Well, according to Western news sources, things have been quite heated over here on the 38th parallel. According to South Koreans...no one cares.
I've watched and read a lot of pretty ridiculous claims made by news outlets in the West. My favorite so far was a segment on CNN, where they talked about what an all out war would look like between N. Korea and S. Korea/U.S.-led coalition forces. They discussed the subject for about 4 to 5 minutes including computer generated battle plans. Then, during the last 30 or so seconds of the segment, the host asked, "What is the likelihood of something like this happening?" I can't remember what the guest said exactly, but he said something to the tune of, "Slim to none." Talk about over-sensationalizing!
One of my favorite stories concerning the situation comes from a fellow foreign English teacher, who teaches at the middle school next to my high school. He had been expressing worry about the N. Korea situation to his co-teacher. In true Korean fashion, his co-teacher scheduled a meeting between my friend and the Vice Principal of the middle school. So here is the conversation straight from the source:
VP: "(name of my friend)! You not need to be worried about the North Koreans, we're not. It's nothing."
My friend: "Yeah, I know. But still, a threat is a threat. We can't really say it is OK."
VP: "If something happens, what will you do?"
My friend: "I'm outta here, and I'm fleeing to Japan!"
VP: "Hahaha! By then you'll be long dead."
My friend: "..."
Obviously, the VP was trying to make light of the situation, but I don't know if...ya know, my friend was really comforted by that conversation. In any case, he is one of the only foreigners I know that has been/is worried about the N. Korea situation.
To my knowledge, there wasn't one embassy in S. Korea that issued any real warnings. And there certainly wasn't an embassy that was asking their citizens to leave the country. The only message that was sent out by the U.S. embassy could basically be summarized by the following: "Conduct business as usual."
By now, S. Koreans are so used to the political games played by the North, that they just brush it off. Some of my co-teachers, other teachers, as well as some of the students asked if I was worried.
Teachers: "Are you worried about North Korea?"
Me: "No, not really."
Teachers: "Why not?"
Me: "Because I think Kim Jeong Eun is just playing political games."
Teachers: (a smile and a nod) "Are your parents worried?"
Me: "Yes, I think they are a little worried."
Teachers: "That's OK! They have nothing to worry about!"
What's funny is that I think some of them were pleasantly surprised to see me the day after N. Korea issued a warning asking all foreigners to leave S. Korea. I think some of them truly thought I might fly the coop (there were rumors, that may or may not be true, that at least some foreigners left the country after the warning). Who knows, maybe they were even taking bets on it?
One of the teachers joked to my co-teacher: "Keep an eye on him! He might leave Korea tomorrow!"
By the more rational and logical accounts of the situation, N. Korea is in a bad place what with their famine, poor economic situation, and a new leader who has yet to establish himself amongst both his people and the older political elite.
In summary: Don't worry.
Here are some sensible articles about the situation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/opinion/global/North-Koreas-nuclear-drama-is-a-ploy.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/opinion/stay-cool-call-north-koreas-bluff.html
Friday, April 19, 2013
Vietnam Is Very Happy New Year: Dalat
If Nha Trang destroyed our remaining preconceptions of Vietnam after leaving HCMC, then Dalat blasted the remaining particles into outer space.
First, a little history of Dalat. According to our guide book, Dalat was essentially untouched by the Vietnam War. At the time of the war, Dalat was not easily accessible. Dalat was simply not a strategic location and the only road there was unpaved and windy...not the best for transporting armies. I guess military officers would take leave in Dalat to play golf against each other. Dalat is known throughout Vietnam as a big producer of wine, flowers, and coffee. If that tells you anything, it should tell you that Dalat has some incredibly fertile soil and a rather temperate climate.
Just like Nha Trang, we couldn't book a hotel or hostel before arriving in Dalat. Everything was booked for the days we were coming. Luckily, as soon as we stepped off of the bus, there were representatives/employees of hotels standing there asking us if we needed a place. We confirmed a price with one of them and he led us back to the hotel.
Our first day in Dalat was spent merely walking around the city. Architecturally and structurally, Dalat looked like no other city that we visited in Vietnam. It's back streets twist and turn similar (at least, in my mind) to what you would find in Italy or France. The architecture was a startling contrast to what we were expecting to see, and what we had seen so far in Vietnam.
There is a huge lake southeast from the center of the town. Around the lake, people were selling flowers, having picnics, or playing games. We walked next to the lake for a while, and ended up in a huge garden. By "garden", I mean more like "flower park". I could tell it was marketed a bit more towards couples who wanted to stroll around and be lovey dovey, but it was nice nonetheless. We also walked around a while trying to find this Buddhist temple, and when we finally did, it was a bit underwhelming, so we just went out for dinner and called it a night.
