Caveat: forow iscrime

My student Jeonghyeon isn't the most intellectual. The elementary third grader has a reputation for not ever even having mastered English phonics, for example. But today she gave me a picture – of a kangaroo eating "flower ice cream" that shows clear evidence of having understood the principles of phonics – look how she's decided to spell out her title, at the top: "forow iscrime." This shows some awareness, at least, of how English phonics works – it's not just a random agglomeration of letters, which I've known some students at her level of ability (including her, in the past) to do with any vocabulary they haven't memorized.

Td 002

Td 003Today was "Teacher's Day." I'm not sure what this day is supposed to be for – unlike children during "Children's Day," teachers on Teacher's Day don't get the day off and no one takes them to the park. But I did get a few stray gifts from well-meaning students (or perhaps from the kids of well-meaning parents), including this pink box of Japanese sweets (well, I assume they're either Japanese or Japanese-style, since there's Japanese on the label).

[Daily log: walking, 3 km; running, 4 km]

 

Caveat: Diarios de Corea

I've been trying to read a book. It's called Diarios de Corea, by the Argentinian (or is he a Spaniard? I can't quite figure it out) journalist Bruno Galindo (I was unable to figure out if there's an English translation available – a cursory search online seems to suggest there isn't). I thought it would be interesting to get a non-Anglosphere perspective on Korea, but so far, I don't much like the book. I'm reading it in my usual non-linear fashion. I've read maybe 15% of it, skipping back and forth between the two parts – it's divided into a section on the North and a section on the South, the author having spent time on both sides.

Galindo1I suppose I can't criticize the part on the North – I know next to nothing about the North. But his sections on the South, there is a sort of vaguely gonzo myopia (is there such a thing as gonzo myopia? Of course – perhaps that's the point?) which can be summed up with a simple declaration, on my part: "Itaewon is not Korea, nor is it an accurate cross-section of Korea." For those who don't know, Itaewon is Seoul's historically "foreign" neighborhood. It's a zone of immigrants, of off-duty US soldiers, of hustlers and bars, of prostitutes and gray-market wholesalers, and of numerous excellent shops selling international goods. But Itaewon is hardly an accurate picture of Korea, or South Korea, or Seoul, or Korean culture, or anything at all. And Galindo's diary, at least what I've seen of it so far, seems to consist largely of encounters with various Itaewonites, supplemented by extractions from the yellowest of the Korean English-Language press (which is mostly yellow).

Imagine if a foreigner came to the U.S., and stayed at a hotel on Canal Street in New York City, and then went off to write a "perspective on the U.S." type book. Would it be an accurate picture of the U.S.? Would it even be an accurate picture of lower Manhattan?

I hate to leap to judgment. I'll keep reading the book. But his misapprehensions with respect to the South cause me to distrust what would otherwise be fascinating portrayals of life in the North. How accurate is it, really?

Caveat: Contradictory Advice

First…

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." – Calvin Coolidge.

…(And allegedly mentioned by Hunter S. Thompson as having appeared in a McDonalds, and found in various other places on the internet.)  I like the quote – it's very Korean, though. And for someone like me, who lacks the quality in question – persistence – it's a bit depressing.

Secondly, and in utter contradiction to the first…

Procrastinate-now-and-panic-later

This is more in line with my character. And if the first is Korean-sounding, the latter matches up quite well with Korean behavior. Perhaps this isn't coincidence?

Unrelatedly, a conversation with a Korean friend:

"You don't like to sing?" he said.

"You don't like to dance?" he continued.

"You don't like to drink? What do you like, then?"

"If I liked to drink," I answered, carefully, "the other things would follow."

"Yes. That is the key."

