Okay, so readers of Lonely Planet say that Seoul is a lousy city. The New York Times says it is a great city to visit.
How do you choose sides when two idiots disagree? How can you tell who is telling the truth when two liars tell different stories?
* * *
I was on the subway the other day when I began writing a list of things I love about Korea. This is not a final list, by the way.
* The tax rate is 3.3%. That's right. 3.3%. Not 33.3%.
* Even better, I won't have to go through the April 15 IRS game. The government here just TAKES the money. They don't force to also send in forms by a certain date.
* Every company working with Western employees seems to have a manager who will show up when called on a Friday night to help you when your heating system stops working. On the other hand, he is also likely to get you stranded on the highway when his van runs out of gas. (Yes, both things happened recently.)
* The seats on subway line 4 are heated. The next time my heating system at home stops working I may just ride up and down line 4.
* People can look at themselves in a mirror without others thinking they are strange. Many Koreans in fact do this. There seems to be mirrors everywhere. One thing I've noticed is that Korean women seem to enjoy taking photos of themselves, especially when they are seated at cafes or donut shops.
* You can slurp your food without people staring at you. You can even pick up your bowl and drink from it. Americans (at least others I've eaten cereal with) seem to do the same thing but for some reason Americans here think it is strange when Koreans do that with noodles.
* Koreans are eager to meet, greet, and host non-Koreans, especially those who are from Western countries.
* Singing rooms. In some areas there are singing rooms on every corner. I recently went singing in a ritzy part of town for about $9 an hour.
* Seoul seems to be the Swing Dance Capital of the world!
* Koreans will praise me for saying very simple things such as "hello" in Korean.
* One of the best things in the world is a Korean friend who is concerned with how you are doing in Korea.
* Cell reception is great everywhere, apparently for every type of cell service. The downside is that cell reception is great everywhere, meaning you need a good excuse for not answering the phone.
* Korea is extremely safe.
* Tipping is not allowed or expected. I've never enjoyed tipping, it should be enough that I return.
* * *
Things I don't like about Korea? I've only been back for a few weeks. Check back in about 6 months.
CJL
1/12/10
1/9/10
Random stuff from the Korea Times
U.S. Black Activists Launch Attack on Cuba
According to the L.A. Times, published in today's Korea Times: Before Obama, "no human rights groups, which largely come from the left, wanted to be seen as lackeys for George W. Bush," said Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy for the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
Cornel West, Ruby Dee, Melvin Van Peebles and the others who signed the statement should condemn Sabatini for saying such a thing!
1) This is a teachable moment: Say what you think is right, regardless of who agrees or disagrees with you.
2) Will the statement will do any good? I doubt it. Is it late? Certainly. If it will do any good then it may have been even more powerful years ago.
3) Not that I paid attention to them before, but if it is true that they didn't want to be Bush's lackeys, then everything those black activists said about Cuba before 2008 should be disregarded.
4) To paraphrase Golda Meir: They hated Bush more than they loved black Cubans.
4) Edmund Burke is often credited with saying: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing." Burke should have added: Or wait until someone you like is in office to get the courage to say something.
* * *
Korea Times: "Blizzard Creates Additional Odd Jobs."
1) That which is not seen: This article reveals a big difference between journalists and economists. Journalists observe and write about the obvious. Economists (usually) analyze that which is not always obvious, examine the long-term consequences of policies and actions.
2) Invisible victims: The Korea Times reporter, no doubt, is correct that some jobs were created. At what cost? There was probably much more economic activity that was delayed or prevented because of the blizzard. By the way, in this regard, policymakers are more like journalists in that they focus on the obvious immediate benefits rather than long-term negative consequences.
3) Negative economic substitution: So one person quoted in the article was paying 7,000 won (about $5.50) an hour to get someone to shovel snow. If not for the blizzard, perhaps he could have spent that 7,000 won on something else, creating economic activity elsewhere that a reporter would not notice?
4) Apparently a good way to improve an economy is to have more blizzards. Just imagine how many odd jobs could be created if it snowed every day for the next 6 months! Snow removal could become a permanent job.
* * *
Korea Times: Seoul Disputes Lonely Planet's 'Least Favorite City' Label
I didn't realize the travel guide Lonely Planet was still being published. I was a contributor to one of its editions about a decade or so ago. I assumed it died after that.