Probably my favorite day we had in Vietnam was a tour that I took from Dalat into the countryside (Daniel wanted to do something else that day, so we split up...so sad). On the tour we stopped in a valley that has hundreds of green houses. I asked our tour guide if there was a monopoly on green houses. She told me that, actually, generally only one family controls one green house. So each green house is owned by a different family. I thought that was great! But then I imagined the families trying to sabotage each others flowers. It probably doesn't happen, but ya know. I must say that the valleys would have looked a lot nicer if they hadn't been covered in green houses, but I know people gotta get paid! As I mentioned before, Dalat is known as the flower capitol of Vietnam, and apparently they ship their flowers all over the country.
After that went to some coffee fields. It was a rustic looking house built above ground on wooden stakes. Behind it was an idyllic scene of hills, a pond, and, of course, fields of coffee plants. As I mentioned in a previous post, before trying Vietnamese coffee, I had never tasted anything like it. It's as thick as syrup, and must be drank with sugar for the faint of heart. It's really bitter and incredibly strong. One of the most infamous coffees that is made in Vietnam (and especially in Dalat) is appropriately called "Weasel Coffee". Literally speaking, weasels are given coffee beans to eat, and what is pooped out by them is the "Weasel Coffee". It sounds disgusting, but apparently people will top dollar for it. That must be some strong shit (pun intended)!
We stopped at a cricket farm. Literally: a farm that raises crickets for human consumption. They had glass cages filled with egg cartons, dirt, and you guess it...crickets. I ended up trying a few fried crickets. Crunchy and not nearly as gross as one might expect. Crickets, like many insects, are incredibly high in protein! I think they said a serving of crickets can account for about 17% of your daily protein intake!
Our next stop was an old, small silk factory. We saw the different steps of silk production all in one room. The machines they had there had to have been at least 30 years old, but apparently everything still works fine. I'm sure there are more modern ways to produce silk, but it was certainly interesting to see how it is done.
After that we went to a waterfall (called "The Elephant Waterfall"), which next to a serene Buddhist Temple that was on top of a hill, and looked over much of the surrounding area.
Our last stop before going to a late lunch was a place that is nicknamed, "The Crazy House". It really looks like a house out of a fairly tale. Some people have called the house itself a work of "expressionist" art. Others have compared it to the work of surrealist artist, Salvador Dali. For me, stepping into the Crazy House was like stepping back into my childhood. The primary structures appeared to be made out of wood, and they twisted and turned as if they had started to melt at some point, but then were frozen in place. The stairs and pathways also twisted and turned, so that it was very easy to lose track of people.
Our tour guide was great, the tour itself was also good, but the late lunch we had at a restaurant was one of the worst meals I've had in recent memory. In fact, the Russian couple on our tour got really really pissed off, because their meat was undercooked, and they had have it taken back not once, not twice, but three times to get it cooked well done. The worst restaurant experience in recent memory. Additionally, the host and servers clearly wanted nothing to do with us.
Up next: Our daring 36 hour bus adventure to Hanoi!
First, a little history of Dalat. According to our guide book, Dalat was essentially untouched by the Vietnam War. At the time of the war, Dalat was not easily accessible. Dalat was simply not a strategic location and the only road there was unpaved and windy...not the best for transporting armies. I guess military officers would take leave in Dalat to play golf against each other. Dalat is known throughout Vietnam as a big producer of wine, flowers, and coffee. If that tells you anything, it should tell you that Dalat has some incredibly fertile soil and a rather temperate climate.
Just like Nha Trang, we couldn't book a hotel or hostel before arriving in Dalat. Everything was booked for the days we were coming. Luckily, as soon as we stepped off of the bus, there were representatives/employees of hotels standing there asking us if we needed a place. We confirmed a price with one of them and he led us back to the hotel.
Our first day in Dalat was spent merely walking around the city. Architecturally and structurally, Dalat looked like no other city that we visited in Vietnam. It's back streets twist and turn similar (at least, in my mind) to what you would find in Italy or France. The architecture was a startling contrast to what we were expecting to see, and what we had seen so far in Vietnam.
