Hmm, I'm at home, eating home food, reading, sleeping, surfing on the Internet and chatting with my family! What is it that I should be doing right now?
Oh right, being more productive with my free time.
Ever since coming home for break I've been teetering on that slippery slope between chilling and being a little too lazy, and now with about five days left of my time here, perhaps I should start being a little more productive again.
This is hardly a New Year's resolution (hell, it's still 2011), but some things I do need to do this break, not in any particular order of significance, is...
1) Play more Skyward Sword
It's my first attempt at seriously playing a video game (which was one of my leisurely goals for a while), and I've left it alone for like four or five days now. Yes, I probably won't be able to finish it before break's over and I can continue playing in the summer, but I would still like to get past that goddamn spider in the dungeon and at least finish the first boss.
I even planned to do a blog post (that about two people will read) about it! I must save the post from being forever buried in the "saved" archives.
2) Greet friends for the New Year
I was simultaneously too lazy and too occupied (yes, this is possible) to greet everyone a Happy Holidays, and I feel horrible for skimping out on Fumiko's birthday save for a Facebook wall post when she still mails me presents for my birthday like clockwork. I haven't e-mailed Minju in a while either. To rectify this, I must wish my friends a Happy New Year.
3) GRE
Well, that's one thing I've actually been doing, thankfully. I still must remind myself to finish the book before I hop on the plane like I planned.
4) Finish The Solitaire Mystery, and maybe re-read Sophie's World while you're at it
I've been re-reading The Solitaire Mystery and I am loving it. It's actually been a while that I've forgotten much of the details of the book, so it's almost like reading a new book. Almost. It'd be fun re-reading Sophie's World too, now that I'm a college senior and would probably comprehend the book much better than when I was in high school.
I do enjoy Jostein Gaarder's books.
5) Make the blog more interesting
The question is, how?
I couldn't help but notice that my blog posts became less of "funny stuff that happened that I record" and more of "let me ramble without a goal or purpose for five whole pages"
I still don't know who checks my blogs and if they still do anymore (I mean I haven't updated, and I disabled the comments section. HMM WAIT A MINUTE-). But I do want to continue the blog and make interesting posts for myself and others.
I think the whole thing has to do with how I really don't go out much in general. There's only so much I can write about on stuff I think about, and nothing really happens when you wake up, wash, go to class, eat, do homework and sleep.
And kendo. But I feel too self-conscious to write about my physical and mental development and inner growth and all that. IT SOUNDS SO CHEESY AAAAAH. And other than that, the only thing I can do is just list what I've learned and who I sparred against ("Dear Diary, today Watanabe sensei taught us how to do such-and-such moves, and I did jigeiko against Mike and Brian. Antai doesn't really count because he just lets me hit his head over and over again until I am sufficiently speedy and in good form. Like always.").
Somehow I seem to lose the ability to write in an entertaining manner as I grow older. Or is it that I've become a stuffy and boring adult? Gasp!
Edit: I have decided to leave comments un-disabled! Or should I say activated? abled? Switched on? Turned on? (that doesn't sound right)
No one is obligated to comment, of course. But maybe, just MAYBE, if anyone writes something, it might be an incentive to update regularly. MAYBE.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Lost and Found
Did you ever have something you really liked when you were much, much younger,like a favorite toy or book or movie, and after a while, parted with it and never saw it again?
Did you then, after a good number of years, when you least expected it, reunited with the said object of your obsessions?
It's happened to me with a number of objects: I was able to buy the Sonic Collection CD (Sonic 3 and Knuckles on PC) after pining for it for a year, I was able to buy a good number of books that I have enjoyed many years back in the library as a child, and with the recent progression in technology, I had been able to re-watch some of my childhood TV shows on Youtube.
And this is such a cheesy buildup to what I was going to say, but this feeling applies to people too.
Recently I have found my childhood friend after 12 years. And not just any friend - she was, quoting my nine-year-old self, "the bestest friend in the whole world" in my elementary school years.
We were pretty much inseparable during those two and a half years - we were always up for adventure and had relatively similar interests. I saw her as spontaneous, fun, and cool.
She could come up with the most wacky and fun things to do, such as making paper ties and selling them at her parents' company barbecue party (we never got to), having a secret hideout under pine trees, and performing a magic show, the list goes on.
When it was decided that my family was moving to Beijing, I was hanging out with her and I remember looking at her face long and hard as she was mindlessly gazing out into the distance; I was trying to keep her face forever in my memory. I wondered, am I ever going to see her again? Will this be my last time seeing her? How can I live without my bestest friend in the world?
This being a time before Internet and e-mail (it wasn't that they didn't exist, just that only the computer-savvier families had them at that point, and my family didn't have Internet yet), I had no way to contact her after I left. And I missed her so. I missed her in Beijing. I missed her in Korea. I might even add that thinking about her was one of the things that kept me sane during the rougher times in my Korean school.
But you get the point.
And suddenly, out of nowhere, I find her on Facebook and we actually exchanged e-mails. Asides from a year in a Korean middle school, she had stayed in Shanghai till the end of high school. She told me more about her life, I told her more about mine. But most importantly, she missed me too.