Based on feedback from readers, it has named Seoul one of its least favorite cities.
Seoul has responded quickly, apparently much faster than it does at cleaning snow off the ground.
1) I haven't done a survey, but I suspect Seoul would easily be named the least favorite cities of Seoulites.
2) Seoul is a great place to live but you wouldn't want to visit.
* * *
Experts: Cold Snap Doesn't Disprove Global Warming
Of course it doesn't. That would be real news if it did.
Okay, I'll play along. So what would disprove global warming? It is the ultimate heads-I-win, tails-you-lose game. Hot weather proves global warming is occurring (heads), cold weather doesn't disprove it (tails). In the 1970s, it was global cooling. Then it became global warming. Now it has become climate change.
So, what, in the eyes of those experts, could disprove global warming/climate change?
* * *
I usually don't mention the Korea Herald because it hides its links. But today's newspaper has a staff editorial: KORUS FTA in limbo.
Some people who know me wonder why I have lost interest in politics.
I remember, in late 1993, in Seoul, being handed a flyer by a wide-eyed college student who was greatly upset that the U.S. was using GATT to force open the Korean rice market. I asked her what she thought I should do about it.
Now, 17 years later, the free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea is in limbo. I suppose I could have spent the last 17 years becoming an expert about free trade between the two countries.
CJL
According to the L.A. Times, published in today's Korea Times: Before Obama, "no human rights groups, which largely come from the left, wanted to be seen as lackeys for George W. Bush," said Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy for the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
Cornel West, Ruby Dee, Melvin Van Peebles and the others who signed the statement should condemn Sabatini for saying such a thing!
1) This is a teachable moment: Say what you think is right, regardless of who agrees or disagrees with you.
2) Will the statement will do any good? I doubt it. Is it late? Certainly. If it will do any good then it may have been even more powerful years ago.
3) Not that I paid attention to them before, but if it is true that they didn't want to be Bush's lackeys, then everything those black activists said about Cuba before 2008 should be disregarded.
4) To paraphrase Golda Meir: They hated Bush more than they loved black Cubans.
4) Edmund Burke is often credited with saying: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing." Burke should have added: Or wait until someone you like is in office to get the courage to say something.
* * *
Korea Times: "Blizzard Creates Additional Odd Jobs."
1) That which is not seen: This article reveals a big difference between journalists and economists. Journalists observe and write about the obvious. Economists (usually) analyze that which is not always obvious, examine the long-term consequences of policies and actions.
2) Invisible victims: The Korea Times reporter, no doubt, is correct that some jobs were created. At what cost? There was probably much more economic activity that was delayed or prevented because of the blizzard. By the way, in this regard, policymakers are more like journalists in that they focus on the obvious immediate benefits rather than long-term negative consequences.
3) Negative economic substitution: So one person quoted in the article was paying 7,000 won (about $5.50) an hour to get someone to shovel snow. If not for the blizzard, perhaps he could have spent that 7,000 won on something else, creating economic activity elsewhere that a reporter would not notice?
4) Apparently a good way to improve an economy is to have more blizzards. Just imagine how many odd jobs could be created if it snowed every day for the next 6 months! Snow removal could become a permanent job.
* * *
Korea Times: Teacher Evaluation Program Starts From March
A beautiful thing about free markets: Customers make evaluations, not bureaucrats or experts. They are not perfect, of course. But the decisions are made based on who shows up, not what a former Minister of Education thinks.
* * *
Korea Times: Seoul Disputes Lonely Planet's 'Least Favorite City' Label
I didn't realize the travel guide Lonely Planet was still being published. I was a contributor to one of its editions about a decade or so ago. I assumed it died after that.
Based on feedback from readers, it has named Seoul one of its least favorite cities.
Seoul has responded quickly, apparently much faster than it does at cleaning snow off the ground.
1) I haven't done a survey, but I suspect Seoul would easily be named the least favorite cities of Seoulites.
2) Seoul is a great place to live but you wouldn't want to visit.
* * *
Experts: Cold Snap Doesn't Disprove Global Warming
Of course it doesn't. That would be real news if it did.
Okay, I'll play along. So what would disprove global warming? It is the ultimate heads-I-win, tails-you-lose game. Hot weather proves global warming is occurring (heads), cold weather doesn't disprove it (tails). In the 1970s, it was global cooling. Then it became global warming. Now it has become climate change.
