Green grass
Friday morning, another student admitted to being afraid of me for some time because of my height. However, the turning point for her came a couple of weeks ago when she saw me wearing a Peanuts cartoon bandage on my elbow. So the images of Charlie Brown and Lucy did it for her.
Last week was quite busy, not so much because of work, but because I have spent more time with various activities with students and friends. This included dinner with a German gentleman I met last month while visiting Sarang Church. He's married to a Korean, and we had an interesting conversation about Korean culture from a Western perspective. Of course it's all getting old, but we still had a good time. JeaDo and I met in Chungmuro and after lunch at a Chinese restaurant, he took me to Namsan Park. Located on top of one of the many mountains upon which Seoul is built, it offers a spectacular view of the city, even on a hazy day. Sang Yoon took me to a violin/piano recital at a local performing arts center. I'm not generally a fan of classical music, but this was one of the most intense musical performances I'd ever seen.
I also ate lunch Tuesday with a couple of more students, which I always enjoy. Many students that invite me out to eat end up paying for me. That's always a cool thing.
Friday Won Jo, another student, took me to Yoido Park, which I had heard about but not yet visited. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and around lunch time, so there were many businesspeople walking around or relaxing. There were also many children, apparently on day trips. One child pointed at me and said: "Michael Jordan." It was very cute. Won Jo and I sat on a bench and had a long conversation about language learning and other things. This was one of the more enjoyable experiences of the week for me. He recently spent 10 months in the United States and it shows in his English skills although he, like many of my students, tends to be self-deprecating when it comes to his skill. He actually told me that he envied me because I was a native speaker. I have heard this remark from more than one student, and it always amazes me. I envy some of my students for being bilingual, which to some extent I am but not in the way I'd like to be. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, ha ha.
Won Jo agreed to make me some MP3s of him speaking in Korean that I can listen to for practice. I am looking forward to receiving these.
Yesterday I began taking a course at church called "Missions Perspectives." The accompanying textbook, "Worldwide Perspectives," has been a heavy read, but I'm enjoying it greatly and learning about my purpose here. I will write more about this later.
I have been spending a lot of time by the Han River, and I have returned to Seonyudo Park at least three times. The fall weather has held out for a little while, and I'm enjoying as much as I can. Today I'm headed that way again to read he "Perspectives" book and play some guitar.
Last week was quite busy, not so much because of work, but because I have spent more time with various activities with students and friends. This included dinner with a German gentleman I met last month while visiting Sarang Church. He's married to a Korean, and we had an interesting conversation about Korean culture from a Western perspective. Of course it's all getting old, but we still had a good time. JeaDo and I met in Chungmuro and after lunch at a Chinese restaurant, he took me to Namsan Park. Located on top of one of the many mountains upon which Seoul is built, it offers a spectacular view of the city, even on a hazy day. Sang Yoon took me to a violin/piano recital at a local performing arts center. I'm not generally a fan of classical music, but this was one of the most intense musical performances I'd ever seen.
I also ate lunch Tuesday with a couple of more students, which I always enjoy. Many students that invite me out to eat end up paying for me. That's always a cool thing.
Friday Won Jo, another student, took me to Yoido Park, which I had heard about but not yet visited. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and around lunch time, so there were many businesspeople walking around or relaxing. There were also many children, apparently on day trips. One child pointed at me and said: "Michael Jordan." It was very cute. Won Jo and I sat on a bench and had a long conversation about language learning and other things. This was one of the more enjoyable experiences of the week for me. He recently spent 10 months in the United States and it shows in his English skills although he, like many of my students, tends to be self-deprecating when it comes to his skill. He actually told me that he envied me because I was a native speaker. I have heard this remark from more than one student, and it always amazes me. I envy some of my students for being bilingual, which to some extent I am but not in the way I'd like to be. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, ha ha.
Won Jo agreed to make me some MP3s of him speaking in Korean that I can listen to for practice. I am looking forward to receiving these.
Yesterday I began taking a course at church called "Missions Perspectives." The accompanying textbook, "Worldwide Perspectives," has been a heavy read, but I'm enjoying it greatly and learning about my purpose here. I will write more about this later.
I have been spending a lot of time by the Han River, and I have returned to Seonyudo Park at least three times. The fall weather has held out for a little while, and I'm enjoying as much as I can. Today I'm headed that way again to read he "Perspectives" book and play some guitar.
posted by Marc Hogi at
1:45 PM
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