I don't know, it's an amazing feeling. Over the years I had kind of given up on the fact that I'd ever hear from her again. As more time went on I thought it would just remain a sweet memory from an earlier part of my life. I didn't think we'd actually find each other again.
So yeah.
Did you then, after a good number of years, when you least expected it, reunited with the said object of your obsessions?
It's happened to me with a number of objects: I was able to buy the Sonic Collection CD (Sonic 3 and Knuckles on PC) after pining for it for a year, I was able to buy a good number of books that I have enjoyed many years back in the library as a child, and with the recent progression in technology, I had been able to re-watch some of my childhood TV shows on Youtube.
And this is such a cheesy buildup to what I was going to say, but this feeling applies to people too.
Recently I have found my childhood friend after 12 years. And not just any friend - she was, quoting my nine-year-old self, "the bestest friend in the whole world" in my elementary school years.
We were pretty much inseparable during those two and a half years - we were always up for adventure and had relatively similar interests. I saw her as spontaneous, fun, and cool.
She could come up with the most wacky and fun things to do, such as making paper ties and selling them at her parents' company barbecue party (we never got to), having a secret hideout under pine trees, and performing a magic show, the list goes on.
When it was decided that my family was moving to Beijing, I was hanging out with her and I remember looking at her face long and hard as she was mindlessly gazing out into the distance; I was trying to keep her face forever in my memory. I wondered, am I ever going to see her again? Will this be my last time seeing her? How can I live without my bestest friend in the world?
This being a time before Internet and e-mail (it wasn't that they didn't exist, just that only the computer-savvier families had them at that point, and my family didn't have Internet yet), I had no way to contact her after I left. And I missed her so. I missed her in Beijing. I missed her in Korea. I might even add that thinking about her was one of the things that kept me sane during the rougher times in my Korean school.
But you get the point.
And suddenly, out of nowhere, I find her on Facebook and we actually exchanged e-mails. Asides from a year in a Korean middle school, she had stayed in Shanghai till the end of high school. She told me more about her life, I told her more about mine. But most importantly, she missed me too.
I don't know, it's an amazing feeling. Over the years I had kind of given up on the fact that I'd ever hear from her again. As more time went on I thought it would just remain a sweet memory from an earlier part of my life. I didn't think we'd actually find each other again.
So yeah.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Wisconsin Kendo Tournament
I wanted to write a post about the Wisconsin Kendo tournament, but somehow, I didn't really feel up to writing one entire post about it, I'm bound to talk far too long. So a short blurb it is.
To sum it up, the tournament went well for me personally. I won two matches, and I passed the 1-kyu promotion exam (while still messing up on a lot of stuff. I'm guessing the judges were generous enough to chalk everything up as nervousness). While I was up against people of similar rank when I beat them, it was the first time that I felt that I could get into the arena and feel that I possibly had a chance against someone at all. I could feel a difference in fighting compared to the past tournaments.
I also really enjoyed my final match against the Detroit team.I really don't want to sound like bragging but I had gotten two points for our team, and also won my individual match. Funnily enough, I actually don't remember much of the match - everything was a blur of adrenaline, kiai, and the red and white flags of the judges going up when my opponent and I scored points. People commented that the match was "beastly" - and I felt it, too. I could safely say that this was the most that I had ever put into a match. When I fight, I say that I put my 100%, but wondered if I really did afterwards; for this match, I felt that I actually had put everything on the line.
After struggling with kendo for so long and feeling like crap every time a member advances in rank while I stay the same, I feel that finally, I have seen a little bump in my skill level. I had never been athletic, and I know that in sports, it always takes years for me to achieve what others do in months. But it feels great to finally feel a little more competent.
To sum it up, the tournament went well for me personally. I won two matches, and I passed the 1-kyu promotion exam (while still messing up on a lot of stuff. I'm guessing the judges were generous enough to chalk everything up as nervousness). While I was up against people of similar rank when I beat them, it was the first time that I felt that I could get into the arena and feel that I possibly had a chance against someone at all. I could feel a difference in fighting compared to the past tournaments.
I also really enjoyed my final match against the Detroit team.
After struggling with kendo for so long and feeling like crap every time a member advances in rank while I stay the same, I feel that finally, I have seen a little bump in my skill level. I had never been athletic, and I know that in sports, it always takes years for me to achieve what others do in months. But it feels great to finally feel a little more competent.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Aches and pains
I really wish I wrote more often, but 1) I can't find the time, or 2) I don't know what to write about. I'm not a particularly great storyteller, you see.
But what the hell, I decided I should write SOMETHING. The title of the blog has the word "babbles" in it, for crying out loud. I don't have to write flowery prose to keep my blog alive.
Maybe it's because it's senior year, or maybe it's because I'm suscpetible to extreme amounts of stress to the point that I make my hormones sabotage my body, but I've been going through more aches and pains than I ever have in my life. I think I've set a new personal record on this thing.
