Death's Door

Kids are brilliant. Really, nearly every day someone says something that older people should listen to. In one class we were studying superlatives and I was asking them about their classmates: Who's the tallest? Who's the smartest? Who's the richest? About the only student willing to admit to being the richest was Blake, who waved his hands wildly in the air and proclaimed to everyone, "I'm the richest! I'm very very very rich!" Charlie responded, "I am no rich but (pause as he thought) happy happy happy!" He said it very enthusiastically, as if he didn't care at all about money because he was so happy.

In one class they messed up one of the idioms we were studying. Instead of "I smell a rat," one boy said "I have a rat," while another said, "I smell a mouse." I emphasized that the expression doesn't have the same meaning if they use the other phrases.

In my first class of the day (2nd graders) Ricky persisted in leaving his seat and giggling insanely at every opportunity, so I put him in the corner. He continued to distract the other students there, so I sent him to the hall. I hesitantly grabbed a child-sized chair and had him hold it above his head--yes, he's young and small, but he would have continued the craziness in the hall had I not done something harsher than usual. With the older and bigger students I stick them outside and often forget about them for 10, 20, even 30 minutes . . . oops. But with Ricky I kept a careful watch out the window in the door to make sure he didn't get too fatigued, and a careful watch on the time, too. After about 3~4 minutes I brought him back into class. He was sweating and rubbed his arms like they were tired. He listened a little better for the rest of class. I told them that starting next week Matt would be their teacher, so they had lots of questions about for how long and why and such. Billy said that he wanted to change classes, too!

In Mona's talkative 5 o'clock class Laura was late. Her teacher had kept the entire class (about 40 students) after school because a few students were playing Go-Stop during the lunch break. Go-Stop is a card game that adults frequently play, with gambling usually involved. It's the Korean equivalent of Poker, although from what I've heard a lot more complicated. The students in Laura's class weren't gambling, only playing. However, parents and teachers don't want the kids to play it at all. Why not? Luby and her friends were playing it at one of their houses but when they heard the mother coming home they quickly hid the game and started doing something else. What's so wrong about teenagers playing a game that their parents play all the time? It's not like smoking or drinking or something that's harmful. They're not neglecting their studies. Sally said she doesn't understand it; neither do I.

In that class today I also got asked one of those "did the student really just ask that" questions. This one was worse than the others because I wasn't sure if I needed to take any action on it or not. Luby asked if I ever thought about what it would be like to die. Do you mean what it's like after death or the actual moment that I die? "The moment that you die." No, not really, I like to think about happy things. Why? Do you think about that? Some of her school classmates were discussing what it would be like to die, and some of them wanted to experience death. Luby said that her classmates knew how to bring themselves to death's door (an idiom we had studied). I told her that maybe she needed to get some new friends because that sounded pretty dangerous. The whole topic was really weird.

In the USA as a teacher I would probably be expected to make a huge deal out of it and contact I don't know who. But here, what is standard? If I told Mona she would dismiss it as nothing; it's not like I can contact the school and tell them that some of their students are dangerously stupid. No one's in immediate mortal danger. Or am I just trying to rationalize my inaction? Luby didn't sound particularly worried, just curious as to my opinion.

So many situations show the culture difference: a student drawing a picture of himself killing Tanya--no problem, it's just a joke. Students bringing toy guns to class or using small knives to sharpen pencils--normal. People asking each other, "Do you want to die?" isn't a real threat, just an expression. Me hitting a kid on the back of the head with a paperback book--fine, I'm the teacher with the authority to do that to bring the kid out of whatever dream land he might be in. One of the students today told me about a teacher who was fired for beating a kid so badly that he had to go to the hospital (middle school or high school, the kid didn't know many details). The punishment: the teacher was fired, that's it. It's a different country with a different culture. I can only hope that Luby's friends were hypothetically discussing things.