[Daily log: walking, 4 km; running, 2 km]

Caveat: Coneix l’ala la tristesa dels núvols de seda

LA CIUTAT DE LA TARDOR

    Et vull
    color de rosa en la tardor
    – Betül Tariman

Coneix l’ala la tristesa dels núvols de seda,
les fulles dels ocells que niuen a les moreres
de l’avinguda del dolor.
Sap de la tempesta i el devessall de les aigües
l’aiguavessant de l’espill bombejat per la febre de l’alba,
l’argent viu de tots els desvaris del termòmetre
dels amors vells.
La tristesa: “en la cara de la mort tot es veu”
Els meus ulls s’han rentat en els teus
La meua sang s’ha mudat al teu cor,
però mai no m’arribarà la llum a la boira.

– Pere Bessó, de "Aigües turques", 2010

Poesía en catalán. Encontrado aquí (con traducción al español). Al azar, encontré una red de sitios algo prolífica que exploraba durante varias horas. Valdrá la pena volver.

Con la excepción de esas horas perdidas, pasaba mi domingo fuera del internet. A pesar de la primavera, he sentido un ligero cansansio. Pues no hice nada.

[Daily log: walking, 1 km]

Caveat: 나혼자

What I'm listening to right now.

씨스타 [Sistar], "나혼자" [I'm Alone]. Kpop-in-Vegas – looks like.

가사:

SISTAR_html_m2110721fWhoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (I don't wanna cry)
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (Please dry my eyes)
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (I'm fallin' down)
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (Without you I'm fallin' down)

추억이 이리 많을까 넌 대체 뭐할까 아직 난 이래 혹시 돌아 올까 봐
나 절대 이런 애 아닌데 이런 적 없었는데 사랑 너무도 독해 아직도 못 깼나 봐

너무도 달콤한 니 말에 속아 이제와 혼자
I'm falling down I'm falling down
차라리 만나지 말걸 그랬어 이렇게 될 줄 몰랐어
이토록 쉽게 우린 끝인가요

왜 또 나 혼자 밥을 먹고 나 혼자 영화를 보고
나 혼자 노래하고 이렇게 나 울고 불고 넌 떠나고 없어 후회해도 소용없어
오늘도 나 혼자
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo

나 혼자 길을 걷고 나 혼자 TV를 보고
나 혼자 취해 보고 이렇게 매일 울고 불고
사랑 참 달콤했어 이별이란 그림자 안에서
오늘도 잠 못자
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo

Don't tell me it's over
날 안아줘 도대체 내게 넌 왜 이러는데
Oh Ma boy (Whoo Whoo Whoo)
오늘도 나 눈물로 지새워

너무도 달콤한 니 말에 속아 이제와 혼자
I'm falling down I'm falling down
차라리 만나지 말걸 그랬어 이렇게 될 줄 몰랐어
이토록 쉽게 우린 끝인가요

왜 또 나 혼자 밥을 먹고 나 혼자 영화를 보고
나 혼자 노래하고 이렇게 나 울고 불고 넌 떠나고 없어 후회해도 소용없어
오늘도 나 혼자
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo

나 혼자 길을 걷고 나 혼자 TV를 보고
나 혼자 취해 보고 이렇게 매일 울고 불고
사랑 참 달콤했어 이별이란 그림자 안에서
오늘도 잠 못자
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo

참 뻔하디 뻔한 너의 그런 빈번한 거짓말에 또 속았어
아주 값싼 니 미소에 홀린 날 갖고 너 재미있게 놀았어
이제와서 뭘 어쩌겠어 그리움에 갇혀 나 혼자서
니가 버린 내 맘 공허해 꼭 버려져 텅빈 거리 같아

Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (I don't wanna cry)
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (Please dry my eyes)
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (I'm fallin' down)
Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo (Without you I'm fallin' down)

Caveat: When in Doubt, Make Coleslaw

"When in doubt, do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." – Mark Twain (frequently quoted by Harry Truman).

After work this morning I went grocery shopping. I bought some celery, carrots and purple cabbage and ended up making a really delicious coleslaw for myself – I still have no idea why it is I sometimes get cravings for coleslaw. I tend to "invent" my own coleslaw recipe each time I get these cravings – I never follow a recipe of any kind. Starting with the cabbage, carrot and celery, I added some chopped apple, some "craisins" (dried cranberries), some chopped almonds I had lying around. I used yoghurt as the liquid element and some spices (nutmeg, mint-leaf, pepper), and it turned out very deliciously.