Symptoms have usually included:
1) Cold symptoms
I don't have a cold anymore since the "Back-to-school-everyone-is-sick" season is over, but I do run across mild symptoms frequently, such as blocked nasal cavity, runny eyes (and nose), or a parched throat that only a gallon of orange juice can quench.
2) Pain in the back of my head
AKA "뒷골 댕긴다" in Korean (how many of my blog readers know Korean? Anybody?)
It's the persistent pain in the area where your head ends and the neck begins. I'm not sure about other cultures, but it's a very common somatic symptom among Koreans under extreme stress (and I have also discovered, lack of sleep).
Sometimes old people temporarily faint from too much pain in the back of their heads when they receive shocking news or rage too much, according to word of mouth and K-dramas. Hopefully I don't keel over like that any time soon.
3) Digestive problems
Usually involves eating something wrong (I don't know how) and feeling nauseous for the rest of the day. It is most irritating when you feel like throwing up the entire day but you never do.
4) Sleep paralysis
The most annoying (and creepy) out of my aches and pains, this happens my sleep cycle is destroyed.
First, I feel a strange ringing vibration at the back of my skull, and then I feel as if I'm floating on air. I know that I'm not actually floating, but the sensation feels so very real, you almost swear that you are floating in reality.
Apparently, when you're in sleep paralysis, your mind is conscious but your brain is in REM mode, which creates this hyper-realistic feeling. And it's true; even though I know I'm dreaming, everything seems so real. I can see my room clearly as if I was physically awake. I can touch my pillow or blanket, for example, and I'd feel the smoothness of the fabric just like in reality.
This is why it really sucks when the hallucinations begin. Sometimes I hear things, sometimes I see things. Sometimes it's both. And most of the time, they're creepy situations, like I'm in the scene of a horror movie. Here are some "dreams" I've experienced during sleep paralysis:
-A long-haired ghost charged towards me screaming, I hid my head under the pillow, ghost started wailing and scratched the pillow with her long fingernails.
-Sound of somebody incessantly laughing
-A creepy little girl standing at the side of my bed saying, "Play with me. Play with me. Why won't you play with me? Play with me. PLAY WITH ME! PLAY WITH MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH*!"
-My grandmother just standing in front of me, incessantly laughing in an uncanny manner.
-Sound of screaming from next door, as if someone was being murdered.
-White lab rats the size of chihuahuas screeching and snarling at each other.
-Two girl ghosts playing next to me, when a third one appears and asks, "What are you doing?" The two girls reply, "We're watching this girl next to us sleep."
-Strangers breaking into our apartment.
-Sound of people talking, faster and faster, louder and louder.
Imagine if all this happening to you while you were in bed, and that it felt very, very real.
The worst part of it is that it's "sleep PARALYSIS", and therefore, when I try to escape this situation, I can't move my goddamn body. I can't even scream. I scream as hard as I can and no sound comes out save for a pathetic, hoarse whisper. It is the worst feeling.
The key to breaking this is to wiggle your fingers, and make an extra effort to sit up and wake up. What makes this extra sucky is that if you wake up and just go to bed straight afterwards, the paralysis begin again. You have to sit up for a good long while, or even stand up, until you calm down and go back to bed. It's even more difficult since you feel extremely sleepy after you wake up from a sleep paralysis.
So in summary, I'm not feeling very well this semester. Yaaaaay.
But what the hell, I decided I should write SOMETHING. The title of the blog has the word "babbles" in it, for crying out loud. I don't have to write flowery prose to keep my blog alive.
Maybe it's because it's senior year, or maybe it's because I'm suscpetible to extreme amounts of stress to the point that I make my hormones sabotage my body, but I've been going through more aches and pains than I ever have in my life. I think I've set a new personal record on this thing.
Symptoms have usually included:
1) Cold symptoms
I don't have a cold anymore since the "Back-to-school-everyone-is-sick" season is over, but I do run across mild symptoms frequently, such as blocked nasal cavity, runny eyes (and nose), or a parched throat that only a gallon of orange juice can quench.
2) Pain in the back of my head
AKA "뒷골 댕긴다" in Korean (how many of my blog readers know Korean? Anybody?)
It's the persistent pain in the area where your head ends and the neck begins. I'm not sure about other cultures, but it's a very common somatic symptom among Koreans under extreme stress (and I have also discovered, lack of sleep).
Sometimes old people temporarily faint from too much pain in the back of their heads when they receive shocking news or rage too much, according to word of mouth and K-dramas. Hopefully I don't keel over like that any time soon.
3) Digestive problems
Usually involves eating something wrong (I don't know how) and feeling nauseous for the rest of the day. It is most irritating when you feel like throwing up the entire day but you never do.
4) Sleep paralysis
The most annoying (and creepy) out of my aches and pains, this happens my sleep cycle is destroyed.
First, I feel a strange ringing vibration at the back of my skull, and then I feel as if I'm floating on air. I know that I'm not actually floating, but the sensation feels so very real, you almost swear that you are floating in reality.
