The weather outside is frightful

Brrr! It's cold in here. There must be some low energy gaseous particles in the atmosphere!

I've had quite a terrible sleep pattern so far, and have been rather sleep deprived, but I got lots of uninterrupted sleep this afternoon and evening. It's 1:30am now, and I should be getting back to sleep, but I wanted to post some snow pictures.

This is what it looks like outside now:

It's still snowing rather enthusiastically, so I'm getting even more excited to go snowboarding with my family in the morning, but I hope we can actually get to the slopes.

Merry Christmas!

I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, but, for those of you who do, please have a beautiful and inspiring one. For those of you who don't, I hope you have a beautiful and inspiring December 25th.

Ok, that's it! I only want to fly direct from now on.

Just a short (edit: Ok... not so short) entry today, but I'm back in the USA for now, safe and sound, despite being rather frustrated at certain points on my flight.

A really cute balloon with a face in the elevator at work.

Grading till the very end (and still having grading left to do), I woke up later than I wanted to, went to work with my luggage, met Janna for breakfast, realized I needed an extra bag, went back to grading, met Jisun and Janet who helped me with my grading (thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!), ran back home for that extra bag, realized that extra bad was too small to fit my laptop in, used my work bag instead, rolled out off campus with Jisun and Janet to the airport bus, took the airport bus with the radiantly model of a friend Janet, stopped by the Duty Free pick up to grab Jisun's handbag, got tagged by security at the airport, got asked a lot of questions, ran to the other concourse, got padded down for the first time in my life (the padder-downer was a rather unthreatening small woman), sat down on my middle isle seat, and promptly fell asleep for most of the ride. I did wake up to eat, but my stomach was not so happy for some reason, so I wasn't the most comfortable duckling in the flock, but all was well... the plane engines' humming was quite loud, so... uh... I didn't disturb anyone. That is all.

Winnipeg, Canada.

Supposedly someone on the airplane got sick. He supposedly was in pain and couldn't urinate. Just in case this was caused by something serious, perhaps appendicitis, we stopped in Winnipeg, Canada, to drop him off at a hospital, waited around for a little while inside the plane to get clearance to take off, got a speech from the pilot about how Delta values each and every one of us, so that's why they'd stop the plane if we were sick as well, and then took off for the rest of the two hour trip to Detroit.

The bustling city of Detroit.

In Detroit, most of us had missed our connecting flights. A lot of people were upset. I certainly wasn't thrilled about it either, but really... what could being unhappy about it really do for me? The customer service woman I went to couldn't get me a new ticket because someone had marked me as on that plane to La Guardia Airport in NYC, when I had obviously missed that flight due to the delay. I asked for a flight to Philadelphia instead, and they agreed. However, they were still trying to cancel my other flight by calling someone who was not answering the phone.

Meanwhile, two young women and one young man next to me were very pissed off, or at least the women were. They were ranting about how they were insulted as Canadians and how much they hated Delta, which... well... I don't blame them for feeling, but really, that old lady in front of you had really very little connection to what happened and was genuinely trying to help you. The women told her that they had connections to thousands of teachers in Daegu, South Korea, who they would make sure never use Delta, which... is fine... really, I think Delta's not all that awesome, but cheaper than Korean Air (which is rather awesome). Then they started asking the woman, "Do you know how many people you're inconveniencing? Our families are waiting for us!" Etc. etc. etc. At this point, the customer service woman raised her hands and tried to calm them down, "Woah. I'm sorry that this happened, but I'm trying to help you here." But they were still angry and continued. Finally, she left and didn't return. One of the women wondered where she went and then concluded it was because they were so mean to her. "Well, I feel sort of sorry that I yelled at her. It's not her fault, I guess. But..." etc. etc. etc.

By that time, another more experienced customer service woman had helped my customer service woman to procure a new ticket for me. I also received a voucher for a night at Quality Inn and twelve dollars worth of food. I went to the hotel, met a nice woman with a very adorable dog, went to Days Inn to use my food vouchers because Quality Inn had no restaurant, and then went back to my hotel room. The bed was heavenly. It was very pillowy and comfortable, I also fell asleep several times before I finally prepared to go to sleep. The toilet had a problem with the tank though, but I didn't want anyone bothering me in the room, so I just filled up the tank myself and temporarily fixed the problem.

Yummy. French Onion Soup and a Tuna Salad Sandwich.