I still have no signed renewal contract. We're waiting on some paperwork, but we're going to end up cutting a fine line as far as my current visa's expiration date (2 more weeks left on it) – that always makes me nervous. But Korea is the land-of-the-last-minute-bureaucracy. Hopefully, all will work out fine. I've felt like my teaching is going well, lately, I've had some great classes with the middle-schoolers – it's odd how when I started at Karma, I felt like I was sacrificing a great deal by teaching the middle-schoolers as well as the elementary-age students, but over this last year I've grown to really enjoy the older kids as well – they're advanced enough (well, some of them) where conversations are actually possible, but young enough to still be at least mildly curious about the world around them.

[Daily log: walking, 4 km]

Caveat: Larva on the Bus

That's not really what it sounds like.

Larva_html_m78eb213fI was riding the bus yesterday morning to go meet one of my Korean tutors.

On the bus they have these TVs that display route information, advertising, weather, and occasional "features." The feature I saw was a silly cartoon about some larvae that live in a storm drain. When I got home I decided to try to find these larvae on the internet. I did.

I couldn't find the specific episode I saw, which involved a man dropping a ring into the storm drain and reaching down to retrieve it, and the subsequent epic battle between the disembodied hand and the larvae who live there. But I found the episode below, which involves a massive amount of prehensile snot.

라바 [raba = larva], "콧물" [kongmul = snot].

Caveat: 개똥도 약에 쓰려면 없다

개똥도         약에         쓰려면           없다
dog-shit-TOO medicine-AS use-intend-when there-isn't
Even when you want to use dogshit as medicine, there isn't any.

This is basically a proverb that means that no matter how minor your need might be, or how much you are willing to yield in the quality of what's needed, in the moment of need, the needed thing is missing. It's kind of like a version of Murphy's Law: "If it can go wrong, it will."

Caveat: Unverifiable

Unveri_html_m6d8cd84f"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it is hard to verify their authenticity." – Abraham Lincoln.

Haha. Huh.


What I'm listening to right now.

Seeed, "Wonderful Life." I came for the video. Stayed for the song.

[Daily log: walking, 3 km]

Caveat: mensaje de un pueblo libre y soberano

Uno de los conjuntos musicales mexicanos que más me gusta es Molotov – a pesar de su preocupación por temática de drogas y violencia, también muestran una clara inteligencia política y cultural. Surfeaba teh youtubes pa encontrar algunos buenos tracks. Éste siguiente me tiene una resonancia – tan lírica como políticamente, ofrece mucho. 

Lo que estoy escuchando ahora mismo.

Molotov05Molotov, "Gimme Tha Power."

Cuando era chico quería ser como superman
pero ahora ya quiero ser un diputado del PAN
o del PRI o del PRD
o cualquier cosa que tenga un poco de poder
quiero convertirme en músico político
y construirle un piso al periferico
quiero acabar con el tráfico
tengo que entrar en la historia de México
y luego miro al pecero que va medio pedo
jugando carreras con los pasajeros
pero el tiene que pasar primero
sin luces sin frenos junto al patrullero
aunque no sepa leer
no sepa hablar
el es el que te brinda la seguridad
asi lo tienes que respetar
porque el representa nuestra autoridad

(Coro)
So you think you goona hit me
but now We gonna hit you back

Te metera en el bolsillo una sustancia ilegal
y te va a consignar al poder judicial
y ahí seguro que te ira muy mal
porque te haran cocowash con agua mineral
porque en ti creiamos todos los mexicanos
te dimos trabajo pagado y honrado
te dimos un arma para cuidarnos
y el arma que usas la usas para robarnos
y aunque quieras quejarte con papa gobierno
les pides ayuda y te mandan al infierno
porque tendremos que tirar buen pedo
solo te van a dar atole con el dedo
y en la fila del departamento de quejas
toparas con un mar de secretarias pendejas
el siguiente en la fila y asi te la pelas
pero algunos al final nunca se traspapela