So, what, in the eyes of those experts, could disprove global warming/climate change?
* * *
I usually don't mention the Korea Herald because it hides its links. But today's newspaper has a staff editorial: KORUS FTA in limbo.
Some people who know me wonder why I have lost interest in politics.
I remember, in late 1993, in Seoul, being handed a flyer by a wide-eyed college student who was greatly upset that the U.S. was using GATT to force open the Korean rice market. I asked her what she thought I should do about it.
Now, 17 years later, the free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea is in limbo. I suppose I could have spent the last 17 years becoming an expert about free trade between the two countries.
CJL
1/2/10
Foreign Food + People
A few days ago one of my coworkers mentioned that we were all going to an Indian restaurant on Friday night. Obviously, I wasn't present when this was discussed and the final decision was made. I didn't fuss about it because they said we'd sing after dinner...
* * *
I have eaten all types of food. In particular, I love Chinese and Korean food. I have eaten Korean and Chinese food so many times that I no long consider them to be “foreign" food. I think they should be among the food groups…bread, meat, vegetables, Chinese food, Korean food.
The one exception is really spicy food. Yes, that means there are some Korean dishes I avoid, but can still eat the spicy stuff when there are no other options.
* * *
I should have punished my coworkers by delivering a sermon on Indian food being the only foreign food in the world.
* * *
Speaking of foreign, I've heard another non-Korean in Korea complain about Koreans referring to non-Koreans as 외국인. It doesn't bother me one way or the other, I haven't been excited about such semantics since the great African American or black debate of the early 1990s. As you may have noticed, I still use black.
* * *
I have eaten all types of food. In particular, I love Chinese and Korean food. I have eaten Korean and Chinese food so many times that I no long consider them to be “foreign" food. I think they should be among the food groups…bread, meat, vegetables, Chinese food, Korean food.
So most food is not foreign to me. Food is food. I don’t care which country it was first eaten. Either I enjoy it or I don’t.
But there is one exception: Indian food. It is still foreign to me.
Foreign, as in, from now on I am going to eat a snack before going to eat Indian food.
Foreign, as in, I may eat at a different restaurant and meet up with friends and coworkers later.
Foreign, as in, I will never move to
* * *
Most Indian food tastes bland to me. It may not be the food's fault. As I now say about politics, I don't have a particular label, I'm just an extremist, and extremely proud of it. When it comes to food, I like food that is at an extreme.
When I go to a new restaurant, I'm usually looking for the most extreme item on the menu. If there is goat on the menu then I'm trying it. Rabbit? Sorry, rabbit, I guess your foot wasn't lucky for you. Dog on the menu? Ruff!
* * *
The one exception is really spicy food. Yes, that means there are some Korean dishes I avoid, but can still eat the spicy stuff when there are no other options.
But Indian food? Most of it tastes bland. The fancier the restaurant, the blander it is. Bland is not an extreme. What I can taste doesn’t taste good. I don't recall ever eating cardboard, but I have the feeling it would taste about the same as Indian food dipped in sauce. In fact, the only acceptable Indian food I've tasted are the sauces covering the food. Perhaps I should just eat the sauce next time?
Curry is fine, but it has to cover up the main dish. Last night's Shrimp pag Curry had potential. But that was all it had, potential.
I'm not saying Indian food is terrible, okay? Terrible is an extreme and bland can't be extreme. I'm just saying that I feel like I have wasted my money when I eat Indian food. 15,500 won (about $13) of mine is gone forever.
I would have been better off mailing the money to a homeless person in America.
* * *
It isn't that I haven't tried various Indian dishes. I have tried Indian food with names I’ve never heard of…I’ve tried Indian food with some of my favorites, such as shrimp. It doesn’t matter. The best Indian food I've had is instant Curry out of a box.
Perhaps the cardboard added to the taste?
Last night, I felt like I was in church when I was a youngster. I remember that we had to sit through the minister’s sermon, sing, then we could have ice cream or other things we really wanted to eat. But last night, the world was again turned upside.
I ate food I didn’t like before I could sing.I should have punished my coworkers by delivering a sermon on Indian food being the only foreign food in the world.