I set my alarm for 4:00 am, and woke up at 2:30 am at one point out of nervousness that I'd miss my flight. When I woke up again it was just past seven. I was in a panic. My plane was supposed to leave as I got dressed, repacked, and almost literally flew out the door. I had set my alarm for four on Saturday not four on Sunday. In my panic, I went straight to the computers and booked a new flight to Philly, but couldn't find a phone. The hotel manager sensed, I think, that I was indeed ready to cry. He let me use his phone - very kind of him. I called home and I had been able to hold in all my frustrations ... until I heard the sound of my dear mother's voice. At that point, sleepy, frustrated tears began rolling down my face. I explained what had happened. My dad tried to tease me about it until he realized I was crying, then he softened up a little, though he also told me I shouldn't be crying about it. I didn't think I should be crying about it, but sleep deprivation and all that jazz sometimes does that to even tough emotionless women like me. Har har.

I got to the Detroit Airport again, had to re-check my baggage and pay and extra $55 dollars for it. I was waiting in line with the cutest little girls. The older one had a huge book bag that she was complaining about carrying to her mother, but when I asked her if it was heavy, she admitted that it was mostly filled with clothes and only looked heavy. The younger one had a Nemo rolley bag and was completely enamored with her bag. She had "One... two... three... four... Four!" dogs (dolls) in her bag and the wheels on the bag lit up when she rolled it around.

It...

...was...

snowing. :)

The de-icing machine.

I made it to the plane and then found out it was delayed for about half an hour because of some mechanical issue. Then we went to get the plane de-iced. Finally, after a little over an hour, we lifted off and went to Philadelphia.

Finally over the clouds.

Looks like fields of snow.

Cloud formations are cool.

A partially cloudy day from above.

Philly suburbs look like computer chips.

Philadelphia, home sweet home.

In Philadelphia, I waited outside for my dad, who was accompanied by my youngest brother, who was a bit taller than the last time I was in the US, but didn't change in terms of looks all that much - still has a bit of a sleepy, baby face. We went straight to church where I was bombarded with warm greetings and a long list of inquiries of if I had improved my Korean, if I was planning on staying in Korea much longer, if I had a boyfriend, if I had gained/lost weight, if I missed this person or that person, if I was tired, if I was hungry, if I had heard about my cousin Julie, if I had heard about Jisun's wedding, if ... if... if... and then I sat down to eat, but left a little early with my dad to rest at home. It was very good to see everyone at church again, but I was actually quite happy to go home early.

So now I'm home, but falling asleep around 6:00 pm due to jet lag. I just woke up for a little while, so I decided to write this entry. Now I am heading back to sleep.

One thing I do love about flying is that moment the plane catches the wind and lifts off. It's rather amazing. I'm still more than impressed that we, little delicate human beings, have somehow managed to figure a rather safe way to fly... across the world, really, above mountains, through clouds, over storms, past oceans. It's awesome. I hope I never take this flying around the world thing for granted. And despite the troubles on my flight, I'm here with my family, safe and sound, very comfortably getting over my jet lag because I just traveled almost halfway around the globe in less than a day. Awe inspiring? It sort of should be, huh?

Accepting Evil

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

I watched a really upsetting documentary the other night. The documentary is called "Deliver Us From Evil," and it uses interviews, deposition tapes, letters, and so on to tell the true story of the priest Oliver O'Grady and his 100's of victims in California from the 1970s and 1980s. It was rather difficult to watch. It investigates O'Grady's pedophilia, the pain of the victims and their families, and the chain of command in the Catholic church.

I do think I'm better for watching it, but, though I rarely shed tears while watching television or films, I couldn't help but start crying at a certain part when a victim's father begins breaking down as he recounted the day he realized that his daughter had been abused and raped from when she was 5 years old till she was 12 years old. He asked her why she didn't tell him and she said that when she was very young, he had told her that if anyone hurt her, he would kill that person. When the abuse began, she asked a friend what would happen if someone's father killed someone and the friend told her that the father would go to jail for the rest of his life. She decided at that point to keep it a secret from her father to protect him. As he explained this, he tearfully expressed remorse for saying such a thing. Watching this loving father under the weight of so much undeserved regret and guilt was, at the least, heart-wrenching.