(Coro)

México solidario acabo a los tiranos
sin la necesidad de ensuciarnos las manos
no podemos pedir resultado inmediato
de un legado de 75 años
todos unidos pedimos un cambio
piedra sobre piedra y peldaño a peldaño
solo poder expresarnos es palaba de honor
de nuestro jefe de estado
te arrepentiras de todo lo que trabajas
se te ira la mitad de todo lo que tu ganas
manteniendo los puestos de copias piratas
que no pagan impuestos pero son más baratas
veo una fuerte campaña de tele y de radio
promoviendo la union entre los ciudadanos
mensaje de un pueblo libre y soberano
IGUAL QUE TU MOLOTOV TAMBIEN ES MEXICANO!!!!!

(Nos quieren pegar pegar)
So you think you gonna hit me
(y nos la van a pagar)
but now we gonna hit you back

Caveat: On Marriage

I suppose it's time for me to weigh in on the gay marriage debate. Actually, I've done so [broken link! FIXME] before, but the events in North Carolina and with respect to Obama's recent speech, I felt like bringing it up again, since it's a matter of some concern among many of my friends and acquaintances.

In this matter, my libertarian instincts predominate, and my view has remained essentially unchanged over a period of almost 30 years, from back when I first was confronted with the idea of "gay marriage." I knew people, even when I was in elementary school – friends of my parents – who were essentially committed gay couples, living together. And at that time, what struck me as ridiculous was not that the state or that society should have some say in banning or disallowing or failing to recognize these types of relationships. No… what struck me then – and still strikes me now – as utterly bizarre is that the state should play some role in defining ANYONE's relationship with another person.

The fact is that I don't believe in gay marriage. But not for the typical reason. You see… I don't believe in straight marriage, either. I believe that the state should stay out of EVERYONE's bedroom, equally.

If people want things like survivorship rights, or co-parenting rights, or adoption, or whatever… these are legal constructs or contracts like any other (and not unlike business partnerships, for example), and they should be drafted and viewed as such, and not automatically conferred on people who take the time to go through some ritual or another, be it in a church or in a temple or in front of a judge.

I confess that I, myself, was once married. But Michelle and I agreed at the time that it was something we were doing for the contractual and legal benefits, and we both strongly resented the idea of having to get a state imprimatur on our essentially private relationship.

Rather than advocating for gay marriage, I would rather advocate for the abolition of the state-based recognition of ANY marriage. That's not to say the state would ban marriage, but rather that it should become "blind" to whether two people are in a relationship or not, to the maximum extent legally practicable. When it comes to things like the legal guardianship of children, there are many laws in place that have nothing to do with marriage that ensure parental rights and obligations, for example – were this not the case, the extremely high levels of out-of-wedlock (and what an abhorent term that is!) births in our society wouldn't be functionally possible. If two people want to get married, that's a decision that lies between those two people and their families and their communities. If, on the other hand, they want to file jointly with the IRS, that's something they can work out with the IRS as a sort of legal partnership unconnected to what they do in bed or church, without recourse to a legal concept like "marriage."

The blogger IOZ, as is often the case, makes a brilliant case for such a view as I'm sympathetic to, by pointing out the inherent ridiculousness of public documents and figures (such as North Carolina's constitution or President Obama) staking out important positions on either side of the "gay marriage" issue. He does this quite cleverly, by creating an extreme, satirical example of the same type of thinking:

"I know marriage is supposed to be some, like, basic physical property of the human universe, paired protons and neutrons or quark spin or some shit or whatever, but really, uh, like, what if the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania banned slightly awkward social acquaintances in which you do have each other's cell numbers but you don't really feel comfortable calling even though you need to borrow his pick-up and you're pretty sure he'd be cool with it but maybe you'll just text him instead.  Then the 3rd Circuit overturns the law on twenty-first amendment grounds.  The President of the United States says that although he would probably have sent a private Facebook message, his views on the issue are evolving." – IOZ

Caveat: Raw Rats


Wow, sagas!

