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Showing posts from August, 2009

Wish me luck!!!

I'm going on what Koreans call MT (short for "Membership Training"). I suppose Americans would call it a retreat. I was invited by the swing dance group I've been taking lessons with for the last month. It has been described to me as a weekend of drinking, dancing, drinking games, then I, suppose, drunken dancing... The following weekend I'll be celebrating my birthday. The weekend after that I'll be going on a retreat. Then right after that I may be going to China for a week or so. CJL

Failed rocket launch and somewhat successful McDonald's trip

According to the Korea Times : "South Korea postponed its rocket launch Wednesday as an order was issued to stop the rocket's liftoff 7 minutes and 56 seconds before the firing.It was not immediately known why the launch was halted. The South Korean government said that it will announce the reason of the launch delay." My question: Will anyone get arrested? It seems that every failure in South Korea results in someone getting arrested, executed or being forced to resign. * * * Ordering at McDonald's I'm what is known as an aggressive shopper. I always want a discount. Yes, everyone wants a discount, but I mean that once I see an item on sale, I will never buy it again until it is on sale again. Anything another customer is offered, I want it too. In America I could always understand and find deals. But in Korea? I'm not always aware of what's going on or what's available. Some friends took me to McDonalds the other day. If you buy a set meal then you

내 티셔츠는 멋지게 말한다 (Translation: My t-shirt speaks so cool"

Chris in South Korea has some great photos of T-shirts spotted around Seoul with creative English written on them. I am on the hunt for something different: I want to buy some T-shirts and caps written in Korean. * It would make perfect sense. The Koreans around me have on T-shirts and caps written in English, I'd have the same in Korean. I wish I could write the Korean myself to make sure the grammar would confuse Koreans, like the T-shirts below. * I have seen a couple of Koreans wearing caps written in Korean. The best I could decipher is that the caps were related to organizations they were probably members of. And, in the small sample, they have all been older Korean men. * The Wondergirls have really taken off in America. Are there any Wondergirl T-shirts available in Seoul? I've seen T-shirts with Madonna or Marilyn Monroe on them, but not the Wondergirls or other Korean stars. * I'm limited in my Korean language ability but it seems that Koreans don't name th

How will I know Korean culture when I see it?

A few days ago a Korean colleague mentioned that she was trying to learn about American culture. I had caught her printing out a long bilingual text explaining American history and culture, sent to her by a Korean professor. She mentioned, that after hearing Americans complain, she had gotten uncomfortable asking people their ages. She said she had stopped asking other Koreans she met. I tried to explain that Americans will discuss each other about their ages, but in context. Just my presence isn't enough context. I guess some may consider that Koreans altering their behavior to be a good thing. It is a big world, we have a lot to learn from each other. Societies evolve, outsiders sometimes have great ideas and inventions. But...I'm still in the learning stage about Korea. So at this point I'm hesitant to draw conclusions about the things I see, hear and do or to welcome the role of the lecturing visitor. I've noticed that Koreans who speak English well seem to be on gu

Aug 15, DJ is still alive; ugly or plain Koreans

I often say that I would give up my right to vote in a libertarian society. After all, if the leadership was true to its beliefs then I wouldn't have to monitor what the damn government does. But because we have geniuses in office who believe they know what is best for people--and have the power to enforce it--I keep track so at least I can see the punch coming. I have also said that Kim Dae - jung is one of the few politicians that I actually trust. I don't say this just because he may be dying. In addition to the many other wonderful things he has done over the decades, that he spared the lives of a politician who had once sentenced him to death on trumped-up charges was an example of a politician not abusing his power once in office. I truly expected to wake up this morning to read that Kim Dae - jung had expired. 1) He has been very sick for about a month now. 2) He's 85 years old. That's not a good combo. 3) Today is Liberation Day in South Korea. More than 1 mil

My favorite team

I'm a sports fan who doesn't care which team wins or loses. When a game is over my regret is not that a particular team didn't win. Rather, I'm sorry that the game is over. After a team wins the Super Bowl or championship I regret that the season is over. Some people don't believe me when I say this but I mean it. I have been watching football and basketball for so long that I now just enjoy the sport for what they are. I don't remember who won last year's Super Bowl, or any of them since about 1989. That has now changed! My favorite team? The Philadelphia Eagles! I've always been a Donavan McNabb fan. And now, they have signed Michael Vick off the Ex-Convict list. Vick is one of the few players I enjoy watching play. I have followed his career since he was in high school. I had just arrived in Virginia when there were news reports about him and a high school superstud , Ronald Curry. Vick is the only player I would go out of my way to watch whenever h

Ready to take on the NBA

Some former NBA stars are coming to South Korea . In another decade or two their skills should have deteriorated to the point that I could actually compete with them. They'll be playing on my birthday, Sept 5, so that will give me an excuse not to get out and play with them. I don't care how good Kareem Abdul- Jabbar was back in the day, he is now 62 years old. I think I'm ready to take him on now. There is one way I could get on the court against any NBA player, whether current or retired. I would just need to be able to change one or two rules. Rule number 1: I could never be called for a foul. Rule number 2: The opposing players all must wear high heels. If the game is still competitive then I would require the opposing players to wear boxing gloves. In other words, this shit ain't perfect The Korea Times has a hit piece on TBS eFM , the all-English radio station based in Seoul. To prove their case they talk with two people--a native Korean and a Canadian. Based on

Easy to find Supermarket!!!!

