Get Ready

The preparations are well underway.


Molotov Jukebox's cover of "Get Ready." If Natalia Tena, the lead accordion player, looks familiar, it's because she plays Tonks in the "Harry Potter" movies. 

I have spoken to the director at my uni here, and he has agreed to give me a full year's leave - from September 2012 to September 2013. My passport is in order (still have to apply for Mr. K's and the kids'), and I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my application package to send out to Korean universities for a September start. I plan on sending out at least one by the end of next week.

Our plan is that we work until the very end of August, when my term ends, and then hop on a plane to Seoul to start for the beginning of the September term.

So, why are we going to Korea anyway, you might wonder. Going as a family across the world when you have a good enough place here that is comfortable, a car, an acreage where you plan on building a home? A job that you find rewarding (and has good benefits), and a (rented in a neighborhood where you could likely never afford to buy) home near parks and a French immersion school?

There are a few different reasons, but the main one is that we want to show our kids that people can accomplish their dreams and that one of our dreams has always been to show our them some of the world. And we are in the position that such a feat is now possible. We want to create a lasting family legacy, a legend of our own. As the kids grow up, we'll always share the memories and the experiences of living together as a family in a foreign country.

Both Mr. K and I have a long family history of divorce. Both of us have grandparents and parents that have divorced, and multiple steprelations and "ex"-step-relations. So I guess you could say that our own family histories are ones of brokenness. We've also had to deal with some pretty awful in-law stuff from my dad and stepmother, to the point that our contact with them now is very limited. In addition, upon our return from Korea in 2007, after having lived there for a year and a half with J as a toddler, we really had some hard times as a family. I was not that well for a long time after Roo's birth, and had a difficult time accepting the reality of what was actually going on in my life and the lives of those around me. We had always wanted to go back to Korea, but somehow found ourselves stuck in this depressing rut of simple existence that was "good enough." So for us, being the people who dreamt of going back to Korea, and actually being able to do such a thing and go through with our dreams... those are the people we want to be for our children. And we want to create this crazy, strong, adventurous family identity, which is not the same as what we know from our own childhoods.

It's going to be an amazing experience.

Korean Unwed Mothers Families' Association

Wow, KUMFA; what a noteworthy organization.

I'd known of the social stigma faced by unwed Korean mothers before, but never any actual numbers. This group advocates for the rights of unwed pregnant women, mothers and their children in Korea.

There's also the Korean Unwed Mothers' Support Network, which also works with unwed Korean moms. They, as well as KUMFA, welcome volunteers.

Do you know Jesus was a Jewish?

It's been awhile! Now, while I tend to feel uncomfortable with brash, overgeneralized assumptions, which are inherently misleading and offensive, I have to say that I chuckled at the eerie parallels between Jews and Koreans.

The "Playdate"

Remember when you were a kid, and your mother would make you go outside and play? You might have gone out early and come back when it got dark, and you might have roamed around the neighborhood with a group of friends for an hour, or several hours perhaps. Maybe you didn't want to go at all, but she'd force you, and then you'd end up having fun. Or maybe you'd spontaneously decide to play at another friend's house, and it would be fine so long as your parents knew where they could find you.

You probably didn't have much structured playtime, but you spent a lot of time creatively engaged in play nonetheless.

That world no longer seems to exist.

Now, we live in the world of the "playdate", a structured, timetabled, organized, scheduled event that fits in with the pattern of how we conduct our busy lives. It's now a noun, a "thing", that used to be known as "playing", an action verb. And that is where I find the shift in the language so meaningful: it captures our change in perception of what used to be a rather spontaneous yet unsurprising consequence of being forced out of doors by your parents (an activity which is now called "free play" or "creative play" to distinguish it from the other types of play). Now, the playdate is viewed as more of an extracurricular activity, in addition to scheduled soccer, hockey, swimming (including swimming classes for "parents and tots" - more of an irate post on this to come), piano, dance, tutoring, martial arts, etc....

And that's without even mentioning the soaring screen time. Face it, video and computer games are pretty effin amazing. And the capabilities of the rest of our technology and how it connects us was the stuff of science fiction even one decade ago. As a result, kids spend more time in front of screens. Who has time to actively go outside and use imaginations when the world is at your fingertips? A friend's Facebook status (yes, I get the irony) summed it up eloquently as "when I was a kid, we had social networking: it was called going outside."

I have a message for parents, or for people thinking of becoming parents. Kids have the right to play. Micro-managing their playtime does not equal play. Let them go out and learn and discover for themselves, and let us work together to create safe communities where we feel comfortable allowing our kids to be enabled in this way.

