Blood Type

Here's an article on dating by blood types in Japan. I would be struck by the oddity of such a thing if I hadn't encountered this belief before. You see, it's usually among the gamut of questions I receive when I start a new class. The first time I heard it, I was pretty confused about why someone would care about this information. But I soon found out that there's a belief (at least on the pop-medical level) that your blood type determines/heavily influences your personality. According to my assistant, it's very similar to believing in horoscopes. Each type has positives and negatives, although some people like certain types more. According to my blood type, I'm decisive, confident, and a trend setter. Is that accurate?

Student Quotables (Almost as good as "potent potables?")

As most of my classes are conversation based, the usual format for testing them is to have all the students come in for a face to face conversation. While this takes a fair amount of time, it's one of the only ways to truly assess their conversational ability. This can range from entertaining to painful/awkward (typically the basic classes). Here are some highlights from the English majors:

"Hip-hop is a symbol of freedom."

"Because you prefer short hair, I thought you would be good at rapping."

"His face makes the child weep...just my opinion!"

"Rock is the symbol of youth."

Me: "Are you friends with her?"
Student: "No, but I simply adore her."

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

On Saturday I went with a few friends to Jinhae to see the cherry blossoms. Even though there are blossoms everywhere, this city is especially noted for them (originally the Japanese occupation forces planted them at the port there). It was a really fun day and a unique experience.

Close up.

The streets are lined with trees.

Combination of the sign and the street art...yep, I'm taking a picture.

These guys looked bored, so we decided to take a picture with them.

We saw some Korean style gangstas. They were driving convertibles and listening to Michael Jackson, and visiting a cherry festival...yeah.

Behind the branches in the middle is the famous "Romance Bridge." Apparently it was in a Korean drama, so it's famous now. There were so many people around this area.

I tried one of the typical Korean girl poses. Does it make me look cuter?

This guy was awesome. That's a radio hanging from his neck.

We got to tour a full scale replica of a turtle ship made famous by Admiral Yi defeating the Japanese in the 1500's.

Artsy shot of the day?

McDonald's delivery. And you thought that drive-thru was lazy!

and the night was cool
and clear as glass
with the sneaking snake in the garden grass
deep cried out to deep
the disciples fast asleep

and the snake perked up
when he heard You ask
"if you're willing that
this cup might pass..."

"but does not the Father guide the Son?
not my will, but yours be done.
what else here to do?
what else me, but You?"

and the snake who'd held the world
a stick, a carrot and a string
was crushed beneath the foot
of your not wanting anything
-mewithoutYou

Monday Snippets

Teaching a student to say "dig in" and "bon appetite" at lunch. Wishing I can get over to some cliffs nearby sometime soon to explore. The patchwork of pastel colored buildings across the inlet from Yeongdo bridge. The scruffy faced ajushi blatantly cutting me in line for the subway. A middle aged couple looking at three crisp dollar bills and talking about them. Wondering why these Koreans had them in the first place. Kids not knowing how to say "wedding" so linking arms and humming the bridal processional song. A little boy standing on the table so he could be tall like me so as to receive more kimchi bokenbop. People standing instead of taking the risk of sitting next to the foreigner (me).

Jellyfish and Pig's Feet

What do these two things have in common you ask? Yes, dear reader, I consumed both of these foods last night. What's more is that I ate them together and it was delicious.

Andy and I took our assistants out to dinner before we went to play billiards (Korean style of course). They discovered we had never had this particular pork (most of the meat from the leg), so off we went to this restaurant. Most restaurants in Nampo-dong have both traditional seating on the floor and also chairs with higher tables for any foreigners who might come. Now, I've sat on the floor many times in various restaurants, but this guy wouldn't let us and kept pointing to the one open table. We quickly deduced that he didn't think we could eat on the floor. Our guess was affirmed by my assistant Min, which led to much laughter. Anyways, first they brought out many different sides and then a huge plate of sliced cucumbers and sliced pork. Under this was bits of jellyfish and the whole plate was covered in wasabi sauce. I couldn't tell if it was wasabi or the jellyfish poison that really cleared out my sinuses and made my throat tingle...regardless, it was good. They also brought out a couple pig's feet which we tried. Obviously not much meat on them, but they seemed to be slow cooked or smoked and so the meat was pretty tasty. Nothing like trying things for the first time.

English Names

For all English classes, students must pick an English name they want to be called. I remember having a French name in high school, which I think was more for fun than for practical reasons. Here in Korea, it's more practical. The combination of similar Korean names and having a foreigner try to memorize over 100 of them each semester shows the logic of having English names, at least in my mind. Most of the students I've had usually pick fairly common names (or Biblical names), but there are always the exceptions. This semester I have Obama, Soda, Apple, Snow, Cabin, Simpson, Musiq, Bravery, Kill, and Beyonce.

There are also the movie inspired ones such as Wolverine, Hulk, Bella, Neo, and Percy. That's not counting the occasional Serena or Jessica inspired by shows like Gossip Girl or Sex in the City which seem to be so popular with the Korean girls.

I've yet to tell a student that they can't be called something, but I've heard of some students trying to pull "Sweetie" or "I Love You" or the like. It's fun to see what the students pick and how the class reacts.