찜질방

여러 친구가족들과 어울려 약 3.5 시간 운전해서,  귀 빠진뒤 처음으로  Atlanta suburb 에 있는 찜질방이란 곳을 가보았다.
It is a bit interesting place; there is no privacy as everybody gets naked to change and take a shower or sauna.  The place is huge, and decorated with many interesting stuffs.  For instance, the benches in the 찜질방 hall were big logs.  Several specialized 찜질방s were built; 숯방, 보석방, 소금방, 얼음방, 등등.  My favorite was 'steam sauna', which reminded me of 한증탕 in public bath in Korea a while ago.

In addition to Koreans or Korean-Americans, there seems to be a fair number of people with (Northern?) European heritage. It was a new experience for me as well as my wife and son.  My son particularly seemed to be quite impressed.
We spent several hours at 찜질방, stayed a night at a hotel nearby, went to hair-salon/shop and came home safely.  We all felt like Hillbillies visiting 서울. ㅎㅎ.
On the way home, I felt so good.  On the other hand, I felt guilty for our younger generations.  ㅠㅠ.  Considering the amount of energy used by this kind of place in a single day, our generation invented so many things like this and has been exhausting all global energy reserves.
How long can we sustain??  That will be a (REALLY) serious cencern that our children's generations should find an answer to survive.

Anyway....

Graduation and new hopes (졸업식)

The graduation ceremony was held this weekend.  I volunteered to attend the ceremony as a faculty member representing our department. About ~400 new graduates are now leaving the campus, and will have to find new career path (or join the rat race).
It is an exciting moment, but those who have not determined their future career path have concerns about the uncertainty.  Anyway it will be a new start (commencement) to everyone.
I wish they find a way to contribute to this world positively.

Congratulations new grads!!!!

국민교육헌장

Turn the clock backward to 1968.12.5.  
국민교육헌장 반포 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO1HcYVwxGo&feature=related)

저의 기억도 김윤태교수님과 그리 다르지 않군요..  제가 몇 년 후배이지만...
좋던 싫던, 역사의 한 패이지로 남아있으리오. 인간은 동서고금을 막론하고 어짜피 모순덩어리 인것을............

http://www.hani.co.kr/section-021003000/2005/02/021003000200502020546017.html

▣ 김윤태/ 한신대 연구교수·국문학 windor2@hanmail.net

전무후무하게 박정희 시절 ‘민족 중흥의 역사적 사명을 띠고 이 땅에 태어났던’ 국가 시책들이 있다. 세계사적으로도 유례를 찾기 힘든 이 정책들은 다양한 구호와 슬로건으로 방방곡곡에 울려퍼지며 사람들의 일상을 뒤흔들었다. 그 결과 오늘날까지 대한민국 인구 절반 이상의 뇌리에 깊이 새겨진 채 공적·사적 영역에 영향을 끼치고 있다. ‘신념과 긍지를 지닌 근면한 국민’으로 ‘민족의 슬기를 모아 줄기찬 노력으로 새 역사를 창조해야 했던’ 시절의 정책과 그에 따른 사회 현상을 여덟 가지 열쇳말로 복기해봤다. 편집자

기억 하나. 초등(국민)학교 4학년 때였다. ‘국민교육헌장’이라는 것이 반포됐다면서, 무조건 외우란다. 다 외우지 못하면 집에 보내주지 않겠다는 담임 선생님의 엄포 속에서. 덧붙여 그분의 아들은 30분 만에 다 외웠다는 비교를 당하면서, 몇몇 아이는 머리 나쁜 놈이라는 난데없는 비난을 감수해가며, 집에 돌아가지 못한 채 그 어려운 말들을 외워야 했다. 그 뒤로도 ‘헌장’은 각종 시험의 단골 메뉴가 돼 우리를 지치게 했다. 삼백 몇자나 된다는 ‘헌장’의 나머지는 제대로 암송되지 않지만, 첫머리의 “우리는 민족중흥의 역사적 사명을 띠고 이 땅에 태어났다”는 구절은 아직도 생생하다. 참으로 우린 대단했다. 날 때부터 그런 막중한 사명을 띠고 있었다니. 그럼에도 난 정말 형편없는 인간인가 보다. 나이 50이 다 되도록 그 사명을 수행하지 못하고 있으니.  
(내 머리는 쫌 난 편이었는지, 담임 선생님이 애들앞에서 암송시킨 기억이 남. 첫 문장은 아마도 주글 떼 까지 안 잊혀 지리라)


기억 둘. 초등학교 6학년 때다. 경부고속도로가 개통되고 온 나라가 난리법석이었다. 우리 학교에서도 합창단을 급조하더니 노래 연습으로 수업도 폐지했다. 합창단에 못 낀 대부분의 아이들은 태극기를 만들어 연일 환영 연습을 했다. 역사적 개통식날 대통령께서 고속도로를 타고 부산까지 간다고 하여 연변으로 몰려나가 깃발을 흔들고 만세를 불렀다. 행여 대통령의 얼굴이라도 볼까 싶어 잔뜩 기대했으나 까만 승용차 몇대가 휑하니 스쳐지나가는 걸로 끝나버렸다.  허탈했다. 뭐하자고 어른들은 우릴 고속도로가로 내몰았을까. 귓가엔 라디오만 틀면 나오는 수많은 유사 ‘경부고속도로가’들의 멜로디만 웅웅거렸다.
(I was too young to remember this event. But 아이들, 학생들 강제동원이야 비일 비재. 장학사 방문한다고 단채로 교실 마루를 왁스와 마른 걸래질로 '광'내던일....)

기억 셋. 중학교 시절이다. 퇴비증산운동, 유실수심기운동 하는 것들이 한창이었다. 가을도 아닌 봄철에 알밤을 구해 학교로 가져가야 하는 해프닝이 벌어졌다. 밤나무 묘목을 조성한다는 건데, 우리들은 돈을 구해 종묘상으로 달려가야 했다. 그 짓을 하지 않으면 비국민으로 몰릴 분위기였기에.... 나를 더 괴롭힌 것은 퇴비증산운동이다. 여름이 가까워오면 산과 들로 나가 풀을 베어와야 했다. 농사를 지어본 적 없는 소도시의 까까머리 중학생이 얼마나 낫질을 잘하겠는가. 하루 1인당 할당량이 5kg인가 그랬는데, 낫질이 서툰 나로서는 엄청난 고역이었다. 팔과 다리를 온통 풀에, 낫에 베여가며 우리 몸피보다 더 많은 양의 건초를 장만해야만 귀가가 허락됐다. 

