A teardrop on Valentine's

It's not what you think.

M'bro, a musician, is on a mini-tour at the moment, bouncing around from Hawaii, to Denver, to New Orleans, to Austin...and while in Austin, he decided to drive up to Dallas for a day and surprise Old Man Pops.  That day happened to be Valentine's day, and so born was "The Awesome Family's Valentine's 2011." 

Old Man Pops was pleasantly surprised, though he played it off, according to m'bro:  apparently he just opened the front door and said "oh, hey, you're here?"  I thought it would have been better if m'bro had torn up his clothes, slung mud all over himself, and staggered inside ala "Shaun of the Dead" style, but whatever.  Instead, he bebopped in and they did electronic-y man things all night.

We decided on sushi for Valentine's dinner.  For some reason, m'bro felt like crying and ordered a Teardrop roll.  We've established that I like it hot,  but that doesn't necessarily translate to food.  Usually with Tex-Mex, yes, the spicier the better.  But when it comes to sushi, at least, wasabi ain't my pal.

I had my first experience with sushi while I was in college (remember 8ish years ago when sushi restaurants suddenly appeared everywhere from out of the blue?).  I had no idea what to expect, as this was back in the day when I was a picky eater and afraid to try new foods.  When I saw the green spoonful of what I resembled avocado, I was relieved.  "This won't be so bad," I thought.  Anytime there's avocado, it's got to be good.  My friends felt the element of surprise would fare better than their warnings.  I.e., my head exploded.

So, when m'bro tossed around the Teardrop idea, I was hesitant, given my history with the green devil.  Described as "seaweed-wrapped morsel of finely diced, pickled wasabi plant," I just wasn't sold.  Our ever persuasive server told us they didn't have any horseradish, so it couldn't be that bad (snickering all the while he convinced us).  Still not sold, but I eventually agreed.  Time to leave the past behind, right?  And truly, perhaps because I was prepared this time, it actually wasn't that bad.  Sure, there is a moment of sheer panic with your first breath after chewing/swallowing and you feel as if your brain has caught fire through your nose.  And there might have been a millisecond of completely losing any sense of smell...and sight...even hearing, possibly...but after the mild panic attack, complete with flailing arms and whimpering, there was a sort of cleansed feeling, likely attributed to the fact that there were no more tears left to shed.  That, and our taste buds were completely burned off.

Teardroppin' all over the place

Turns out, our server was Korean and from Busan, which is the coastal city I'm targeting to live in.  He was born there and goes back to visit every year.  He shared some info about the city and told me I'd really like it. A nice affirmation.

Then, in my wasabi'd state, I asked the native Korean speaker how he learned the language and whether he had suggestions for Korean Language systems.

Here's hoping I don't have permanent brain damage.
-Katerbait

This post has nothing to do with South Korea

Two posts in a row about cold, cold Dallas...it's consuming me and I'm snow-ver it.  But!  I'm putting my snow scrooge aside to share the only fun part about freezing:  snowdogs.

Meet Nelson, my current foster puppy.  I was asked to go pick up a rottweiler puppy that had been dumped in the freezing rain, and he turned out to be this mini-schnauzer looking thingie:

Snowbeard

Nelson hasn't been a big fan of the freezing temps.  He shivers so much he's like a little vibrating wind up toy.  He spends more time in my arms and zipped in my jacket than in the snow:

Keepin' those paws dry

Mikey, in typical Mikey fashion, goes from one end of the snow spectrum to the other:

Step 1) glare at mom, look around clueless, cry:

hate it

Step 2) figure it, fly like the wind:

love it

It's not just the dogs that make the best of the elements.  Early yesterday, I watched my neighbor sculpting in our courtyard, all alone, totally entertaining himself (anything is entertaining after 4 days of citywide shutdown).  I am impressed that he had a wig on hand for his sunbathing snow-woman:

Chillin'

So, blahblah, this weather can be fun, thanks to snowdogs and sculpting neighbors.  Still, my sentiments remain.  Luckily, we're supposed to resume our 60 degree temps next weekend.  And if we don't, I'm going to Florida:

Until then, go Packers go (really sorry about the Super Bowl weather)!