Apparently, when you're in sleep paralysis, your mind is conscious but your brain is in REM mode, which creates this hyper-realistic feeling. And it's true; even though I know I'm dreaming, everything seems so real. I can see my room clearly as if I was physically awake. I can touch my pillow or blanket, for example, and I'd feel the smoothness of the fabric just like in reality.
This is why it really sucks when the hallucinations begin. Sometimes I hear things, sometimes I see things. Sometimes it's both. And most of the time, they're creepy situations, like I'm in the scene of a horror movie. Here are some "dreams" I've experienced during sleep paralysis:
-A long-haired ghost charged towards me screaming, I hid my head under the pillow, ghost started wailing and scratched the pillow with her long fingernails.
-Sound of somebody incessantly laughing
-A creepy little girl standing at the side of my bed saying, "Play with me. Play with me. Why won't you play with me? Play with me. PLAY WITH ME! PLAY WITH MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! *SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH*!"
-My grandmother just standing in front of me, incessantly laughing in an uncanny manner.
-Sound of screaming from next door, as if someone was being murdered.
-White lab rats the size of chihuahuas screeching and snarling at each other.
-Two girl ghosts playing next to me, when a third one appears and asks, "What are you doing?" The two girls reply, "We're watching this girl next to us sleep."
-Strangers breaking into our apartment.
-Sound of people talking, faster and faster, louder and louder.
Imagine if all this happening to you while you were in bed, and that it felt very, very real.
The worst part of it is that it's "sleep PARALYSIS", and therefore, when I try to escape this situation, I can't move my goddamn body. I can't even scream. I scream as hard as I can and no sound comes out save for a pathetic, hoarse whisper. It is the worst feeling.
The key to breaking this is to wiggle your fingers, and make an extra effort to sit up and wake up. What makes this extra sucky is that if you wake up and just go to bed straight afterwards, the paralysis begin again. You have to sit up for a good long while, or even stand up, until you calm down and go back to bed. It's even more difficult since you feel extremely sleepy after you wake up from a sleep paralysis.
So in summary, I'm not feeling very well this semester. Yaaaaay.
Monday, October 3, 2011
September Highlights (REVISED)
It's a bit late considering I'm writing this at the beginning of October, but that's how it will be.
I meant to write entries for September, but somehow I never found my chance, and before I knew it, the entire month had gone by. So here are mini-entries about what happened in September and subsequent feelings of it.
1. Senior year, and class adding/dropping.
You'd think that there would be no more hassles with classes when you've become a college senior. But the first few weeks were absolutely chaotic.
First, a Korean literature class I was to take had been cancelled. It's not even a section cancellation; the ENTIRE CLASS was gone, poof, and I was told to drop it from Wolverine Access. To fill up my credit hours, I needed to find a new class (which I did).
Secondly, I was waitlisted on a psychology class on children's literature. At the same time, I was enrolled for a developmental psych class. As luck would have it, the first day of the waitlisted class was full of whimsy and rainbow and unicorns, while the other class showed an ominous start, with an absentminded professor who did nothing but brag about her rich in-laws for thirty minutes before dismissing us. (I later found out that the professor had abysmal reviews on ratemyprofessors. com. Oh shit.) Luckily, I got into the chidren's lit class, so I was able to drop the other class. THANK YOU, GOD OF COLLEGE CLASSES, THANK YOU.
2. 3rd Hunt Lounge has relocated
Not the actual lounge, but the people who commonly inhabited it - Andrew, Michelle, Steffie, Jordan, and Ben - had moved into one house, which happens to be the second floor of the house that Robert, Feiqi and co are living in. So now people are kind of living like one big chaotic family in one house (except me). I must say, the upper floor has a much cleaner and nicer arrangements. I expect to visit and study there often.
3. Tiger and Bunny ends
Tiger and Bunny, the anime series that Isold my soul to have come to love very much, has ended. I wouldn't say the show is perfect - there were many elements that the show alluded to but never showed, and several characters have eventually been brushed off to the sideline at the expense of a plot that later dragged much longer than needed to be.
(The "manual" books that the studio publishes aren't making things any better. Nathan had a sad backstory? Ivan looks up to Keith a lot? Nathan and Antonio have a more mature relationship than Antonio does with Kotetsu? Pao-lin and her manager/guardian get along well? SHOW US THESE THINGS IN THE SHOW, DAMMIT, STOP TELLING US ALL THIS IN A BOOK AFTER THE SHOW IS OVER!)
But all in all, I still loved the heck out of the series and would still gladly reccomend it to others. The character development of the two main leads were very well written; it was like seeing two real people react to real situations. And more importantly, you UNDERSTOOD why they acted the way they did and felt for them throughout the series. Not to mention that the premise of corporate-sponsored superheroes is really interesting.
So it was great fun watching the series.
4. Avenue Q
(I forgot to add this in last night! How could I forget this one?)
Through the LSA Honors, Robert, Andrew and I procured tickets for Avenue Q at just $5 (about 22% off original ticket price) and watched the show at the Mendelsohn theater.
The show was amazing. The songs were catchy, the content was truly relevant to college students everywhere, and it was both funny and throught-provoking.
