2010-12-04 Harvard Alumni Dinner

December 4, 2010, wow, what a busy day! I was in South Korea, but not determined to stay here. In the morning, I joined an English language discussion group with some South Korean working professionals. Had lunch with some friends. After that, I taught a swing dance class to beginners. During a short break, I checked my flip phone to find a message from a friend who graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education checking to see if I was joining the Harvard Alumni Dinner. She had mentioned it to me a few weeks before.

I was dressed for a swing dance class, not the Harvard Alumni Dinner. Instead of going home, I toughed it out... and turned out to be the most popular non-speaker at the dinner.

During the raffle, Yoonsun and I both won... although when I checked the contents, I wasn't sure that I had really won. I tried leaving the stuff on the subway a few times, but people kept catching up to me and forcing me to take it with me.

Hong Jong-wook, a member of the National Assembly and also a publisher of the Korea Herald at some point. He was dressed for the occasion!

Jin Park! He is now the Foreign Minister of South Korea. I may have met him for the first time that night...

Rhee In-Soo, one of the adopted sons of South Korea's first president.

She was the head of the Hankuk Cyber University. She invited me to speak there more than once, including for the University's 10th anniversary.

Radio, Harvard

I'll be a guest on XM 169 The Power this morning from 10:15 a.m. EST. I'll be talking about teaching English abroad. I'll be interviewed by Brian Higgins of MYB Talk . I sang last night for about five hours with friends but I'm sure my voice will be fine. Tuesday, I'll be interviewed by a Harvard University representative who wants my input on a new doctoral program for education leaders . It is a collaboration between the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School. Some folks at the Booker Rising site are (again) reminding me that I'm not as smart as I think I am. CJL

Easy to find Supermarket!!!!

Getting around Seoul is easy. On the other hand, actually finding your final destination can be very difficult. The main reason is that Koreans don't actually use street addresses. I am constantly amazed when I find a new place. I always leave early, giving myself a 30 minute cushion to walk around lost, meeting Koreans who are happy to get lost along with me. Still, I have had a few Koreans tell me that a particular place is "easy" to find. At one meeting with a group of folks, when I called to say I was lost the organizer said the place was easy to find. She called me about 20 minutes later, guessing that I was still trying to find the place. I was actually a few subway stops away from home. She was a bit surprised, letting me know they were waiting for me. I told her that it would be easy for them to find me. A colleague of mine mentioned that a supermarket nearby was easy to find. He later gave me directions that sounded something like, "Sure, just go down the st...

Scam? Yo Momma!

Note: This was originally posted shortly after Jesse Lee Peterson's book was published, reposted in 2005, and now because of a fight between black customers and a Korean merchant in Dallas, Texas. Scam? Yo Momma! During the summer of 2002 I was an observer to a dispute between the Asian owners of a Chinese takeout and some of their black customers in Washington, D.C. The month-long boycott began when a local activist accused a cook at a Chinese takeout of attempting to cook a piece of chicken he had allegedly dropped on the floor. Despite the best efforts of human rights activist Dick Gregory, popular talk-show host Joe Madison, and Rev. Walter Fauntroy, the protestors were unable to coax any media to report on the protest. On some days there were, by my unofficial count, as many as 100 people chanting songs and marching. But one key person was missing: Rev. Jesse Jackson. It was important to the foot soldiers at the boycott that someone from the media report on...

How long until they get arrested? Not long enough!!!

As I recently noted, some executives were arrested for putting industrial ethanol in food they sold. I noted: "Of course, it seems that NO ONE checks on the stuff sold on the streets of Seoul..." I haven't been this wrong since 1982! What will happen to these folks? The Korea Times reports: 24 Percent of Ice Cream Contaminated With Germs About a quarter of ice cream and ice at restaurants and drink shops in Seoul is contaminated with high levels of bacteria that can cause food poisoning, according to Seoul City, Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) inspected 74 ice cream shops, fast food franchises, coffee houses and bakeries. Among the shops selling ice cream and ice, 18 shops sold products that contained more than the permitted levels of bacteria such as colon bacillus and staphylococcus aureus that can cause food poisoning. I love 팥빙수 (patbingsu) so I would support the death penalty for anyone selling contaminated stuff in it. The city government also inspec...

Park Jin welcoming remarks to FSI (and Casey Lartigue)

National Assembly member Park Jin makes the welcoming remarks at FSI's conference featuring North Korean diplomats. Park Jin | Greeting message to FSI and Casey Lartigue mention - YouTube

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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