nothing new to report but here goes anyways
I was finally given a Korean name by one my students 이지혀ㅣ which is pronounced Ee Gee Hae. the little boy that gave it to me is so cute and one of my favories- chubby and round and freckled. Love!
I'm reading Korean a little better each day. I've never been gifted with languages but I'm doing my best. The lady I teach English to on Saturdays has agreed to give me some Hnagul lessons in exchange. I have a friend here that is a poet and she tells me that none of her favorite Korean poets have been translated into English. So that is my pie-in-the-sky goal. To be able to read and undertand enough to read a hiaku in Hangul. Just one and then I can die.
Finally, went hiking again last weekend. haven't gone in a looooooong time. We brought up some rolls of gim-bop and sat on the summit and picnicked. Very nice. There were frozen waterfalls and lovely vistas. After we went for shabu-shabu which is my new favorite Korean food. There's a big pot of broth in the center of the table bubbling away on a burner. They bring you a platter of thinly sliced beef (sugogi) and rice balls on sesame leaves. You dip the meat in boiling broth until its cooked and then wrap it in the leaf and eat. Then when you've finished your meat they bring out homemade udon noodles and vegetables and throw them in the broth. Very high on the yumminess scale. Perfect thing to eat at after a bone-chilling hike through the mountains.
Other than that, we are neck deep in our second round of intensive classes. Which means nothing but teaching for an entire month (12 hour days--wooohooo!). Just a week and half left and then I can get back to what I do best: sleeping till noon.
Let's see- just finished Death on the Installment Plan by Celine. Lots of ellipses and exclamation points and overwrought French cliches (but you can't fault him too much if he invented the cliche.). Not bad but I liked Journey to the End of the Night much much more. Has anyone read?
lastly, has anyone ever heard of the diving women of Jeju-do? They are similar to the Japanes oyster diving women but they live on Jeju island in the south. I rememebr there being a display about them at Epcot center when I was a little kid. They can dive to unbelievable depths to gather oysters and clams and seaweed. Most of the women are in their fifties and sixties because no young women want to follow in their footsteps and learn the trade. They are the last remnants of an ancient tradition and of the matrilinear tribe that used to inhabit Jeju-do. So cool! I'm trying to talk Ryan into going to Jeju-do for one of our vacations so i can see these women for myself. Wouldn't it be cool to sit down and talk with a couple of them?
I'm reading Korean a little better each day. I've never been gifted with languages but I'm doing my best. The lady I teach English to on Saturdays has agreed to give me some Hnagul lessons in exchange. I have a friend here that is a poet and she tells me that none of her favorite Korean poets have been translated into English. So that is my pie-in-the-sky goal. To be able to read and undertand enough to read a hiaku in Hangul. Just one and then I can die.
Finally, went hiking again last weekend. haven't gone in a looooooong time. We brought up some rolls of gim-bop and sat on the summit and picnicked. Very nice. There were frozen waterfalls and lovely vistas. After we went for shabu-shabu which is my new favorite Korean food. There's a big pot of broth in the center of the table bubbling away on a burner. They bring you a platter of thinly sliced beef (sugogi) and rice balls on sesame leaves. You dip the meat in boiling broth until its cooked and then wrap it in the leaf and eat. Then when you've finished your meat they bring out homemade udon noodles and vegetables and throw them in the broth. Very high on the yumminess scale. Perfect thing to eat at after a bone-chilling hike through the mountains.
Other than that, we are neck deep in our second round of intensive classes. Which means nothing but teaching for an entire month (12 hour days--wooohooo!). Just a week and half left and then I can get back to what I do best: sleeping till noon.
Let's see- just finished Death on the Installment Plan by Celine. Lots of ellipses and exclamation points and overwrought French cliches (but you can't fault him too much if he invented the cliche.). Not bad but I liked Journey to the End of the Night much much more. Has anyone read?
lastly, has anyone ever heard of the diving women of Jeju-do? They are similar to the Japanes oyster diving women but they live on Jeju island in the south. I rememebr there being a display about them at Epcot center when I was a little kid. They can dive to unbelievable depths to gather oysters and clams and seaweed. Most of the women are in their fifties and sixties because no young women want to follow in their footsteps and learn the trade. They are the last remnants of an ancient tradition and of the matrilinear tribe that used to inhabit Jeju-do. So cool! I'm trying to talk Ryan into going to Jeju-do for one of our vacations so i can see these women for myself. Wouldn't it be cool to sit down and talk with a couple of them?