After the show, the little Honors group got to get behind the stage and talk with the actors and see how they controlled the puppet and how the magic was done. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but oh, the privilege of LSA Honors was so sweet that day.
I think I had the biggest, silliest grin after the play, and when one of the actors told me that "Your hedgehog shirt is awesome", I think I jumped around in girlish glee for a good fifteen minutes. It was definitely one of my happiest days in September.
Now, if I could properly find a job with MY English B.A....
I meant to write entries for September, but somehow I never found my chance, and before I knew it, the entire month had gone by. So here are mini-entries about what happened in September and subsequent feelings of it.
1. Senior year, and class adding/dropping.
You'd think that there would be no more hassles with classes when you've become a college senior. But the first few weeks were absolutely chaotic.
First, a Korean literature class I was to take had been cancelled. It's not even a section cancellation; the ENTIRE CLASS was gone, poof, and I was told to drop it from Wolverine Access. To fill up my credit hours, I needed to find a new class (which I did).
Secondly, I was waitlisted on a psychology class on children's literature. At the same time, I was enrolled for a developmental psych class. As luck would have it, the first day of the waitlisted class was full of whimsy and rainbow and unicorns, while the other class showed an ominous start, with an absentminded professor who did nothing but brag about her rich in-laws for thirty minutes before dismissing us. (I later found out that the professor had abysmal reviews on ratemyprofessors. com. Oh shit.) Luckily, I got into the chidren's lit class, so I was able to drop the other class. THANK YOU, GOD OF COLLEGE CLASSES, THANK YOU.
This is the only happy image I have.
2. 3rd Hunt Lounge has relocated
Not the actual lounge, but the people who commonly inhabited it - Andrew, Michelle, Steffie, Jordan, and Ben - had moved into one house, which happens to be the second floor of the house that Robert, Feiqi and co are living in. So now people are kind of living like one big chaotic family in one house (except me). I must say, the upper floor has a much cleaner and nicer arrangements. I expect to visit and study there often.
Will everyone get along, like this giraffe and penguin?
3. Tiger and Bunny ends
Tiger and Bunny, the anime series that I
(The "manual" books that the studio publishes aren't making things any better. Nathan had a sad backstory? Ivan looks up to Keith a lot? Nathan and Antonio have a more mature relationship than Antonio does with Kotetsu? Pao-lin and her manager/guardian get along well? SHOW US THESE THINGS IN THE SHOW, DAMMIT, STOP TELLING US ALL THIS IN A BOOK AFTER THE SHOW IS OVER!)
But all in all, I still loved the heck out of the series and would still gladly reccomend it to others. The character development of the two main leads were very well written; it was like seeing two real people react to real situations. And more importantly, you UNDERSTOOD why they acted the way they did and felt for them throughout the series. Not to mention that the premise of corporate-sponsored superheroes is really interesting.
So it was great fun watching the series.
Also, Kotetsu is gorgeous inspiring.
And Barnaby is a lovable prick.
4. Avenue Q
(I forgot to add this in last night! How could I forget this one?)
Through the LSA Honors, Robert, Andrew and I procured tickets for Avenue Q at just $5 (about 22% off original ticket price) and watched the show at the Mendelsohn theater.
The show was amazing. The songs were catchy, the content was truly relevant to college students everywhere, and it was both funny and throught-provoking.
After the show, the little Honors group got to get behind the stage and talk with the actors and see how they controlled the puppet and how the magic was done. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but oh, the privilege of LSA Honors was so sweet that day.
I think I had the biggest, silliest grin after the play, and when one of the actors told me that "Your hedgehog shirt is awesome", I think I jumped around in girlish glee for a good fifteen minutes. It was definitely one of my happiest days in September.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Korea: thoughts, musings, and et cetera.
Just some thoughts, from the trivial to the serious, about Korea in general that I gathered during my stay.
Food:
Korean bakeries seem the tastiest to me. The desserts are both extremely tasty and aesthetically pleasing. I also like the fact that most cakes still use whipped cream, as I happen to dislike icing or other overly sugary/buttery cream-type things.
Speaking of desserts, oh my god I love Asian cheesecake. The cake is deliciously moist, the cheese infused between the bread is distinct without being overpowering, and it is SO SOFT - it just melts into your mouth before you realize it.
Korea is not the place to look for actual plain bread, though. Since bread is not a staple but a "Western thing", you can commonly find it in chain bakeries, and it ends up being kind of sweet and soft as well.
Things like yogurt and chocolate seem more "light" - probably less fat and sugar and what have you. However, they still taste natural, not like the clearly artificial-tasting Hershey bars and weird mushy "yogurt".
떡볶이 (spicy rice cakes) in Korea are murderously spicy. Oh god my tounge I can't feel.
Style
Korean people do care a lot about style and personal appearance. I have mixed feelings about this - while I do appreciate that people care in general, sometimes it can be a bit too much.
Circle lenses are freaking creepy. They might look okay on television screen, but in real life it just makes the wearer look like a zombie doll. GAH.
Etude House is the devil.
