the strangest thing happened 2 me the other day, an event i feel worthy of a blog entry. i was walking 2 the subway station in a light drizzle... actually, it was less than a drizzle; just a drop here, a drop there, but nothing worse… akin 2 an irish summers day if you will. anyway, this little korean man runs up behind me (i realise i’m quite often guilty of referring 2 them - koreans - as ‘little’ when in fact most of them are on par, in stature of course, with yours truly). i heard & sensed him approaching, 2 close for comfort even by no-privacy-of-space korean standards, & for a split second i thought that he was going 2 run into me. that was until i reminded myself that no sober korean would ever let that scenario transpire, one that sees them coming into physical contact with a foreigner in broad daylight. anyway, the next thing i know he’s walking beside me, holding his umbrella over me, all the while bowing/nodding his head unnecessarily & smiling from ear 2 ear, all of which conspired clearly 2 say ‘you’re oh so welcome, you dumbass out-in-the-lashing-rain-without-an-umbrella foreigner’. for the 20 seconds or so that he shadowed me 2 the shelter of the subway station canopy i felt a mixture of unabated embarrassment & ignominy, ignominy stemming from the fact that i had caused this man 2 feel obliged 2 do what he did, by the simple virtue of not conforming 2 the korean standard of walking under an umbrella @ the slightest hint of rain. that ignominious feeling didn’t last long however; once i had returned his bows in a pitiful & wholly inadequate show of gratitude & we’d parted I realised there was nothing 2 be ashamed of. after all he was korean & that’s what they do, even the ‘little’ ones.
2 - days since the last entry.
2 – entries created in the last 80 days.
15 – days since i got back from japan.
8 – upcoming summer camps i have 2 prepare for.
120 – number of foreign teachers i have 2 hire 2 staff those 8 camps.
102 - number of teaches i’ve hired so far.
89 - number of koreans i’ve interviewed for the camps.
38 - days until the 1st of those camps begin.
72 - days until all camps end.
74 - days until my next trip home.
75 - days until my present visa expires.
83 – days until my present contract expires.
82 – days until my birthday.
19 - number of people working in the ck office these days.
12 – number of those 19 who are women (63%... i’ll take that percentage anyday).
248 - number of pictures in the ‘livin’ with seoul’ photo album.
11 - days until ‘lords of the bow’ arrives, the next novel in the conqueror series of novels by conn iggulden based on the life & times of genghis khan. no bookshop in seoul had it so i had no choice but 2 order it... & wait. tick tock.
7 - days until hans arrives back in korea for what will no doubt be 4 days of nothing less than debauchery.
9 - days until the 1st lions test in south africa.
47 - days until my 2nd wedding anniversary.
41 - days before my sister arrives in korea. yep, camp will be a family affair this summer.
9 - days until the next payday.
26 - days since my last hard drive crash, meaning another one is probably due any day now.
2 – number of defective hard drives sitting on the desk beside me waiting 2 be returned under warranty.
9 – age, in months, of the oldest of those 2 hard drives.
570 – size, in gigabites, of those 2 hard drives combined.
6 – mosquito bites i woke up with a few days ago. summer is definitely here.
26 – temperature, in degrees celsius, in seoul right now.
8 – temperature, in degrees celsius, in dublin right now.
‘livin’ with seoul’ video
check this out. i discovered this a little over a week ago & it had a few hundred hits; it now has almost 1,500,000 (& no doubt more by the time you view it). if you don’t like this you don’t like music.
what I’m listening 2 right now
the waterboys, a bang on the ear
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