Mr. Kim didn't come in all day, so I couldn't give him the info about paying for the plane ticket. If he's not in early on Monday then I suppose I'll give the account number for the wire transfer to Joelle and ask her to pass it on to him. But I do really need to talk to him about end-of-contract things. Lately anytime he's been at school he's been busy on the phone or with a parent. Do I need to make an appointment?!

Beginners

I found out yesterday why they gave Matt my 2 PM class--next week I'm getting a new 2 PM class of BEGINNERS. We're talking about kids who barely know their ABCs and can't yet read. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I worked so long and so hard to get my two 2 PM classes to a decent level, and then management goes and gives them both to Matt! Although, I guess with his tolerance for younger kids, I can probably do a better job of teaching them. First and second graders take so much energy!

Grace was here for a long time after class yesterday talking with Mr. Kim. I found out that Tanya will teach her daughter one-on-one three days a week. The daughter will be going to university in Canada in 6 months and studying science and since Tanya was a science major for a year or two it makes sense for her to do it. Joelle gave Grace Tanya's cell phone number for the daughter to call her--I warned Tanya to be careful to not be taken advantage of.

Because Tanya will be tutoring the college student at 2 PM, that means that Sandra will get the two beginner classes when she comes back, and it sounds like most of my schedule. Sandra will NOT be happy about it--she set things up so that she could keep her same classes, kids, and schedule when she got back, despite being gone for 4 months. She really shouldn't be surprised because of the way the academy business is, but because of the way Mr. Kim gives her her own way about most things, she might have a problem with it. I suppose I'll send her an email this weekend or next to clue her in on some of the things going on: schedule changes, extra work checking diaries, Joelle in general, etc. so she can be ready for it. Something I admire about Sandra is her ability to say offensive things without being offensive about it. She can tell someone very bluntly: you are wrong, this is unacceptable, you must change it, and then the same day they'll be laughing together and the best of friends. I can't figure out how she does it!

The 10~15 year age difference between me and Joelle was easily apparent yesterday when she asked me to help her with an achievement certificate. I told her there was a special way to write the date on formal things but I couldn't quite remember how, so I would search the internet to find it. She said that she'd already done that and couldn't find anything. Well, in 5 minutes (the computer crashed and had to reboot) I had found lots of stuff. Joelle was secretly trying to write down how I did it: the search engine I went to and the search terms I used, as if that would help her in the future. I changed the appropriate lines and retyped it, then left her to adjust the size and such (since I'm not familiar with the hangul word processing program). Mona had to end up helping with that part (Mona's a year older than me). It ended up looking decent.

$200 Bill

I read about this a few days ago (a week?) and I thought what a stupid clerk to accept a $200 bill! But more than one clerk has done so—and given change!! Does this look real to you?


(click to enlarge)

However, one of my managers back when I worked retail took the opposite extreme and tried to refuse a $2 bill because she thought such a thing didn't exist. Come on—who would produce such a real looking bill that small? Granted we had just had a fake $20 bill that one of the employees accepted. Corporate said the employee should have known it was a fake so deducted it from that manager's paycheck. The $2 bill customer started to get upset at the manager's implication that it was fake; I quietly told the manager that it was okay, $2 bills do exist.

Hurricane Ivan

The projected path of Ivan keeps turning farther and farther north. Now it looks like perhaps another direct hit on Florida--this is insane! I liked a quote from an AP article. It discussed the visitor evacuations from the Keys (now everyone is being evacuated):

The question is where to send the visitors, said Scott Simmons, who owns Islamorada's 178-room Holiday Isle. "They don't know where to go: the east coast, the west coast or to Canada."

At this point the only truly safe place is Canada! It could turn at any time and go anywhere, and it's super strong.



The school board in my county has suggested canceling the big standardized tests for this year because the kids have missed 6 or 7 days of school already due to hurricanes. If Ivan hits on Monday/Tuesday as anticipated, it would be another 2~5 days missed, maybe more depending on the damage. The school board also pointed out the stress to the kids. I don't know about that point. If the kids lost their houses and everything they had, then that would be hard, but I remember hurricanes being really fun as a kid. We got to huddle in the hallway in the dark and use the lanterns and it was all quite exciting! I suppose being without electricity and water for days on end would be stressful, too.