Holt and translations:
The more I translated letters and actually translated for people, the more I realized it was not easy; there are so many nuances, connotations and implications contained in a single word, so precision becomes key. Even with my high standards and pickiness with translation in general, I have not been perfect in my own word choice at times, but it's something I definitely am trying to improve.
There are also people who say things that are potentially misleading due to cultural differences, or those who say things that are just plain rude in any culture. You realize how much power you hold over those people when you choose to either stay silent or translate those difficult words. And when you do, you realize how easily you can affect their feelings - I try to soften and subdue the meaning the words I've heard when I have to translate difficult things, but I am constantly worrying whether I'm doing it right.
All in all, it was a worthwhile experience. And even with everything I said above, it's still pretty easy to undermine just how much of an influence you had over people who are meeting their long lost family members and are going through emotional times, and when they thank you and seem genuinely happy that you helped them, you feel like you've done at least something right in this world, and you feel worthwhile, like someone who has some purpose of existing. It's a very satisfying feeling.
Lifestyle
Life as a student in Korea definitely seems hectic and without a lot of free time. During my stay, my middle school cousin, who was about to go to high school, was busy all the time with cram schools, studying, and trying to figure out which high school to enroll. I wished I could give my middle school cousin some free nap times, if I could.
There are lots of food easily available for purchase in Korea. This results in some people just buying all their food instead of cooking. I prefer homemade food, though, since it's healthier and tastier (although it takes more work). I totally want to make my own kimchi in the future.
Life in Korea seems hectic with little time for leisure in general, especially if your children are younger than college age. I guess this may be why people just buy all their food. I wished that sometimes, society could learn to just take a chill pill at times.
Identity (?)
Even after all this time, some people seemed to think that because my family lived so long overseas, we'd somehow become, to put it bluntly, whitewashed. I don't mean ways of thinking or worldview. I mean that some thought we'd actually live like Western people at all times, as in eat steak and salad with a fork and knife, speak English at home, and all that crazy stuff.
Despite the freakishly long time we've stayed outside of Korea, we're still expats, not immigrants. If we immigrated somewhere and intended to live as foreign citizens, I can see where they're coming from. But we're expats who always have the idea that some day, in some distant future, we may be moving back to Korea again. I don't know why some people think it's so amazing that a Korean person with Korean citizenship is eating Korean food. If they were amazed at us having a slightly more Western mode of thought or something, I'd understand. But being so amazed that we do NOT eat bread three times a day and know how to use chopsticks? That's... kind of silly.
But then again, that one third generation jaebeol (corporate millionaires like Samsung, LG, etc) I met literally did not know how to use chopsticks, and yes, actually ate Western food with a fork and knife at all times, so maybe I shouldn't blame people for thinking like that. If some Korean billionaires can pretend they're pretentiously Western, people may think I'd do that, too.
Food:
Korean bakeries seem the tastiest to me. The desserts are both extremely tasty and aesthetically pleasing. I also like the fact that most cakes still use whipped cream, as I happen to dislike icing or other overly sugary/buttery cream-type things.
Speaking of desserts, oh my god I love Asian cheesecake. The cake is deliciously moist, the cheese infused between the bread is distinct without being overpowering, and it is SO SOFT - it just melts into your mouth before you realize it.
Korea is not the place to look for actual plain bread, though. Since bread is not a staple but a "Western thing", you can commonly find it in chain bakeries, and it ends up being kind of sweet and soft as well.
Things like yogurt and chocolate seem more "light" - probably less fat and sugar and what have you. However, they still taste natural, not like the clearly artificial-tasting Hershey bars and weird mushy "yogurt".
떡볶이 (spicy rice cakes) in Korea are murderously spicy. Oh god my tounge I can't feel.
Style
Korean people do care a lot about style and personal appearance. I have mixed feelings about this - while I do appreciate that people care in general, sometimes it can be a bit too much.
Circle lenses are freaking creepy. They might look okay on television screen, but in real life it just makes the wearer look like a zombie doll. GAH.
Etude House is the devil.
The interior looks like this, seriously.
Theoretically, this should be everything I hate; everything is pink and sparkly and cute,the staff are dressed in pink frilly dresses and call you "princess". The entire existence of this brand should make me want to run away screaming.
But despite it all, I cannot take my eyes off its pink interior and its cute, shiny products. It's too... cute. Guilty pleasure? Yes, very much so. (Also, it's kind of cheap and has nice lip makeup selections.)
Holt and translations:
The more I translated letters and actually translated for people, the more I realized it was not easy; there are so many nuances, connotations and implications contained in a single word, so precision becomes key. Even with my high standards and pickiness with translation in general, I have not been perfect in my own word choice at times, but it's something I definitely am trying to improve.
There are also people who say things that are potentially misleading due to cultural differences, or those who say things that are just plain rude in any culture. You realize how much power you hold over those people when you choose to either stay silent or translate those difficult words. And when you do, you realize how easily you can affect their feelings - I try to soften and subdue the meaning the words I've heard when I have to translate difficult things, but I am constantly worrying whether I'm doing it right.
