MontanaRon

I must admit I was feeling a bit chagrined last night after the Yanks lost to Tampa Bay 8-3. I’m more smug tonight after the 12-1 shellacking they dished out. Matsui had a fantasy game by hitting a home run, a single, and driving in 3 runs in his old home park in Tokyo; the fans were ecstatic, watching their hero, “Godzilla,” rise to the occasion. One thing I had forgotten from the last time I watched baseball on Korean TV is that the announcers give the ball-strike count backwards from what I’m used to in the States. Instead of saying 2 and 1 for a 2-ball, 1-strike count, they say 1 and 2. Takes a little getting used to when you first hear it. Yes, they actually say “3 and 2″ or “Oh and 1″ in English. Just about everything else is in Korean.

Hmmm, just got my purple belt and now a brown one. Don’t really know why; it was a surprise. My taekwando master, Mr. Kim, said that he thought I earned the belt, but it doesn’t really seem like I did. I’ll take it, though. So, the next belts I have to earn are a blue and a red; then, with a lot of work, I assume, The Black Belt. Watch out, Jackie Chan! Hah!

I laid off taekwando all of last week because of a smashed big toenail on my right foot caused by a collision while I was playing soccer on the Sunday before with the other teachers. The toe under the nail became very black and blue, and I’m sure I’ll lose the nail, in time. Well, then I went out and played again this past Sunday and ripped the muscles at the top of my legs. Taekwando last night was very difficult, but I managed to get through the hour-long session. I think I’ll quit playing soccer and start doing some hiking in the surrounding hills on Sundays. The weather is becoming very pleasant and there are plenty of trails to follow.

Wednesday is my easy day at the uni–only two classes. Tomorrow is the busiest, with 7 hours of instruction. However, many of the students are going to Membership Training this week, meaning that some of my classes might be cancelled. I probably won’t know until I walk into the classroom and find that nobody is there. Membership Training, or MT, is, I’ve been told, a get-together among students of the same major. They head off to the mountains to do some bonding, some (very little) training in their major, and a whole lotta drinking. Not unusual here–drinking is considered a necessity in establishing social relationships and in business affairs. That may be changing, according to this article (dead link–removed by MontanaRon.)

It was once reported by the U.N. that Korea had the 2nd highest per capital alcohol consumption in the world, but that figure was amended due to some inaccuracies. See the {{link http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200312/200312230021.html article}}.

Luckily, my drug of choice is caffeine. I’ve also begun to drink lots of tea, especially {{link http://www.korean-arts.com/tea_ware/celadon_tea_ware.htm Korean green tea}} mixed with honey. Citron honey tea has also become a big favorite.

Ok, after a few months of being lazy, I will attempt to keep this blog up to date. I hope to put observations, opinions, experiences, etc. of my time here in Andong, South Korea.

So, first, my apartment building is just behind one of the major hospitals in Andong. I was just taking out the trash when around the corner come 6 Koreans escorting their friend, who is wearing hospital pajamas and is carrying an I.V. drip bottle attached to the stand (and to his arm). I thought it might be a hospital break, “let’s get our friend out of here.” I watched them walk down the street a ways, and they entered one of the small restaurants nearby. Hmmm, so did they sneak him out or was it allowed? I see hospital patients in their pajamas wandering all around the area, but this is the first time I’ve seen anyone carrying their IV with them.

As far as the impeachment proceedings against Korean Pres. Roh, here in Andong, remote and small by Korean standards, I haven’t heard too many people talking about it. I’m sure there must be a lot of discussion, but I’ve only seen one small gathering, that last Saturday when I was downtown shopping. Seoul saw some very large demonstrations over the weekend, but all seems quiet right now. More developments to come later, I’m sure.