* * *
Speaking of foreign, I've heard another non-Korean in Korea complain about Koreans referring to non-Koreans as 외국인. It doesn't bother me one way or the other, I haven't been excited about such semantics since the great African American or black debate of the early 1990s. As you may have noticed, I still use black.
My question for the complaining foreigner: What would you prefer? Not all non-Koreans in Korea are Americans. Many Canadians, Brits, and Australians get upset when Koreans refer to them as Americans. Would Westerner (서양인) be more palatable? Non-Korean?
The complaint may have merit, but the best complaints come with alternative suggestions.
It was always funny to me, by the way, to hear Koreans in America referring to Americans as foreigners. In America!
* * *
I don't think I've ever really thought of food as being foreign. Still, I did LOL the first time I ever saw a dog eating noodles. I hadn't been in Taiwan for very long. I was eating at a friend's home. I remember that the dog was, like all dogs, begging for food. Then, the mom put the noodles on a plate or in a bowl and fed them to the dog.
I don't know why I thought it was so funny. But then, I thought: Dogs in America would eat noodles if someone put them on a plate, in a bowl, on the floor, wherever. Dogs don't care about the national origin of food or its presentation. A dog in Taiwan won't frown about noodles or American beef. Does it like it or not is the test.
A dog, if it could cook, might have some preferences, but 99 percent of the time, it will probably eat whatever it is given when it is hungry.
I don't cook either, by the way, so that may explain my apathy about where food comes from. I'm just happy to be eating...
I’m sure I amazed my coworkers last night. My Korean isn’t that great, I haven’t tried speaking it to them. I’m very serious at the office, very little joking around. But last night? I sang reggae, love ballads, hip-hop, Korean songs. Yes, I was great. For once, I wasn't the only one who thought so.
By the end of the night, after I sang a few Korean songs, the Korean women there started chanting, “오빠! 오빠!”. Hard to translate, the literal meaning is “big brother,” but in that context, it is like chanting for a hero or superstar.
Even I started to believe I was singing well when I had those Korean women chanting and cheering me.
If they had done that a few more times I probably would have paid the entire bill for the night. I was already feeling happy enough that I was willing to forgive them for taking me to an Indian restaurant.
CJL12/31/09
Stuff I've learned/observed/experienced
I've been back in Korea for a little more than a week. Here's some random stuff.
If there's a line forming, then stand it. You won't regret it even if you don't want to be in the line. You never know when an entire elementary school of kids may show up. A colleague of mine who didn't take my advice dallied about for a few minutes. Suddenly, a million Korean kids showed up. He got back in line, but far enough that I needed binoculars to see him. Thankfully, the lines in Korea go quickly, so he ate about 15 minutes after I did.
* * *
My favorite sandwich shop opens at 10 a.m. I learned that a few days ago at 8:30 a.m., after walking 15 minutes out of the way to eat there.
* * *
I saw one of the directors at my job wearing a mask over his nose and mouth. Does he know something I don't know?
* * *
As a foreigner in Korea, I often must trust the Koreans around me. My colleagues helped me set up my bank account. I was standing there, with my documents out in the open for anyone, along with my allegedly secret password that seemed to be available for public information.
People show up at my apartment saying they need to take me somewhere. I do ask them questions about who they are just to confirm that I'm not being shipped off to China.
I should blog more often just so someone will notice if I have gone missing.
* * *
It snowed a lot a few days ago. It snowed the day after I arrived. Before I left D.C. I was slip sliding around in 16 inches of snow.
I hate snow. But I already knew that.
* * *
There is occasionally miscommunication between Koreans and non-Koreans. The more I understand Korean, the more I see that there is plenty of miscommunication between Koreans, too.
That would be fine if it didn't involve me. But I had another example...a manager rushed to me, saying I had to be at the main office at 4:40 p.m. today. At about 5:10, after I asked many times in Korean and English why I needed to be there, the manager apologized that I didn't need to be there.
I knew that, too.
* * *
Drivers can run red lights here at small intersections, as long as there are not pedestrians present, and as long as there aren't other cars speeding through the green light. Unfortunately, jaywalking is also rampant, meaning bad things happen at some intersections at which both drivers and pedestrians don't pay attention to signs and lights.
* * *
The ATM machine I went to earlier today was bilingual (Korean and English). There may have been other languages, I forgot to check.
