Back East, and then Back Far East

Last week, I took a jaunt back home to see some old faces and simply to take a breather from Asia. It was refreshing to return to ground zero of the fun bomb that was college. I got to see members of my super secret club (wink wink) who returned to New Haven for our annual reunion, and the aging old men in my fraternity for their own festivities before graduation. Seeing Dave was cool, too. He's still cooped up in that rat hole, Sigma Nu, with his entire room wired to the brim with electronic recording equipment, surely one wall plug away from a fiery blaze. He was kind enough to give me a room in Sigma Nu for the week; though two of the four nights that I attempted to stay there, a drunk person had beat me to the bed. I guess I should have expected this at a fraternity house, especially since I flew into town without having made living arrangements.

And finally, it was quite a pleasure to see Amanda after all our conversations from halfway around the world! Her service work in Guatemala is truly inspirational, and I hope her fundraising goes well because a lot of people down there depend on her (I've told some of you about it, so click here if you'd like to donate). She has become quite a convincing speaker, especially when it comes to giving me advice. Knowing that she holds a certain sway over me, she convinced me that I need to do some traveling after this year of teaching (with Guatemala as one of the destinations, of course!). I like the idea of being abroad, and my personality is becoming more adaptable I think, but I also miss America a little. So anyways, I returned to Seoul last weekend convinced that I would finish my job, pack my bags, and purchase a round the world plane ticket (~$2500). However, that energy has dissipated like a fart in the wind. I'm not so sure of that decision anymore. Amanda, if you're reading this, you need to fly over here to Seoul and tell me what you told me in New Haven, because whatever it was you said had me feeling good and thinking clearly for once. Now, I'm back to second-guessing the decision. I wouldn't say that I'm procrastinating, because that would imply that there is something important that I am putting off doing, which is not the case. I'm just being indecisive, and have been for awhile now. Well, there's always the easy way out: grad school.

There's not much to report on here in Seoul these days. That's why there's not more than 1 entry a month these days; sorry about that--I wish I lead a more adventurous life. Hell, my dad is up in Alaska right now hunting wolves and grizzly bears and fishing for salmon. Maybe I'll take a page out of his book and go hunt for one of those vampire deer I talked about last time.

You all definitely should take a look at this North Korean-authored blog that I found online (Juche Girl Blog). It is hilarious. Here is a random excerpt (and I stress *random* because everything is just like this!): "Amerikkka is the ugly country of warmongering capitalist US imperialism where criminal gangs of mimes roam the subway at will abusing cats and setting cars on fire. It is a living hell under the police state oppression where wickedness of the genocidal nazi international jewry and their constant lawless brawlings and jaywalking, leaving no room for joy and hope. A place where children suffer harshly under sex slavery of working in the secret Texas Halliburton salt mines hidden on the Bush ranch holding Klu Klux Klan meetings to promote hate and bigotry on a daily basis." It's like this person took every piece of news he or she knew about America and crammed it into one paragraph. I do think there is a good chance that some North Korean, sponsored by the government, actually wrote this stuff (there are links to other similar blogs just like it). Also, I think the reference to "criminal gangs of mimes roaming the subways" comes from the 1979 cult classic "The Warriors".

Oh, and I forgot to write about this funny little class comment awhile ago. To spice things up a bit during a TOEFL class, I asked my students to come up with responses to the question, "What two animals would you combine to form the most dangerous animal ever?" I got some good answers, like eagle-lion and rhino-shark. One student, however, responded: "I would combine human, who has dangerous cleverliness, with HIV virus, which is most deadly disease. Surely, a human with HIV would be dangerous." I burst out laughing as he was talking, which I'm sure did not help his public speaking confidence; but I couldn't help it! Sometimes these kids are just too precious.

Short and sweet, and not too neat. Maybe next time I'll have something to say. Until then, adieu.