Saturday, July 26, 2008
Asian Conehead?
Mindy's aunt bought this for 50 cents so that she could sell it on eBay. She is hoping it is worth something. I for one, doubt it. Please post your opinions using the "Comments" button below.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Mr. Miyagi has Mad Cow Disease
First, I want to thank you all for pushing our blog site to over 1000 visits. Together we can accomplish anything and this is another testament to "It takes a Village..." Of course a majority of those visits are from family who check in everyday, but hey, at least "1000" is a cool number. Secondly, I hope you like our new picture that starts off our page. What does The Crane from "Karate Kid" have to do with Korea? A great deal actually! It is a move coined by a wise Asian and I am in an Asian country. The parallels are endless.
I like to think of this picture as "A Blending of Cultures". I have applied a martial arts move that was taught by a wise Japanese man (Mr. Miyagi), to a whiny American (Daniel-san), and I have brought it to the patient Korean people. Why? Because. That is why. As you can see, the castle guard was wishing he were "craning" me. Notice, my form is really not that good. To give you a better idea of what the crane should look like I have added a clip from "The Karate Kid". Comparatively, Daniel-san's form is nearly flawless as well as effortless. All of that "wax-on, wax-off" really paid off. In the end Cobra Kai was no match for Daniel-san and The Crane. While watching the clip please listen for the intimidatingly mocking words "Get him a body bag". *Sigh*. A true classic. My picture on the other hand is pure amateur hour. Not only is my form wrong, but I have embarrassed my girlfriend and annoyed this fine young Korean man who, no doubt, is already suffering from the 85 degree heat and 90 percent humidity. Sadly, I don't think his outfit was constructed with any type of cooling or wicking material. I only wish I could get my hands on a friend's picture who got the guard to take his sword out and pretend to chop his head off. THAT was classic.
What have we been doing? You mean besides sweating, right? Summer in Korea is hot. Damn hot. This is not to mention the ridiculous humidity level. I have finally satiated my curiosity of what is must be like to breath through a wet sponge all day - a warm wet sponge. Now take that qualitative description and times it by factor of 3. That is what a Korean summer feels like. I have concluded that the aforementioned curiosity of mine was unwarranted and I would only wish it upon my worst enemies. The weather regularly kindly bestows days of 85 degrees and 95% humidity. Today Mindy and I went running in the morning's "coolness". It was like jogging in pea soup.
We have met friends! People actually like us - people that we can have normal conversations with that don't go something like, "he-ll-o....my...name...is...." We had a great week of teacher training where we met a great deal of people from all over the English speaking world. South Africans are probably some of the most fun people I have ever met. They not only offer a steady flow of humor, intelligence and color to interactions, but they offer insight into ways of life that I have never had experience with. My interactions have ranged from deep 30 min debates about the existence of aliens in outer space to illuminating discussions of race, politics, and economics. It is a truly unique country and people.
On the cultural end, we have spent time traveling to various historical sites, castles, fortresses, and temples (you can see some in the pictures). On a recent trip to Seoul we saw the street was lined with riot cops (complete with shields) in the aftermath of the American beef protests. For those of you who do not know, tens of thousands have protested the beginning of beef importation from America. Many are afraid of the potential for infection from mad cow disease. It must be noted that I have been asked many times from random Korean strangers, "What do you think of Mad Cow Disease?" I look at them puzzled and respond, "....ummm, I guess I don't like it." On the not so historical end, we have been hanging with our new friends and having a great time eating Galbi, drinking Soju, and planning future events. We have found that, apparently, nearly everyone knows way more Korean than we do. It is sad a sad thing.
Korean Cultural Side Note: As I was sitting here in a bath towel, from a cool mid-day shower, writing this I heard a noise outside of our apartment door. I look over and an old Korean woman has opened our door, stuck her head inside and was on her way inside. No knock. Just a walk in. She is not our neighbor, but a woman who must be in her late 70s and about three foot high. She says something in Korean, which I think was "food". I don't think she was begging, but rather selling. The point being Koreans are extremely social. A door here is not so much a reason to keep people out, but more of an invitation of entry. This is not the first time this has happened. Just something to get used to...or something to teach us to lock our door when we are home, as we have now done.