(좀 다르지만, 폐품수집운동, 고철수집운동 등이 기억남...  잰장, 뭐 쓸만한 물건도 없는데 하물며 폐품이야. 있으면 버얼써 엿 바꿔 먹었지.. 폐품을 문방구에서 팔았음. 아마도 엿 바꿔 먹은 것들을 고물상에서 사오지 안았을까?? ㅋㅋ. 나같이 가난한 애들은 폐품도 못 가져가 몸으로 때움. 변소청소.... ㅠㅠ. 땅에 떨어져 있는 녹슨 못이라도 구해볼까, 온 동내를..)

기억 넷. ‘자유교양대회’란 게 있었다. 고전이나 양서를 정해 모든 학생들이 그걸 읽고 시험을 보고 독후감을 쓰고 그림을 그리고 서예를 하면 상을 주던 일이다. 초등학교 시절부터 시행됐는데, 내가 두각을 나타낸 건 중학교 때였다. 나는 학교 선발로 뽑혀 몇 주간 수업도 빠지고 책들만 내리 읽어야 했다. 당시 난 그 지루하고 엄청나게 긴 소설 '로빈슨 크루소' 나 '일리아드, 오딧세이' 등을 무려 5번인가 읽었다. 덕분에 시 대회에서 1등을 해서 도 대회까지 나가는 행운을 누렸다. 그러나 도 대회나 전국 대회에서 우승하려면 30번은 읽어야 한다고 했고, 나는 지쳐버렸다. 우리는 그걸 ‘강제교양’이라고 불렀다. 그 짓은 고교 시절까지도 이어졌는데, 언제쯤 그 대회가 없어졌는지는 모르겠다.  
(다 이져먹고, Booker T. Washington 만 희안하게 제목만 기억남...  언제고 한번 다시 읽어볼 기회가 있으리라.. 영어로.  어느정도 긍정적인 면도.... )


기억 다섯. 고등학교에 올라가니, 학도호국단이란 게 생겼다. 의무적으로 교련 과목을 이수해야 했다. 우리는 학생이면서 동시에 군인, 교장은 연대장, 교사들은 교관이었다. 3개 학급씩 하나의 중대가 됐고, 한 학년은 하나의 대대였다. 전교생은 연대 병력을 이루었고, 덩치 좋고 목청 큰 학생들은 학생 연대장-대대장-중대장으로 뽑혔다. 문약했던 나는 문화부장인지 뭔지를 나도 모르는 사이에 지정받았고, 그에 걸맞게 행동해야 했다. 우리는 3년간 거의 날마다 제식훈련과 총검술을 익혀야 했다. 
(해마다 교련검열을 받아 통과하려면, 학교는 비상사태에 돌입. 한달정도 매일 행진연습, 총검술등을 연마했죠... 연대장님도 교관들도 애가 탓으리오. 공부시켜서 한 놈이라도 더 대학보내야 하는데.....)

기억 여섯. 대학교에 들어가서다. 여전히 학교는 병영이었다. 대학 교련은 1주일에 4시간씩 필수과목이었다. 입학하자마자 우리는 간신히 길렀던 머리를 박박 밀고 문무대라는 곳으로 군사훈련을 가야 했다. 거부하면 곧바로 학적이 변동돼 군대로 끌려가야 하는 의무사항이었다. 그 과정을 마치고 다시 학생으로 돌아온 어느 날 고향 친구랑 서울 거리를 걸어가고 있었다. 나는 훈련 때문에 아주 단발이었으나 친구는 당시 유행대로 장발이었다. 친구가 갑자기 내 옆에서 사라졌고 파출소 2층으로 끌려가 머리를 잘렸다. 친구는 쥐 뜯어먹은 듯한 머리 모양새를 하고서야 구금에서 풀려났다. 친구가 풀려나던 저녁 6시, 거리엔 애국가가 울려퍼졌다. 움직이는 모든 것들은 제자리에 멈추어 선 채 소리 나는 곳을 응시했다. 
(일학년때 문무대 일주일, 그리고 이학년때 전방부대 일주일. 누구의 은덕이었는지, 다행이 머리는 무사했음.)

so beautiful bug-2: lacewing

In this freezing winter, it was a surprise to see this pinkish bug, named lacewing (Order Neuroptera; Family Chrysopidae?).  More surprisingly, it was the first time for me to see the pink one (the green one is the one you can see often in the backyard).

The lacewings are beneficial for humans, as many of them are predators, eating other bad bugs like aphids.  It is such an irony; they look so pretty and harmless to anyone.  They look like a beautiful lady wearing a laced skirt, but have an instinct as a predator.


Mothers lay funny-looking eggs on a leaf; they are club-shaped with a thin and long stalk (below).

Larvae are also voracious predators, hunting other small and bad (to humans) insects (photo below: a larva eating an aphid).  So they are very welcome to gardeners.  As a matter of fact, you can buy lacewing eggs from Amazon.
You may agree that larvae are not good-looking one, but they have genes that program them to become a pretty one shortly.   =°|°=

so beautiful bug 1: Tussock moth

An interesting caterpillar caught my attention, as I found it in our front yard (this picture was taken a while ago sometime in May. Enlarged photo can be seen by clicking it).  The caterpillars have 11 body segments (three thorax and eight abdomen).  The thoracic segments carry three pairs of (real) legs and the abdominal ones varying numbers of pseudopods.

This guy looks so pretty; it is covered with very different types of hairs.  Two bundles of dark long hairs in the head look like horns, and a similar one in the tail.  In the center, four tufts of short white hairs on the back (tussock) are also a feature very unique to this group of insects.  On the two segments before the tail are bright red glands.  Hmm.

This is a juvenile of Tussock moth (Order Lepidoptera; Family Lymantriidae).  They are voracious herbivore.  Their mother has no wing, thus flightless.  How do they show off such beautiful hair decoration without going into an expensive salon?  This could be a warning coloration.  Some bugs warn other predators by exposing them more visibly.  Once predators learnt that they are not very tasty, they would not bother this kind of prey in the future.  Another wonder of mother nature.  =°|°=

가을비

It is the last day of November, accelerating the leaves off the trees.  Brilliant autumn color is all gone, leaving a pile of fallen leaves on the yard.  We now have to pay for the wonderful nature show (nothing is quite free).  Raking is a heck of fall job, and hope that strong wind blows most of leaves to the neighbors (not the other way ^^).

