It seems like America really has to clamp down on the media. Our image abroad is getting stranger and stranger with all of the weird news stories that come out of the US.
Recently, I had this conversation with a kindergartener:
Kid: Ms. Jennifer, I’m glad you came to Korea.
Me: Oh, why is that?
Kid: Because I don’t want you to get eaten by zombies.
Me: Huh?
Kid: Yeah, it was on the news. America has zombies. It’s good you came to Korea. You’re safe here.
I’d like to say that this was an isolated event but, it wasn’t. Other students have asked me if America is overrun with zombies, if I saw a zombie, if I know anyone who is a zombie, etc.
So, yeah, people abroad think we have zombies running around America. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so embarrassing.
I’m a little late on this but, there is a song that is sweeping
Korea. It’s called “Gagnam Style” by Psy. The song is so popular, it’s gotten
coverage on CNN and a few US musicians have tweeted about it and mentioned it
during concerts, etc. The artist, Psy, will appear at the VMAs.
The video is super cheesy and funny. It kinda reminds me of the
Offspring’s “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)” video. The videos aren’t remotely the
same but, the almost parody like style is similar.
To give you some background, Gangnam is a very wealthy
neighborhood in Seoul; think Beverly Hills or the Upper East Side. From what I
understand, it’s probably the wealthiest neighborhood in Seoul (I don’t live in
Seoul so, I’m not really sure.) As a result, there are those that think the
song makes fun of the neighborhood and its reputation for materialism. To be
honest, I don’t speak Korean so, I can’t say if the song is critiquing anything
or not. For more on this, here is a really interesting article from TheAtlantic
This song is everywhere! I hear it all the time, mostly from my
students. The kindergarteners love to sing the part of the chorus that goes “Hey…sexy
lady!” at me (and other teachers), which is slightly disturbing. They also like
to do the funny dance Psy does in the video.
Anyway, if you haven’t seen it yet, watch the video for the song.
It’s pretty funny.
Lyrics
English
Translation:
Oppa is Gangnam style
Gangnam style
A girl who is warm and
humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist
I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style,
Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is
Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
A girl who looks quiet but
plays when she plays
A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes
A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all
A sensable girl like that
I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style,
Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is
Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
On top of the running man
is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby
I’m a man who knows a thing or two
You know what I’m saying
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is
Gangnam style
Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
Today, I walked into my second grade phonics class
and found a kid, Alex, sobbing uncontrollably. Why was Alex sobbing? He had
just been hit in the face with a pair of nunchucks. Yes, you read that right:
Alex got nunchucked – in the face – at his English academy.
When I found Alex, he was sobbing too much to speak
to me. So, I had no idea why he was crying. I asked the other kids but, no one would
even look at me, let alone answer me. So, I took Alex to the office staff to
see if they could figure out what was wrong with him. Since he’s young, he
tends to lose his ability to speak English when he’s upset.
Back in the classroom, the remaining students and I
started our lesson. Once again, no one would own up to knowing why Alex was so
upset. Then, an administrator came and called two students out. When one
student, Daniel, got up wearing his hapkido uniform with a pair of nunchucks on
his belt, I knew.
Apparently, Daniel had come straight from hapkido
class and didn’t drop off his stuff at home. So, he had the nunchucks with him.
Also, it seems that Daniel’s hapkido academy is run by idiots. Instead of
giving Daniel rubber foam nunchucks for children studying martial arts, they
gave him a pair of real, metal nunchucks.
It turns that the other boys in the room had been
playing with the nunchucks before class and Alex got hit by one kid who was
wildly flailing his arm with the nunchucks in his hand. It’s not exactly a surprise
that children and weapons turned out to be a bad combination.
Later, Alex came back to class but, he was still
whimpering and clutching his face. He ended up leaving to go to the doctor to
get checked out. At the end of the day, I asked the office staff if Alex was
ok. They said he was fine, just in pain. It had to be a pretty dramatic day for
a kid too. So, some of his tears were probably from the shock of being
nunchucked in English class.
So, it looks like I’m going to have to start patting
down my students before the come to class. Who knew that teaching middle and upper
middle class Korean kids could be so dangerous?
So, if you’ve read my blog before, you know that I have a
bit of a problem with Korean household items. All you have to do is look back
and you will see that I have not only had ashowdown with the stovebut, I was also beat down by the broom.
Well, this time around in Korea, I was deceived by the dryer. Yes, you read
that right. The dryer got the best of me.
Since we took a break from Korea, we moved into a new
apartment in a new building. This apartment, like our old one, has a
washer/dryer combo machine. Since it was the same brand as the old one, I
(foolishly) assumed that I knew how to use it. That was my mistake.
A few days after I got here, I decided to do some laundry.
There wasn’t much but, I didn’t want it to pile up. So, I loaded up the
machine. When the wash/dry cycle was finished, the clothes smelled a little
burned but, nothing serious. I put them away and went on with my business. This
happened for about two weeks.
Then, one day at work, I smelled something. It was not a
smell I could place. It was like burn, and, to be frank, a little BO. Where was
that coming from? To my absolute horror, it was coming from me! It caught me by
surprise. It was only 10am. I showered and put on clean clothes that morning,
how could I smell?
When I got home, I investigated the problem. I found that
several of my “clean” shirts had that same odor. I had to figure it out. I didn’t
want to be the smelly one at work. No one ever likes the smelly kid.
I decided there must be something wrong with my washing
machine. That had to be the only explanation. My shirts didn’t start out like
that. So, it must be a laundry related issue. First, I checked that I was
indeed using detergent and not, like, more fabric softener by accident. No, my
detergent was definitely detergent. It said so, in English, on the bottle.
To further my investigation, I decided to set up the
washer/dryer and start a cycle just to see what happens. The fact that my
clothes smelled burned made me wonder about the machine. So, I started up the
cycle and sat in front of the machine to see what happened.
Lo and behold – the mystery was solved! No water filled the
machine. It just started to spin and get really hot. Then, it dawned on me. I
was putting my clothes in the machine for a 3 hour dry cycle with no wash
cycle. The clothes weren’t being washed at all. I was just drying dirty clothes
for hours. Ew.
Now, in my defense, the washer/dryer is exceptionally
sneaky. Even though it was just drying the clothes, it still shot water into
the soap and softener trays. So, I was hearing the sound of running water but,
my clothes never actually got wet. I still wonder where all of that soap and
softener went.
There is no question who won this battle. Although I now
know how to actually wash and dry a load of launder, the washer/dryer managed
to fool me for weeks. It totally won.