Solo’s deed, civic deed.
Eye dewed, a doom-mood.
A pop …
Sis sees redder rotator.
Radar eye sees racecar X.
Dad did rotor gig.
Level sees reviver!
Solo’s deified!
Solo’s reviver sees level …
Gig rotor did dad!
X, racecar, sees eye.
Radar rotator, redder, sees sis …
Pop a doom-mood!
A dewed eye.
Deed, civic deed.
Solo’s sagas: wow.

"The text is a palindrome by Nick Montfort that briefly retells 'Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope,' making Han Solo central. The palindrome is a revised version of the one Montfort wrote in 75 minutes for the First World Palindrome Championship, held in Brooklyn on March 16, 2012." – Posted at a site called Machine Libertine.

I love palindromes.

What I'm listening to right now.

Japanese Pop Stars, "Let go." The video is pretty cool. I had some tricolor penne with pesto and broccoli for dinner. I'm feeling tired – this new (old) exercise habit I'm trying to re-start is kind of … tiring.

[Daily log: walking, 4 km; running, 4 km]

Caveat: We just call it “Missouri.”

At The Atlantic webiste, I saw a post by Derek Thompson, that is a very, very interesting discussion of fiscal transfers vis-a-vis the EU, the Greek crisis, recalcitrant Germany, etc. It sums it all up very simply and clearly. The key idea, at the end:

When you hear commentators say, "the euro zone must begin to transition toward a fiscal union," what they are saying, in human-speak, is that the Europe needs to be more like the United States, with balanced budget laws for its individual members and seamless fiscal transfers from the rich countries to the poor, to protect the indigent, old, and sick, no matter where they reside.

The Germans call this sort of thing "a permanent bailout." We just call it "Missouri."

Caveat: Not So Difficult

We were talking in one of my classes about their mid-term test scores at the public school, in their various subjects – not just English. Then later, I was asking them about their "dreams" – as in their lifetime ambitions. The following conversation took place (with some minor omissions for coherence).

I asked one student, "What is your dream?"

"I need money. A lot of money," he answered. This is typical for 8th graders. And Koreans. And Korean 8th graders.

"That's not so easy," I reflected. "How will you get a lot of money?"

He shrugged.

"That's difficult," a second student offered.

The first student said, brightly, "I got very lowest score in 도덕." [도덕 (do-deok) is mandatory ethics class, in Korean public schools.] This seemed rather cynical, or else it was a clever joke.

He thought for a minute, and the discussion moved to other students' dreams. But then the first student interruped. "My dream. I want to be a father."

The room was quiet for a moment. The second student said, "Oh! That's not so difficult."

The girls in the back of the room giggled. I decided to change the subject.

I went jogging in the park by the lake tonight, after work, under a rising bloody orange gibbous moon. I love to be in the park at exactly 11 pm, when they shut off the outdoor lights. It's still plenty light enough to see – the city is all around. And they don't close the park – people are still around. But it's suddenly much, much darker. It's like a sudden chord change in some dramatic music. The feel of it changes.

What I'm listening to right now.

Gus Gus, "Starlovers." Very weird, kind of groovy song. Creepy video.

An utterly unrelated, random picture from my archive, just for whatever. Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, 2007.

200707_MexicoDF_142

[Daily log: walking, 5 km; running, 3 km]

Caveat: Frog, Hen, Cow, Snake

I recently ran across a website that agrees with my theories about the importance of "art" in language teaching. I mean, it's not a deeply academic site, but it's nice to see teachers that have the same instinct and approach that I do. Creativity is how to get kids (and even adults) to not just study but to actually learn to use foreign language. Anyway. In that vein, here's a really good drawing done by an otherwise low-ability and low-motivation fifth-grade student named Ahyeon, based on a story we read about Boe the Frog, who counts feet (as in: "that hen has 2 feet, one, two"; etc.).