It is raining. The cold rain in late fall will bring the winter day after day.  It reminds me of an old Korean song "가을비 우산속에".  최헌?

Snakes and bears will try to find a warmer place to hibernate.  Snakes are often found under the compost pile, because the decomposers produce some heat.

It is a happy day, as today is the last day of the fall semester. I will miss some of the students, and all I can do is to wish them move forward in a positive way.
It is a payday, too.  So I should feel much happier.  I can perhaps hypnotize myself to consider myself the happiest man in the world.  Concerns?  Of course there are.  But let's get these behind, as December is coming shortly.  =°°=

Romanza Andaluza

목요일 오후, 내일이 금요일 그리고 주말이라는 기분에, 버얼써 주말계획을 생각해 보는군요 (어짜피 하루정도는 밀린일 처리하느라 보내겠지만 ㅠㅠ).  그래서 좋은 음악이 생각납니다.

One of my favorite violinists (Gil Shaham) playing one of my favorite violin pieces.  언젠가는 아들녀석의 생음악을 기대하며....   =^^=

election 선거

It was again an election time.  And again it was done.  The two gentlemen in the photo above were TN gubernatorial candidates.  The bottom one (Bill Haslam, Republican) won the race, and he will lead TN for the next four years.  Hope people chose right one.

Perhaps because of my frequent voting records, this election season our phone received a number of messages that came from the candidates or their election camp, asking for our support.  Since I became a naturalized citizen, I had voted for presidential election three times (George Bush vs. Al Gore; G. Bush vs. John Kerry; Barrack Obama vs. John McCain), and perhaps twice for Governor election.  I could have done it more, but my first voting action needed some courage.

TN seems to be a Republican territory, as I did not see much success by Democrat candidates. For instance, Al Gore (D) lost at his home state; otherwise, he would win the election, regardless of Florida result.

Last presidential race made Tina Fey a star.  In a SNL show, she played a role as Sarah Palin.  Sarah, in her forties, is an attractive woman; a bumper sticker in Alaska said, "Coldest State, Hottest Governor".  In that show, Tina copycat Sarah so real.  At first sight, lots of audience confused really!!!.  It was a big hit as a political comedy for a while.  She gained a big fame, now plays a role, as a main character, in many movies and TV shows.

Who is going to be a Republican presidential candidate in two years?  It is too premature to talk about it. Some time later next year, it will be an issue. Time flies like an arrow.
=°|°=

시험문제

직업상, 가르치고 학생들의 습득정도를 평가해야하니 시험문제를 만드는 것이 큰 일 중의 하나다. 영어로 써야하니 문법의 오류가 아주 적어야 하고, 학생들이 문제의 의도를 정확하게 이해할 수 있어야 한다.  Duh..  또 문제의 난이도도 적절히 섞어 학생들의 자질을 구분 질 수 있어야 한다.  그렇게 문제의 초안을 만들고, 또 여러번의 수정작업을 거쳐, final version 을 만들어서 test를 한다.

끝 이라고라?  No..... way...
시험지를 걷어 채점을 하는일이 또 고문이다.  multiple choice 문제들은 간단하지만, 주관식 essay 문제의 답은 하나 하나 다 읽어야 하는데, 어떤 handwriting 은 전혀 필독이 불가하여, 그 학생을 불러다 뭐라고 썻는지 읽혀야 한다. 하긴 주어진 시간에 답을 다 하려 하니, 평소 잘 쓰는 아이들도 깔겨 쓰는 판국이니...

그렇게 저렇게 채점을 끝내고 점수를 확인하면, 여기 저기서 불평 불만의 소리가 접수 된다. 어렵다는 둥, 문제가 모호했다는 둥, 시간이 부족하다는 둥, 이거는 안 배웠다는 둥, etc.  흑. 저 것들을 그냥 단 칼에 ㅠㅠ.......   그래도 영어를 이해 못했다는 불평은 없으니 다행이다.  오히려 영어가 단점이라 여러번의 수정작업을 한 탓인지 native instructor들의 시험보다 부족하지는 않은것 같으니...
불평 불만분자 대부분은 지들이 공부를 제대로 안한 탓 인데, 제 탓이라 시인 하는 자는 별로 없다.  아즉은 노련미가 부족 한 지 이런 자들을 감정 개입없이 잘 다스리는 슬기가 적다.

단풍과 함께 어느덧 가을학기도 이제 막바지로 접어드니 다시 한번 쏜살같은 시간의 흐름을 느끼는 시점이다.  곧 Halloween을 기점으로 shopping season이 시작인데, 이번엔 gift idea를 기말시험문제를 통해 얻어 볼까나??  =°L°=

The Rocket Boys of NIH

As a scientist, I am seeking new discovery and innovations. However, one very difficult task is to find money to support my research. Major fundings are usually coming from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF). They are very competitive and hard to get (Duh!).
Another task is to educate publics and draws their interests in various areas of scientific discoveries/perspectives.  This is because sciences cannot stand alone without public support.
The two aforementioned national funding agencies also support bright and young (prospective) scientists to foster their future careers in science.  The video above is about a story of two young boys who received an NIH fund long time ago.  This still can happen to your children...  =^|^=

Finally US citizen

One hundred and one. Dalmatians? Nope. It is an age of a lady in the photo below. She was born in Mexico in 1909 and immigrated into the USA the same year.

After 101 years since then, we became a US citizen.

I am not sure why she has been waiting such a long time. Anyway, it is some story that we don't see everyday. ^^

신들린 손가락s

A niece of mine, who is distantly related by blood but closely by mind, is getting married soon, and we are all invited. So we will be driving to D.C.  Related to this event, I found this video by accident, playing Mendelssohn's wedding march.  I felt dizzy just by glancing at the moving fingers.  What a performance!!!  In addition, I really loved the backdrop of this event.  Extraordinary performance in a very ordinary place!  =°|°=

아름다운 시 한 수를 이 가을에 (a beautiful Korean poem)

승무 

얇은 사 하이얀 고깔은 

고이 접어서 나빌래라

파르라니 깍은머리 

박사고깔에 감추오고

두 볼에 흐르는 빛이 

정작으로 고아서 서러워라

중딩때 애송했던 승무의 한 구절인데, 30년이 넘어서도 기억이 납니다. 아마도 내 서예작품으로 이 시를 선택한 연유라 생각합니다.  누구의 시 인지는 기억이 가물가물.  구글하면 쉽게 알겠지만 그냥 놔 둘랍니다.  또 불현듯 생각이 날 때가 있겠지요...  There is only a human in the photo.   =°|°=

Bad day? Laugh is the best medicine

How do the 가수 laugh?

sing good sing good (싱긋 싱긋)

How do the gunmen (서부의 총재비) laugh?

bang good bang good (방긋  방긋)

How do the bachelors/bachelorettes laugh?

single single (싱글 싱글)

How do the 한물 간 가수 laugh?

sang good sang good (생긋  생긋)

How do the children laugh?

kid kid kid kid (키득 키득)

How do the web surfers laugh?

bing good bing good (빙긋  빙긋)
bing great (빙그레)

How do the soldiers laugh?

kill kill kill kill (킬 킬 낄 낄)

카사노바의 웃음은: her her her (허허허)/girl girl girl (껄껄껄)

그렇담 옹녀는: (he he he) 히히히 

요리사는 어떻게: cook cook (ㅋㅋ)

농부들의 웃음은: hoe hoe hoe (호호호)

=^|^=

월급날. It's payday!