All in all, it was a worthwhile experience. And even with everything I said above, it's still pretty easy to undermine just how much of an influence you had over people who are meeting their long lost family members and are going through emotional times, and when they thank you and seem genuinely happy that you helped them, you feel like you've done at least something right in this world, and you feel worthwhile, like someone who has some purpose of existing. It's a very satisfying feeling.
Lifestyle
Life as a student in Korea definitely seems hectic and without a lot of free time. During my stay, my middle school cousin, who was about to go to high school, was busy all the time with cram schools, studying, and trying to figure out which high school to enroll. I wished I could give my middle school cousin some free nap times, if I could.
There are lots of food easily available for purchase in Korea. This results in some people just buying all their food instead of cooking. I prefer homemade food, though, since it's healthier and tastier (although it takes more work). I totally want to make my own kimchi in the future.
Life in Korea seems hectic with little time for leisure in general, especially if your children are younger than college age. I guess this may be why people just buy all their food. I wished that sometimes, society could learn to just take a chill pill at times.
Identity (?)
Even after all this time, some people seemed to think that because my family lived so long overseas, we'd somehow become, to put it bluntly, whitewashed. I don't mean ways of thinking or worldview. I mean that some thought we'd actually live like Western people at all times, as in eat steak and salad with a fork and knife, speak English at home, and all that crazy stuff.
Despite the freakishly long time we've stayed outside of Korea, we're still expats, not immigrants. If we immigrated somewhere and intended to live as foreign citizens, I can see where they're coming from. But we're expats who always have the idea that some day, in some distant future, we may be moving back to Korea again. I don't know why some people think it's so amazing that a Korean person with Korean citizenship is eating Korean food. If they were amazed at us having a slightly more Western mode of thought or something, I'd understand. But being so amazed that we do NOT eat bread three times a day and know how to use chopsticks? That's... kind of silly.
But then again, that one third generation jaebeol (corporate millionaires like Samsung, LG, etc) I met literally did not know how to use chopsticks, and yes, actually ate Western food with a fork and knife at all times, so maybe I shouldn't blame people for thinking like that. If some Korean billionaires can pretend they're pretentiously Western, people may think I'd do that, too.
***
Sometimes, I wonder who the hell reads my blog entries, especially when I write college-essay level entries like this. Are there enough people in the world who gives a damn whether I write a drabble or a Master's thesis on what I do and what I think? Writing way too much has always been a bad habit of mine.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Last days in Korea
I got cut off from the blogging a little earlier than I have hoped to; and before I knew it, here I am, back in Prague. It had been a crazy few days running around, meeting people, and doing stuff, so things like chilling or sleeping were usually on top of the list rather than blogging.
Day 20 (Monday):
Translated for a family from America meeting with the adoptee's birth mother. Since the family was from the States, they were by far the easiest to talk to. We went to Cheongyechon after lunch.
In the evening, my uncle (the vet) asked us to come over to his clinic, where he showed us his awards and talked about family honor and success and all the fun stuff, nothing new. And then we had dinner, where he talked more about family honor and success.
Day 21 (Tuesday):
Met with my cousin Hyeonji. She is so sweet and adorable and cute and argh her mere presence causes mental diabetes. Usually, girls talking and acting cute makes me want to punch them, but I strangely didn't mind her being cute. Perhaps it's because she's always talked like that and I know she's not trying to sound cute on purpose. Perhaps it's because she's my cousin.
We walked round Daehakno, ate, watched a mediocre play (that she was kinda duped into purchasing tickets, but eh, no hard feelings), took sticker photos, looked at cute things, and ran around tring to avoid the extreme rain. Yes, the signs of flood-chaos were just beginning.
Day 22 (Wednesday):
See FLOOD EDITION.
Day 23 (Thursday):
More rain. Cancelled the meeting with my friend Tae Yong because it was raining way too much. More or less stayed in the house doing nothing because you had to be crazy to go out in that weather.
Day 24 (Friday):
Suddenly, there was no rain. Because our place was not flooded (and was in high ground), the ground dried up almost instantly. We went to watch Captain America (which was good) and chilled again.
Day 25 (Saturday):
We FINALLY met up with Tae Yong after two cancellations. Gangnam, although flooded a few days ago, looked like nothing happened when the rain dried up, compared to Namtaeryeong, where landslide occured and people died and still looked like a mess even when we passed by it on the bus (everyone was looking out the window apprehensively). There were police cars everywhere, and soldiers were recruited to try to clear up the mess as much as possible. Gangnam only had some places where the ground was lightly caked with mud, as if someone dropped sand on the floor. Sigh, rich people sure have it well.
Tae Yong lost a lot of weight (damn, your arms are like twigs!), but otherwise he was the very same Tae Yong from the ISP days. Not extremely talkative, kind of silly, kind of brusque at times, but actually a nice guy at the core and a pretty good friend. We caught up on each other's lives during lunch and dessert (matcha shaved ice is dangerously delicious), and then went to the karaoke, where we sang to our hearts' content with our pretty crappy vocals. There needs to be more karaoke in my life. Singing (albeit crappily) is lots of fun. Too bad there are only a handful of people who I would feel brave enough to karaoke together.
