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7月28日 The smell of petroleum!I had intended to update this a lot lately, things are happening, thoughts are occuring to me, and I really want to put it all down. However, it's Friday, it's the last day of this semester, and I want to get out of here! Rosie and I are off to Guam tomorrow, and I'm still on vacation all next week, so I doubt I'll get around to it anytime soon. But it'll be worth the wait, I'm sure you'll agree. Friday Feast 104Feast One-Hundred & Four AppetizerWhat's the funniest dream you can remember having? I'm really not sure if this is the funniest, but it was funny at the time, and one of the most vivid dreams I can ever remember having. About one month ago I dreamt I had to break into the hotel room of a friend of mine, steal his military I.D, then escape the hotel without him noticing. For some reason the door to his room had sealed behind me, so I had to cut my way out. Because the hallway was full of people, I dressed up like a priest, and pretended to have a limp, in order to disguise myself. Outside, my friends were waiting for a cab, and I had to walk past them, with my head turned the other way, so they would'nt see me. Soup If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why? I'd be the same breed as the dog I had as a kid, Finn. I'm not sure if he was a Lab. or a Golden Retriever. He was fat, and protective, and gentle, and he had a chocolate nose, and he could swallow Curly Wurlys (his favorite) whole. He was a wondeful dog. I cried when he died. I miss him. Salad Continue this sentence: "I get confused when..." I get confused when I do math. (Christ that's boring.) Main Course Name two things that need to be done, but you are procrastinating in completing. I need to clean my birdcage. (Does that sound strange to anyone else?!) I need to finish this feast and update my blog! (Is that three things?!) Dessert When was the last time you tried something new, and what was it? A week ago last Wednesday, I tried grilling my kimchi (the ubequitous, cold, spicy vegetable) on the galbi grill and it was delicious. I never liked kimchi before that. (Kate, thanks for the suggestion!) 7月27日 DigicamsI shutter (!) to think what I would've spent on photos if I still had my 35mm camera in Korea. Right now I'm really enjoying taking photos of stupid stuff with the negative setting... 7月26日 A state of mindOn Sunday, Rose and I sat down to watch A State of Mind - a documentary about two North Korean girls who were training to take part in the Mass Games, in 2003. (Mick and Katie arrived a bit late, in a bit of a state also - good night Saturday night!) The doc. was pretty good, but as usual, being concerned with North Korea, it threw up more questions than answers. The film crew had the permission of the North Korean government to make the film, so of course you have to wonder how much of what the families said was actually what they believed, or what they'd been told to say. However, if the families had been chosen because they truely believe what they said, then that's even scarier! At one point, while they were eating dinner, there was a power cut (a regular occurence apparently) and the father instantly blamed it on "those stupid Americans". Later, they filmed a Revolutionary History class, in which they children were asked "How many types of greatness does the Great Leader have?" Answer: 1) Greatness in ideology. 2) Greatness in leadership. 3) Greatness in aura. The preparations for the games are intense. The performers manage to cram more work and committment and determination into one day than I can pull off in a month! At the end of it all though, Kim Jong-il didn't even bother to turn up for the performance (held twice a day for 2 weeks), but of course the children didn't dare show any disappointment, simply accepting that he was "working so hard for the country" that he couldn't attend. And just like the hiking trip to the Diamond Mountains, watching A State of Mind has only made me want to visit North Korea properly. The 60th anniversary of the founding of the state is in 2008, anyone up for it? You can watch the entire documentary here. And a Faithless music video taken from the film here. HandphonesWhen both my mobile phones were stolen from church at Christmas, just before I left Ireland, I was seriously inconvenienced. Everyone I knew had a mobile phone, and for most people I only had their number on my phone, so getting in touch with people was a pain in the ass. Not everyone knew what had happened, so some people had sent me messages, and tried to call, and just thought I was ignoring them. Also, it was the easiest and fastest way to stay in touch with a bunch of people. Being without a phone, especially at that busy time of year, was a nightmare. The guy who was leading our Habitat trip to Mexico refused to get a mobile phone. Normally that would be fair enough, but this guy was trying to organise a trip for 10 disparate people (who lived in 3 different countries) to a part of the world none of them had ever been to before. Trying to get in touch with the guy involved about 3 different phonecalls, and normally as many messages left wherever he happened not to be. I know his room mates got pissed off having to take messages and numbers for him, and I'm convinved they eventually gave up. I know I would've. At times like that, a mobile phone is a neccesity, not a toy. However, I hardly use my mobile phone here in Korea. I only know a few people, and half the western teachers in my school don't even own one. So, I didn't mind half as much being without one today; in fact, I hardly missed it at all. Strange to think what a panic you get into back home if you misplace it, or forget to take it out, and how inconvenient it can be to have it stolen. I loved my phone back home. I loved sending and receiving text messages, especially when they were free! It was cheap, and handy, and useful for