Life in Korea:

When it rains, it pours! ^^

Whaaa...it's 2008 and I still got old news here...hehehe. It's not that I don't have new materials to write about. In fact I've been busy doing stuff --both fun and serious... I've been meaning to document each of my activities, but I haven't gotten around to doing so cause I'm swamped. I'm still in the middle of an important project... and I've got another one coming.  I don't know how I manage to have my activities overlap.

Here is a preview of my upcoming blog entries:

1. My family's  yuletide holiday in Hainan, China --I've posted some photos already. The article --to follow (hopefully, soon)

2. My promotion at Ewha Girls' High School -- I've been promoted to the rank of a full-time senior foreign teacher. I have outranked my NS colleague. My duties: supervise my NS colleague and design ESL modules for 2nd Graders.

3. Our company ski trip -- slated this weekend (1/19-20). I pulled an all-nighter last night preparing our stuff for the trip. I had to pack two separate traveling bags cause I will also be away on an out-of-town English Camp the day following the ski trip.

4. Winter English Camp -- I've been outsourced by Baemoon High   School to do a lecture series. Joining me are two American teachers. (1/21-23) .

5. My business trip --tentative (still have to plan). I should leave after the Lunar New Year (cause I have household duties to fulfill).

6. March 2008 marks the new height of my professional achievement at Ewha Girls' HS. It also marks the beginning of my son's introduction to formal academic schooling (he enters Elementary School this year...He got accepted to a school that is exclusive to Samsung Remian residents...hihihi^^)

7. This year also marks a bold venture for me ---2 words: passive income.

MY YEAR ALWAYS BEGINS WITH A SPIN...

And I love it! Wouldn't have it any other way.

Modern Woman

It seems that the plight of the modern woman hasn’t improved much

since the days of antiquity. In Korea particularly, everyone is an enemy of a modern woman -- the patriarchal society, the filial hierarchy, even elder women are antagonists too. For generations, they have been preconditioned by tradition to devote a life of servitude to men.

But God did not create woman to be man's slave. He created woman to be man's counterpart. Counterpart means similitude, a species of equal character and strength, and therefore entitled to the same dignified life as man.

If there's no exit to our present situation then we, the women of the world, must take it upon ourselves to change it. THE WORLD WILL NOT IMPROVE IF WE JUST QUIETLY ENDURE. Our part as mothers to a son -- is NOT to RAISE A MAN,  but to RAISE A GENTLEMAN.

Christmas Spirit in Seoul

I took this photo while strolling along Kangnam Avenue. (Kangnam is the posh business district in Seoul, like the Makati Business Center in Manila).

Our head office is located here, about 100 meters from this Meritz Building. This district glitters at night but instead of the cheery spirit, it invokes a nostalgic somberness.

Enough of the winter gloom...hehehe.

I wish all those who are close to my heart a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year. May 2008 bring us peace, love and bountiful blessings.

My family will be celebrating New Year in China's famed 'Hawaii' called Hainan. We want to have a restful yuletide holiday this year.

A day's work....

This is what's keeping me preoccupied these days...

The final term is coming to a close and so a teacher's typical day at school is, in a nutshell, "AAAAhhhhhhhrrrrgggg!"

The paperwork can be overwhelming but I still love the job. To me, teaching is a vocation not simply a means to an end.

I am a feminist --not a hardline extremist, but a believer that women deserve more than what the patriarchal society accords her.  So I work for a school that reflects one of my ideals-- women emancipation.

That is the very reason I love working there. I get the chance to repay a debt by paying it forward. A debt of gratitude to the women who came before me, to the women who shared their wisdom.

             

Social Network

This is YUHAK TIMES--Kangnam Center (our head office). This is where I and my husband, Company President, hold office. It's usually quiet and calm in the morning . It gets busy around mid afternoon till evening. We often finish around 9 pm.

Our 'mangne' staff, Tae-Rim, took this snapshot of the office before he flew off to Melbourne. We won't be seeing him until Jan. 2008. He is such a jolly person that practically everyone in the company missess him, even the staff from our other branches--Shinchon, Jongro and Busan.

Even though, I occasionally run into people who disappoint me, I am still thankful that the Lord placed good folks on earth. And I am happy that some of them are with us at Yuhak Times. As I always say, THE KIND OF PEOPLE YOU HAVE IN YOUR TEAM, DEFINES THE QUALITY OF SERVICE YOU DELIVER TO THE WORLD!