- K-k-k-kate <---get it?  I'm shivering.

Kate + Cold Weather = cry cry cry

While the city of Dallas drives me insane from time to time for various reasons, I have to admit:  I love the weather.  Despite my being somewhat of an albino, the sun and I get along very well.  Hot: I like it, it's what I do.  Don't get that confused; it doesn't mean I'm "hot."  Quite the opposite, in fact, as my love results in massive amounts of sunscreen + sweat = a general thumbs down in the looks department.  For that reason, I tend to rely on the trusty old "I just came from the pool/gym" excuse, even if it's not true.  I have to somehow justify the reason for why I'm always walking around looking/smelling like a wet dog/rat...

Currently, Dallas' weather is failing me.  Yet again, from sunny and 75 degrees on Sunday, to a high of 20 degrees with snow, ice, and wind that causes tears to stream uncontrollably from my eyes today (whatever, yes, that's actually just me crying because it's so cold, but I'm blaming the wind).  The low tomorrow is 7 degrees.  7?  What is that?  Also, that snow out there?  That snow is covering ice.  That's just tricky and mean.  Even the dogs got duped.

When I'm cold, there's not a thing in the world that will warm me up.  Nothing.  I (stupidly, I now realize) came very close to a job offer in DC last year.  What was I thinking?  There is no way.  No way would I have survived the Snowpacalypse, Thunder Snow, Snowmageddon, and whatever other cleverly nicknamed snowstorms the Northeast keeps getting pounded with.  Also, for the record, nicknaming the winter storms doesn't make them cute.  They still look miserable.

That said, I feel like maybe I should go out and fully brave the current elements for a little taste to prepare myself, because, as Old Man Pops keeps reminding me (perhaps in an effort to keep me from leaving?)  South Korean winters are no joke.  I looked it up.  He's right.  The average winter high is 25 degrees.

The only thing that makes me feel better about going forth into such madness is Ondol.  Kate!  What's Ondol?  Ondol is something I wish I had even on hot summer days.  Ondol is....<drumroll>...HEATED FLOORS!  It's a Korean thing.  It should be an Everyone thing.

You'd never guess, right?

The Waygook Effect says "you will find excuses to read, eat, chat, watch TV, or sleep on the floor because Korea can get so cold" and explains this genius more thoroughly:  "Everyone knows that heat rises, so the most efficient way to disperse heat in a home is to release it through the floor and allow it to rise up through an entire room."  Genius.  And apparently not just in homes, but in public gathering spaces, as well.

So, from 20 degrees in Dallas with cold, concrete floors (I do not live in a jail cell, I live in a loft downtown; lofts have concrete floors), to 20 degree winters in Korea with heated floors...I'm upgrading.

Shiver me timbers - 

Katers

You down with IRC, yeah you know me

I've been volunteering at the International Rescue Committee on weekday mornings tutoring refugees.  It's such a rockin' volunteer position - I should have signed up a long time ago.  I'm actually doing it to complete ESL teaching/tutoring hours for my TEFL certification, but I'm McLovin' it so much that I'm going to continue volunteering after I've met my criteria hours.  They need the help, I've got the time, and I really like it, so why not?  An old friend from high school set me up (shout out, JGanders, big thanks!), and I had no idea how cool his job is until now.

I'm mostly working with Awss from Baghdad, pronounced like "mouse" without the "m," and when I see him write his name, I always want to write an "-ome" on the end of it:  Awss-ome.  He doesn't really understand when I make that joke, so I end up chuckling to myself and moving along.  While we do work on some basic English, we focus mainly on job applications and interviews and things of that nature.  The refugees at the IRC are swept into this country and have to quickly (and overwhelmingly) grasp the ropes of American life and hit the road running to find a job in order to sustain themselves.  They get to cover more basic ESL vocabulary and grammar through another program (Catholic Charities, I believe).  So we spend time memorizing home addresses, phone numbers, and how to answer questions on job applications and in interviews.