As a salary man, today might be the best day of the month to me.  

All my hard working get paid on this day.

Then money starts leaking as I have to pay various bills, gas, grocery, insurance, and mortgage, etc.  

Part of money should be set aside for rainy days, to repair/maintain home and auto, and to support parents.

A few bucks go to a charitable organization. 

(How much from my donation actually goes to help needy people???)

Soon all money will disappear into the thin air.

....허무 + 허무.... 

But still, 월급날 is a good day, making us feel comfortable and secure.  

I guess I deserve to enjoy this day of the month.  

A sip of wine with 오징어 안주 and 송창식노래 will do.  =°|°=

alarm 과의 전쟁: can you beat these guys?

It is a battle field in the morning.  Before these inventions, clocks often become a victim of your cranky behavior.  Now do you think you can beat these guys?

1. This one cannot be snoozed, until you hit the bulls eye with the laser gun.  

 

2. This guy runs away from the night table as alarm goes off.  It falls off the table without a dent, and moves around. You have to get up, find and kill it. 

3. This spiky ball has many buttons, but only certain ones are the real snooze buttons. You have to find and push them together.

 4. This is my favorite.  The puzzle pieces on the top are popped out as alarm goes off.  You have to pick these pieces up and put them back in position to continue sleep.  Can you??

=°?°=

Cell Phone Addiction

Are you addicted to the cell phone?  Here is a self-diagnostic kit.


9. phone 보다 accessories 에 돈을 더 쓴다.

8. 오만 가지 app을 다 사용한다.

7. 모든 스케쥴을 phone alarm 에 의존한다.

6. cell phone bill payment 를 위해 밥도 굷는다.

5. full-charged battery 가 하루를 못 간다.

4. You broke it, and it feels like you lost a best friend.

3. 대화의 주제가 주로 cell phone.

2. 잠시라도 없으면 금단의 증상을 보인다.

1.5. 옆 사람 phone ringtone 을 들으면 내 몸이 자동으로 떨린다 (vibration).

1. 화장실에서도 사용한다. (This is just wrong!! You have to use toilet paper. ㅎㅎ)

It is just another 필요악 in the present world. =°/°=

영사관

얼마 전 '순회영사업무'차 Atlanta 영사님과 사무직원 일행이 우리 town을 방문하여 여권, 비자, 증명서 등등의 업무를 처리해 주었다. 뒤푸리로 이곳 한인회 임원들과 저녁 and plus 가 이어졌고.. (정말) 우연히 나도 합석하게 되였다. Atlanta가 조금 떨어져 있는 관계로 그곳 영사관 방문이 쉽지 안으데, 고마운 일이다.

얼마전 국적문제로 영사관 직원의 도움응 받았는데, 참으로 많이 친절해 졌다.  필자가 한국살던 시절엔, taxi 운전사 눈치, 동회직원 눈치, 심지어 구멍가게 아저씨 눈치, 담배가게 아저씨 눈치... 이렇게 눈치밥만 먹고 사라온 지라, '친절한 놈=사기꾼' 등식이 머리에 박혀 있었는데......

미국에 와서 받은 첫 인상이 바로 사람들의 친절함이었다. 예를 들면 먼저 들어가는 사람이 뒷 사람을 위해 열린 문을 잡아주고 있는 다든가, 바로 뒤에 따라 들어오는 분께, "After you!" 하면서 양보한다든가....

반드시 그렇지는 않겠지만 친절함은 생활수준과 어느정도 상관관계가 있는갑다.  마치 배가 부르니 'Well-Being' 에 관심이 쏠리듯이....  한국도 이젠 자기만을 생각하던 수준에서 남을 배려하는 수준으로 upgrade 된 듯~~~   °L°

가을, 마침내 오시나요?

It's been so long, hot and humid summer this year.  Finally temperatures are waning little by little.  Although it is still hot during the day, I feel more comfortable as it is quite less sticky than a few days ago.  In other words, I can sense that fall is finally killing the summer, hm.. hm.. 메뚜기도 한 철...  
In addition to the cool temperatures and shortened day length, there are several other signs of the fall-coming.  Cicadas are less buzzing as their term on Earth is close to the end, while other insects such as crickets and katydids are chirping louder at night.  Unfortunately, mosquitoes seem to be more aggressive and desperate to drink our blood, perhaps because they know that their time will be over shortly.  그렇지만 모기도 한 철 아니겠음메???

Fall semester has begun a few weeks ago.  Our campus is again filled with new students (freshmen and students transferred from other institutes) plus returning students.  They are roaming with new expectations, various types of anxieties/excitement or pride of being independent (?) college men and women (and of course they soon realize that freedom accompanies a great deal of responsibilities.  NO PAIN, NO GAIN.).
One very good benefit about working in the college campus is to see and interact with young and vibrant people all the time.  Somehow such youth energy is transferred to us, which keeps us younger.  Hmm...  Hmm... (So we are like vampires sucking the youngster's energy :-).  Oops. I just divulged our secrets!!!!

It has been quite hectic as I have to prepare lectures & other class materials that should meet students' satisfaction.  Teaching these young men/women are always tough, particularly because they (students) have special senses (?) toward the alien faculties teaching with broken English.  Since many students have no experience of learning from foreigners, their sight-line is not very smooth in the beginning (첫 시간후 수강변경하는 학생도 가끔 있음).  Well, this is certainly understandable.  Such kind of alienated feelings disappear gradually toward the middle of the semester, as we (I and students) are getting to know each other.  Fortunately, time solves lots of problems.....