What was more astonishing than the sheer sociopathic behavior of O'Grady was and is the blatant covering up and shirking of responsibility of his overseers and authority figures in the church. The director of the movie asks, on the film's website:

What must the 100,000 survivors of clergy abuse (and the vast number of survivors who have yet to come forward) feel like seeing the government officials who are supposed to protect, represent and serve them behave in this way, and seeing a trailer for a film that honestly depicts their ordeal and the very fact of their abuse be treated by the MPAA as unacceptable for mainstream Americans to view and understand?

I agree. While I understand the want of an organization of individual people to want to project a "good image" and control or neutralize negative information, there is also responsibility to protect those who trust and support the institution. I don't think the Catholic church is "evil," but I do agree that it is made up of human beings and if each person does not take responsibility to do what's right, the creation of a nightmare situation is all too easy.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people."



You can watch the full film here: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/deliver-us-from-evil/

A Year of Facebook Statuses

Status messages on Facebook don't tell the whole story, but they certainly jogged a few memories. I can't believe it's already almost Christmas. I'm looking forward to seeing my family, friends, church members, and doggy. I hope I get to go rock climbing, snowboarding, European hot chocolate drinking, crepe eating, cookie baking, and full 8 or 9 hours sleeping. :)

That last status was written by Crystal herself. Haha.
It seems I haven't really written any status messages since September. Hm.

You can make your own here: http://apps.facebook.com/my-year-in-status/

"Same ol'...Same ol'..."

I was writing a long response to a comment from the last post and decided that it might be better to make it a whole separate blog post.

I've been reading about this all morning. It's terrible. I hope you are okay? What does this mean for future relations between the South and Norther? They aren't possibly going to war, are they?

http://gogloh.blogspot.com/2010/11/north-korea-bombed-south-korea.html

Yeah, we're fine here in Seoul. I don't really know how serious this will get, but right now everything has already settled down. I know people are upset with what happened, but I think South Koreans are very accustomed to crazy behavior from their northern neighbor. I talked about this a bit with some of my club students and one of them, a political science major (although she has two other majors as well), said that analysts think this happened because the new successor is trying to establish his power and place in the regime.

The incident rattled diplomatic nerves in capitals not only in the region but also around the world. Residents of Seoul, however, seemed to display only a mild anxiety on Wednesday, caught somewhere between calm and dread, and maybe breathing a collective sigh of relief that things had not escalated.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/world/asia/25seoul.html

In any case, it's quite sad because so many people were hurt, even four deaths due to the shelling has been reported. The club students told me that one of the soldiers who died was only 20 years old Korean age, which means he was probably 19 years old. And he had just been given his first vacation leave a day before the shelling. He delayed his departure for a day due to weather. The other soldier who died only had a few months left before he was finished his compulsory military service.

They also found two civilian bodies and supposedly one high school girl is missing. I haven't been able to confirm the latter bit of information through the news, however.

At least four people, including two civilians were killed and dozens of houses destroyed on the island in the heaviest attack by the North since the Korean War ended in 1953.
It marked the first civilian deaths in an assault since the bombing of a South Korean airliner in 1987. North Korea said the shelling was in self-defense after Seoul fired shells into its waters near the disputed maritime border.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL3E6MN0SQ20101125

Even with so many big and little crazy things going on in the world, I hope everyone has a wonderful day, particularly today, whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving Day. While there's always work to be done, I certainly have a lot to be thankful about.

North Korea bombed South Korea...

Just a couple hours ago, North Korea bombed an western island of South Korea. North Korea sent about 50 or so bombs, according to Korean news sources, to Yeonpyeong island, right off the coast of Incheon, a major city. South Korea exchanged fire, retaliating with about 30 bombs.

Residents of the island are being evacuated to bunkers, as about 60 to 70 buildings are on fire, and some building are collapsing. Some South Koreans have been hurt.

I haven't received anything from the U.S. Embassy yet, so I don't know how seriously the South Korean and American military are taking this attack, but since people are hurt, I presume there will be some action taken.

Crazy, huh?

My guess at this point is that North Korea is looking to gain some negotiating leverage after revealing their nuclear capabilities recently. They also recently named a new successor, so that might have been another factor in this recent activity.

Update: At this point in time, one Korean marine has been killed.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AM0YS20101123

Withstanding Wintry Weather With Wonderful Warm Whatchamacallits

The weather has been rather chilly for a while now, but with the cold weather comes the opportunity to make use of one of my favorite Korean things: underfloor heating or the Ondol (온돌) system.