Another student from Iraq joined us yesterday, Halim, and it was pretty hilarious to see Awss' eyes light up and show off.  He took the lead and helped me explain things to Halim, and he was SO proud to be able to translate.  Maybe a little cocky, too.  It was a fun class.  Halim laughs at my crazed state when I am frantically flipping through my Arabic dictionary...at least I think that's why he laughs at me.  Actually, they both probably think I'm sort of nuts with my wild gestures and such, but today Awss filled out a job application with WAY less help than he needed earlier in the week, so things appear to be sticking, nuts or not, and that's the point.

I've also worked with DayKlay and Nir, from Burma and Nepal.  I spent an entire hour on the alphabet with DayKlay and it was difficult for him to retain much past 4 letters at a time (he reallllllly likes the letter "F"), while Nir amazed me by picking up her pencil and writing out exactly what I was saying to her.  I was particularly blown away while explaining medical terms.  We came across the word "inhaler."  Yeah.  How to explain asthma and an inhaler?  I began flailing, choking and wheezing, and then fake inhaling miracle inhaler things.  She just looked at me funny and shrugged.  But when I said "Alice has trouble breathing.  She uses _________,"  Nir wrote "an inhaler."  She was grammatically correct!   Right on, Nir, right on.

Each student in the ESL class at the IRC has a different skill level.  Some come to the US with nil, nada, zilch ounces of English.  Some are more highly educated and have the basics.  Regardless of skill level, from what I've experienced so far, all are grateful and appreciative and trying.  They haven't been so fortunate in their last country, have had a whirlwind of a relocation, and are overwhelmed...and still eager.  It's heartbreaking and inspiring and rewarding.

At orientation, I learned that some of the refugees could potentially come from elite positions in their community:  they may have been doctors or lawyers and well respected.  And now, here they are, relocated to the US, starting from scratch, taking jobs as convenience store clerks, shelf-stockers at grocery stores, etc.  I can't imagine what that does to a person, and it chokes me up when I consider all the snap judgments and stereotypes out there.  Hello, humble pie.

Tutoring ESL at the IRC is totally different from the ESL I'll be teaching in Korea.  There I'll have a class of kids with the same skill levels collectively following one lesson plan.  They will be cranky after long school days, they likely will be at that "bratty" age, they will make fun of me in Korean so I can't understand, they will flick boogers and other gross things...I know what I'm in for, yet I'm certain that I will enjoy that experience just as I am enjoying the IRC.  Just differently so; while sure to be rewarding in many ways, teaching ESL to Korean kiddos certainly does not a humanitarian make.

Sooo...here's to a little perspective.  Also, be Awss-ome and sign up to volunteer at the IRC (there are so many ways to help).

-Katers

You are what you eat

It's been a great, quiet little weekend: highly productive with some Texas snow as an added bonus (despite wearing shorts last week).   

sidenote: I've seen more snow this past year in Dallas than ever before in my life, what up, weather?

Anyway, after finishing up some lesson plans for my TEFL course this afternoon, I hit my green tea hard while the snow fell outside, and began browsing sites I've bookmarked re: anything/everything SoKo.  Checked in on the blogs I stalk, read way too much into the NoKo/SoKo tensions, and learned about the farming industry's recent foot-in mouth crisis, followed by bird flu scares...

....then.  Then, by reading further, I ruined my perfect, quiet little weekend.  I don't even want to type it.  I read exactly how the government dealt/is dealing with these diseases on the farms:  kill 'em all.  Latest reports put it at 1,000,000 animals killed, possibly up to 90% of them buried alive, since November.

BURIED ALIVE.  How's that for humane culling?

Naturally, I found myself at the KARA site (Korea Animal Rights Advocates), for more information.  I have yet to stop crying (cue the song: Teardrops on My...Keyboard).

I've been working on being a vegetarian for almost 2 years now as a protest against inhumane factory farming conditions.  I fell off the wagon a few times in the beginning, usually socially, or at Old Man Pops' when he slaved over a meal (hey, relapse is a part of recovery).  It's pretty much second nature now, and I stick to fish when I do crave meat, though that's a work in progress...I'll eventually aim high toward veganism (dairy = inhumane, too), but one step at a time, folks.

Anyway, I digress.  I was obviously already aware of the horrors of factory farming before visiting KARA's site.  What I was NOT aware of are the horrors of dog farming (or really, aware of dog farming in general).  It's a full on Michael Vick party.  I can't make myself type what actually happens, but apparently dog meat tastes better when the dog dies with rushing adrenaline.