~°||°~

수박고르기

마님께서 시원한 수박을 드시고 싶다고...
(이 한여름에 수박을 어듸서 구할꼬 **!)

무더위 한여름
수박 한 덩이 차디 찬 우물에 담가 놓고
한 밤에 모두 평상에 둘러안자
따닥! 거리며 타는 모기불 바라보며....

자기야~ㅇ. 수박 이제 씨원하겄지요?
(허헉. 가져오라는 명령을 더 무서운 의문문으로...)

시원한 수박, 자~아! 쪼겝니다.

잠시 야릇한 긴장이 척수를 타고 쪼르르 흐른다.
아마도 새빨간 속살을 상상하면서...
그 살을 무자비하게 파고 들어갈 치아와
달콤한 맛을 기대하며 흥분에 떨고있는 혀~~

침묵과 함께 쩌~억~ 수박이...

°-°,  °/°,  근데, 이거 살이 아즉 허여 멀건 하잔녀
아! 이거 누가 골른 겨??!!

으. 어디있더라? 지난번 봐둔 쥐구멍이...
(모기소리로) 아 그냥 씨원한 맛으로 먹어둬어. 수박 고르는 거이 각시고르는 것 맨치 어렵당께...


이렇게 여름밤은 깊어 갑니다.


=°|°=

번데기, bug food

There are so many insects (more than 1 million species) on earth, and they are everywhere and anytime. Whether you like it or not, we are constantly interacting with them. Some of them are not very friendly, as they are parasites, pests that compete with us for food, or blood suckers. However, there are many others who are beneficial for humans. They provide us with honey, silk, medicines, natural beauty, food coloring and even light.

How about food? There are so many of them, and perhaps we can implement them as a food to relieve hunger. As a matter of fact, bugs are important staple around the world, including Korea many years ago. There used to be 번데기 장수 on the street near school, and they shouted out "뻐언 데기데기데기~~" to attract kids.

Bug foods have good nutritional values, and cost of production is far less than other meats.  Main problem of the insects being foods is perhaps their look. Many people say, "E-yew, It's disgusting. 징그러".  How about taste?????  =°|°=

"Bon appétit"

쌍동이 결혼 50주년 기념-추카 추카.

The two ladies in these photos are identical twins.  

They got married at the same time and place 

in a hot summer day of Aug. 1960 (top). 

After 50 years since then, 

they are still happily married couples (bottom). 

(Photos are from our local news paper, News Sentinel)

I wonder how the grooms recognize their own sweethearts. 

They said, "we did not get our wives mixed up. 

They have never been able to fool us."

I would like to give my heartfelt congratulations to them!!! 

They are real role models for new weds and 

currently married couples like us.

백년해로 하시길...  =°|°=

Video killed the radio star

 'The Buggles' 의 힡 곡으로 아마도 고딩어때 (라듸오로) 들었던 기억이 난다 (사실은 곡조만 기억나고 가수가 누군지는 몰랐음). 우연히 어느 샆에서 듣고 불현 옜 추억이 되 살아 나서, 유-튜브을 찻아보니 당장에 튀어나온다. 세상 차암 조아진 건가요?  *|*  어쨌든 이곡을 이제 라듸오가 아닌 뷔듸오로 보니 노래 제목이 다시한번 실감나는구먼니요. (라듸오 스타는 가창력만 있어도 성공 했는데.....).
고등학생때는 한 밤중에 (이불속에서) FM 팦송 듣는 것이 최고 엔터테인맨ㅌ 였지요?....  '영시의 다이알' or '벼얼이 빛나는 밤에' 등등~~~  =°|°=

I heard you on the wireless back in fifty two

Lying awake intent at tuning on you

If I was young it didn't stop you coming through

Oh-a-oh

They took the credit for your second symphony

Rewritten by machine and new technology

And now I understand the problems you can see

Oh-a-oh

I met your children

Oh-a-oh

What did you tell them

Video killed the radio star x 2

Pictures came and broke your heart

Oh-a-a-a-oh

And now we meet in an abandoned studio

We hear the playback and it seems so long ago

And you remember the jungles used to go

Oh-a-oh

You were the first one

You were the last one

Video killed the radio star x 2

In my mind and in my car

We can't rewind we've gone to far

Pictures came and broke your heart

Put the blame on VTR

.........

울고 싶나요?

Feel like crying secretly sometimes? Then don't hesitate it. This song might help you. It's been a long while since I listened to this song. Donizetti's Una Furtiva Lagrima (남 몰래 흐르는 눈물). 곡조가 처량 하면서도 참 (무지 너무나) 아름다운 노래입니다.  가사 내용도 알수 있으면 조켓는디...=°|°=

Una furtiva lagrima negli occhi suoi spuntò, 

quelle festose giovani invidiar sembrò. 

Che più cercando io vo?
Che più cercando io vo? 

M'ama, sì, m'ama, lo vedo, lo vedo!

Un solo istante i palpiti 

del suo bel cor sentir! 

I miei sospir confondere 

per poco ai suoi sospir! 

I palpiti, i palpiti sentir, confondere i miei coi suoi sospir!
Cielo, si può morir...! Di più non chiedo, non chiedo. 

Ah! Cielo, si può, si può morir...! 

Di più non chiedo, non chie~~~~~~do.

Si può morir... Si può morir d'amor!

아주 덥다

계속 되는 찜통 더위에 심신이 피로하다. 이번주 예보를 보니 여전히 90도를 웃 도는 날씨의 연속이다. 곳 학기가 시작되어 여러가지 준비할 것이 만은데..

가끔 꿈을 꾸는데 그 내용이 비슷하다. 내가 대학생인데 시험공부를 전혀 안해서 허둥지둥 하다가...  그러다 깨면 안도의 한숨을 쉰다. '아 난 졸업했지, 그것도 아주 오래전에..' 삶은 끝이 없는 긴장의 연속 인갑다. 가끔 이곳 묘비에 적는 'R.I.P. (Rest in Peace)' 가 가슴에 와 닫는다.
=°|°=

여명의 눈동자를 다시보다.

근 20년 만에 우연히 '여명의 눈동자' (DVD 10장)를 빌려서 폐인?직전에 시청을 끝냈다.

Three main characters in this drama are 윤여옥, 장하림, and 최대치. 여옥 is a poor girl who became a member of 정신대. She lost all dignity and had no will to survive. Then she met 최대치, a Korean student-soldier, who gave her the REASON and WILL to survive. 최대치 is another poor man, who had to fight for Japs in the jungle of Burma. He survived and rescued by a Korean communist in China. Perhaps 여옥 gave him the REASON and WILL to survive.
After liberation, he became a high-rank officer of North Korean Army (인민군) and later participated in the 육이오 military campaign.

