never met a republican
Sunday, November 17, 2002
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
wednesday | 10.13.02 | korea | day 253
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.
friday | 10.08.02 | korea | day 248
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
tuesday | 10.05.02 | korea | day 245
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!
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Monday, November 04, 2002
Sunday, November 03, 2002
Saturday, November 02, 2002
Friday, November 01, 2002
friday | 11.01.02 | korea | day 241
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.
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