There is a huge lake southeast from the center of the town. Around the lake, people were selling flowers, having picnics, or playing games. We walked next to the lake for a while, and ended up in a huge garden. By "garden", I mean more like "flower park". I could tell it was marketed a bit more towards couples who wanted to stroll around and be lovey dovey, but it was nice nonetheless. We also walked around a while trying to find this Buddhist temple, and when we finally did, it was a bit underwhelming, so we just went out for dinner and called it a night.
Probably my favorite day we had in Vietnam was a tour that I took from Dalat into the countryside (Daniel wanted to do something else that day, so we split up...so sad). On the tour we stopped in a valley that has hundreds of green houses. I asked our tour guide if there was a monopoly on green houses. She told me that, actually, generally only one family controls one green house. So each green house is owned by a different family. I thought that was great! But then I imagined the families trying to sabotage each others flowers. It probably doesn't happen, but ya know. I must say that the valleys would have looked a lot nicer if they hadn't been covered in green houses, but I know people gotta get paid! As I mentioned before, Dalat is known as the flower capitol of Vietnam, and apparently they ship their flowers all over the country.
After that went to some coffee fields. It was a rustic looking house built above ground on wooden stakes. Behind it was an idyllic scene of hills, a pond, and, of course, fields of coffee plants. As I mentioned in a previous post, before trying Vietnamese coffee, I had never tasted anything like it. It's as thick as syrup, and must be drank with sugar for the faint of heart. It's really bitter and incredibly strong. One of the most infamous coffees that is made in Vietnam (and especially in Dalat) is appropriately called "Weasel Coffee". Literally speaking, weasels are given coffee beans to eat, and what is pooped out by them is the "Weasel Coffee". It sounds disgusting, but apparently people will top dollar for it. That must be some strong shit (pun intended)!
We stopped at a cricket farm. Literally: a farm that raises crickets for human consumption. They had glass cages filled with egg cartons, dirt, and you guess it...crickets. I ended up trying a few fried crickets. Crunchy and not nearly as gross as one might expect. Crickets, like many insects, are incredibly high in protein! I think they said a serving of crickets can account for about 17% of your daily protein intake!
Our next stop was an old, small silk factory. We saw the different steps of silk production all in one room. The machines they had there had to have been at least 30 years old, but apparently everything still works fine. I'm sure there are more modern ways to produce silk, but it was certainly interesting to see how it is done.
After that we went to a waterfall (called "The Elephant Waterfall"), which next to a serene Buddhist Temple that was on top of a hill, and looked over much of the surrounding area.
Our last stop before going to a late lunch was a place that is nicknamed, "The Crazy House". It really looks like a house out of a fairly tale. Some people have called the house itself a work of "expressionist" art. Others have compared it to the work of surrealist artist, Salvador Dali. For me, stepping into the Crazy House was like stepping back into my childhood. The primary structures appeared to be made out of wood, and they twisted and turned as if they had started to melt at some point, but then were frozen in place. The stairs and pathways also twisted and turned, so that it was very easy to lose track of people.
Our tour guide was great, the tour itself was also good, but the late lunch we had at a restaurant was one of the worst meals I've had in recent memory. In fact, the Russian couple on our tour got really really pissed off, because their meat was undercooked, and they had have it taken back not once, not twice, but three times to get it cooked well done. The worst restaurant experience in recent memory. Additionally, the host and servers clearly wanted nothing to do with us.
Up next: Our daring 36 hour bus adventure to Hanoi!
Korean Students Say The Damndest Things
(I thought that I would break up my series about my adventures in Vietnam with this special post. )
If anything, my students make me laugh and smile every day.
Sometimes intentionally, other times unintentionally. Some things they
say or do would be completely inappropriate in a school setting in the
United States. For example, my students telling me on a regular basis
how handsome I look. But I can assure the readers, it's just the
students being nice and is not considered a "come on" like it would be
in the West. But, some of the things they say are just hilarious and
make me laugh out loud.
You might notice that most of my stories I'm about to
share revolve around my girl students. For the most part, I've found
that the girls just have a lot more personality than the boys at my
school. I should also note that the girls and boys don't generally have classes together.
I think a lot of it just comes down to the fact that a
young, foreign, male teacher, so the girls are much more responsive in
class, and also much more silly. All in all, it's just a lot easier for me to teach the girls. I'm not sure why this is exactly, but I do know
that other teachers share my sympathies. If you're a male, then it's a lot easier to teach girls. If you're a female, it's a lot easier to teach boys. I have some theories on why that is the case, but I won't go into them here. It's just a helluva lot easier
to teach the opposite sex, for whatever reason.