~Scott
I like to think of this picture as "A Blending of Cultures". I have applied a martial arts move that was taught by a wise Japanese man (Mr. Miyagi), to a whiny American (Daniel-san), and I have brought it to the patient Korean people. Why? Because. That is why. As you can see, the castle guard was wishing he were "craning" me. Notice, my form is really not that good. To give you a better idea of what the crane should look like I have added a clip from "The Karate Kid". Comparatively, Daniel-san's form is nearly flawless as well as effortless. All of that "wax-on, wax-off" really paid off. In the end Cobra Kai was no match for Daniel-san and The Crane. While watching the clip please listen for the intimidatingly mocking words "Get him a body bag". *Sigh*. A true classic. My picture on the other hand is pure amateur hour. Not only is my form wrong, but I have embarrassed my girlfriend and annoyed this fine young Korean man who, no doubt, is already suffering from the 85 degree heat and 90 percent humidity. Sadly, I don't think his outfit was constructed with any type of cooling or wicking material. I only wish I could get my hands on a friend's picture who got the guard to take his sword out and pretend to chop his head off. THAT was classic.
What have we been doing? You mean besides sweating, right? Summer in Korea is hot. Damn hot. This is not to mention the ridiculous humidity level. I have finally satiated my curiosity of what is must be like to breath through a wet sponge all day - a warm wet sponge. Now take that qualitative description and times it by factor of 3. That is what a Korean summer feels like. I have concluded that the aforementioned curiosity of mine was unwarranted and I would only wish it upon my worst enemies. The weather regularly kindly bestows days of 85 degrees and 95% humidity. Today Mindy and I went running in the morning's "coolness". It was like jogging in pea soup.
We have met friends! People actually like us - people that we can have normal conversations with that don't go something like, "he-ll-o....my...name...is...." We had a great week of teacher training where we met a great deal of people from all over the English speaking world. South Africans are probably some of the most fun people I have ever met. They not only offer a steady flow of humor, intelligence and color to interactions, but they offer insight into ways of life that I have never had experience with. My interactions have ranged from deep 30 min debates about the existence of aliens in outer space to illuminating discussions of race, politics, and economics. It is a truly unique country and people.
On the cultural end, we have spent time traveling to various historical sites, castles, fortresses, and temples (you can see some in the pictures). On a recent trip to Seoul we saw the street was lined with riot cops (complete with shields) in the aftermath of the American beef protests. For those of you who do not know, tens of thousands have protested the beginning of beef importation from America. Many are afraid of the potential for infection from mad cow disease. It must be noted that I have been asked many times from random Korean strangers, "What do you think of Mad Cow Disease?" I look at them puzzled and respond, "....ummm, I guess I don't like it." On the not so historical end, we have been hanging with our new friends and having a great time eating Galbi, drinking Soju, and planning future events. We have found that, apparently, nearly everyone knows way more Korean than we do. It is sad a sad thing.
Korean Cultural Side Note: As I was sitting here in a bath towel, from a cool mid-day shower, writing this I heard a noise outside of our apartment door. I look over and an old Korean woman has opened our door, stuck her head inside and was on her way inside. No knock. Just a walk in. She is not our neighbor, but a woman who must be in her late 70s and about three foot high. She says something in Korean, which I think was "food". I don't think she was begging, but rather selling. The point being Koreans are extremely social. A door here is not so much a reason to keep people out, but more of an invitation of entry. This is not the first time this has happened. Just something to get used to...or something to teach us to lock our door when we are home, as we have now done.
~Scott
The Boks vs. The All Blacks
(Pictures for this are under the album link)
Having friends is great. We have done things like attend the South Africa vs. New Zealand rugby game! OK, not in person, but almost as cool - we were in a raucous pub drinking pints. About 60 South Africans and New Zealanders descended upon "Scrooges" pub for one of the biggest matches of the year. Walking into the pub I heard chanting in Afrikaans (one of the 11 offical languages of South Africa). The South Africans were dressed in the national colors that included yellow, green, red, and white. This is not a big pub and the 60 only included those friends of friends that we knew. There were a good 100+ people in this small HOT pub. I know very little about the sport, but one thing I did learn was that South Africans and Kiwis LOVE their rugby. To give you an idea of how important rugby is to a Kiwi I witnessed an argument start between an Irishman and a Kiwi (two of our friends) that ended up in raised voices, shouts of nationalist propaganda, finger pointing, accusations of cheating, lies, scandal and other illict behavior that no doubt disgraced the losing team. Eventually, the discussion dovetailed into an argument about nationalism.
