for 25,000 won ($20). "From London," the vendor said as I showed interest in the black Genova bag, thinking perhaps it would impress me to buy it. Plenty of pockets, rain protection built into the design, and a heavy-duty black carrying handle to use when you tire of carrying it on your back are the features that ultimately convinced me to buy it.
I walked out the door at 8:40 to make the walk to the Namchunchon Station. True to form for me, I had to return to my apartment because I'd forgotten something: my Teva sandals. Fortunately I only had to return that once.
I arrived in Seoul at 10:55 with three hours to blow until I had to meet Mi-kyoung. I went to a nearby Chohung Bank branch to exchange won for dollars. Much easier to do than I expected, and rewarding too: I love the look, smell, and feel of American currency. And who can deny feeling a bit of pride that the American Dollar is so universally respected?
The only PC room I could find afterward to check my email and read up on China was a dark, grimy joint several blocks away from Cheongyangni Station. The ick got to me after an hour so I left and returned to the train station complex to wash my hands and eat at a clean place I could trust - Burger King.
What started out an overcast day with a gentle breeze in Chunchon had now turned into a sunny, sweltering day in Seoul. I took a walk to look for a camera shop to buy an extra memory card for my camera. I'd been wondering if I'd exchanged enough money. I hate the idea of being vulnerable in a strange land, carrying around too much cash, but if I run out in that strange land, won't that be worse? I found another CHB branch and traded more won for some American Express Travelers Checks.
I returned for the last time to the train station to meet Mi-kyoung at our pre-arranged site in front of McDonalds. She is the younger sister of Yun-kyoung, Brian's friend in Seoul who has been so helpful getting my Chinese visa and my ferry ticket. She was out of town today so her sister came instead and after she arrived we sat and visited for about 45 minutes before I had to leave to make the journey to Incheon.
The subway ride took a little more than an hour. A short cab ride brought me to the International Terminal #2, port to the Jinchon Ferry, located in Incheon, just west of Seoul. (Incheon is famous for being General MacArthur's landing site when the American Forces helped turn the tide in the Korean War in September 1950. Back then it was a lot of swampy, unuseable real estate but now much of it has been reclaimed and it's home to the new and impressive Incheon Int'l Airport, my own arrival site to Korea almost five months ago.) Several long lines later and I boarded the bus that made the one mile drive to the ferry itself. I boarded at 6:30, found my bunk, explored the ship for 20 minutes, and we departed on time at 7:00 PM.
As I walked to Namchunchon Station this morning, a beautiful white crane with a long graceful neck skimmed and flew along the river that paralleled my path. Though I often see these birds along the river beds and at the lakes, I was touched by it's artful flight and felt it might possibly portend good things as I begin this exciting journey.