I was just happy to be able to do stuff with my money in English. I hate guessing, wondering if the button I'm pushing means that I'm transferring my money to someone else's account.
* * *
A bad thing about banks here...a Korean friend of mine told me earlier today that they charge customers a fee for withdrawing money from an ATM. That's even when the bank is closed and you don't have an option to go directly to a live teller.
If there's a user fee, it should be for seeing a live person, not an ATM machine that is available 24/7.
* * *
Not every Korean is generous. The guy who picked me up at the airport not only did not offer me and the other pickup anything to eat, but he also proceeded to eat a Korean snack as he drove. He was munching away.
He did arrange for food later before we stopped for the night at a remote location. He dropped us off at a 7-11.
* * *
GPS machines in Korea warn drivers when they have gone several kilometers over the speed limit in an area with speed cameras. The damn sound can get so loud that you slow down just to shut it up. In comparison, radar detectors in America are almost always illegal. I guess the point here is really to get people to stop speeding, not to collect money for the city.
* * *
I also love the gas stations over here. Stopped at one with a colleague a few days ago. Apparently every gas station in South Korea is full-service. I've never seen customers pump their own gas.
The receipt shows customers that 10% of the money collected was a tax.
They serve canned coffee at some gas stations. Of course, the coffee snobs won't like that.
* * *
Drivers in Seoul are bad. I hate them.
The only thing I hate more than the drivers in Seoul are the drivers outside of Seoul.
CJL
linked by Booker Rising,
Update: Thomas Sowell was interviewed by Walter E. Williams on the show. I'll listen to it and mention their main points.
Man of the Year (again)!
I noticed that Booker Rising's readers have named Thomas Sowell the site's Bookerista of the Year. Well-deserved, to be sure.
I just held snap elections. I have been named Person of the Year of my blog. That has happened every year I've had this thing. Even when I forgot to hold elections I retroactively held elections and won.
Reasons my award means more:
1) Sowell would never show up at a Booker Rising conference to accept the award.
2) Because I've blogged regularly from both Korea and America, that means I've been Person of the Year on two different continents.
* * *
Thomas Sowell's longtime partner in crime, Walter E. Williams, will be hosting the Rush Limbaugh Show December 31.
CJL
I just held snap elections. I have been named Person of the Year of my blog. That has happened every year I've had this thing. Even when I forgot to hold elections I retroactively held elections and won.
Reasons my award means more:
1) Sowell would never show up at a Booker Rising conference to accept the award.
2) Because I've blogged regularly from both Korea and America, that means I've been Person of the Year on two different continents.
* * *
Thomas Sowell's longtime partner in crime, Walter E. Williams, will be hosting the Rush Limbaugh Show December 31.
CJL
12/26/09
Who can spit in the face of a country that is smiling?
Christmas eve, after arriving in South Korea the night before, I joined a group of Americans, Canadians, Brits and Koreans at a party in Seoul. During one of the stops, I disappeared for a few minutes to check my email at a PC room (PC방). They are very popular places customers can use a computer for about 70 cents an hour.
The problem is that I barely got to do much on the computer the other night. One of the guys working at the place treated me like I was about to write him a one-million dollar check (that would not bounce). Most PC rooms provide customers with a drink, such as iced coffee. Not only did he bring me the customary iced coffee, but also a package of cookies. Then, as I tried to check my email, he peppered me with questions about where I'm from, how long I would be in Korea, etc. It was a mixture of Korean and English, as the customers nearby watched, clearly amused.
Then, because it was Christmas Eve, I seemed to give him an early present. I asked him if I could take a photo with him.
I'm surprised he didn't ask me to wait so he could go get a haircut.
* * *
According to a former student of mine, there's an old Korean saying: Who can spit in the eye of a man who is smiling? It seems funny considering that Koreans are not known for smiling. Back when I was in Korea in the 1990s, I was told by Koreans not to be upset by unsmiling Koreans. Many people used to be taught that a big smile was a sign of stupidity.
As I noted a few months ago, a university in South Korea was even setting a Smile Clinic.
* * *
On the way home at the end of the night, waiting for the metro, there were some Americans cursing and complaining about Korea. I guess they were American. Definitely black in their skin color, and black in the Shakespearean sense of the word. They weren't listing specific grievances. Just cursing and complaining about what a lousy country Korea is. I asked a Korean guy in my small group if Koreans would be willing to start up a Deportation Fund to help such people get back home. He was ready to reach into his own pocket to get the fund going.