So.

It was a great, quiet little weekend...before I went all "activist" on myself.  Stepping away now from the computer and bad websites in order to snuggle with Mikey and promise him I'll never eat him.

- crybaby cupkate

A Saskatchewan Roughrider, "Where I Been," and Happy New Year (it's a long-un')

If there's something special you want to do, now is the time. If you want to make a difference in the world, now is the time. Don't be fooled into thinking you should wait until you are older or wiser or more "secure," because it doesn't work that way. The wisdom will come. The security will come. But first you must begin your adventure. -Ron Atchison

I don't know anything about Canadian football, or the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but one of their defensive lineman in the 50's and 60's, Ron Atchison, is now on my radar for this quote.  Also, I'm imagining giant Sasquatches wearing football helmets (Not the same thing?).  According to my Google search, the man passed away this year, but not without leaving behind a good message and some inspirational words of wisdom.  

I've said several times that I wish I had embarked on an adventure like this when I was 22, straight out of college, before "real life" started.  And of course, at 28, there's the stigma that I should be "settling down," not taking off.  My plans must be true to form, though.  While varied and perhaps inconsistent, my path since graduating college has been off beat and interesting, anyway:  from special needs kiddos-> to law school plans-> to miserable, corrupt law office crushing law school plans-> to dogs, dogs, dogs and rescuing-> back to special needs kiddos plans-> and now to TEFL in Soko.  For the past 6 years, each experience has been an unexpected stepping stone.  It hasn't been cleanly mapped out and planned (ie, undergrad-> to grad school-> to career and profession), and aspects of it have been unconventional, but I've definitely followed Ron Atchinson's words "If there's something special you want to do, now is the time."  I feel lucky for that, and I'm happy to truck on in that direction.  What's next in life is a surprise.  Boom.

I'm officially halfway through my TEFL certification course with the TEFL Institute.  Taking this course was a debatable move.  I spoke and emailed with 30'ish different people who are living and teaching in or have lived and taught in Asia.  50% said waste of time, 50% said beneficial.  I decided it was the best option for me.  While the TEFL Institute doesn't place students in jobs, they are a lifelong resource and a guiding hand towards preparing for the application process, referring you to highly regarded and reputable programs, and can connect you with other students in the region.  Not to mention all of the training and resources I am gaining from their course with lesson plans, teaching methods, and networking with other current students.

BUT!  There are still decisions to make.  I don't know where to teach.  There are two options in SoKo:  private schools (Hagwons) and public schools (Ministry of Education).  There are pros and cons to both.  Hagwons provide higher salaries, less vacation time, fellow Western English speaking co-workers, and varied hours. And you get to choose where in SoKo you want to live and work. Public schools provide slightly less pay, more vacation time, Korean non-English speaking co-workers, and regular hours.  And you're placed in a position somewhere in SoKo ala "Surprise!  Here's your home for the next 12 months, love it or hate it."

On the one hand, it would be great to make a higher salary and really save up for some awesome traveling after my year long contract is up.  On the other hand, it would be pretty sa-weet to take some trips throughout the year.  On yet another hand, it will be nice to work with fellow Westerners that I can easily communicate with and quickly learn the ropes from.  On the fourth hand, would be pretty useful of the ol' Sociology major in me to fully assimilate myself; be confused, do everything wrong and be that "silly American girl who doesn't know anything," thereby learning and experiencing much more.

The whole idea behind this Korean scheme of mine is to travel and see the region.  Regardless of whether I explore surrounding countries during my year of teaching or afterward, that's not going to change: I'm checking out that side of Earth.  So, the decision is sort of boiling down to the living location.  There's going to be enough discomfort dragging my pack around for weeks on end during travels, so I'd like the ease of knowing my year ahead of that will be spent in a city that I'm comfortable and happy living in (read: south along the coast, far away from snowy, freezing mountains - I'm from Texas).  Did I just make a decision?  Standby for confirmation.

Happy New Year to all.  Whatever your passions and dreams, do what you can to make them happen.

Katerade

Merry Christmas from Kate and Mikey!