The Ondol system is a traditional Korean heating method, where the heated water is channeled through pipes beneath the floor. In the past, it was a way of heating the water while also heating the home. It can be both now as well, but we can choose to send the hot water through the pipes first or have the hot water go directly to the bathroom and kitchen.

It's an expensive system to install, but it is very energy efficient. And it's so nice to just feel the warmth emanating from beneath you, whether you're walking or sitting. And of course, if you have a traditional style Korean bed, which is more like a mat, your blankets will be all ready cozy and welcoming when you're ready to hop in. And I know I'm not the only one who loves the Ondol system.

It did snow briefly already this winter, but not much.
This photo was taken last February.

There are only two problems with the system I've encountered so far. Sometimes it's hard to get the right temperature and I often find myself opening the windows sometimes to cool the air a bit. Another problem is that if the system isn't built to be controlled for each room, i.e. there is only one thermostat and it controls one huge Ondol that runs through the large apartment, running it can get rather expensive. It's still surprisingly cheap to run the system, even for a large place, but I'm a forgetful person and often left my heating system on by accident when running out to get to work back at my old place.

And, on a slightly related note, I was looking through Wikipedia for some information on the Ondol system, I found out that there is a similar heating system used the the middle ages ... named after me! Oh me oh my. I am very pleased with the people of the Iberian Peninsula, I am. Very pleased indeed. ;)

Eleven Eleven = Pepero = G20

Pepero Day is on November 11th, because the four ones are supposed to look like Pepero sticks:

11 11

Ta-da.

People exchange Pepero sticks to show their affection or appreciation. Mainly, couples give each other the snacks, but a lot of people bestow the tasty chocolate covered cookies to their friends or teachers. It's seriously one of the most ingenious marketing schemes in Korea, and I don't mind it at all (as long as I receive some).

The 2010 G20 Summit in Seoul began on Pepero Day and has subsequently ended, but the lead up to the two day event started months before the actual event. For example, there was the G20 Asia Song Festival.

At the concert, we were given a free blanket, CD of the Korean collaborative pop G20 theme song "Let's Go!", and a battery powered glow stick to wave around during the concert if we donated to UNICEF.

I haven't used my blanket set yet, but it's sitting in my office in case I need a nap. :)

The city was turned inside out preparing for possible G20 related emergencies, as well as trying to welcome and impress the international community. First hand, I witnessed many stores holding special discounts for G20 passport holders, and buses being rerouted throughout Seoul to avoid any potential problems. I didn't realize the latter and got being stuck on a bus that didn't stop where I was hoping to go because it went straight from one of the earlier stops passed several subway stations and a major US military base (or two?), in heavy traffic, to a bus-stop-less corner in an unfamiliar area. I ended up shadowing a mother and her daughter down several eerily quiet and highly secured blocks to get to the nearest subway station and head back toward my original destination.

... I hope they didn't think I was stalking them.

One of my internet addictions...

Hello. I have a problem. I'm addicted to internet videos... but not just any videos... like really nerdy videos. I spend way too much time watching lectures, talks, infographics, and the like on the internet. Actually, they're rather intriguing, thought provoking, inspiring and surprising.

I sent a list of very interesting videos to my friend Jenny and decided that perhaps I should also post them here:


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/kor/joachim_de_posada_says_don_t_eat_the_marshmallow_yet.html
This is really cute, as well as informative. :) It's about learning self-control and delayed gratification.


http://fora.tv/2010/05/06/Jeremy_Rifkin_The_Empathic_Civilization_Animated
This is about how we're wired to feel what others feel and empathize rather than be aggressive, etc.


http://fora.tv/2010/03/25/Philip_Zimbardo_The_Secret_Powers_of_Time_Animated
On how people are oriented in their sense of time and how different cultures have different paces of life because of the sense of and orientation toward time.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY
About the mechanics vs. meaning of language. :)


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html
On how having too many choices are making us less happy.


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html
This is about how wisdom and morality differs from knowledge and rules and the importance of wisdom and moral development.


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Sir Ken speaks on education and how the way it's done now discourages creativity and the development of our individual gifts.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
A very moving lecture given by Randy Pausch, who knows he's going to die very soon... Actually he passed away less than a year after giving this speech.

