Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Cutsie Culture #6

Cutsie Culture #6:

The furry animal winter hat.

Koreans do accessories incredibly well. Imagine walking down the street in frigid Andong (one of the coldest places in Korea), muttering obscenities in English about how much more comfortable you'd be with an animal pellet covering all areas where there's skin, and then you see it: the hats-for-sale stand. ... Only, this hat stand looks to be selling exotic (and imaginary) animals. Remembering you promised to send a friend Korean fauna, you move closer to investigate. Wait a minute, those aren't rare and endangered species on the chopping block (hey, it happens more often than you think). No, the racks are filled with cutsie stuff animal HATS.


Never has it crossed unimaginative American minds to combine the two most basic human loves (stuffed animals and hats) into one, ultimate consumer product. [Yes, Pez comes close. Point taken.] This invention is so mind blowing you forget that you're staring at a street vendor's goods and s/he has already put four different models on your head. Oh yes, there are multiple animals you can wear around without fear of PETA retaliation. You can choose from an assortment of extant species (though some barely) and fantastical characters. Why wear a boring old knitted cap to keep warm when you can declare your love for Sylvester and keep warm at the same time.

And the mechanics? Simply place upon your head, then secure it by tying the legs together. Sadly, there are only two legs per hat to tie. I would have preferred a more anatomically correct quadruped, but beggars can't be choosers. But, Noelle, "What would happen in the unfortunate event of heavy winds?" you ask. Would the tie hold? Overly-cautious patrons, double knot. Everybody else, rest assured that if the leg knot comes undone, your animal friend will remain submissively in-place due to the extreme amount of static electricity generated from rubbing it all over your hairy head.

Believe it or not, people wear these. This isn't just a passing store shelf fad. No, this bit of cutsie culture is here to stay...at least for this winter.

I'm currently corresponding with a high school senior who wants to practice his English before going to college. He's technically not one of my students, but I enjoy his letters. I recently received this email from him. ... Read it to the end.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Dear Noelle

wow , really ? That's so interesting!

when I went to Seoul , I just saw high building , and many cars

( am I countryside guy? or , anachronism guy? :D(oh , anachronism is uncommon word?)

While you are enjoy spending time , I was in the hospital . just headache. but , soon, Feb , I'll take a surgery (nose , Deviated nasal septum) that is , I ' ll die :(

It is so painful (said doctor) . Just scared!

Casino Royale? huh, I just heard that name . at first, Casino Royale? hm , I think it is just past time movie name, but it is not! 2007 movie? oh , is it interesting?

ah, teacher , "I was not what I was!"

I thought that that sentence was very good sentence , but search engine "naver" , and search , that mean " destroy! " . very not good sentence (In America) since I knew it , I don't use this sentence anymore .

you are American , so you are know about good sentence. isn't it? recommend please (everything that you know)

haha , even though you are written about your trip , I written about English study sorry teacher :)

2.14,2007 the graduate day!

I' m so sorry to heard that you'll be back to March .

I want to see you

(I think this sentence gave me willies )

bye~~~ have a nice day~and god bless you!

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

That second to last line has got to be the funniest bit of miscommunication I've encountered-ever.

Head spinning, body not wanting to

I just spent the last 30 minutes doing sommersaults. Yep. I'm not just saying I did a couple of them in a 30 minute period. No. I sommersaulted for the majority of a half an hour. Another day in taekwondo proved to be a total embarrassment. Only, this time, I have a killer headache to boot. I haven't sommersaulted since...God, I can't remember when. To top it off, I wasn't doing it right. I'm sorry, my large mass of a body can't flip on a dime on command...while dizzy. I'm definitely going on a diet now. Wow. That was a killer. The cool thing was, while I was segregated to the "beginners" activity, the other kids were doing flips. Yeah, front handsprings and all. That was pretty cool to watch-the sommersaulting, not so much. The high school boys who are black belts and usually oversee the "beginners" activities were pretty entertained by the whole thing.

On the positive side, a girl who is going to be a student at Pungsan High has joined the class for break. I love her. Her name is Min Jeong, her belt matches mine, and she speaks more English than the others. I quickly befriended her even before knowing she was going to be my student because 1. she's a girl, and 2. she isn't terrified to speak to me.

During break, students go to taekwondo whenever their schedules allow, so the dojan has accumulated a large number of kids in the late afternoons. I'm going everyday for 2 hours, 4-6 PM, right in the middle of the rushhour. In a way, I like it because it takes a lot of attention OFF of me. I mean, when the 7 year-old starts crying and the 15 year-olds pull each other belts off, there isn't the constant scrutiny over everything the foreigner does or doesn't do, understands or can't make heads or tails of.

There are 4 girls in a class of over 30 boys. It's a little intimidating because friends in Korea are almost always the same sex, and I think some of the boys are quite happy ignoring my existence or, even better, remaining aloof because of my status as a teacher. Oh well. I've definitely made a friend in the Grandmaster and his wife. She's such a wonderful woman, though her English is as good as my Korean.

*Notes to self: Talk more to the high school black belts...Learn Korean...

New Year's Eve/Day

Through a comedy of errors, Maria and I ended up on a crazy, pyrotechnic street in Seoul at midnight. Next was the fake river that runs through the city. Booze, popcorn, and darts followed. We stayed out until the subway opened up in the morning. It was beautiful.

Christmas

We spent Christmas in Chonan with Bethany's homestay family. It was, in a word, wonderful. Maria wore a hanbok, there was a tall Christmas tree, homemade lasagna, chocolate chip cookies, a trip to Independence Hall [a museum built to teach about the Japanese occupation], and stockings on Christmas morning. (see photos below)

Maria and Noelle's Awesome Adventure

Maria's here for Christmas! Here's a pictorial synopsis of our conquests....err....adventures.

Maria and I on the bus from Incheon airport.














Bongsuksa temple















































Maria and I at Mirae Taekwondo. If I could box up these kids and take them home...I totally would. However, I'm pretty sure that they could punch their way out of it.Gounsa temple