Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
K-TV
Most Korean TV (besides soap operas) involves Korean celebrities getting together and doing...stuff. And by "stuff" I mean they do all kinds of stupid things. The funny part is watching their reactions to the situations. Usually there are 5 or more comedians, singers, hosts, etc. all thrown into some sort of task-oriented situation. It can be anything. I've seen shows that force the celebrities to endure boot camp (for a day), star in an action video, throw each other off kayaks, sing karaoke of songs by the original singer in front of him, dig themselves out of a muddy hole, survive a night in a snowy tent, cook, stack pots and pull a tablecloth out from under them without them spilling over, drive across the country in a van, learn traditional drumming from a mean grandma, visit a grandma, eat, even go to English camp. At first, I couldn't fathom why anyone would want to watch other people eat for an hour. But then I watched it...for an hour. The funniness comes from famous people making fools out of each other. I can't even understand 90% of what they say. It's still funny-a lot of the time. There comes a time when I just can't sit through grown men dressing up like schoolgirls and complaining about their lack of beauty. Today, I saw 6 women jump off a 12 meter platform in army gear. Two of them cried. It was hilarious.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Dear Korea #2
Dear Korea,
Why do Korean women wear make-up that makes their skin look "shiny" [read:oily] ON PURPOSE?
Sincerely,
confused foreign female
Why do Korean women wear make-up that makes their skin look "shiny" [read:oily] ON PURPOSE?
Sincerely,
confused foreign female
Collecting Friends
It snowed in Seoul, but now it's all melted. :( I didn't even make a snowman. Next time!
Wow. It's been a while. Um. I'm going to start from today and work my way backwards and forwards to update the blog.
I now have 7 new Korean friends. Yeah, that's right. The same girl who only acquired one outside friend in Andong now has a calendar full of lunch dates, museum excursions, and language exchanges with living, breathing, young Koreans. I met them in random places at random times. For instance, I met HyunJoo at a bar. She graduated from the same high school I teach at. I met ChanHo and SuRan at Coffee Bean, Geol through a Frenchman, WooRi through my Korean teacher, SaeYeong through my principal, and HanCheol through my co-teacher. Complicated, eh? What a difference location makes!
Winter Break plans:
January
-go to Andong and eat Onni's tasty fish
-facilitate the Korean Alumni Youth Partnership Program (KAYPP), a week-long camp that is supported by the US Embassy and KoreaGlobe (NGO). Students learn about American and Korean politics, economics, society, and culture. SOOOOOO excited.
-perhaps take a week trip to Japan?
February
-intensive Korean language course
-go to Andong for Lunar New Year celebrations!
-actually visit the museums in Seoul...instead of just talking about it
-Valentine's Day party! (rule: you must be single this day to participate; if you're dating someone, you have to break up for 24 hours-no exceptions^^)
Wow. It's been a while. Um. I'm going to start from today and work my way backwards and forwards to update the blog.
I now have 7 new Korean friends. Yeah, that's right. The same girl who only acquired one outside friend in Andong now has a calendar full of lunch dates, museum excursions, and language exchanges with living, breathing, young Koreans. I met them in random places at random times. For instance, I met HyunJoo at a bar. She graduated from the same high school I teach at. I met ChanHo and SuRan at Coffee Bean, Geol through a Frenchman, WooRi through my Korean teacher, SaeYeong through my principal, and HanCheol through my co-teacher. Complicated, eh? What a difference location makes!
Winter Break plans:
January
-go to Andong and eat Onni's tasty fish
-facilitate the Korean Alumni Youth Partnership Program (KAYPP), a week-long camp that is supported by the US Embassy and KoreaGlobe (NGO). Students learn about American and Korean politics, economics, society, and culture. SOOOOOO excited.
-perhaps take a week trip to Japan?
February
-intensive Korean language course
-go to Andong for Lunar New Year celebrations!
-actually visit the museums in Seoul...instead of just talking about it
-Valentine's Day party! (rule: you must be single this day to participate; if you're dating someone, you have to break up for 24 hours-no exceptions^^)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Snow daydream
It was the first snow today! Is there any Korean tradition for that? I felt really lonely walking in the snow. Everyone else was all coupled up under their couple umbrellas...and I was drenched with snow/rain and half running to the subway stop. It was at that time that, just like in the dramas, I daydreamed walking alongside *TBDfatedKoreanman...him carrying the umbrella, then shielding my gloveless hands with his knitted reindeer mittens until he insists we stop at a little kiosk to purchase a similar, but cuter pair of knitted mittens that match a cutsie winter hat....he adorably puts the hat on my head and says something adorably cute in Korean (which I totally understand)...and we continue on mitted hand in mitted hand ...blocking the sidewalk for pedestrians who are tragically without their destined soul mate and reindeer gloves. Oh, and the entire dream sequence was bordered with that fuzzy mist that signifies an ideal reality.
...
Then I couldn't pass a couple who were annoyingly blocking the sidewalk and cussed under my breath. Losers!
[note to non-Korean side readers: winter (and Christmas in particular) is a couple season, and thus the loneliest of all...thank god I'm going home during the holidays]
...
Then I couldn't pass a couple who were annoyingly blocking the sidewalk and cussed under my breath. Losers!
[note to non-Korean side readers: winter (and Christmas in particular) is a couple season, and thus the loneliest of all...thank god I'm going home during the holidays]
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