:) They're all really really interesting. Hope you both enjoy them.

Drunken Subway Quasi-Brawls and Such

And now it's October. I'm getting pretty bad at keeping up with this blog, huh.

People in Korea drink a lot. By that I mean almost everyone, Korean born people, foreign born people, people with Korean ethnicity that was born elsewhere, elderly people, young people, women, men... though not kids, hopefully. Because of this, every so often, there's a lot of spectating of people who can't seem to "drink well."

 I visited on GeoJe Island with my friend Janna, during Chuseok. Chuseok (추석) is the Korean harvest holiday, often compared with the American Thanksgiving, but actually somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas in terms of how much travelling, gift giving, and feasting takes place. It took us about six hours through the holiday traffic to get to GeoJae Island, when it usually take a bit over four, from Seoul.

GeoJe Island is at the very southern tip of Korea. It's a less known region than the more popular Jeju Island, which I have yet to visit. It's noticeably warmer than Seoul and ... well ... it's an island, so it's never too far from a beautiful ocean view.

When we first arrived by bus by mid-afternoon, we hopped on a taxi and asked to be taken to a nearby sculpture park. On the way, we drove up a narrow road passing by a local hospital. A doctor and a nurse stood by the gate, but the doctor was unexpectedly energetic. He ran in front of the taxi to stop it and began hitting it. As he started cursing at the cab driver, he demanded to know where the diver was heading off to. His face was quite red and he continued to push and hit the taxi until he got to the driver side door. The nurse was standing with an eye on the whole scene. I had a feeling she was just there to make sure the doctor didn't get himself killed. The doctor then pulled the door handle. The cab driver mumbled, "Are you crazy?" in Korean and pulled the door shut before the doctor had a chance to open it enough to get his hands in the door. As we pulled away, the doctor finally calmed down, motioning to the taxi as is he had decided to give us permission to drive passed. The driver took a deep breath and then in a very gracious tone, chuckled, "People need to drink well." He was, of course, telling us that this doctor was not a good drunk or good at controlling his drinking.

I'm not saying that drunken people liter the streets in Korea, as most people do have enough control to know when to get home or when to stop drinking. And if they don't have that control, usually they're with a group of people who can take care of them, get them home, or sober them up a bit. However, many people in Seoul pass out in public, in clubs, in bars, on the subway, and sometimes out in the sidewalks. There's a blog (http://blackoutkorea.blogspot.com/) that actually takes pictures of Korean guys who pass out on the street. I don't really like reading this blog, as I find it rather mean spirited and very focused on just showing Korean men being drunken fools, rather than other groups of people who are just as laughable or ridiculous when drunk; however, I can't say that what they depict isn't real. There is a lot of drinking to be had in Korea.

Among drunkards who are being carried home, stuffed in taxis, unconscious in the middle of wherever, and stumbling around with their friends, there are those notorious drunks who like to start fights in subways. The most recent altercation involved a young fellow who had fallen asleep on a Sunday night across about four seats. A few older men were looking for seats and their eyes fell on this drunken sharp dresser. While most people were avoiding the passed out young man with earrings, one or two of the older men woke him up, probably accompanied with berating of some sort. The drunken man would have none of it and began aggressively intimidating the older men, who also would not lose face by backing down to this young punk. I'm not sure what words where exchanged, but a few young guys nearby were trying to block his way as he thrust his arms and body toward the old men.

My friend, JiSun, began requesting for the young men in the subway car to do something. One of the boys nearby, wearing a nice black jacket and an earring, stood up and grabbed the drunkard, trying to pull him away. The few young slender men continued to pull the angry one away, but he continued to break out of their grip, forcing his way back to the old men.

The rest of the boy's friends continued to sit there, giggling, taking cell phone pictures. The boy, thinking the ordeal was over, sat back down, smelled his hands and then wiped them on one of his friend's shirts. The drunken man wasn't finished, however. At one point, he kicked one of the old men with his very nice pointed leather boot. Another time, he stood over one of the older men who had sat down and began putting his hands on him. I was ready to jump in there myself.

Finally, one built Korean guy, grabbed the guy by the scruff of the neck and took him to a corner by the subway car door. This guy had been standing quietly off the the side for a while. He wasn't dressed for a night on the town, but was wearing short sleeves (which showed off his muscular arms) and a vest jacket. He had the drunken guy cornered and was towering over him while giving him a low volume talk. When we reached the next stop, the built guy got the guy out of the subway car, onto the platform.