장하림 is relatively lucky one who attracted three pretty women (ㅎㅎ) throughout the drama. Like 최대치, he also had to join Japs army. Because of his background in medicine, he was involved in the preparation of Japanese germ warfare at Saipan where he met 여옥 and helped her labor. Then the destiny made him an agent of the US intelligence.

After 인천상륙작전, the war was dragging, as Chinese Communist Army (중공군) involved. 최대치 was isolated in 지리산 and became a leader of partisans (빨치산). A truce was finally signed (휴전선 was drawn), and the partisans had no hope to join the main forces from North Korea. They were gradually wiped out in 지리산 by 장하림-led 전경. 여옥 helped 대치 secretly, purely because of personal reason (husband). Finally, 여옥 and 대치 got together, while 하림 was watching them dying of gun shot.

I am not good at film critique, but if I can enjoy watching it second time, it should be a good one. After watching this, I have thought of my life, which made so many turns to be 'NOW'. "What if I was not there at that time?  What if I made a different choice on that occasion?". There could be so many "What ifs" that could change my life path. So should I believe in 'destiny'?

For our Korean-American generation, this drama is a very good resource for teaching "ideology, World War II in Asia, and Korean history under Japanese occupation and after liberation".  English subtitle is excellent and kids will have no problem of understanding the storyline. I certainly recommend it.
=°|°=

과일인가 채소인가? 아니면 박쥐인가?

Among various exotic things that I was encountered with in America was the way of eating tomatoes. In Korea (at least 30-40 years ago), this 'fruit' was eaten only as a fruit. During sticky summer days like here, people used to buy some tomatoes from the street and cut them into pieces. With sugars sprinkled on the top, it was one of the best summer snacks that relieved my hunger. Therefore, I had never imagined 'cooking' tomatoes, because they were fruits.
In here, tomatoes are used in many different ways such as tomato juices and tomato sauce, puree, sandwich and salad. The tomato sauce is an essential ingredient for Italian dishes (pizza and pasta). It was very strange to see that a fruit is processed or mixed with others to be eaten ^^!

So question is: is tomato fruit or vegetable (과일인가 채소인가)? I found one interesting article regarding this argument. Here is the link for the article below. ‘www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/news/2009/04/a_tomato_celebration.html’

Tomato & Definition

a fruit in science, but a vegetable in legislation

Botanically, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant: therefore it is a fruit or, more precisely, a berry. However, the tomato is not as sweet as those foodstuffs usually called fruits and, from a culinary standpoint, it is typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, as are vegetables, rather than at dessert in the case of most fruits.

This argument has had legal implications in the United States. In 1887, U.S. tariff laws that imposed a duty (관세) on vegetables but not on fruits caused the tomato's status to become a matter of legal importance. The U.S. Supreme Court settled the controversy on May 10, 1893 by declaring that the tomato is a vegetable, based on the popular definition that classifies vegetables by use, that they are generally served with dinner and not dessert (Nix v. Hedden (149 U.S. 304)). The holding of the case applies only to the interpretation of the Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, and the court did not purport to reclassify the tomato for botanical or other purposes other than for paying a tax under a tariff act.

Biologically speaking, tomatoes must be fruits, because they are from the fertilized flowers. However, such definition does not seem to be working in the food business. Whenever money is involved, even a trivial matter becomes a serious matter.....
=°|°=

요행 그리고 다행

When I came to TN about 10 years ago, the state of TN had no lottery. However, the debate had been very hot for a while. The opponents claimed that gambling or lottery disturbs people's spirit (or something like that. You know what I mean.). The proponents said, "TN borders eight states (WOW! This is the state that borders most other states in the USA). Anyway, people go to the neighboring states to buy the lottery tickets. Why do we lose the our money to other states??" The proponents won, and TN started selling lottery tickets. Fortunately, lawmakers set the rule that certain amount of lottery income should be spent for college scholarships.

I confess that I often buy the tickets to support TN education (^^!), and then I dream, 'What would I do, if I'd be a multi-millionaire? Hmm. Early retire? Car? Mortgage? Travel? Build a temple? Decent homes for our parents? Donation to the Department of Treasury to pay back some National debt??' Dreaming per se makes me happy for a few days until the winning numbers are picked. 피-식- (깨몽하는 소리, 김빠지는 소리). Well, I guess one-dollar-ticket may worth for such an ephemeral dream. And I feel 'lucky' not being selected as a winner, as such easy money certainly will drive me crazy... =°|°=

가재와 소풍

In English, many things living in the water are called fish; for instances, crayfish, jellyfish, cuttlefish, etc. It sounded really strange, because they don't look like fish at all! However, I managed to learn that there is a distinction between the true fish (vertebrates) and just water creatures (invertebrates 무척추동물) in the formal English. For a true fish, there is a space before the word 'Fish' (e.g., Belt Fish, Monk Fish). For other aquatic critters, there is no such space (as in crayfish). Thus, 'fish' is a general term for creatures swimming under the water. An exception that I know is the "silverfish". This is actually an insect, living on the dry land.

Similar rule applies for the flies. For example, compare House Fly vs. dragonfly. The former is a 'true fly', while the latter is an insect that happens to 'fly'. These days, however, not many people realize such a difference, and use it indistinguishably.

Anyway, my and my sister's family went to a creek with a hope to cool down this scorching summer heat. We spotted several crayfish (가재) on the rocky bed of the stream, and caught a few (one of them in the picture above). It was not easy to recognize them in the beginning, because of their camouflage. However, our patience got paid off. Kids had a lot of fun and we lost the track of time.

When I was a school kid, 소풍 was one of the most exciting events. One reason is that it is the day when we can have snacks that we cannot do in normal days. The usual places were someone's tomb (동구능, 정능), temples (봉은사, 영화사), or 유원지. On the way back home, we used to stay around, and some kids tried to catch 가재 in the stream. I tried as well, but never caught anything. So I traded my leftover snacks with 가재, put it in an empty cola bottle to bring it home and observed how it swam. After a day or so, it died of hunger or lack of oxygen or stress (or all of them) ㅠㅠ. As times passed, I forgot about this for a long time, until I found a pile of (cooked) crayfish in a Chinese restaurant. I wondered how they got so many of them.