In the evening, we headed over to our aunt's, which was not too far away, and we stayed, conversed a bit, and then had Samgyetang for dinner, which is a chicken stew with glutinous rice, jujubes, ginseng, chestnuts, gingko, and all that healthy herbal stuff stuffed inside a whole (small) chicken. The broth could have been a bit more flavorful, but all in all it was pretty good.
Day 26 (Sunday):
~Packing~
Day 27 (Monday):
Left for Prague. Despite being four hours early, all the errands we had to run made us barely catch the flight (which then left an hour late, grr). The plane gave us spicy squid rice for lunch and general Western beef/chicken/fish meals for dinner (which was still good), as well as snacks. I have a feeling that the plane that leaves FROM Korea gives you more stuff, since they're able to procure things from Korea when they leave.
We arrived in the evening, had pizza because everyone was too busy to move more than necessary, and lounged about a bit before falling asleep.
So that was the last week of my stay in Korea. It was a hell of a lot busier compared to last year since there were three of us instead of one of me, and Holt decided to use me a lot more often than compared to last year. Also, the atmosphere was either very rainy or sickeningly hot. But even with all that, I still kind of liked my stay.
Overall thoughts and other things coming up in the next entry.
Day 20 (Monday):
Translated for a family from America meeting with the adoptee's birth mother. Since the family was from the States, they were by far the easiest to talk to. We went to Cheongyechon after lunch.
(Stock photo)
In the evening, my uncle (the vet) asked us to come over to his clinic, where he showed us his awards and talked about family honor and success and all the fun stuff, nothing new. And then we had dinner, where he talked more about family honor and success.
Day 21 (Tuesday):
Met with my cousin Hyeonji. She is so sweet and adorable and cute and argh her mere presence causes mental diabetes. Usually, girls talking and acting cute makes me want to punch them, but I strangely didn't mind her being cute. Perhaps it's because she's always talked like that and I know she's not trying to sound cute on purpose. Perhaps it's because she's my cousin.
Where we had dinner.
We walked round Daehakno, ate, watched a mediocre play (that she was kinda duped into purchasing tickets, but eh, no hard feelings), took sticker photos, looked at cute things, and ran around tring to avoid the extreme rain. Yes, the signs of flood-chaos were just beginning.
Esaping the rain in a chocolate cafe - DESSERT!!!
Day 22 (Wednesday):
See FLOOD EDITION.
Day 23 (Thursday):
More rain. Cancelled the meeting with my friend Tae Yong because it was raining way too much. More or less stayed in the house doing nothing because you had to be crazy to go out in that weather.
Day 24 (Friday):
Suddenly, there was no rain. Because our place was not flooded (and was in high ground), the ground dried up almost instantly. We went to watch Captain America (which was good) and chilled again.
Day 25 (Saturday):
We FINALLY met up with Tae Yong after two cancellations. Gangnam, although flooded a few days ago, looked like nothing happened when the rain dried up, compared to Namtaeryeong, where landslide occured and people died and still looked like a mess even when we passed by it on the bus (everyone was looking out the window apprehensively). There were police cars everywhere, and soldiers were recruited to try to clear up the mess as much as possible. Gangnam only had some places where the ground was lightly caked with mud, as if someone dropped sand on the floor. Sigh, rich people sure have it well.
Tae Yong lost a lot of weight (damn, your arms are like twigs!), but otherwise he was the very same Tae Yong from the ISP days. Not extremely talkative, kind of silly, kind of brusque at times, but actually a nice guy at the core and a pretty good friend. We caught up on each other's lives during lunch and dessert (matcha shaved ice is dangerously delicious), and then went to the karaoke, where we sang to our hearts' content with our pretty crappy vocals. There needs to be more karaoke in my life. Singing (albeit crappily) is lots of fun. Too bad there are only a handful of people who I would feel brave enough to karaoke together.
In the evening, we headed over to our aunt's, which was not too far away, and we stayed, conversed a bit, and then had Samgyetang for dinner, which is a chicken stew with glutinous rice, jujubes, ginseng, chestnuts, gingko, and all that healthy herbal stuff stuffed inside a whole (small) chicken. The broth could have been a bit more flavorful, but all in all it was pretty good.
(Stock photo)
Day 26 (Sunday):
~Packing~
Day 27 (Monday):
Left for Prague. Despite being four hours early, all the errands we had to run made us barely catch the flight (which then left an hour late, grr). The plane gave us spicy squid rice for lunch and general Western beef/chicken/fish meals for dinner (which was still good), as well as snacks. I have a feeling that the plane that leaves FROM Korea gives you more stuff, since they're able to procure things from Korea when they leave.
We arrived in the evening, had pizza because everyone was too busy to move more than necessary, and lounged about a bit before falling asleep.
So that was the last week of my stay in Korea. It was a hell of a lot busier compared to last year since there were three of us instead of one of me, and Holt decided to use me a lot more often than compared to last year. Also, the atmosphere was either very rainy or sickeningly hot. But even with all that, I still kind of liked my stay.
Overall thoughts and other things coming up in the next entry.
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