I'm not quite sure if the drunken guy had actually stepped out or if the built guy had perhaps forced him out.

New classes, familiar faces.

Looking over my new schedule, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't have any classes with Humanities or Fine Arts majors this fall. I am teaching three whole new classes and teaching another class of Computer Science majors - but I wasn't sure what my Computer Science majors thought of me; they were so very quiet and passive last term. The new fall term was about to start and I was much less nervous about classes than last term, but was hoping to see some of my former students. It didn't seem likely.

My humanities students taking a 5 minute break
after midterms during Spring term.

Over the summer, I taught an intensive writing course, but had only seniors in my class. They were a great bunch - more self-motivated and willing to take initiative with their own learning than most of my first year students. I had collected their reading journals at the end of the course, but a few asked if they could pick them up again so that they can continue them.

A note from one of the summer students.

Then I volunteered at ERC, which is an overnight, week long Bible camp that promotes better understanding and relationships between Korean-Americans, Koreans and North Korean refugees. It was a tiring, but awesome experience. I want to write more about this later, but this isn't the focus of this particular entry. 

A real time translation of a radio interview
of one of the refugees as it took place on stage.

I also visited Guam for a week with Lisa and Heidi... another entry for another time. It was beautiful and I want to go back. I also broke my trusty Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W80 while there.

The clean warm waters of Guam.

Riding on the bus in Guam.

After my first class of English Literature majors, I went to grab a bite to eat with my new officemate, Melissa. On our way back to campus, I ran into a bunch of my previous Fine Arts (and Arts and Crafts) students. "Oh, Gloria! We couldn't get into your class because of the schedule," Gina explained. Angela pretended to pout. "That's OK. We'll see each other around campus," I replied. I turned to Melissa and expressed how much I liked these students. Joshua (who is a female student who explained her choice of English name by simply stating matter-of-factly, "I know Joshua is a boy's name, but it's my favorite name.") and Liz (one of my most cheerful, monosyllabic and lowest English level students from last term) greeted me and I said, "I still have that picture of you two from the Spring festival." Liz, in complete Liz style, took a little time to process the English words, then giggled nervously and exclaimed, "Oooh no!" I teased them by suggesting I would make a poster out of it and hang it somewhere public. Joshua, in complete Joshua style, calmly smiled and said something like "That's not a good idea." Meanwhile Liz exclaimed again, "No! No no no no NO! Hehehehe~"

I had my All Majors class and surprisingly, all but one of my students were seniors. (Later, about half the class dropped the class and I got another batch of freshmen, sophomores and juniors to mix things up a bit.) After the class, however, one of my Humanities majors from last term, Claire, stopped me as I was leaving campus for dinner. "I wanted to enroll in your class, but there is no room." I told her that my All Majors class probably still had some open spots, but she'd have to talk with the office about that. She hurried in - lo and behold, she was in the next class. 

The walk back to my office from class.

The next day, I taught the Culture and Tourism majors, and as I left, was ambushed by three of my former Humanities students, Jennifer??, Gloria and ... I ... forget! (Ack.) They explained that they couldn't get into my classes, so they missed me. One of them held a bottle/can of ice coffee that another quickly pried from her fingers and thrusted in my direction. "For me?" They nodded energetically. "Are you sure? It's not really hers and you're not just stealing it from her to give it to me?" They giggled and nodded again. I asked, "Do you have class next door?" "No," they explained. "We were waiting for you." "How did you know I was here?" "We checked all the doors." They meant that they had previously looked at all the schedules outside of the classrooms to figure out where I was. "Oh! I have three cute, friendly... mmm... stalkers?" This time they laughed. Gloria waited for me a couple days later to tell me that she was worried because most of her classmates, this time around, are seniors. I'm sure she'll do fine though. She wears very princess-y outfits, giggles profusely out of nervousness and blinks vapidly to express that she's lost in class, but she seems very quick to learn and when it comes to her school work, she's pretty much always very prepared and conscientious.

I quickly made my way to my class of Computer Science majors, hoping that they'd be more lively than the bunch I had last term. One of my students, Erica, had sent me an e-mail asking me to raise her grade, asking, "Do you think I'm a bad student?" I explained to her that I have a very high opinion of her, but changing her grade would be unfair to all the other students, so I wouldn't do it. I did get a random message from her toward the end of the summer asking, "It's Erica. Did you forget me?" 