Finally, EUREKA! I caught my own 가재, a live one!!! I was so excited. And it was such a memento of my old (happy) days. =°|°=

The fourth of July

This year again, a dazzling firework decorated the sky of the Independence Day. In the city where I am living, Independence Day festival is held annually in downtown. More than 100,000 people enjoy a lot of events and celebrate American Independence from British. At night, the city orchestra plays musics that boost American patriotism. At the end of the performance, it is a tradition that the orchestra plays '1812 overture' as a finale. Shortly before the end of the overture, fireworks begin and continue for about 20 min.

For many years in the past, this day has been just an event that provided us with something to see and enjoy a night. However, I am not sure when I, as a Komerican, will be able to accept and celebrate 'sincerely' this day as a memorable holiday. Such an emotion might not occur to me in my life, but at least I am 'trying' to make positive contributions to this society and country to where I am belong now. ~°|°~

비암

미국에 살면, 집들이 야드를 많이 같고 있어서인지 심심 찮게 야생동물들을 (squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, lots of birds, snakes, opossum, raccoons, ground hogs, 반디불, and even fox) 목격하게 된다. 어떤 놈들은 세도 안내고, 버저시 한 구텅이에 아예 터를 잡고 산다. 게중에 무었이 가장 혐오스런 동물이라 물으면 아마도 뱀이 top of the list 에 오르지 안을까 한다. 많은 사람들이 뱀을 보면 (크던 작던간에) 일단 기겁부터 하니 (그 원인은 이브에게 있었다고 하지, 아마?)

배-배-뱀이다! 헉억. (아래 사진은 이 기사와 관계없음)

밤 늦게 computer 일을 하고 있었는데, 방 한 모서리에 뭔 긴 작데기 (about 1.5-feet long) 같은것이 움직이는 것 같아, 자세히 보니, 헉억. 배-배-뱀이닷!!! I almost got a heart attack!!! 'Oh my god! Omigosh!! What the hell!!! What should I do? How and why did it get inside in the middle of the summer night??'

잠시 생각해 보다가, 이정도 작은 놈은 한번 해볼수 있겠다. 싶어 장갑을 끼고, 집게와 빈 김치병을 찻아 이 놈을 잡기로 했다. 왠걸, my clumsy reaction to its movement let it escape behind the bookcase. 'Dang!!! What an idiot!!! 어째 그거 하나 못 잡냐?' 스스로를 책망하면서, 다시 심사+숙고. 하다 내린 결론이 "call 911".
Their response: we don't handle that kind of occasion. I will give you a number you can call (wild animal control or something like that).
With 반신반의, I called that number. Not surprisingly, nobody answered this late.

'큰일이다. 어떡하나? 밤세 지켜보다가 (어디 있는지 알아야 하니까), 아침에 전화해야 하나?' 안절부절, 안부절절~~~
밑져야 본전이다 싶어, 민중의 지팡이 (일명 경찰)에게 도움을 청해 보기로 했다. 세금도 낼 많큼 내는데....(여담이지만, 내가 한국에 살던 시절엔 경찰이 '민중의 몽둥이'로 불렸다. 아마 486세대는 잘 아시겠지만).

다행이도, 한 민중의 지팡이가 약 30분 후에 집에 왔는데, 아무런 장비도 없이 맨손이다.. '으~ 도데체 예는 왜 온 거야? 한번 check 하고 딴 사람 부르려나? 아님 총만 믿고왔나? 혹시 경찰을 가장한 터미내이터2?' 

어디 있는지 묻더니 bookcase를 움직여, 뱀이 똥무더기처럼 또아리틀고 숨어 있는걸 찻았다 (아마도 예는 더놀랬을거시다. 내가 왜 여기 왔나 엄청 후회 하면서...). 그러더니 이 민중의 지팡이, 맨손을 두어번 슉슉하더니 금새 잡아버린다..
그리고 잠시 가지고 놀더니, then he said, "It is a king snake, a common one in this area. It is not poisonous. Do you want to pet?". "No thanks. Please take it away. I was scared to almost death because of it", I said. He smiled, and then disappeared into the dark night with the snake.

살다보니 밸일이 다 생기네.... 그날밤 가슴이 통게통게하여 잠을 한참 못이루다가 잠이 들었는데, 여러 야생동물로 부터 쫗겨다니는 (한 여름밤의) 꿈을 꾸었다. 이제 이 자라보고 놀란가슴 어떠케 치료해야 하나? ㅠㅠ. ~*|*~

얼마나 메울까?

Many cultures including Korean have adopted hot & spicy foods. I like spice foods, too. Those foods were not popular in the US when I came here about 20+ years. Then, influences from Mexican, Thai, and Korean spicy foods have been making American people hooked with the spicy foods. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see that even burger franchise stores advertise hot burgers containing jalapeno peppers.

Various types of peppers are the main ingredient of the spicy foods.
(Q1) Which pepper is the hottest on Earth?
The degree of hotness is determined by the content of a chemical called capsaicin in the pepper. A while ago, an American chemist Wilbur Scoville developed a way to test the strength of the hotness (source: Wikipedia). Since then, Scoville Heat Units (SHU) have been used to indicate the amount of capsaicin in a chili pepper. According to this rating, Bhut Jolokia chili is considered the hottest pepper followed by Habanero. It is so hot that Indian military announced to use it as a 최루탄.



(Q2) Then what is the mildest one?? Guess (answer shown in the end).

I was looking for a recipe for an Indian dish, called Korma. The one I found described Cayenne pepper as an ingredient. Since I have not heard of it before, I researched a little about it. SHU for this pepper is moderate between Serrano and Thai pepper. So it is fair to say that it is hot one (at least to me). Of surprise, Cayenne peppers seem to have a variety of medicinal power (www.cayennepepper.info/)(www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/cayenne.htm).

(Q3) Well, my last question (to myself) is: How is my food?? Can't answer it yet, as I have not made it. Perhaps someday next week... ~*|*~

Q2-Answer: Bell pepper (피망)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

In the last entry, I was talking about my impression from the "Toy Story 3". If I am asked "what's my favorite movie so far?", I and my son can say, "It's Amadeus", as my son saw me watching this movie over and over again (perhaps 20 times or more). We had a video tape, but after watching a few times, it was ruined. Fortunately, DVD came out and I bought it without any hesitation.

I asked myself, "why am I so obsessed with this film?". Perhaps I can say a few things to answer. First, I love (usually light) classical musics and the movie is very well mixed with lovely musics written by Mozart and Salieri. Secondly, the main actors done their jobs so well and the movie has very good storyline. Thirdly, I have a deep compassion for Salieri. In the movie, he did his best for his successful career in music. He constructed himself with his own hands with a little help from his musical talent and became a court composer. He thanked God for the guidance and plan for his path.

