Blog Entry, It Is

I really enjoyed this picture. What a clever way to beg for money - I'd give him a five'r just for originality.

Anyhoo, not much to update, really. Had an interesting dinner with Karen the other night. We had been souvenir shopping in Seoul and decided to stop in for some dinner at this little place for Korean food (though I suppose in Korea, it's just food). Anyway, as we're enjoying our bibimbap, I look 2 tables over and there's this women chopping up a pigs head. I wasn't sure exactly what it was at first, but then I noticed the unmistakable nose. It was cooked, don't worry, otherwise it would be disgusting X 1000, but it still did a nice job of diminishing my appetite. You know how at home they sometimes advertise restaurants because the food is cooked "right in front of you"? Yeah, well, this was a little too close for my sanitary comfort.

One of my preschoolers make me crack up the other day. He had a total Yoda-like moment. It was almost lunchtime and he looked at me and said, "Hungry I am". I was picturing him afterwards with pointy ears, floating. It was hard not to answer: "Not ready, it is".

Yep, that's about it. I'll have some more pictures on the next entry - haha! It's like forcing you to look at my slides.

Somebody Confiscate My Camera!

First thing's first: "Kindergarten Cop" is the most hilarious movie ever. It was on T.V. the other night and I was laughing my ass off. I know it's because I'm a kindergarten teacher right now and that ups the hilarity a few notches but, damn, that movie deserves an oscar for its portrayal of kindergarten life. "I'm not a policeman, I'm a princess!" "Mr. Kimble, I have to go real bad and I can't get these off!". Oh man, Ah-nold was ripped off in the oscar I say!





First, a few more pics from Karen and my trip to a waterfall a few weeks ago.











Chilling on a dock - it's not even 9 am yet!














Live action shot!





















Karen and I


















Night out in Itaewon. Karen, me, Patrick, and Michelle (visiting Patrick from California)













Me, Will, DJ and Michelle @ Grand Ole Opry. Notice how I'm the only loser who give the thumbs up.


















Saluting the Confederate flag @ midnight followed by "America the Beautiful". I then followed by vomiting.












Karen, Patrick and I


















Walking in Itaewon: the sleaziest place in Seoul.















Pickin' up some late night street meat. At least I hope it's meat.

















This is from last weekend @ Noreabang. They know how to do Kareoke in Korea.














Jon and I singing "Hello" by Lionel Ritchie, deeply looking into eachother's eye. (Admit it, that song gets to you too). We actually won for best performance that night.















Me, Julia, Julie and Jean, feelin' the music.

















"Everybody Loves Kung-Fu Fighting", especially Lyndsey.






















All of us, pre-Noreabang

















Lyndsey, Julie and I



















Jean and Chris

















Just one more class pic. My dad took this last week when he came to visit my class. They're still talking about how his name is Moon.

Musings from Another Trip

The other night I met someone who had recently traveled through East Africa and we ended up having quite the heartfelt conversation. I told him about the work I did in Tanzania and he asked me 2 questions, both of which I have asked myself many times since returning. The first question was what did I find most inspiring about Africa? The answer was easy: the women. When I think about Africa, they are the first image that comes to mind. I picture the landscape, brown, barren, and raw, with a woman walking across it, a baby strapped to her back and an immense bushel of brushwood balancing on her head. Yet, if you looked at her face and in her eyes, it might as well be the world she was carrying. This woman is wearing a bright kenga wrapped around her body and on her head. To me, this juxtaposition of the woman’s bright kenga against the rough and dry background represents the strength and determination of the women of Africa. These women who wear such bright colours and yet carry such heavy burdens symbloize the eternal hope of Africa, which can shine through even the thickest dust.

The second question he asked me is how have I been dealing with it since I’ve returned? This is something that I’ve been struggling with. Now that I’ve been there, seen the struggle these people live with everyday, talked to them, heard their sad stories, what do I do with it? Do I acknowledge it, say “that sucks” and live my life? Or by witnessing such things am I now obligated to do everything that I can, use my life in purely altruistic ways? I guess the obvious answer is somewhere in the middle. Witness it, learn from it, and never forget it. Live your life in constant realization of how truly lucky you are that you were born in Canada, and that you have so many options available to you. And, of course, when the opportunity arises to help, even in the smallest of ways, recognize that you have that ability.

I had actually been asking myself these questions long before I ran into this guy (I think being away from home always allows you to think of things in a different light), I guess he just got me to really consider my answers.

On a similar note, if you haven’t read “Race Against Time” by Stephen Lewis, you really should. The man’s my hero: to have seen so much, to have such an understanding of the enormity of what is happening in Africa and how little is actually being done and yet to still keep trying and keep hope is something really inspiring. His book really relays the frustrations of the issue, how it can elicits such opposing emotions at the exact same time. Pick it up.