I had been worrying about the economic impact to the state from all of the damage, lost jobs, lost fruit, etc., but I was somewhat relieved to read that construction, roofing, furniture, and other businesses will keep the state growing as people repair/replace damaged property. Hotels are staying busy with people fleeing their homes; Disney and other parks are still there to get back to business once the hurricanes decide to leave the state alone.

Delta or Northwest?

I've only flown Korean Air (once) or Northwest (multiple times) on the transpacific flights. Is Delta decent? Problems with delays or anything else? The entire trip with Delta is an hour shorter but the longest flight will be 3 hours longer. (Delta=Busan-Narita-Atlanta-Tampa; Northwest=Busan-Narita-Minneapolis-Tampa.) Delta is cheaper. Advice?


Update: I assume everyone's satisfied with Delta's service or maybe you get to fly really nice airlines like Singapore Air; anyway I'll go with Delta.

Talkative Middle School Students

And finally, yesterday's 5 PM class. I came into class and Luby wanted to talk about the terrorism in the Russian school. Apparently they've talked about it a lot in her middle school classroom, because she knew about the Chechnyens and how that all fit together. I asked them if they knew about the Basques in Spain and France. At first I got blank looks but once I explained it they figured out what it was in Korean. Wow at the sophisticated thought they're capable of, and to be able to express it in English--triple wow! I don’t think they’re worried about a similar situation happening to them, because Korea doesn’t have any fringe groups who want independence.

Lily then said that Mona had suggested that she invite me to her home for Chuseok, but she still had to ask her mother. Oh, that's nice, (and it would be great to see the traditional ceremony and everything that they do), but I'm going to the USA (I hope!!!!) on Chuseok Day. "Oh??" Shocked looks from everyone. "You're going for a visit? You're coming back to Korea, right?" Uh . . . no, at least not right away. Maybe someday. Edward asked, tongue-in-cheek, if I'd been fired. No, you crazy boy! I've been here for more than 2 years and now it's time for me to go home. They asked me who would be their new teacher, and when I answered probably Tanya (unless Joelle does any more crazy rearranging of the schedule), Lily groaned. "Tanya is dirty!" Why is she dirty? "I was in her 8 o'clock class and she was picking her nose! Then there was a cockroach on the wall and she tried to catch it with her hand!! She always puts her feet in the chair! She's dirty!" Hmmm . . . Luby shook her head from side to side and said, "My image is broke." What do you mean by that, Luby? "I saw Tanya far away and thought she was good, but now my image is broke. She is dirty." Perhaps a little (by Korean standards), but she is nice!

The next way the conversation went was to what my house in the USA is like. They wanted to know how many rooms it had, and if it was big, and everything about the swimming pool. They kept saying, "You're rich!" and I kept replying, Many people in Florida have a swimming pool! We talked some about the differences in weather, and Luby sighed, "I wish I could see your house." You should come and visit me! "REALLY?" Yeah, sure--come and see what the USA is like, practice English . . . "I want to see your house for one year!" Now wait a minute!! A year?! NO! I knew I needed to make that part VERY clear. Why do you want to come for a year? “To see your house in summer and winter." Oh, summer is just like Korea--VERY hot and sticky. Winter is nicer. One week, two weeks--that's great. That would be fun. But one year? I would be calling your mother and begging for her to come and get you because all of your talking would drive me crazy! My parents would be okay with a short-term visitor (I think!) but a year is too long. The boys didn't seem interested--good--it would be awkward to have a middle school boy. The girls wrote down my email, and Lily said she would ask her mother. The chances of it actually happening--small--but it would be great for the kids if they could.