Then suddenly, Mozart appeared in front of him and challenged him. Mozart, a wunderkind in music, stored all music notes in his brain and simply wrote them down without any correction, and those musics came out perfect. On the other hand, Salieri wrote a draft and had to revise it many times before he finalized it. Salieri felt betrayed by God, and blamed him for his unjustness and unfairness, particularly because he saw Mozart is arrogant and not humble at all (in other words, asshole). "How can the God choose such a despicable creature to praise him through the music?"

And then, he made a secret plan to kill God's incarnation (i.e., Mozart). Although the plan was accomplished (and he thought he would stand alone and get praised by people), he watched himself disappearing from people's attention, perhaps because his musical enthusiasm dwindled after his competitor was gone. He has been suffered from what he has done, and finally he was housed in a mental institute. His last lines in the movie were very touchy. "I am the king of mediocrities. I absolve you! I absolve you!".

If I were Salieri, would I be different from him?

Most of people, including myself, are mediocre, meaning that we are not born geniuses like Mozart. But people like Mozart are very very rare, and perseverance (plus little luck or fortune) is the key for most successful people. I have to admit that I am often jealous of other people's success, although I should've read the story behind their success. 어쩔수 없는 한 욕심많은 인간이지요. ㅠㅠ. ~*|*~

Toy Story

Yesterday, we all went to watch a new Disney Pixar movie, Toy Story 3. When the first one came out in 1995, my son was only a toddler who had a few toys at home. The movie was sensational as this was the first one showing this type of animation. Not only the technical innovation, but also the storyline was so fresh and novel, bringing the materials (toys) into lives. Toys are alive only when humans are not around. This kind of idea might be from a famous comic strip, called "Calvin and Hobbs" in which Hobbs (stuffed tiger) becomes alive only when Calvin is with him.

I don't remember much of Toy Story 2. But this third sequel was really fun to watch. The story began when Andy is about to leave for the college and he is now an almost grown-up who would not be interested in his old toys any more. Upon clearing his room, he has to do something about the toys that he had kept since he was in the episode-1 (trashing or keeping them in the attic). The rest is all about Toys' adventurous story.

The theater was packed with people, and we barely found our seats. And I believe they all had a wonderful time. The time-line of Toy Story trilogy is kind of similar to my son's life, because he is going to college in a couple of years. And I asked him if there is anything he would like to keep forever. The answer is No (naturally). Maybe he does have one in mind (nobody knows what's in the teenager's brain). Anyway, the movie was refreshing and like to recommend to other people. It looks good for kids, teenagers, and grown-ups. ~°|°~

NBA finals

NBA post season games were finally over. The result was disappointing. Lakers edged Celtics in their 7th match and grabbed the championship. Although I am not a big basketball fan, Celtics have a root in me, as we had lived in Boston area for about four years before we came down South.
When I was a school kid in Korea, I had a chance to learn about American NBA stars. The only one I still can remember is "압둘자바, Abdul Jabbar", perhaps because the name sounded funny to me. Among recent players, I like John Stockton (photo). One reason is that he is handicapped with respect to his height. Of course he is still way taller than me, but he is shorter compared to other players. Still he had played successfully in NBA for many years (I think he retired a few years ago). It is always a pleasure to see a great achievement by a physically and/or mentally inferior person.

Speaking of heights in sports, there was a talented soccer player in Korean national team long time ago. His name is 김진국. Like Stockton, he was also very short (~160 cm high). That was one reason why he received lots of attention from soccer fans.

The University where I am working currently boasts a very strong women's basketball team, which had won NCAA national championship eight times. The team has had only one coach for over 30 years!!! She is a very strong woman and a very talented coach. She managed more than 1000 wins during her tenure, the most wins in the NCAA history. In addition to her coaching skills, I have been deeply impressed by her loyalty to one team for such a long period of time. Shortly after a season is over, coaching markets are open. Some are fired due to team's poor performance, some simply moves to place which offers better money. It is rare to see that one coach sticks to a team longer than 5 years. In other words, sports are one big business where money governs nearly everything. I bet the aforementioned coach has been (better) offered by many other teams. But for some reason, she sticks to the same team for long time, a rare case that impresses me and other people a lot. There must be something else more than money. ~°|°~

세상에서 제일 맛있는 것?

무었이 세상에서 제일 맛있을까?

If you ask 100 people this question, I bet you will get 100 different answers, depending on their ages, gender, family and cultural backgrounds, emptiness of the stomach, and diversity of available foods, etc.

What is/was the best dish for me, then? I cannot pick one, as the answer has been changing throughout my life (I am a few years behind the age of 지천명 or 오학년). When I was in elementary & middle school, some classmates from wealthy family brought 장조림 or 진주햄 소시지 as 도시락 반찬. Those were so delicious that I could not forget them even today. So whenever I go to Korean grocery, I have a habit of putting one 소시지 in the cart. It is still a yummy item to me.

Another one I can remember vividly was the peanut butter. Back then, peanut butters were only from the US Army's PX. Somehow my mother was able to bring one jar to home. Once I tasted one spoonful of this, I was willing to trade my soul for this brown paste. Even now, I often enjoy one or two spoonfuls of the peanut butter once in a while.

Another mouth-watering food was "roasted chicken" with radish pickle. I could not forget how scrumptious this was. On the way home, there was a store on the street which displayed a rack with rotating chickens in an oven. The smell and the view almost killed me several times. 쟝 바르쟝??

During puberty (사춘기), everything was yummy, and nothing was wasted. 도시락 was usually done after second period, and we went 도시락 hunting during the regular lunch hour.... At least I was fortunate to bring 도시락, as some poor kids were not able to do it.

As time goes by, 술안주 became the main subjects of the best food. My budget was usually quite limited, so I and friends of mine looked for inexpensive foods in 포장마차. 꼼장어, 닭발 (the photo above is so modernized version), 순대 or 오뎅 were the best and usual menus on the table.

Upon settlement in the US, I was encountered with so many different ethnic foods and fruits. At first,typical American junk foods (burger and pizza) were most attractive. Then my interests shifted to Mexican (Fajita), Italian (mainly pastas), Thai, and Indian dish.

These days, instead of being served, I am trying to make dishes myself. Making something with my own hands makes me feel great. Sometimes they came out quite nicely, sometimes did not. But my family appreciates and enjoys my cooking, no matter what. ~°|°~