2017-02-07 "TNKR gave me my name"

I used to say, "Today was a special day," but these days, it seems that every day is special. Super special North Korean refugee Eunhee Park had class with one of her tutors. Then we talked about TNKR's upcoming activities and ways that she can be involved.

When we mentioned our new fundraising site, she immediately set one up before she left the office. I have been twisting the arms of our volunteers to set up fundraisers, but Eunhee didn't hesitate at all once she heard about what we were trying.

She is a thoughtful lady, we can be talking about something really simple, then suddenly she will hit you upside the head with a profound thought.

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Eunhee studied with Kaina using the Korea Times. It is the first time she has been reading an English-language newspaper on a regular basis. She is one of the TNKR students who received a free subscription to the Korea Times after competing in TNKR's 4th English speech contest August 2016. (Update: Eunhee later won TNKR's 9th English speech contest and gave a TEDx Talk)

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What could make a great day even better? Cherie Yang also came to the office! She had class with Jennifer Bowman. It turns out that they celebrate the same birthday!

Update: Cherie won TNKR's 5th English speech contest and later gave a TEDx Talk.

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I know that some of the volunteers think it is strange that I want to take photos with them. Years ago, I read about a football player who always wanted to be photographed with his teammates. when I was a sports reporter, one of the basketball players I interviewed told me that he felt uncomfortable with profiles being done on him, that he wanted his teammates to be mentioned by name. I always try to remember to thank volunteers.

This is Jennifer Bowman, an active volunteer with us--tutor, coach, fundraiser and donor!

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Cherie calls me an angel. She doesn't just say this directly to me--she will say it with other people around to witness it.

I don't argue the point, because there are many other things that North Koreans still in North Korea might call me.

Update: It was a fantastic day. Who would have ever guessed that the two students studying with us that day would later become TEDx speakers and that both would win a TNKR English speech contest?

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2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

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복날

Tomorrow is 복날 ( bok nal ). It seems to mean that it is start of the dog days of summer. So we'll be eating 삼계탕 ( sam gye tang, which is chicken broth with ginseng) to celebrate the day before the rest of Korea does so. Update #1 : You must literally rip the chicken apart with chopsticks and a spoon. It helps to wear a bib so it won't get on your clothes. The food is cooked after you order it or call ahead with reservations . Update #2 : It is pronounced by me as bok nal , but when I say it Koreans around me don't understand until I pronounce it as " bok nallllllll ." This is a common problem with the little Korean that I can say. I'll say it, Koreans will say I speak Korean well, then ask each other in Korean, "What did he say?" Update #3 : James explains that I am probably pronouncing bok nal incorrectly. Instead, it is probably better to pronounce it "bong nahl ." I have the feeling I still won't be understood unless I say ...

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