We finally got around to opening the book with I think 10 minutes left of class--oops! Next time we'll have to study, study, study. But our conversation was good for them--expressing their opinions about current events, learning about the USA, and thinking about the possibility of international travel. Luby asked for a picture of me before I leave. A picture of me with our class? "Any picture, teacher!" OK . . . a little strange, but I suppose that could be arranged.

E.T. Pen's Death

Yesterday Beth (4th grade?) asked me, "Where is E.T. pen?" I explained that it had died, so she responded by crossing herself and pretending to pray. Oh come on! It is a little sad, though--I've been using that pen for quite a long time, but the ink is almost too light to see now and I don't think it can be refilled. The top doesn't fit properly anymore, either. The pen came to identify me and was yet another of the jokes that I shared with my students. They would point at E.T. on the pen, "Teacher! It's E.T.!" and I would hold it up to my face and respond, "No, it's me!" as I did E.T.'s 4-fingered wave and gave my best impression of his stupid grin. E.T.=English Teacher in my classroom! As some of the kids liked to point out, foreigner and alien mean the same thing, so it's pretty fitting that my pen have an alien on it, too.

A Poor Manager

Have I said what a poor manager Joelle is???

Yeah, I probably have at some point, huh?

In my short working history I've been pretty lucky to have had from at least decent and semi-competent managers all the way up to should-have-won-an-award managers. Joelle is at the bottom of the bottom of the bottom.

After Grace's sickeningly sweet "Good morning!" they asked me where the book was for the new student because it was ordered on Tuesday. Well, it's probably not here yet! That's only two days! After class Joelle was on the phone so I only said hello as I went into the teachers' room. A few minutes later when the adults had come out of class and asked her about the new book, she came into the teachers' room and very rudely asked me where the new books were because she had put them on my desk. Joelle, do you see any books on my desk? I certainly don't see any books on my desk. I haven't seen any new Impact books anywhere. Well, it turns out she meant the books that she put there two months ago. Oh, those books. I gave those to the students who were in my class then, and then the new student last week got the extra one. We don't usually keep extra books for a small class around the school. "You should have told me that you needed more books." Well, I didn't know I needed more books because no one told me if the newest student, the one who was observing my class on Tuesday, was going to continue in the class or not!! Now that I know that she'll be in the class, despite her being at a much lower level than the other students, I can tell you that she needs a book!!

There's a good probability that she told the mothers that it was all my fault for not telling her about needing a new book. She doesn't take responsibility for anything or communicate anything to anyone (especially not the foreign teachers). The schedule changed again yesterday. Kara's 2 PM class will be taught by Matt now, bringing him up to 30 hours and me down to 27 hours per week. Why? She gave no explanation whatsoever, only the order from Her Royal Highness. If she's trying to pull a "the 3 hours of adult class is part of your base hours"--in my LAST TWO WEEKS--she'd better forget about it!! Despite any money difficulties that might be going on, Mr. Kim isn't that devious or stingy. With teaching 27 hours per week now (plus the 3 adult hours), down from 29 (plus 3), I'll still be here the same amount of time as before because I don't have a 2 PM class on T or Th (days I teach the adults). There's no time to go home, so aside from a walk down to the river, I'll try to snag the good computer or get caught up on some reading. If they add another 8 PM class to my schedule, I'll be upset!

Blogger is Fixed

OK, so Blogger is finally working again. All day yesterday I couldn't post anything. During my 3 hour break between adults and afternoon classes, I'll write about yesterday.

Making a Difference

I am really going to miss my students!!!

I was filling up my water bottle when Kate and Maria waved at me from the computer room. (They're second graders in the class that Matt is now teaching.) Then Kate came out and gave me a huge hug and asked which class I was teaching now. I told her which class and as she continued to cling to me I asked if Matt was fun, and she broke away from me long enough to say, "No! He's scary!" as she made her body shake like she was scared. Then she wrapped her arms around me again and I asked what about Matt was scary--His beard? Is he really tall? "Yes, teacher!" She is really sweet and I'd much rather have their class than the beginner monsters that they gave me instead.

