Month: May 2011

Caveat: 49) 나만을 생각하여 산과 바다를 더럽히며 살아 온 어리석음을 참회하며 절합니다

Buddhism & Zen / The 108 / 한국말을 배움 (Failing to Learn Korean)

“I bow in repentance of all the stupidity which comes alive to dirty the mountains and the sea [by] thinking of only myself.”

This is #49 out of a series of 108 daily Buddhist affirmations that I am attempting to translate with my hands tied behind my back (well not really that, but I’m deliberately not seeking out translations on the internet, using only dictionary and grammar).

…
47. 세상의 물을 더럽히며 살아 온 어리석음을 참회하며 절합니다.
        “I bow in repentance of all the stupidity which comes alive to dirty the world’s water.”
48. 나만을 생각하여 하늘과 땅을 더럽히며 살아 온 어리석음을 참회하며 절합니다.
        “I bow in repentance of all the stupidity which comes alive to dirty heaven and earth [by] thinking of only myself.”
49. 나만을 생각하여 산과 바다를 더럽히며 살아 온 어리석음을 참회하며 절합니다.

I would read this forty-ninth affirmation as: “I bow in repentance of all the stupidity which comes alive to dirty the mountains and the sea [by] thinking of only myself.”

This is really a repeat of the last one, with the nouns-to-be-dirtied switched out.

Speaking of dirtied mountains and sea, today is the 21st anniversary of the day I signed the paperwork in which I joined the US Army.

CaveatDumpTruck Logo

Caveat: Walking Home in the Dark

Banalities & Journaling

A defining feature of working at hagwon on an afternoon/evenings schedule:  walking home in the dark.

So far, it's been pretty unstructured.  My new job mostly has involved me being a substitute teacher for my overworked and stressed out fellow teachers.  That's OK.  It gives me a chance to get to know the students a little bit, and get a feel for how things work.  But there are all these snippets of familiarity, of course – unlike any "new" job I've ever had, before.  I know my boss, he's a friend.  I know all the other people who work there, from my many visits over the years.  And even some of the students know me – some were my students way back at LinguaForum, and there's even a refugee from LBridge's apocalyptic collapse. 

I was reflecting as I walked home tonight, that this business of coming back to a job in such a familiar context is, in itself, something new for me.  Normally, once I abandon a job and "move on," I never go back.  This business of circling back… well, I do it a lot in my travels, but almost never in my career.  Experiment. 

Caveat: Proverbs 24:17

Philosophy & Cultural Criticism / Politics, Economics & Current Affairs

"Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown."

All the celebrating is wrong.  Sorry.  It's wrong.  No death should be celebrated.  Not even that murdering man's.  Otherwise – in what way are we better than he?  Are we as God, to judge and dispatch another without trial, without qualm, without an ache in our heart?

"Conduct your triumph as a funeral." – Lao Tzu

Caveat: … as usual

Banalities & Journaling / Life in Korea / The Wonders of Work

No first day at a new teaching job in Korea is complete without at least one schedule change and/or at least one unplanned-for new class.  These types of things don't really bother me, actually.  But it's worth noting that all other differences aside, some things are always the same, this being Korea, and all.

Jus' sayin'.

Actually, I'm in stunningly high spirits.  We'll see how that pans out in the face of actual students.

Caveat: Gaack!

Banalities & Journaling

[broken link! FIXME] Ww_html_4ddecd4b I woke up feeling congested and flu-ey.  And then, looking at the local weather online, I saw why:  황사 [hwang-sa = yellow dust] – Seoul's spring scourge, fresh from the Gobi Desert.  See the cute, yellowish, disgusting cloud icon, at left?

The sky definitely has a yellowish cast to it.  I closed my window.

Today is my first day of actual teaching, at my new job.  I will have middle-schoolers – I haven't taught middle schoolers since I was at LinguaForum, in 2008.  I remember that my success with this age group was much less of a sure thing than with the elementary students – so I feel some anxiety, I suppose.

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