People have gripes about wherever they are, I know. There just seems to be something uncouth about complaining on the subway while using language that would make a sailor blush.
It is much better to do that type of thing on a blog.
* * *
A few minutes later, on the subway, three white guys got on, complaining and cursing in English like they were rap stars on the way to an audition. Mostly, they were complaining in graphic language about not being able to meet more Korean women, about Korean women being prudes. I did my best to ignore them. My colleague, a very proper Brit, noticed that the seats across from them were vacant.
I said there was a good reason no one was sitting across from them.
* * *
Even some of my new acquaintances acted like knuckleheads during the night. At one point, when we were walking down the street, they grabbed some of the New Year's Eve poppers that were on a table in front of a bakery and started setting them off. The store owners probably hadn't imagined that someone would just GRAB the items and set them off.
Of course, it startled some of the people we walked past. I grabbed a few of the unpopped ones to return the bakery. I did my best to apologize in Korean to the Koreans who had their stuff stolen, explaining that those guys were drunk.
Some people might think I've gone native and overly apologetic. Some have previously suggested that, as a black person in Korea, I should try to be a credit to my race.
Not yet. At heart, I'm a guy who has always believed it is wrong to take other people's stuff without their permission.
I'm a credit to myself. If I happen to be a credit to my race when it is in my interest then I suppose that is a bonus for the world...
* * *
We did make many Koreans smile. Early in the night, on our way to the Christmas Eve party, my British colleague mentioned that he could not read in Korean. So I proceeded to teach him the basics of learning to read in Korean. I suppose that it was a funny scene: A native English speaker teaching another native English speaker how to read in Korean. I can be quite demonstrative when I'm teaching. At one point, I even stood up, pointing at a couple of the words on the subway train to show him that he would be able to read almost anything.
He was really pleased that I had successfully taught him a couple of words. A young Korean man was so enraptured with our impromptu class that he almost fell over into my colleague's lap. He got off a few stops earlier, smiling as he left.
When I stumbled with a bit of the pronunciation, I then asked the Korean man who then sat down in the other guy's place to help out. He was delighted to do so. When he got off the train, he wished us well in our time in Korea, smiling like he had also received a good million dollar check.
* * *
The impromptu Korean class continued through the night, including after my colleague got the munchies. So we stopped at a Korean restaurant. Again, I demonstrated to him that he'd be able to read anything by pointing to words on the menu on the wall. Just about all of the Koreans in the restaurant were watching me as I was teaching him. A Korean friend with us was absolutely loving it, and not just because he was still a bit drunk.
He said he was amazed, he wondered if I had ever taught Korean before and if I could actually speak better than I had been saying.
CJL
The problem is that I barely got to do much on the computer the other night. One of the guys working at the place treated me like I was about to write him a one-million dollar check (that would not bounce). Most PC rooms provide customers with a drink, such as iced coffee. Not only did he bring me the customary iced coffee, but also a package of cookies. Then, as I tried to check my email, he peppered me with questions about where I'm from, how long I would be in Korea, etc. It was a mixture of Korean and English, as the customers nearby watched, clearly amused.
Then, because it was Christmas Eve, I seemed to give him an early present. I asked him if I could take a photo with him.
I'm surprised he didn't ask me to wait so he could go get a haircut.* * *
According to a former student of mine, there's an old Korean saying: Who can spit in the eye of a man who is smiling? It seems funny considering that Koreans are not known for smiling. Back when I was in Korea in the 1990s, I was told by Koreans not to be upset by unsmiling Koreans. Many people used to be taught that a big smile was a sign of stupidity.
As I noted a few months ago, a university in South Korea was even setting a Smile Clinic.
* * *
On the way home at the end of the night, waiting for the metro, there were some Americans cursing and complaining about Korea. I guess they were American. Definitely black in their skin color, and black in the Shakespearean sense of the word. They weren't listing specific grievances. Just cursing and complaining about what a lousy country Korea is. I asked a Korean guy in my small group if Koreans would be willing to start up a Deportation Fund to help such people get back home. He was ready to reach into his own pocket to get the fund going.
People have gripes about wherever they are, I know. There just seems to be something uncouth about complaining on the subway while using language that would make a sailor blush.