I didn't tell her that I'd be leaving Korea at the end of the month. I was having enough trouble not getting emotional about her missing me as her teacher; I didn't want the possibility of her crying. Two years here--I've made a difference. I can see it easily when a student can answer a difficult question or write a good story, but who knows what other ways I've taught them. I'm constantly encouraging the kids to pursue their dreams, especially the girls, as being a police officer or lawyer isn't exactly what most parents would encourage their daughters to be. I try to show them how big the world is and how while Americans might do some weird things like wear shoes in the house, we're basically the same as them. The kids never tire of rubbing the hair on my arms and proclaiming, "Your hair is white!" No it's not, it's blonde. And if you think I'm hairy, you should see my uncle!

I've strayed away from what I started to say, which was what I started out with: I will truly miss my students. I will wonder about what they're doing and how they're growing and I will worry about them surviving the stressful educational system. I know that I'll probably not hear from many/any of them because of their busy lives and the effort of writing in English, but I'll still wonder.

Stranded?

Normal day--the kids were pretty good, Joelle was obnoxious, the Korean teachers ignored the foreign teachers, Mr. Kim was nowhere to be found.

Recently the Impact Intro classes were doing a chapter on jobs and I asked the students what job they wanted to have one day. Brad (6th grade) answered that he wanted a job that he liked, and that he could have a house and a car and a family. Brilliant! It doesn't matter what job I have, as long as it's one that I like and that allows me to live comfortably. There's not a job in this world that I'm going to like 100% of the time; as long as I like it some/most of the time then it's a good job for me.

The latest in the trying to get a ticket home is not necessarily good news. There's something really disconcerting about being on a virtual island and not being able to get off of it!

Following is the correspondence I've had with the travel agent, one I've used many times before with good results. I don't think it's necessarily his fault, but he could respond a wee bit faster.

9/1:

Dear Mr. xxxx,

I need a one-way ticket from Pusan to Tampa, Florida, USA. I finish my job on 9/24. I realize because of the Chuseok holiday it might be difficult to leave the country then. I could leave anytime 9/26~10/2. Can you please tell me what's available then and what kind of prices.

Thank you.

9/3:

Dear Beth,

Thanks for your e-mail. I checked the possible flight itinerary and quote with Northwest Airlines as follows,

NW 6 28SEP BUSAN/NARITA 1015/1225
NW 20 28SEP NARITA/MINNEAPOLIS 1520/1200
NW1760 28SEP MINNEAPOLIS/TAMPA 1519/1925
FARE : \785,800 + TAX\58,800 = \844,600

Would you like to book these flights ? If so, please advise me your full name on the passport. Thank you, waiting for your reply.

xxxxx xxxxx

9/5:

Mr. xxxx,

The flights sound good. The full name on my passport is _____. I live in Ulsan so if you tell me your bank information I can have the money transferred to your account. Thanks.

Despite the flights leaving on Chuseok Day, it's good--doesn't leave too early, layovers aren't excessive but do allow enough time to go from gate to gate and enter the country in Minneapolis. I'm in a bit of a hurry to get the tickets paid for and in my hands because:
1. It's just 3 weeks away.
2. I don't know if Mr. Kim will have a problem with the price.

Then today (9/7):

Dear Beth,

I'm so sorry but I just got the info from Northwest Airlines yesterday that they raised the airfare suddenly due to the oil crisis. So, the new fare for your flights is,\935,800 + tax\58,800 = \994,600

They raised it \150,000 more....it's crazy.. this kind of thing make my business difficult.

For alternative, I checked American Airlines as follows,

AA7264 01OCT BUSAN/NARITA 1340/1540***OPERATED BY JAPAN AIRLINES
AA 60 01OCT NARITA/DALLAS 1825/1530 : WAITING
LIST
AA 832 01OCT DALLAS/TAMPA 1706/2024
FARE : \830,000 + TAX\64,600 = \894,600

If this is OK, I will try to get confirm the waitlisted flight. Please let me know.