I rushed in the room and prepared to start the class. I looked up to see Erica, Hana, Haylee (formerly Diana), Leah (formerly Victoria), and Jane from last term sitting with grins on their faces. "Oh! I know you." Their grins widened. What a surprise. Last year, I felt like I was pulling teeth with their class, but the five explained that they wanted to be more outgoing this term - and they are already influencing the other quiet Computer Science majors by speaking up and engaging the other members of the class.

Ready to start the new semester? I hope so.

The campus at night.

Worlds

The general trend of my life in Korea is that I'm happy and insanely busy. Personally, I like living about 80% of my life that way, but it's so easy to be a busybody, rather than a productive mind in Seoul. I wanted to write, at the very least, two entries a month, but it's been much over a month since my last entry. I have so many things I want to write about, but not much time set aside for self-reflection and contemplation. This poses quite a problem for an introvert like me.

What? I'm an introvert? Why... yes, yes I am. Surprisingly, I'm much more outgoing and unabashed than I ever imagined I could be when I was much younger, but I still cherish the quiet times I can have to myself, to reflect on the world, on myself, and on the connection between that complexly simple, simply complex little universe within me and the infinite, perplexing and awe-inspiring universe surrounding me.

So, today... I hope to sit down and write a few more blog entries, as I'm behind in writing them, as well as behind in processing some experiences that I've been wanting to record for my own sake. In this rare calm, still moment, as I type alone, I want to reflect and share this world I've been living in with you again... with me again.

Punches and haircuts

I got another hair cut.

This time at a place called Atelier. It's been my third time going there, I think. Sunny, a friend of a friend, and now my friend as well, works there and does a really great job.

The assistants that help her are a bit strange though. There are two of them. One is a thin guy with a very angular fairly good looking face. He loves making jokes and talks on and on. The other one is quieter, taller, and only says things here and there. On the most part, the taller guy is more professional.

I'll write more about them later, but here's a little taste of what it's like to be conversing with the smaller guy:

Him: "I like sexy and pretty girls... like you."

Me: "I think you like every girl, all girls."

Him: "What?? Kkuang! Angry!"

Me: "Oh ... hmm... not all girls? Maybe... 80% of girls?"

Him: "Oh! Oh! After I finish your hair... I will give you punch."

Me: "Wow. You're scary. Hahaha! Sorry. Sorry. Sorry."

Him: "I am attack mode."

Me: "Is that service or do I have to pay for that?"

Him: "Just wait. Punch."

Obligatory blog entry

Wow. It's been a while since I last wrote a post.

I've made a commitment to write at least two blog entries a month, so here goes one...

And now I'm at a loss of words. Strange, huh?

In any case, I'm still at work. A couple of my students asked to have me check their grades, so I will. I've been teaching a summer session and the students are really good. I need to learn how to teach them better, really. Research, gather, implement. I keep forgetting that I'm quite new at this, so sometimes I'm a bit too hard on myself, I think. At the same time, growth comes never to early and never too late.

Victoria

Three of my students who are part of my class of Arts majors came to my office to finish their presentations just a little while ago. This class and I had such a great rapport and relationship; honestly, I'll miss that class the most out of all of the classes I had this term.

Victoria's catch phrase is "Nu nu nu nu nu~" as she often protested against being called on. She is very good natured, so she wouldn't stubbornly refuse. Generally, I'd just answer, "Yes yes yes yes yes~" and that would be enough to get her up out of her seat.

As we were saying goodbye, Victoria burst into tears. She told me, wiping tears from her face, "Before this class, I didn't have any interest in English. But... but... you made me have interest in English. Thank you."

I'm so touched. I'm seriously going to miss this group of girls, Victoria included.

Tensions with North Korea

Toward the end of March, 46 soldiers died when a ship sank off of South Korea's west coast. Recently, South Korea formally reported that North Korea had attacked the ship via torpedo. It's particularly a tragedy because most South Korean soldiers are young guys in their early twenties, who have no choice but to serve at least two years in the military due to the uncertain truce between South Korea and North Korea.

Tensions have been rather high since the sinking of the ship, but more so after the blame was finally placed on North Korea. Both Koreas, China, Japan, as well as other interested parties, have been making steps to prepare for a possible conflict.