Cow 001

Caveat: Redemption From Piracy @ 99¢ a pop

Haha. I did something, today, that I haven't done in about a year: I paid for music. I was listening to KCRW, and there was a track I liked. Normally, I respond to this by doing a youtube search for a posting of the track, and then I use a little conversion utility to grab an mp3 file of the audio part of the video – no questions asked. This is piracy, of course.

I have rationalized this behavior (or justified it, or something) with the excuse that, since having come to Korea, I have continuously run into problems which can be summed up by this paraphrase: "Sorry, [this music-selling website, e.g. amazon etc.] is not authorized to sell this material in your country." After a few encounters with this type of barrier, I gave up, and became a pirate. It was too easy, not to.

But today, I couldn't find this track in the youtubes, and so I clicked the "buy in amazon" link in the KCRW track-list; just for giggles, I went ahead and attempted the transaction, and lo and behold, it went through, despite my nefarious Asian IP address.

Damn! I might have to give up piracy. Amazon wants my money, and my poor citizenship in the capitalist machine just lost its backing logic. Ah, redemption.

51IlaEwHksL._SL500_AA280_What I'm listening to right now.

[So I couldn't find a youtube of it, right? You can get it for $0.99 on amazon.com]

The Baldwin Brothers, "That's Right."

[Daily log: walking, 4 km; running 4 km]

Caveat: All Your Bad Englishes Are Belong to Us

Actually, I LOVE bad Englishes. As a descriptive linguist, I don't feel any need to correct them, when they memify. Rather, I feel a strong temptation to encourage their proliferation – because it's like I want to encourage linguistic diversity and language change. Well, anyway, there was a posting at Language Log about the "All Your Base" meme, and I was thinking about it.

What I'm listening to right now.

All Your Base Are Belong To Us – Youtube fan-techno, or something. Right. 물론!

Relatedly, while surfing the decrepit and latent links of LanguageLogLand, I ran across the most romantic nerd-poem EVER:

roses are #FF0000
violets are #0000FF
all my base
are belong to you

Caveat: 거지도 부지런하면 더운 밥 얻어 먹는다

거지도       부지런하면          더운      밥   얻어  먹는다
beggar-TOO diligence-DOES-IF warm-ADJ rice gets eats
If a beggar is diligent he can get and eat warm rice too.

Even googletranslate believes this has something to do with early birds and worms, so that must be the equivalent proverb. I never liked that proverb – mostly because I don't feel like eating worms. But I understand the idea. I like the Korean version better – it's very bootstrappy.

[Daily log: day-of-rest]

Caveat: Un cinco de mayo sobre hielo

Yesterday during Children's Day, I went ice skating. Really. Among other things.

I met some friends who have a child – which seemed appropriate. We hung out at this street-fair style gathering at a place called 고양어울림누리  (roughly, you might call this Goyang Harmony World – Goyang is the name of my city, and Harmony World is a sort of multi-use municipal cultural center, with theaters, museums, sports centers, etc.).

PictureFirst we went ice skating – I last went ice skating in the late 1980's. I didn't do very well. Neither did many other people. I never fell down, though. At right, here is a picture of me taken by one of my friends from outside the skating rink with a cellphone. Not very good resolution, but I offer this as proof that I actually did this thing, for those who know me well will be sceptical.

After that, we had a kind picnic sitting in some shade among many other families and social groups gathered in open plaza areas. There were many fountains and many children playing in fountains, and except for the wind, it would have been a hot, summery day. The wind kept it pleasant.

We walked around the booths set up for the fair. There were lots of activities for kids.

Day 002

The son of my friends wanted to make an airplane. We stopped at that booth.

 

Day 001

I walked around while the boy was making his airplane.  I saw many booths full of crowds making various crafts. And I saw one booth that was almost completely empty – it was a traditional book-making activity. This made me sad. Making books is my number one favorite craft type activity.

Day 003

We walked to where a minor-league soccer game was going on. There were only a few people in the stands, but players were taking it very seriously. They argued with the refs.