taking the piss out of Paul. Now, I'm kinda glad to be without one. I doubt I'll think the same when I get back to Ireland. The girlsJess has her vacation this week, and under normal circumstances that would suck, because I'm not off until next week. However, it means she and Rose can hang-out. Today they're going to Insadong. I'm a bit worried, because I've no idea what they'll talk about, other than me (because I'm class, and if it was me hanging out with either of them, I'd only wanna talk about me), and God knows what stories they'll have swapped by the time I next see them. The arrivals loungeHave you ever been at the airport, waiting for someone to arrive, and not only is their flight delayed, but it's the only one on the arrivals board for which there is no information?! That's what happened last Friday when I went to pick-up Rose from Incheon. The arrivals board at ICN is pretty good. If a flight is delayed, it gives a new ETA, and for most of the flights it was quite accurate. Also, it says "Landed" when a plane touches down; and "Arrived" when the passengers are off and clearing customs. However, for Rose's flight, the new ETA was still reading 7.07 at 7.45. I was getting a bit worried, but also more and more excited. Suddenly it switched to "arrived" and the air crew started coming through, babbling away in their French jibb-jabba. Then a multitude of Koreans appeared, and still no sign of herself. Of course, Rose would be the last person to clear customs and make it into the arrivals lounge from that flight. It was after 8 before I'd even layed eyes on her. And what a site for sore eyes! 7月25日 Friday Feast 103I'm not very good at this Friday Feast business, it's usually more like Tuesday Brunch by the time I get around to doing it, but I figure I have a very good reason for not getting near a computer last Friday.... Appetizer Fill in the blanks: I ____________ when I _____________. I drink when I think and I think when I drink. Soup Name something you use to make your home smell good. I drink coffee every morning, in my tiny studio that usually masks all other smells. At Christmas, I like the smell of cinnamon, so I usually burn some candles. Salad If you could receive a coupon in the mail for 50% off any product, what would you want it to be for? Can it be a plane ticket? Probably not. Books. Or good coffee. Main Course Besides sleeping, what do you spend the majority of the hours of your typical day doing? Besides teaching, reading. Dessert What can you hear right now while answering these questions? My supervisor and my director talking Korean jibba-jabba. Kids yelling. The air-conditioning. The photocopier. Me typing. On MondayJodi went to Cambodia with Woody. It might be the last time I see either one of them again, because there's a good chance they'll kill each other at some point during the trip. I just hope they stay drunk enough together to make it home alive! Seoul - Sin CityMy cousin James, who has applied to come to Korea to teach, found this website yesterday. I wanna know if anyone else living in Korea thinks it's the most ridiculous thing they've read about Korea.... I particularly like the way it tells you, in the event of a flood, to climb down from mountains, but to also evacuate low areas. And also the way it tells you that conflict is possible with North Korea at any time, but then recommends you take a trip to the DMZ - the area closest to the potential conflict zone! Being Safe in Seoul Seoul is a very dangerous city with respect to civil unrest. Riots and protests break out all the time. On some corners, you will see busses packed full of riot police are parked on almost every corner. You could easily see a few thousand riot police in a 2 block area at nearly any given time day or night, weekends and holidays. Seoul's crime, however, is less than the average American city, but more than a Japanese city. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS IN THE EVENT OF A FLOOD ACTS OF WAR AND TERRORISM TextingThe only thing worse than being jolted awake by a text message at 1 in the a.m., is being jolted awake by a blank text message at 1 in the a.m. 7月19日 BankI tried to transfer some money home today. I'm not sure it worked. I shouldn't be surprised. Halfway during the ordeal, the confused and confusing teller, whilst holding my Irish passport in his hand, asked me if I was Israeli! I wonder if he's related to the guy who cut my hair? A state of mindI'm afraid I was wrong about the upcoming Discovery Channel documentary about North Korea. It is in fact called "A state of mind" and you can find more info here: http://www.kino.com/astateofmind/ Also, check out this video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=891684925451310693 DunceryA peanut is not a nut. It's the hair on a gooseberry that stops it from being a grape. Friday Feast 102Yeah, I know this is a bit late, but I'm a bit new, so, forgive me.
AppetizerFeast One Hundred & Two Name one thing nice that you could do for someone else today. There are lots of nice things I could've done for people today, but perhaps I should mention something I actually did. I bought milkshakes for everyone this morning before coming to work. They smiled. Soup When was the last time you were frightened by the weather? On Saturday night when my taxi driver had to stop every so often on the highway because of the heavy rain and spray from other cars...Thanks Typhoon Maemi! Salad What would you say is the most useful website or blog that you visit? If I don't say both Jodi and Jess' blogs I'll be in trouble. Otherwise, Wikipedia is great for finding out shite, uploading shite, and entertaining us. Main Course Who was your favorite singer/group when you were a child? Elvis Presley. Yeah, Elvis Presley, big woop wanna fight about it? Dessert Do you have any rituals? If so, what are they? Well, I'm a practicing Catholic, does that count? |
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