waterbird12

I know...time is so liquid it's hard to keep track of anymore.

I do have a full schedule now! Although the "permanent" schedule changed twice on me so far >< But school is really wonderful right now. The first graders are adorable the second graders are so smart! We played MASH in class last week ^^ That was so fun.

I'm applying to stay another year (til summer 2015), but I won't find out the results til May...

My friend just told me it's Zico's voice on the "See the Light" track...every time I turn around, he gets more amazing. He's like, GD the second.

I like teen top, tvxq, some of exo and Shinee. I can't get into Infinite though, as much as my students love them. BTS...they did that "Luv in Skool" song, right? It's catchy, but I crack up so bad at the line about the "How did my father//ask out my mother" or whatever XD

Do you like San-E?

I can't exactly complain about disappointment cause I haven't tried a J-drama since summer (a recent one). All of the synopses sound the same and they're kinda dark...and I really like my rom coms. *pout*

Stuff happened! A lot, actually. Two of my friends moved to new homestays...my H-family has a lot of stuff going on (it's ok, just stressful on their part), I'm supposed to start volunteer tutoring tonight, I volunteered at a elementary sports day in another province, we have a big conference coming up, etc., etc.

What's new with you?

Hi :) Thanks for the add!

It's ok, I just realized how much more I need to study Korean, and my potential for future communication, I guess. Yeah, classes started last Monday :) I got to teach a full day last Thursday but today I don't have anything again...still waiting for my full schedule.

Oh, well, CN Blue and 2NE1 both had new albums come out while I was gone!
Well, I still like CN Blue a lot. I've started listening to some hiphop and rap for the first time ever, like Block B (and Zico's solo stuff!) and Bigbang; I absolutely adore IU, and I like Ailee too. But basically, I like specific songs more so than following any particular groups...what Korean music do you like again?

Wow, Chinese, awesome! More power to you :) I hate the stress part of school, but it also feels really good to study sometimes. I didn't have any classes or prep on Friday, so I spent the day studying Korean.

I finished Byeol Gudae (Man from the Stars) two weekends ago when I was sick, but I haven't been keeping up with too many dramas either. Except I did start the mini one, Mimi. It's pretty good...the aesthetic really reminds me of a Jdrama, which is maybe why I like it so much! None of the new Jdramas coming up looked very good to me...revenge and mystery, not very happy for spring T.T
But Mimi is only 4 eps, so I think I'll be able to sit through it ;)

Oh, me too! My mom actually visited for the last two weeks. We spent a week in Japan visiting friends, and then she came to Korea, met my host family, and we did a bit of traveling by ourselves :) It was really awesome to spend time with her, and also I was in heaven being able to speak Japanese and communicate. I'm finally starting to see progress with Korean, but my lack of skills is so frustrating.

Korea...is really smoggy. School starts again on Monday. I'm excited :) But I have no idea what my schedule will be like because they rearranged depts and faculty, and it's still not all finalized. But this weekend I'm going to prepare as much as I can, catch up on email and sleep and all the comebacks I missed, and finish Byeol Gudae.

How is school? Are you coming up to midterms already? Is the weather still frigid?

Strong Heart...so good! I like the talk shows much better than stuff like Infinite Challenge. Documentaries can be good too.

Thanks! Yours too

Haha, right now I'm not busy at all. Our break started on Christmas Eve. I was supposed to teach a 2 week winter interim session but that got canceled. With my program, we get 2 months off to study or travel, so study I am right now, but I'm looking forward to a vacation with my Mom next month. (And then it's back to school in March)

Doing nothing isn't bad though, as long as it doesn't last for too long. Yeah, new year! Anything you're particularly looking forward to?

No, no, snail mail is sort of a hobby ^^ Just message me and address and hang tight :) Although I think the holiday bottleneck should be over about now.

OMG don't even start that with me! jk :P But really, friend, you're only a bad friend if you totally quit replying ^^

My holidays were busy and happy and travelsome ^_^ My family surprised skyped me and sang me carols in five part harmony. I made vegetarian chili and Omma said it tasted way better than she was expecting xD I visited a long lost friend on winter break in Daegu and another friend visited Seoul from HK. And also my friends and loved ones spoiled me way too much, like way too much.

How were your holidays? Are you still on break? How is life?

Also, I went to a Hanwok and bought a bunch of postcards. Can I send you a postcard?

Hi, thanks for the add :)

Haha, the fish screencap is hilarious xD
I like it too when there are translator notes, and actually I usually end up providing commentary on the nuances of the dialogue when I watch J-drama with a friend who doesn't understand Japanese.

But personally, it's really annoying if they keep adding explanatory notes through the whole drama; like by episode 15, I think I understand what "oppa" means now. More important, I feel, are the explanations for plays on words and jokes, I really appreciate those.

Aw, I think Jeremy's hair was really fun and quirky, and that was part of the characterization. But the rest of these...no defense ^^

My friend meant like at the grocery store in the US, they'll provide those electric chairs for old people to shop, but no store in China would provide accommodations like that.

Yeah, homeless in Japan...it's a kind of weird situation. No one, including the govt and average citizens, wants to recognize their existence. It's easier to just ignore them. I don't really understand that part of Japanese thinking beyond knowing that it's part of the conformist society thing; like, if you're homeless, there is some major reason why you can't fit into the society like a normal person (and thus should be avoided), and once you've fallen that low it's like you can never recover from it.

Matsujun new drama?? Really?? Omg, I'm so behind on Jdrama! T.T I didn't even finish Summer Nude yet >< What is it about?

Oh no! Yeah, the people in the area that got hit are still really struggling. It was a rural, impoverished area to begin with, and the disaster really hurt their industry.