My students were particularly nervous on the day when North Korea announced that they are ready to retaliate if South Korea makes any aggressive moves. Some of my students were very worried; others were rather nonchalant about the situation, reminding their classmates that North Korea often makes threats without following through or, with elections coming up, politicians may be exaggerating the urgency of the situation for their own benefit.

Last Friday, the Canadian embassy issued an e-mail to Canadian citizens in South Korea preparing them for a possible evacuation. The U.S. embassy hadn't sent anything to us until today. The e-mail stated that there was probably no imminent threat of danger, but we should use this website: http://seoul.usembassy.gov/ to keep updated if there's a change in the North-South climate.

My friend, Jenny, received the e-mail from the Canadian embassy on Friday and her Korean co-workers became more concerned after hearing that she had received such a letter. One of her co-teachers asked her, "If something does happen... could you take my son with you?" That question really hit it home for her. She's pretty much decided that she wants to stay if something does happen. Being completely honest, there are so many foreigners in South Korea that I doubt evacuation would go close to smoothly. Even during holiday seasons, a lot of my friends were stranded in South Korea without getting to see their families because there were no open seats on flights to the U.S.A. It's not like the Canadian or U.S. is going to pay for our flights back either, so some people won't even have the money to purchase a ticket, even if there are some available.

It's a strange situation because, on one hand, it's very likely that nothing will happen. On the other hand, if something does happen, it could get very very messy - and very scary... and very sad. I'm not feeling much anxiety over the situation, but I do think it's unwise to just ignore what's going on all together.

In any case, I'm still busy living my own life. I've been rather sick for the past week, so it's been a bit more on the quiet side, although not completely. But that's a story for another time. ;)

"Sleep Deferred"

Something I wrote a while ago:

What happens to sleep deferred?
Does it dry up one's brain like a raisin in the sun
Or fester in one's stomach like a sore -
and make one's nose run?
Does it make breath stink like rotten meat?
Or crust one's eyes over -
like a syrupy sweet?


Maybe it just makes bags
like a heavy load.


Or does it implode?

~adapted from Langston Hughes' Harlem: A Dream Deferred

(Yes, this is what I do when I'm sleep deprived.)

I'm a confident ugly. ;)

The other night, I was hanging out with some of my co-workers. By the end of the night, there were four of us: three guys and one gal (me). One of them in particular loves playing getting-to-know-you games, so after we played a game of darts, we were playing a question and answer type of game.

That's when a very strange woman approached us and started talking with us. I'm fairly certain she had her eyes set on at least one, possibly two, of my co-workers. She also seemed either drunk, crazy or both.

She seemed fairly unhappy about being in Korea and at one point, when conversing directly with me, went on to say how Korean girls put on an act, but that I wasn't like Korean girls and just seemed really nice and good. And then she went on to say how confident I was, hanging out with these three guys, "And you're not even beautiful!"

Ouch.

But what winning back-handedness. I was very amused.

Happy Mothers'/Parents' Day

My mom worries too much - but about things she can't do anything about. I often felt a bit selfish with my want for attention - maybe I still do at times. I always felt like she didn't worry all too much about me - and she didn't really need to - but I felt touched when she'd call me while I was at college and tell me she had a dream about me and was concerned about my health. Now, I'd rather her not worry about me. I worry about her worrying sometimes. We're going to be OK. You raised us well, mom. We love you. Be happy.

Frogs!

I live right by a park now and it's so very nice. I'm actually easily and comfortably enjoying the spring instead of making trips to Yeouido to see scarce cherry blossoms fluttering over bare ground in the chilly weather like I was last year.

During the day, the park is filled with people of all ages playing sports or taking a stroll. I can hear birds chirping, which I wasn't able to hear back in my old neighborhood in Sangdo. It's a very different Seoul from the rather bleak one I got to know last year.

I stayed at work late again - although I didn't end up finishing half the things I wanted to. On my way back, the rain from earlier today had let up and all that was left on the pavement and pathways was enough water to reflect the lights along the street and in the park. I walked along the outside of the park, contemplating the events of the day.

That's when something caught my attention and I stopped walking.

From the park, I heard an eerily beautiful sound. It was such a new sound for me. There were countless frogs croaking away together in the park, in the glistening darkness. I could hear the frogs taking turns singing in groups far across the park and then in the area close to where I was standing.

I was mesmerized.