Getting around Seoul is easy. On the other hand, actually finding your final destination can be very difficult. The main reason is that Koreans don't actually use street addresses. I am constantly amazed when I find a new place. I always leave early, giving myself a 30 minute cushion to walk around lost, meeting Koreans who are happy to get lost along with me. Still, I have had a few Koreans tell me that a particular place is "easy" to find. At one meeting with a group of folks, when I called to say I was lost the organizer said the place was easy to find. She called me about 20 minutes later, guessing that I was still trying to find the place. I was actually a few subway stops away from home. She was a bit surprised, letting me know they were waiting for me. I told her that it would be easy for them to find me. A colleague of mine mentioned that a supermarket nearby was easy to find. He later gave me directions that sounded something like, "Sure, just go down the st

bookmark

I usually get to work at least an hour early so I can blog. I only got to work 25 minutes early today so I will blog later. I'm bookmarking this so I'll get back to these things later. My latest diet plan/washing machine problem Getting asked for ID in Korea, America swing struggling with Korean culture at times singing or drinking in Korea line dancing in Korea suntans language exchange over the weekend CJL

Smokin!

Misconception about Karaoke in Korea? I've heard Karaoke described as being the national pastime in some Asian countries. Based on what I've seen in Korea I would say that isn't quite accurate. Singing is just part of the fun to be had during a night of revelry. I have met a lot of Koreans in the last month but I have yet to meet anyone who went out to sing with singing being the main activity. Some Koreans actually need some drinks in them before they are ready to sing. I've asked a few about it. They say they will sing if there is still time, but they really wanted to eat, drink and talk. Singing comes after eating and drinking. Sometimes, it gets skipped. * * * Getting around Wh -questions Many Americans complain about Koreans asking them the same questions. When Koreans start in with their Wh -questions I take a shortcut: I like to sing, dance and drink. It obviously confuses them when I offer information so I try to be patient. I usually wait patiently but yesterda

Michael Vick ain't got nuthin on me!!!

After football player Michael Vick admitted that he had been running a dog-fighting business I wrote that he was an idiot. If he was going to engage in such activity he should have gone to Indonesia or somewhere else. He certainly had the money to do so at that time. If he knew then what he knows now then he would have spent $10 million to run his dogfighting ring in Manila. Today I did something that probably not even Michael Vick ever did: I ate dog meat. I never expected that I would do so. It is a bit scandalous because Koreans don't just kill the dogs and eat them. Rather, they will beat them to death while they are still alive. That allegedly is to get the adrenaline flowing which allegedly makes the meat more tender which allegedly improves a man's stamina. I had told a friend that I wanted to give it a try. But as we sat down to eat I said: "I want to try this but don't give me any details until after we are finished eating." It just looked like regular me

The four Ds...dirty, dinner, dancing and drinking

Bowing, Shaking hands One thing I like about Asia is bowing when greeting people. There is nothing about the bow itself that I particularly like. Rather, I like it that I'm not expected to shake hands with people. 1) Many men don't wash their hands. I would guess that in America that about half of men walk out of bathrooms without stopping to wash their hands. Some might turn on the water and get their hands a bit wet before walking out but they won't go so far as to use soap. In Korea, I think the percentage is more like 90 percent. I stopped shaking hands with people quite a while ago. I'd prefer to just wave or, when a hand is extended for a handshake, just give a fist-bump. I started that a few years ago. I was excited when Obama did his fist-bump with his wife, I was really hoping the fist-bump would catch on. 2) Don't take it personally if I choose not to shake hands with you. After all, even if you wash your hands you may be shaking hands with plenty of other

Race in Korea

A few years ago when I was active with the Harvard outreach office I was named a Harvard Graduate School of Education Goodwill Ambassador. I read in today's Korea Times that the office of tourism in Korea is inviting foreign residents to be Tourism Ambassadors . I guess this is a good chance to add being an ambassador not just to a school but to an entire country to my resume. According to the article there are 1.2 million foreign residents in South Korea. * * * Korean Government's War on Private Education Here's an amazing story in today's Korea Herald about the government's ongoing war against private education in South Korea. Can you imagine any level of government in the U.S. having to pass laws to prevent people from studying after 10 p.m.? One thing we do have in America is Midnight Basketball, than you Bill Clinton, in some urban areas. I do wonder just how late Koreans would pay for education if the government didn't crackdown on such education service

Singing and dancing in Seoul

I'm not saying that I believe Yoon Chang-jung, the spokesperson for the Korean government who resigned after being accused of sexual harassment during the trip to the USA. As I wrote a few years ago, after I had returned to Korea: Originally posted: August 3, 2009 It isn't just groping on the subways I've been in Korea for a full month. In that time I would guess that I have had my butt grabbed three or four times (by men), a (drunk) female friend put her hand in my back pocket, had my head fondled at least three times, and had a (drunk stranger-turned-friend) beg that I allow him to kiss me on the top of my bald head when we were out singing. And I'm not even referring to the nurse who gave me a shot the other day... I think the head-kisser said he was 27 or 28. His English wasn't that great and I couldn't comprehend when he was trying to explain in Korean that he wanted to kiss me on my head. I'm sure that such language isn't in an