It is also true with social ties. Developing social circle is human nature, motivated by our need to belong. These social circles are held together by a particular social culture that brought the individual members to the group.Therefore, THE KIND OF COMPANY YOU KEEP REFLECTS YOUR TRUE COLORS. It is wise to be very selective with your social network. Understand too why you simply cannot belong to a particular group.

As Emily Dickinson eloquently puts it :

"the soul selects its own society and shuts the door; to her divine majority presents no more."

         

Korean Legendary Saga

Taewang SaSingi ---this is a legendary story of the birth of the Korean nation. The story unfolds into the historical time of the 3 Kingdoms. The story is set during the reign of the Kokoryo dynasty.

To see the full OST-Trailer go to my minihompy-video page at www.cyworld.com/mikha21

For more photos to go www.taesagi.com

Fishing Experience

To see my home videos...please to go my multiply site at http://raqs21.multiply.com.

"TTAK SSAL" (Chicken Skin)

"Ttak ssal', roughly translated in English 'you give me goosebumps' is how Koreans usually respond to a corny joke.

Hubby and I have not been blessed with the wit that makes stand-up comedians rich and famous, so I never dare tell a joke. But hubby, a brave soul he is, would occasionally take a crack at it simply for our private amusement or to fill a sudden silence. Although, I know that his humor would make my jaw drop, I always patiently listen.

Last night he took me to an indian restaurant for dinner. While waiting to be served, I posed this question to him 'what's the difference between chapati and naan?' to which he answered flippantly, 'what's the difference between a dove and a pigeon?' 'I see. So basically the same kind of flat bread', I said. For a moment, I thought it was settled. Then he said, 'Seriously honey, what's the difference between a dove and a pigeon?' 'Well, ' I said, 'a dove is all white and a pigeon has specks of black & gray.' Hubby shot me a look that made me think I gave him an idiotic answer. Then he explained matter-of-factly, 'you use dove to wash your hands; you use pigeon to wash your laundry.' 

(palle pigeon-- is a korean laundry detergent)

He then gave me a triumphant chuckle. All I could manage to say was 'ttak ssal'.

Favorite Indian Dishes

These are my favorite indian dishes. The flat bread is called 'naan', this is actually a flavored chapati...Naan is buttered & combined with spices. My personal preference is garlic nan..Chapati, i think, is plain flat bread baked on a round flat skillet. When I was in Cebu, a restaurant called the Persian Palate serves chapati with olive paste dip. Hmmm.

The picture above features the dishes we had in an Indian restaurant we visited in St. Julians, Malta. There are a number of excellent Indian restaurants in Malta, probably the best priced too, in all of Europe (because the ones in London are way too pricey).

Anyway, the bright red dish is the spicy beef curry and the darker dish is my favorite lamb vindaloo. Both dishes are served with a choice of chawal, plain white rice or naan and chapati. The rice pictured here is called biryani...this is chawal mixed with pieces of choice meat and veggies..similar to the Korean 'bokumbap' or  Thai or Filipino 'mixed fried rice'. The only difference is the texture of the rice.

I'm having these tonight. Hubby and I have a dinner date and he's taking me to the Indian restaurant just a few blocks from our Kangnam office....yeheyyyyy...

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Addendum:

Yes, hubby and I feasted on an indian cuisine. Instead of ordering my favorites I decided to try other dishes. I had lamb tikka masala and it was great!

My West End Experience

While in London, I was fortunate enough to watch two contemporary musical plays -- WE WILL ROCK YOU and CHICAGO. I had always dreamed of this. I never thought this would happen, ever. God  granted my childhood fantasy.

This is the billboard outside the theatre. That's the picture of Tony Hadlein, ex-Spandau Ballet lead vocalist who plays the role of the smooth-talking lawyer.

Hubby and I got good seats. We were seated at an angle close to the stage that we could see the tini-tiniest movement on stage.

This is the box office that sells tickets at discounted prices to desperate folks ....(like us hehehe)

Hubby watched MAMA MIA alone cause I had to fly back to Seoul.

Next time I'm in London I would definitely watch my all-time favorite classics... ^^