Do You Know Korea?

Here is a great video via On Becoming a Good Korean (Feminist) Wife. I love it so much.

Music for your Monday

I am thrilled to have recently come across the sounds of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band, a group known for combining klezmer (Eastern European Jewish music) with dub, jazz and other contemporary sounds.

Here is "The Immigrant Song" from their album Balkan Fever (it ends at just over 3:00). Listen for the "oys" on the backbeats (2 and 4), which is characteristic of reggae and ska.

Grammar Lovers, March Forth Proudly: it's National Grammar Day!

Yes, that's right. Today is actually National Grammar Day!!! (Well, it is in the US, at least). It is imperative we raise a glass to gerunds and infinitives, congratulate the conditionals and send a mazel tov to all the main verbs who agree with their subjects. You can read more about National Grammar Day here.

So, in homage to National Grammar Day (which I believe should be International Grammar Day!), enjoy this 'classic' grammar lesson from Monty Python's Life of Brian. 

The Jasmine Road: Will this Revolution Spread to China?

The recent upheavals in the Arab world are changing history in an unprecedented way. Sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, the Jasmine Revolution has toppled the governments of Tunisia and Egypt (and, likely sooner than later, Libya). Protests have been occurring in Yemen for weeks now, as the citizens of these Arab states take to the streets to declare that their corrupt rulers no longer have the mandate of the people (if ever they did), and that the people will no longer stand for it. There have been movement and mobilization of people in Bahrain, and there is even a national day of protest on March 11th in Saudi Arabia, where people are seeking "a minimum wage of 10,000 riyals ($2,700), greater employment opportunities, [to] establish a watchdog to eliminate corruption and cancellation of 'unjustified taxes and fees.' Other requests included rebuilding the armed forces, reforming Saudi Arabia's powerful and conservative Sunni Muslim clerics, and "the abolition of all illegal restrictions on women" in the kingdom." And this is coming from a kingdom where unsanctioned public assembly is illegal.

News of the Arab revolutions have spread to China, where they have (unsurprisingly) made the Central Politburo even more watchful than usual, and where coverage of the protests are, of course, heavily censored by the Communist Party. An attempted demonstration last week, launched by "a mysterious call," has put the Chinese government on guard, and when the protesters tried to assemble in central Beijing, they found they were outnumbered by the police. There has, however, been another appeal for gatherings next week in Beijing and 22 other Chinese cities.

Could the revolution spread to China? Personally, I don't think it's as likely, seeing as how the some Chinese are now enjoying some of the highest standards of living they have ever seen, which in turn leaves them more content and secure. In addition, the Chinese population is aging, while the Arab states tend to have a much more youthful, yet disenfranchised demographic. However, the gap between rich and poor in China continues to grow rapidly, and with such a large population, the poor represent a significant amount of the country's people. Here, five experts weigh in with their opinions on the situation particular to China.

Yet, there are some questions that some Chinese people are starting to face with increasing confidence about their rights, especially in regards to basic needs such as housing, employment and food. In the article "Could the Revolution Spread to China?", the author describes a video that was floating around on Chinese webspace around Lunar New Year (the Year of the Rabbit) before all the links to the video were blocked. It describes:

... the opening scene, a small village of rabbits is living happily when a truck selling Three Tiger baby milk pulls up and drops off bottles for all the little bunnies.

But the milk is poisonous – it makes the baby rabbits' heads explode – and soon one mother rabbit is running down to complain at the cave of the tigers (the outgoing lunar year) that rule over them. When she gets inside, the red banner hanging on the cave wall is familiar to anyone who lives in China. “Build a harmonious forest,” it reads, in a clear reference to President Hu Jintao's oft-stated goal of establishing a “harmonious society.”

But the tigers have no sympathy for what the rabbits are going through, mocking and beating them. Soon, the tigers are evicting the rabbits from their homes in the village and demolishing houses to make way for new developments.

Eventually, the rabbits decide that they have had enough and turn on the tigers, tearing them to bloody shreds with newly grown fangs. As the music rises from a lullaby to a heavy-metal climax, the screen is filled with a warning: “The Year of the Rabbit has come. Even rabbits bite when they're pushed.”

Though the creator maintained that his video was simply an “adult fairy tale,” the parallels to real life in China were all too obvious. Predictably, all links to the video were blocked within hours of its original appearance.

