notebooks and a t-shirt

Every week I correct diary entries for one of the Korean teachers at Matthew's school. (Her English is nearly flawless, but I do have that lovely English Education degree, so I might as well use it for something.) Some of the notebooks that the students use are hilarious. I took pictures of some of my favorites.

Korean kids really love candy...


But when it comes to people, they are realistic...


In the end, after double redemption, you can only rely on yourself...
(Love that ENGLISH, of all words, is misspelled.)


This is actually my notebook, which the package misled me to believe was rosemary-scented. It is not. Luckily, it's not bulgogi- or kimchi-scented, either.


And, finally, a t-shirt we spotted in the traditional market area. Such sweet sentiments...

One last birth post

Things I didn't do (or won't be doing):

...eating seaweed soup for 30 days. I don't care how nutritional it is. It's slimy and gross. I eat occasional pieces of seaweed in other soups and dried seaweed on sushi rolls. Good enough.

...waiting several weeks after giving birth to bathe. According to one explanation from a Korean friend, after giving birth a woman's joints are disconnected and bathing could therefore be harmful. What???? Yes, her English is excellent, the communication issue is all cultural.

...waiting 21 days before anyone outside my immediate family can see the baby. My Korean mommy friend had a hard time understanding that I was inviting her over to see my 4-day-old baby. She did call to let me know she had her baby and was home from the hospital, but she didn't invite me over. (Oh, well.) She went to her parents' house in another city and won't be back until after the 21 days.

...waiting 100 days before leaving the house with baby. Seriously, I would have to be committed. Apparently, that's changed recently, but most women still don't leave the home for the first month. So I told Matthew to round up when people ask how old Rowan is. At three weeks, he was PRACTICALLY a month old.

...wearing shapeless tops that zip across the chest. That is the breast-feeding wear here. Most items also seem to be decorated with cutesy cartoon characters. Layering a tank top under my normal shirt works just fine, thanks.

my new t-shirt

It was a birthday present from my friend, Kelsey. For those of you who don't read Hangul (Korean), it says "Mul ba?!" As I mentioned before, that's the gangsta way of saying, "What are you looking at?"

I don't know if I'll have the nerve to wear it in public, but it totally cracks me up. (She bought it from Babo Shirts.)

things that make me chuckle

1. Yes, that's "ROCK THE OTE" (downtown clothing boutique)

2. Advertisement in children's boutique window

3. "I Did Blow with Kate moss And all i Got Was this Lousy T-shirt." (This is actually one of Matthew's students. She still wears the shirt, even after he explained the meaning to her.)

4. From our mattress: "Glaring sunshine is deeply sprayed at room which is cotton. Dreaming a romantic vision, awaken life by freshing morning air. Feel the comfortable Bed-room culture which can feel own mood."

5. I'll let you read it for yourself. This was the back of a jacket prominently displayed at a vendor booth at the Yang-yang Pine Mushroom festival. The vendor showed me that it came in another color, too. After I asked to take a picture, Matthew tried to explain the meaning to her. She didn't seem very shocked. Huh...

if you want to get a korean fired up...

A fantastic t-shirt we bought for about $3 at the traditional market. It says "Dokdo is OUR Land" with a silhouette of the entire Korean peninsula. In the second picture, one of Matthew's students is posing with Liam.

Hot topic #1: Dokdo

Basically, Dokdo (which the Japanese call Takeshima) is a bunch of rocks out in the middle of the East Sea (or the Sea of Japan if you're a liar or a thief), the ownership of which has been disputed since the end of WWII, but more fervently in recent years. The reason these rocks are so desirable is the fishing and mineral rights that accompany ownership, but if you ask any Korean child they get very adamant. It's quite obvious that the main issue is not letting those &$*% Japanese steal anything else! During a "who is this person and what do they do" lesson with 3rd and 4th graders, I was informed that the main job of Korean soldiers is to protect Dokdo. They were oblivious to the fact that North Korea, just 50 kilometers north of Sokcho, might be of some concern.

See the Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liancourt_Rocks

Hot topic #2: American beef

I don't know how much this news has reached the States, but it has been headline material here the past few months. American beef was big business in Korea until the mad cow scare in 2003. Since then only options have been Australian imports and expensive Hanu (Korean) beef. The new Korean president revoked the ban on American beef and his approval ratings plummeted. They're worse than Bush's. His cabinet has repeatedly offered to resign, but he refuses to accept their resignation.

From an American perspective, the Koreans are ridiculously emotional over this topic. The fact that the cow in question was actually Canadian doesn't seem to phase them. Tens of thousands protested in Seoul. Korean kids are afraid for their lives.

This is a fantastic article that might appear to be satire, but I assure you that it's all too true:

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=c79d60e7-4fb3-4342-94c5-f4a854506903

If you don't take the time to read it, you should at least get this quote:
One story in the last few days, for example, said that cheap, poisonous American beef would be used for school lunches. A weeping 13-year-old was quoted lamenting that she had worked so hard to get good grades and now she was going to die.

Butchered, I tell you! (originally posted 25 January 06)

Sunday, I finally decided to get a haircut. My last one had been sometime in October. Matthew and I went in together, this being his third haircut in Korea. In anticipation of a hot, muggy summer, unlike anything I've experienced before, I have been planning to grow my hair longer. I'd like to have it at least long enough to pull up off my neck.

I missed the first warning sign. While my hair was being shampooed, the stylist presented MATTHEW with a photo book...asking HIM to pick my new hairstyle. Knowing better, he refused and told the stylist she needed to ask me. Unfortunately, I didn't know about this until after my hair was already gone.

Next, I was shown the book. I kept pointing at longer styles and indicating that I only wanted a trim. Yeah...so imagine my surprise when she just started hacking off my hair. Yes, I am exagerrating, but it's much shorter than I wanted. She also thinned it with the razor-scissor dealy-bobber, which is actually pretty good -- that's the cut I had before -- but it means it will take that much longer to grow out again. It's not a tragic event, but I'm still a little upset. I'm really apprehensive about getting another haircut. Maybe I can just wait until I'm home in December!

I think I'll also have to wait until December to buy any pants. In the same shop where I saw the anti-Bushy sign, there was a table of really cute pajama separates: drawstring pants and camisole tops. I was looking for a size on the pants, when a very helpful salesgirl tried to help. She pointed to the sign listing the price. I explained I was looking for a size, and she told me they were "one-size-fits-all." I held up a pair and saw there was NO WAY IN HELL those were going to fit me. She commented, "Face is small." I wanted to reply, "But ASS is big." However, I stifled this comment and explained, with the help of some hand gestures, that Korean women are very narrow-hipped, while I am simply not. Maybe I could buy two pairs and sew them together. I'm the short-haired, big-arsed white girl. Peace out!