It is much better to do that type of thing on a blog.
* * *
A few minutes later, on the subway, three white guys got on, complaining and cursing in English like they were rap stars on the way to an audition. Mostly, they were complaining in graphic language about not being able to meet more Korean women, about Korean women being prudes. I did my best to ignore them. My colleague, a very proper Brit, noticed that the seats across from them were vacant.
I said there was a good reason no one was sitting across from them.
* * *
Even some of my new acquaintances acted like knuckleheads during the night. At one point, when we were walking down the street, they grabbed some of the New Year's Eve poppers that were on a table in front of a bakery and started setting them off. The store owners probably hadn't imagined that someone would just GRAB the items and set them off.
Of course, it startled some of the people we walked past. I grabbed a few of the unpopped ones to return the bakery. I did my best to apologize in Korean to the Koreans who had their stuff stolen, explaining that those guys were drunk.
Some people might think I've gone native and overly apologetic. Some have previously suggested that, as a black person in Korea, I should try to be a credit to my race.
Not yet. At heart, I'm a guy who has always believed it is wrong to take other people's stuff without their permission.
I'm a credit to myself. If I happen to be a credit to my race when it is in my interest then I suppose that is a bonus for the world...
* * *
We did make many Koreans smile. Early in the night, on our way to the Christmas Eve party, my British colleague mentioned that he could not read in Korean. So I proceeded to teach him the basics of learning to read in Korean. I suppose that it was a funny scene: A native English speaker teaching another native English speaker how to read in Korean. I can be quite demonstrative when I'm teaching. At one point, I even stood up, pointing at a couple of the words on the subway train to show him that he would be able to read almost anything.
He was really pleased that I had successfully taught him a couple of words. A young Korean man was so enraptured with our impromptu class that he almost fell over into my colleague's lap. He got off a few stops earlier, smiling as he left.
When I stumbled with a bit of the pronunciation, I then asked the Korean man who then sat down in the other guy's place to help out. He was delighted to do so. When he got off the train, he wished us well in our time in Korea, smiling like he had also received a good million dollar check.
* * *
The impromptu Korean class continued through the night, including after my colleague got the munchies. So we stopped at a Korean restaurant. Again, I demonstrated to him that he'd be able to read anything by pointing to words on the menu on the wall. Just about all of the Koreans in the restaurant were watching me as I was teaching him. A Korean friend with us was absolutely loving it, and not just because he was still a bit drunk.
He said he was amazed, he wondered if I had ever taught Korean before and if I could actually speak better than I had been saying.
CJL
12/20/09
"One-man crime wave" crashes
A friend of mine called me a few days ago. He was sad when he heard about the death of Chris Henry, the football player who died a few days ago in a domestic dispute with the mother of his three children. People don't like to speak ill of the dead so I can understand his concern, as well as those of bloggers. Some people who are saying nice things about Henry never heard of him until they had heard he had died.The main point of the nice comments has been that Henry had been trying to turn his life around.
Here's the part of the story that adds some context. It is from a 911 call by a woman who was following the truck Henry was on shortly before he expired:
"It's got a black man on it with no shirt on, and he's got his arm in a cast and black pants on," she told a dispatcher. "He's beating on the back of this truck window. ... I don't know if he's trying to break in or something. It just looks crazy. It's a girl driving it."If Henry had not been arrested five times or been suspended by the NFL for half a season (which is known for being lenient with players) then I might be more sympathetic. Henry, who was called a "one-man crime wave" by a judge, crashed to reality a few days ago.
Kids often look up to athletes as role models. With that in mind, I'd like to suggest a few lessons to be learned from Henry's case:
1) You should not try to resolve your domestic problems with violence. After all, your fiancee may keep driving. You may fall off the back of the truck and hit your head on the ground. A better strategy when your fiancee is driving off in the truck? Wave at the truck, and say a cute rhyme, such as, "goodbye truck, goodbye fiancee, I'll live another day."
2) Stories about turning your life around should not include a report that you are beating on the back of a truck being driven by your fiancee. It undercuts your credibility.
3) A lot of women are bad drivers so you should not beat on the back of a truck as a woman is driving. If she doesn't want you in the truck then get a ride with a different woman.
4) On the bright side, if you at least say you were turning your life around there will always be people to defend you.
CJL
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