Is this the year the Chinese people rise up for the first time since 1989, when pro-democracy demonstrations were crushed by tanks on Tiananmen Square? Could the wave of popular protests that began in Tunis and swept through Cairo eventually reach Beijing? Could fast-rising food costs and the leaping price of oil bring an end to the unspoken pact – economic growth in exchange for stability – between the ruling Communist Party and China's 1.3 billion citizens?

Whatever happens in the end, the process of toppling long-held structures and existing regimes is exciting and refreshing, and can be interpreted very optimistically for a lot of people. However, whether or not the Jasmine Revolution eventually picks up steam in China, and whether or not the bunnies grow teeth this year or maybe the next, it has already changed the face of the Middle East forever, and the process is not yet finished. When the dust settles and the new leaders emerge, who will they be, and how will they rule?

My New Favorite Blog!

I found this blog several weeks ago and have made a point of reading it regularly. The writing is skilled, but the social commentary (I mean good old-fashioned satire, found in the writing and not in the comments section, which, like a throwback to another era, is refreshingly non-existent) is what truly sets this blog apart. Well done, Dokdo Times!

Music for your Monday

A friend of mine introduced me to this music a few weeks ago. Even though it was being played out loud on her iPhone and didn't have stellar sound, the music itself was incredible. It is not often that I hear music this beautiful that so immediately captures my ear. So here is "The King of Spain" by the Swedish folk artist, The Tallest Man on Earth.

Sometimes, you might think back to legendary musicians, folk artists, singer-songwriters whose music changed the world and change the way we think about music, and we think, "I wonder what life was like back then when these legends were in the process of making this music. Were they recognized in their own time for their sheer genius?" This is what I wonder about this song you are about to hear.

It's Good for Well-Being!

Last week, I assigned my class a speaking presentation. Of course, they were horrified. ("You mean, I have to get up in front of my peers and talk about something for three to five minutes in English?! And, oh, God, you'll be listening to my enunciation? And I need to have correct grammar?? And organization?? And transitions???!!!") This is generally the point where their heads explode. But I don't mind. After all, I am ostensibly training them for life in an (Western) English-speaking university, where giving presentations is an important part of many classes, especially in business and commerce, the areas in which many of my students plan on majoring.

So, yes, presentations are an ugly, yet compulsory part of my class.

In the past, the quality of my students' presentations has been entirely underwhelming. In past semesters, I've assigned a general topic, such as "my favourite childhood memory" or "an object that is special to me", but these get really old really fast. So this term, I tried something new. I told them they could choose their topic, as long as it was persuasive; I called it the "persuasion presentation." Of course, when I first introduced it to them, they were lost. Then we started brainstorming where/when/how people try to convince others of something. We thought of advertisements, politicians, religion,  and education, among other things. The point was to show them that persuasion was everywhere. I then modeled my own persuasive presentation, which was "why you should go for a polar bear swim." I organized it with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. My main points were that you should go for a polar bear dip because it was good for your health, and because it was an integral part of Canadian culture. (BS, yes, but it didn't have to be necessarily true, as long as it was well-organized and fit the objectives).

Well, after my model presentation, one of my students, R, decided abruptly that he wanted to change his topic to be fictional, like mine. Now, this student doesn't make waves in class. He's one of my two Koreans, quiet, respectful, and motivated. He's also a good five years older than most of the other students, which gives him a maturity that some of the others lack. When I asked him what he wanted to do for a topic, he proudly answered, with a big grin, "why you should drink your own pee!!!" My response was along the lines of "double-yew tee eff," but he was persistent, even the next day, after I told him to go home and think about it. (All the other students were set on doing "real" topics, like why studying in a western university is better, why playing sports everyday is good, why renting a house is better than homestay, and even why you should eat tuna, etc...). But no, R wanted to talk about the merits of drinking your own pee. So, I relented.

On the day of the presentation, he set up his image (only two students took my advice and included an image with their presentations; the other student's image was of a can of tuna), and proceeded to launch into this amazingly well-organized, well-supported presentation, full of details, transitions, lecture language, etc... in short, everything I had told my students I expected of them. His image was hilarious, and I have included it here. His main points were as follows, and they correspond to his image accordingly: new research in the field of urine therapy, nutritional information, health benefits, and last, how it increases your lifespan. ("Do you know how old these people are? They're sixty years old!!! Drinking your pee can make you live to 120!"). It was especially funny because he appears so normal and straight-laced. Verdict: best student presentation ever!

(Later, when I told some of my co-workers about it, one said, "Hey, did you know that in Mongolia, drinking your mother's pee is believed to have amazing health benefits?")