Day 008

It was definitely springtime.

Day 006

The airplane was a good investment. The boy played with it for several hours, continuously. Despite the wind, which caused it to follow quite unexpected routes. I like this picture – the plane spun off around behind him, and he's spinning to try to watch it. The shadow of the plane on the ground looks a little bit like a dragonfly.

Day 014

Thus I spent my Cinco de Mayo, 2012 – better known locally as Children's Day.

Caveat: Become Someone Else

"I don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning." – Michel Foucault.

What I'm listening to right now.

João Gilberto, "Chega de Saudade." Lyrics:

Vai, minha tristeza
E diz a ela que sem ela não pode ser
Diz lhe numa prece que ela regresse
Porque eu não posso mais sofrer
Chega de saudade, a realidade
É que sem ela não há paz, não há beleza
É só tristeza, e a melancolia
Que não sai de mim, não sai de mim, não sai
Mas se ela voltar, se ela voltar
Que coisa linda, que coisa louca
Pois há menos peixinhos a nadar no mar
Do que os beijinhos que eu darei na sua boca
Dentro dos meus braços os abraços
Hão de ser milhões de abraços apertado assim
Colado assim, calado assim
Abraços e beijinhos e carinhos sem ter fim
Que é pra acabar com esse negócio
De viver longe de mim
Não quero mais esse negócio
De você viver assim
Vamos deixar desse negócio
De você viver sem mim

[Daily Log: walking, 4 km]

Caveat: Talent (?)

Today was a very long day. Karma had its talent show for elementary kids. I think it was at least moderately successful. I shot some video but I will have to edit through it see if any of it is of sufficient quality to post.

After work, the Karmites went out to eat. I tried to follow the conversation, but it wasn't always possible. I always recognize who is being talked about, and the general topics, but I still miss too much of the detail. So I just sat quietly and listened, mostly.

I'm feeling pretty good about work. The contract renewal is in progress – I'm staying another year. I don't think there will be any major complications. Anyway.

More later. Tomorrow is a holiday in Korea – it's called Children's Day. I'm going to get out of the house.

[Daily log: walking, 3 km]

Caveat: ¡Se mueren de amor los ramos!

Serenata de Belisa

Por las orillas del río
se está la noche mojando
en los pechos de Lolita
se mueren de amor los ramos.

¡Se mueren de amor los ramos!

La noche canta desnuda
sobre los puentes de marzo.
Belisa lava su cuerpo
con agua salobre y nardos.

¡Se mueren de amor los ramos!

La noche de anís y plata
relumbra por los tejados.
Playas de arroyos y espejos
anís de tus muslos blancos.

¡Se mueren de amor los ramos!

– Federico García Lorca

Caveat: Teacher! My favorite beer is Heineken

I had my first day back with the middle-schoolers after the end of the mid-term test-prep period. Many of them were absent, but a core group of my RN1T cohort of mostly seventh graders was present, and they were definitely entertaining. The highlights:

Jeongjae said his homeroom teacher was a pig. I said that didn't seem like a very nice thing to say. "Why is she a pig?" I asked.

"She gives horrible test!" He explained, which I could see leading to antipathy, but didn't really make her a pig. "And she gives me food all the time. Extra food. She keeps making me eat!" Jeongjae is very skinny. Maybe she's trying to take care of him.

"Hmm," I mused. "That sounds more like a pig-farmer, than a pig." This went right over the boy's head. But Eunjin, in the other corner of the room, broke out in a fit of giggles. She's very quiet, but her English comprehension is excellent. She got the joke.

Later, we were talking about wild animals. "Are there any wild animals in Ilsan?" I asked.

Jeongjae's hand shot up. "My homeroom teacher!" He announced, confidently.

ImagesThe best was when Donghun's hand shot up, unbidden. "Teacher!" He exclaimed, as if making a profound discovery. "My favorite beer is Heineken!" Out of the blue, and his accent was flawless. This is from a seventh grader. I think it's from a television commercial. I couldn't help but laugh at this.

