2014-09-21 Mulmangcho 2nd anniversary celebration

Wow, what a wonderful time! The Mulmangcho School (for Adolescent North Korean Refugees) opened on September 28, 2012, I started volunteering two weeks later. Prof. Park Sun-young asked me to teach English to the children, but I declined. Instead, I suggested to her that I might be able to find some teachers who would ENJOY teaching the students. I wasn't sure I could find anyone, but I told her that I would do my best to find teachers.

Most weeks, we have between 5 to 8 volunteers show up to teach North Korean refugees kids.

They honored me on Sunday by giving me another "Certificate of Appreciation," having me as part of the cake cutting ceremony, singling me out on another occasion. I also had a chance to swing dance to entertain the kids, which seemed to have impressed the adults (the kids probably would have preferred real magic).^^

Swing dancing http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GA6YGVFcRlQ

Thanks to my substitute dance partner Ginny Min-Jin Song, a new volunteer who has already volunteered at the school, been the translator for a refugee interviewed for a documentary, and, Sunday morning, was willing to dance on stage even though this was her first time to try swing dance (I taught her then led her). She's also the person who has taken on the impossible mission of improving my Korean. Good luck to her.^^

Special thanks to other special volunteers-Cielo Yoon, Maynard Villamer, Grace Stables, Serena Ha. They have all added something special to the school. Cielo, for a while, was the liaison who helped us avoid chaos. Maynard was the super teacher/guitar teacher who brings an incredible amount of energy to the school. Grace Stables (Sarah) shares her horse farm so the kids can go horseback riding once a month. Serena joined when she heard me talk about Mullmangcho at the Sunday Discussion group we are both members of...
FYI, I mentioned Sarah in one of my columns months ago.
http://freedomfactory.co.kr/bbs/bbsDetail.php…

Some of our other valuable volunteers: Rachel Stine, In-Jee Lee, Luna Yoon, Naomi Chambers,

Welcome to Greg Salvo, Peggy Inkorea, Julia, Kyung Ho, Kim Kyun-soon and Mike Ashley.

Many teachers and volunteers have come and gone during that time. Now year three starts. For me, that means chasing teachers who wait until the last minute to sign up, dealing with changes and cancellations, late arrivals calling me after the bus has left asking me where I am (My response: "On the bus."), occasionally some teachers who grumble about me asking them for a resume and application, oh, and emails every week from people interested or just curious.

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

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...

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...

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...

Mentoring while Black (Korea Times 2/16/2023)

Mentoring while Black by Casey Lartigue Jr. February 16, 2023 www.patreon.com/caseylartigue

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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