Back to the game. Their team was the definite underdog as The Boks (South Africa) had not defeated The All Blacks (New Zealand) in New Zealand in over 10 years. The All Blacks are like the Yankees of the rugby world, but I would wager they are even more dominating. I was told that they have ruled rugby for years with their massive size and skill, but I found, ironically, that South Africa was the reigning World Champion. After ordering a round of beers for our table we sat and prepared for the game, which meant Mindy and I had to learn something about what we were going to watch. We had shown up two hours early in order to get a seat and people continually poured as the time passed. We sat there with our friend Pieter, from SA, and learned what little we could about the game and the rivalry. As the pub became more and more packed I realized something, "It is going to be hot in here". Luckily, Mindy is always prepared and she packed our personal fans to keep us cool.
The game started with a roar from both sides, thought New Zealand was poorly represented in the crowd. We spent the game bothering Pieter with questions about rules and calls. He was very gracious. As we continued to put back the beers the pub became even hotter and I realized that both Kiwis and Boks were happy to use our little fans to keep cool in the heat. In essence, the fans became fans of our fans. In an attempt to bridge build between cultures I offered my fan without discrimination towards nationality. In the middle of one especially tense moment on the field, people were screaming as the Boks raced towards the uprights, the power went completely out. The fans stopped, the lights went out, and, most unfortunately, the air conditioning stopped. This happened at least 8 times, for extended periods for the entire match. After the second outtage the air conditioning was out for good. Apparently the system was overloaded because of all the people. The match was not just a sporting event. It was an event. Even when the power went out and the airconditioning stopped the crowd was just as boisterous. What we got to see of the game was fantastic eventhough our adopted team, The Boks, lost by a score of 16-8.
South Korea has been an incredible experience. It is interspersed with moments frustration, but it is always, like the time above, full of surprises.
~Scott
Having friends is great. We have done things like attend the South Africa vs. New Zealand rugby game! OK, not in person, but almost as cool - we were in a raucous pub drinking pints. About 60 South Africans and New Zealanders descended upon "Scrooges" pub for one of the biggest matches of the year. Walking into the pub I heard chanting in Afrikaans (one of the 11 offical languages of South Africa). The South Africans were dressed in the national colors that included yellow, green, red, and white. This is not a big pub and the 60 only included those friends of friends that we knew. There were a good 100+ people in this small HOT pub. I know very little about the sport, but one thing I did learn was that South Africans and Kiwis LOVE their rugby. To give you an idea of how important rugby is to a Kiwi I witnessed an argument start between an Irishman and a Kiwi (two of our friends) that ended up in raised voices, shouts of nationalist propaganda, finger pointing, accusations of cheating, lies, scandal and other illict behavior that no doubt disgraced the losing team. Eventually, the discussion dovetailed into an argument about nationalism.
Back to the game. Their team was the definite underdog as The Boks (South Africa) had not defeated The All Blacks (New Zealand) in New Zealand in over 10 years. The All Blacks are like the Yankees of the rugby world, but I would wager they are even more dominating. I was told that they have ruled rugby for years with their massive size and skill, but I found, ironically, that South Africa was the reigning World Champion. After ordering a round of beers for our table we sat and prepared for the game, which meant Mindy and I had to learn something about what we were going to watch. We had shown up two hours early in order to get a seat and people continually poured as the time passed. We sat there with our friend Pieter, from SA, and learned what little we could about the game and the rivalry. As the pub became more and more packed I realized something, "It is going to be hot in here". Luckily, Mindy is always prepared and she packed our personal fans to keep us cool.
The game started with a roar from both sides, thought New Zealand was poorly represented in the crowd. We spent the game bothering Pieter with questions about rules and calls. He was very gracious. As we continued to put back the beers the pub became even hotter and I realized that both Kiwis and Boks were happy to use our little fans to keep cool in the heat. In essence, the fans became fans of our fans. In an attempt to bridge build between cultures I offered my fan without discrimination towards nationality. In the middle of one especially tense moment on the field, people were screaming as the Boks raced towards the uprights, the power went completely out. The fans stopped, the lights went out, and, most unfortunately, the air conditioning stopped. This happened at least 8 times, for extended periods for the entire match. After the second outtage the air conditioning was out for good. Apparently the system was overloaded because of all the people. The match was not just a sporting event. It was an event. Even when the power went out and the airconditioning stopped the crowd was just as boisterous. What we got to see of the game was fantastic eventhough our adopted team, The Boks, lost by a score of 16-8.
South Korea has been an incredible experience. It is interspersed with moments frustration, but it is always, like the time above, full of surprises.
~Scott
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