[Daily log: walking, 5 km; running, 3 km]

Caveat: Niebla

    NIEBLA

La niebla ha ido adensándose
en forro azul-ceniciento
y cegando el mar nos hurta
la nidada de archipiélagos:
hembra tramposa y ladina
que marcha con pasos lerdos.

Difumina a Chiloé,
llega hasta Tierra del Fuego
y trueca en malabaristas
lomos de niño y de ciervo,
y mi bulto escamotea
sólo porque lloren ellos.

Ya las trampas le conozco
de Redondear el cerco
y hacer "la gallina ciega"
con el pastor o el arriero.
Ella ahora está jugándonos
el su sempiterno juego
y urde ballenas y pulpos
de un vago mar hechicero.
Nos da por bien ahogados,
perdidos y prisioneros,
aunque estarnos bajo de ella,
como Dios nos hizo: enteros.

Les cuchicheo a mis críos
que no es bulto, que es resuello,
que no es brazo de ahogarnos,
que es, no más, bostezo muerto,
que no peleamos con héroe
sino con blanco esperpento.
Y el huevo azul entreabrimos
a lancetadas de acentos
y se lo desbaratamos
con los dos calientes cuerpos.

En el acuario de niebla,
acribillado de engendros,
el remador de tres mares
se ha puesto a contar sucesos;
dice los lentos canales,
romances los estrechos
como quien devana mundos
con las manos y los gestos.

Ahora el viejo está contando
el largo relato añejo,
de las costas masticadas
por el mar de duros belfos
y está diciendo a la Antártida
que habemos y que no habemos…

La Antártida de su boca
sube como alción en vuelo,
el blanco animal divino
engolado y soñoliento.
Así con ella dormimos
fraternales y mansuetos,
la bestezuela del símbolo
y el indio calenturiento.

Nos acabamos en donde
se acaba igual que en los cuentos,
la Madraza que es la tierra
y acaba en santo silencio;
pero los tres alcanzamos
el apretado secreto,
el blancor no conocido,
el intocado Misterio.

– Gabriela Mistral, de su Poema de Chile

Caveat: Karaoke Class

ImagesWe've been doing a lot of karaoke (노래방 [noraebang] in Korean) in class at Karma. We're preparing for a talent show. I heard some girls doing a really pretty good rendition of this song, today. I don't really like the song. But it's stuck in my head, now.

What I'm listening to right now.

Bruno Mars, "Marry You." The video isn't the official Bruno Mars video – it's something someone did for a film class, I think.

[Daily log: walking, 4 km; running, 4 km]

Caveat: please refrain from making love excessively

I ran across the following sticker recently.

Refrain

The English translation in smaller letters is quite alarming. It says: "please refrain from making love excessively." This seems R-Rated, and not the sort of thing a kid should have on a backpack.

But the Korean isn't really that strongly worded. What it says is "애정행각금지." A brief internet search and/or dictionary quest reveals that "애정행각" basically just means what Americans call PDA – "Public Displays of Affection." So with the "금지" tacked on, a much better (and milder) translation would be "PDA Prohibitted." This is much more G-Rated, and could even be imagined to be posted in a park or school or church. I think the point of the sticker is a little bit ironic. But with the atrocious English translation, it goes from irony to downright weird pretty quickly.

Caveat: Recordings in Akkadian

AkkadianIt turns out that some professors of ancient, extinct languages such as Babylonian, Assyrian and Akkadian (which are all related to each other and to modern Arabic and Hebrew) have decided to make voice recordings of Mesopotamian literature (including Gilgamesh!). These recordings are hosted at the University of Cambridge, here. I'm weird: I like this. I listen to them… without understanding them.

Meanwhile, I've been regretting the fact that I kind of dropped the ball on my efforts to develop an exercise routine, last fall. So starting today, I'm going to post a "daily log" as a footnote to my evening blog-post. Such as it were. I walked around part of the lake at the park, this evening, after work.

[Daily log: walking, 7 km; running, 1 km]

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