Anyway, let's get started:
One of
my new favorite students is the captain of my girls' 1-6 class. She is
really, really obnoxious and does not really fit in with the whole
demure disposition that Korean women are expected to adopt. At first I
found it really strange that she was the class captain, because she is
such a clown. But then I saw how easily she can control the class with
her energetic, outgoing, and loud personality.
So, a couple stories in her honor:
-
When I came into class the other week, she and her friend came up to
me. She very excitedly told me, "Teacher! I have a new dance I made up
for you!", and she immediately started to dance in a way that would
have made Elaine (from Seinfeld) cringe.
- She sits at the very front of class, so when class
started last week, she put her name card (I had all of the students make
customized name cards) right on my podium, and then gave me a coy,
flirty look as if to say, "Hey, pay attention to ME! I'm right here!"
I laughed so hard that every other student in the class just HAD to know
what had just happened.
- Yesterday we were playing a game in which I give a
letter of the alphabet to the students, and their group has to write as
many words as they can think of that start with that letter in 3
minutes. When I was checking the class captain's group's work, I came
across a word that was clearly not an English word ("ock", anyone?
pronounced "oak"?). The class captain could tell I was suspicious of
that word, and she started saying over and over again, "Teacher! I know
you know "ock"! You know "ock"! I couldn't help but laugh along with
the rest of the students.
- Every time we play a game in her class, and her or
someone else in her group gets an answer right, she will jump out of her
chair and do some power stance, or do a little dance.
I truly believe this girl should go into stand-up comedy.
Now, for some other stories:
-
Since it's getting warmer and I tend to move around a lot when I'm
teaching, I've occasionally developed sweat stains under my arms. The
students enjoy calling me out on it, or at least noticeably whispering
about it. The couple times this has happened thus far, especially when
they have pointed out to me, I have held up my arms and blown air over
my armpit as if to spread my B.O. in their direction. This has brought
the students to tears from laughing so hard. One of my co-teachers told
me, "You broke their fantasy today!" (I think meaning that they
thought of me as suave and/or charming, and I am clearly not...I'm a
joker first and foremost!)
- Another one of my favorite students is a girl who can't speak a whole lot of English, but she is hilarious. She has a mouthful of braces, and will yell, "HI!!!" at me from down the hall (or when I'm standing right next to her), and then she'll immediately look down in this kind of half embarrassed/half cheeky kind of expression and move on. To set up this story, you need to know that there are sliding windows that separate the hallways from the classroom (along with walls and doors, of course). As I was about to start class a few weeks ago, one of the windows opened and there the student was. She yelled, "JO-SYOO-AH!!!" with this half-crazed expression, and then quickly shut the window. Also, during one of my first classes after coming to Korea, one of my co-teachers said to the class that I look very handsome, and this student yelled from the back of the room, "NO!!!"
- Another one of my favorite students is a girl who can't speak a whole lot of English, but she is hilarious. She has a mouthful of braces, and will yell, "HI!!!" at me from down the hall (or when I'm standing right next to her), and then she'll immediately look down in this kind of half embarrassed/half cheeky kind of expression and move on. To set up this story, you need to know that there are sliding windows that separate the hallways from the classroom (along with walls and doors, of course). As I was about to start class a few weeks ago, one of the windows opened and there the student was. She yelled, "JO-SYOO-AH!!!" with this half-crazed expression, and then quickly shut the window. Also, during one of my first classes after coming to Korea, one of my co-teachers said to the class that I look very handsome, and this student yelled from the back of the room, "NO!!!"
- This story is about another new student who is equally as
obnoxious as the first one. When I was introducing myself to her class
at the beginning of the school year, I was telling my students my
hobbies and interests. After I mentioned that I love cooking and that
I cook almost every night, this girl yelled out, "Marry me! Marry
meeeeee!"
- Finally, a story that involves a boy
student. We were doing a lesson on hobbies about one month ago, and I
asked what Korean students like to do in their free time. Among the
responses: "Sleep", "We don't have time for hobbies, teacher. Only
study." By far, the most hilarious response I got was, "Masturbation!" My jaw kind of dropped for a minute, but then I just burst out
laughing.
- The boy in the previous story is in the same class with many other clowns and
troublemakers (how is it that they are always in the same class, and not
only that, but they are allowed to sit next to each other...somehow?).
I was doing a lesson on superstitions, and I mentioned that it is good
luck to find a penny on the ground. I asked the class, "Do you know
what pennies are?" One of the clowns exclaimed, "Penis?!?" This always
seems to happen with my boy classes. I'll say something, and they'll
immediately misunderstand it to be something sexually related.
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