Thank you again.

xxxxx xxxx

Do you see any problem with that? I see many problems! Besides the fact that I would be waiting around without a job or people to hang out with for 3 days, I would be on a waiting list from Narita to Dallas. Also, the long flight would be a couple of hours longer than the Narita to Minneapolis route. It would also give me only 90 minutes in Dallas to go through immigration, pick up my bags, go through customs, recheck the bags, and get to the right gate (not counting any extra security). In Minneapolis, an airport that I'm at least somewhat familiar with now, it usually takes at least 90 minutes, sometimes more, to do all that. I'd be arriving in Tampa on a Friday night instead of a Tuesday, which would mean it would be more annoying for Mom and Dad to pick me up and I don't know Dad's schedule but Mom would be working all weekend so I wouldn't be able to see her much, plus I'd be dead tired all weekend so wouldn't feel much like seeing my friends. 100,000 won ($80) difference--so not worth it, regardless of whether I was paying for it or not. So I replied,

Mr. xxxx,

Thanks for checking with the other airline, but I'd rather have the Northwest flight. It's worth the extra money to me to leave earlier and have a sure flight. So please book the Northwest flight.

Thanks.

I really want the ticket finalized before the weekend!!

Worms

The typhoon is stronger today. The 7~8 minute walk to the bus stop left the front of my pants soaked and my bag rather wet, too. The wind wasn't bad, but it was annoying to hold the umbrella just right to keep it from breaking. I was wearing thin clothes so within 90 minutes I was all dried out, although my shoes will be wet for the rest of the day.

There were 7 women this morning. The one student who "only knew her ABCs" knows a little more than that, but still not enough to continue in the class, I think. I asked her a few questions to figure out her level and she could answer only one or two words, nothing approaching a full sentence.

I downloaded the Yahoo toolbar onto both of the work computers and used the antispy feature to see what might be lurking. I didn't expect it to be able to find worms, but it found the Netsky worm on both computers (the same worm my home computer had). Delete, delete. The pop-up blocker is good, too. And when I'm signed into Yahoo I can easily access my favorites from the toolbar--nice!

Hurricane Frances

The path the two 2004 hurricanes took through Polk County, my home county, in Florida. I'm hoping there aren't any more!

Typhoon Songda

A drizzly day due to another typhoon coming. The maps look like Typhoon Songda will go to the east of Korea, but may come close enough to cause some severe weather. Probably a few days of rain. Little wind to speak of so far, though.

The adults were SO annoying today!! A new adult will "observe" my class tomorrow. The mother told Joelle that she only knows her ABCs, yet Joelle suggested she observe my class of intermediate level students who know far more than just the alphabet! And "observing" a class and "participating in" a class are very different, anyway. She's going to feel completely out of place with the talkative women. Whatever.

I walked Tanya down to my doctor today--her eye was red and swollen and nasty looking. The doctor, of course, didn't really know what it was. He gave her the usual 4 or 5 pills and a couple of different kinds of eye drops. She thinks it might just be allergies. I may have to visit the doctor once more before I go home--my ear felt weird last night so I put some swimmer's ear type stuff in it. Then today it's sore to the touch. Outer ear infection? I'll wait another day or two. I wonder if the pharmacist would give me drops without actually visiting the doctor for a prescription.

The 2 PM class was better than I had expected. They could answer basic questions like what's your name, how old are you, your favorite color, etc., and could perform basic tasks like stand up, sit down, raise your hands, open or close your book, be quiet (at least they knew what it meant, following it is an entirely different thing!), etc. Pronunciation was, for the most part, good, and about half of them could easily read. About five 1st-graders, five 2nd-graders, and one 4th-grader (what were they thinking putting him in that class?). The rest of the day was pretty average.

추석대 버스 있세요?