Mm, maybe some of both. Like, the US should learn from the disaster and take steps to shore up the nuclear power plants we have, which have not been updated and repaired properly since they were put in 50 years ago and are disasters waiting to happen.

But yes, horrible things happen and rather than blaming someone, it's better to concentrate on cleaning up and moving on.

Merry Christmas!!

It was good! I actually just got back from a trip. I worked up through the 24th, and then Christmas day I had a party with the h-fam and one friend. I made vegetarian chili, and Omma said it tasted much better than she expected, so I'll count that one as a success ^^

The 26th I spend in Daegu with my friend who attends college in MO but is home on winter break. I noraebanged with her and her sister, had shabu shabu, watched a super depressing movie, and caught up on life. The 27th I spend 10 hours in transit trying to get back home (KoRail is on strike, if you didn't know, so a lot of train and subway schedules are canceled and overcrowded), and today I went to the wedding of a co-teacher.

And now it's time for laundry and naps...
How did you spend the holidays? I hope they were/are awesome!!

Actually, I've seen the exact same thing here, only the man was on the street in Gangnam, but I've seen blind people begging on the trains. That never happens in Japan, right? Homeless people are all over Tokyo, but it's like they're invisible.

But I felt the same thing, like, it's horrible that a person has to do that to survive, drawing attention to their disability in such a demeaning way to jar a reaction out of people. It just points to how social services aren't acting as the safety net they're supposed to. That's true of the US, more so in Korea, and likely China, too? My Chinese friend told me there aren't really any accomodations for the disabled in China, so she never sees elderly or injured people out shopping, for example.

That's so sad that he was kicked off the train, though! If anybody has a right to public transportation, it's the person who can't walk I think.

Yeah, balance. Just like there's a difference between venting and gossiping, I think.

Oh my yes. People complain a lot. And talk in whiny voices. But they don't consider it to be whiny, it just sounds normal.

Hmm, well, I was in an area that wasn't near the earthquake. The only effects people in our area felt from the earthquake were electricity shortages. Yeah, gaman was applied to facing hardships with that situation, but another phrase that describes it is "shikatta ga nai". I assume you've heard that one? It just means like, what happens, happens. There's no use blaming anyone or getting angry, just start working hard to fix the problem (or shut up and accept the facts if you can't fix it).

Obviously, “gaman” can be taken too far, and there are times when you shouldn’t have to suffer in silence, but overall I respect that spirit of quiet endurance. And even in English we have the saying “patience is a virtue” and don’t exactly endorse whining about stuff. But in Korea…complaining about a mutual frustration is how you start a conversation. And part of that “wear your heart on your sleeve” mentality, people tend to voice complaints loudly and often. I get how venting can help, but if you’re really that cold, wont complaining about it for ten minutes make you feel that much colder? And it still catches me off guard to see teenagers and grown men whining like a two year old in public. I feel like back home, that kind of behavior is reserved for people under the age of five, or really old people, or else you end up coming off as annoying and immature.

Ironically (and this may just be a coincidence, I didn’t check the Chinese characters to see if they had the same origin), “gaman” in Korean means silence or stillness, so if you say “gaman!” to somebody, it’s kind of like “shut up!” instead of a stoic pledge.

Do you have any cool sayings or cultural concepts you learned in China this summer?

I love talking to you too! I do some of my best thinking talking to people about stuff like this, and it’s rare to find someone I can mesh with so easily :)
Hmm, I rarely have major epiphanies, unfortunately. One thing I sort of noticed since I’ve been in Korea, not really a surprise, is about gaman. If you don’t know that word, it means “patience” in Japanese, kind of. But it’s more like “grin and bear it” or “long suffering” than just patience. Like, with the English concept of patience, it kind of implies that what you’re hoping for will eventually come, you just have to wait. Gaman means more like you have to accept that what you want may not ever come, so you’re stuck on standby and you better not complain.
So, if a child is really tired or hungry and they say so, their parent might say “gaman shiteruyo” as a sort of scolding or to hush them. And if someone says, “oh, you must be having a hard time with _____!”, instead of letting them sympathize with you, you might say “gaman shimasu” to indicate your intention to persevere, and then you would both nod dolefully and never mention it again. You can also say it to someone in place of “keep your chin up”, with a slightly pessimistic feel.

Aw, thanks! I really hope I get to stay too, but even if I have to move, I can still take what I learned with me, fortunately ?

Intelligence, that makes a lot of sense. Eh heh! I’ve said “It’s Japan”, and now I’m saying “It’s Korea”, and probably our international students all say “It’s America”! xD But locals would say “It’s China” to explain things to you? Interesting.

Maybe you’re right, maybe the confidence thing has to do with the economy. That’s supposedly why Korean culture is so cutthroat and competitive, because for so long it had been the only way to survive. Now that things are better and have been for awhile, I wish some things could relax some more so the kids could have a life (or even the adults…the working hours are ridiculous and some of the highest in the OECD), but there’s a huge social stigma attached to not being the best.

OMG, I cried too! I think the only reason I didn’t totally lose and have to leave the room was because it was all in Korean. If I had understood the dialogue fully….TT.TT And my host sister told me it was a comedy when we started watching! But the fact that I felt so much just from the acting alone impressed me with the cast.

Yeah, I heard about their respective back stories, there’s a lot to respect there! That’s cool though, thanks for sharing ?

No, I didn’t know about the scandals. But I know some Japanese agencies are the same, crazy hours and limited profits. I’ve heard it compared to the early Hollywood days, before actors got unions and stuff. I also think it’s unfair all the restrictions they have, like no dating, and being able to force plastic surgery on someone. That’s just unthinkable in the States, right? But if that’s how much someone gives up for their career, you know it probably must really be their dream.