I slept later than normal today, which left me drowsy during church. After the service I was talking with Shelly when John came up and practically dragged me away because of where his car was parked. Okay, okay, I'm coming. We had lunch at Shinbok--the biggest bowl of seaweed soup I'd ever seen, cucumber kimchi, what looked like seasoned hot dog cut up into bite-sized pieces (good despite me not usually liking hot dogs), and of course a big blob of rice. The seaweed soup, though slimy, was much better than what I'd had before. Today it was warm and well-seasoned with pieces of something floating in it (good somethings!) while in the past I had cold soup with strictly seaweed and water. It provided me with enough iron to last at least a month or two!

Five boys came today, one toting a horn that sounded like a kazoo but looked like a homemade plastic french horn. One boy is doing much better at reading. He still gets confused creases across his forehead as he reads, but he's nearly as good as the other kids now.

Instead of driving me home like normal, I asked Octavia to drop me at the main road so I could take the bus to the Taehwa Rotary. I was thinking about walking the hour, but didn't want to tell her that because she might feel obligated to drive me there. Well, she offered to drive me there--sure, great. I figured I'd feel better if I checked for myself about whether the airport bus runs on Chuseok rather than having someone at work call and ask about it. Octavia said she'd wait for me to drive me home. I replied that I was going downtown next so could walk across the bridge from there. She said she could drive me there; I insisted that it wasn't necessary. She insisted right back that she had free time so would drive me. Great for me if you don't mind doing it!

The older lady at the ticket booth understood my Korean better than most people do, especially in the older generation who don't seem to tolerate mispronunciations. The older man just sat with his jaw resting on his chest and stared at the foreigner speaking Korean. I don't do particles and such, and I rarely make complete sentences. What's the big deal about verbs, anyway?! I make myself understood some of the time. I didn't use the more respectful form of speech that I should have with an older person; instead I used the everyday, semi-respectful form. Our conversation went like this (I can't spell or type well in Korean, by the way):

안녕하세요, 추석대 버스 있세요? Hello, is there a bus on Chuseok Day?

네, 있세요. Yes, there is (a bus).

시간 무엇을 입니까? What time is it (does the bus run)?

She got a 3X4 sheet of paper to give to me, noting that the first bus wasn't running. 5:30 AM? No problem there!

I asked, 추석대 시간 도가타? Chuseok Day also the same time?

네. Yes.

고맙습니다. Thank you (very much?)

네. Yes (of course, you're welcome, etc.)

She seemed pleased by the exchange, and I was happy that she understood without me having to repeat myself or resort to gestures.

Octavia then dropped me in downtown where I had 맥빙수 at McDonald's. Probably the last time I'll have that summer snack/dessert, so it was extra good. To get to Wal-mart I walked down the "fish road" which they've finally finished repaving. They've also installed huge iron arches over the street which I assume they'll turn into another covered walkway like on the other pedestrian street. I see what they're trying to do--make downtown a little more sophisticated looking or Seoul-like. However, how will that work with all the raw fish being sold? The smell is bad enough without closing the area in!

Ulsan is not by any stretch Seoul or a big or sophisticated city. Until the 1970's it was purely a farming and fishing village and now its claim as the industrial capital of Korea is due to Hyundai and the factories that followed. I don't see Ulsan ever being sophisticated like the new downtown development tries to make it. The smelly fish all over the place, the eels being skinned live, the red peppers and anchovies out drying in the sun, the 4-year-old girl trying to figure out how to pull up her pants after using the bathroom on a vacant lot (with no parent nearby), the toothless old women squatting by whatever they might be selling, etc.

The Wal-mart trip was short and easy and the bus had plenty of room on the way back. When I got home I took out the trash and recyclables and put away the groceries before settling in to do nothing particularly productive for the rest of the evening.

Today this site was loaded for the 1000th time (since May 20) by someone in Paducah, Kentucky. It's nothing compared to the big guys with more than that in one day (one hour?), but it's a milestone nonetheless.