Earlier today I posted about one bad class. Riding the bus home I realized I’d said nothing about the to great classes I taught today—perhaps because they came after the bad one and I was busy as hell since the first of the two good classes began. The first good class was like a taste of water after trudging about for a day in the sun-baked desert of mediocre, don’t-give-a-crap students. This was a bunch of young techie students and they’re great. They always bring a smile to my face. There’s a few “couples” in the class (only one couple …

Tonight someone left a comment on my website, anonymously. The person simply left a letter in the space where a name or handle would go. Now, perhaps it was just circumstance, the name being the initial of at least one person I am not really friends with anymore. It may also be what I think I recognize as a kind of conversational tic from that same person. Whatever it is, all I know is that I assumed the anonymous poster was someone I know. And yet in my response post, I behaved as if I didn’t know the person. This, …

I was sitting in the front window of a cafe yesterday and two strange things happened to me.

I can hear the dogs at the dog-meat farm howling, and it occurs to me I’ve never mentioned to my family that I actually like that famous Korean dish, dog soup. Hmmmmmmm. The Jeonju International Film Festival is in full swing, with all that entails. I saw two films today: “The Big Durian”, a wonderful comedic semi-documentary about ethnicity and politics in Malaysia (with the director on hand to answer questions) and a Korean collection of short films called “Walking Like Zombie” which only reinforced my sense that there’s something deep and latently powerful about the idea of cannibalism to …

Things have kept me busy. Which things? It’s Jeonju International Film Festival Time. Meaning tons of great movies are showing, and this is my only chance this year to see them. It’s mid-term, and I have a huge pile of writing assignments to mark… which is what I am doing this afternoon, till my 5pm movie. I’m working on a long post for this website, a kind of survey of the sexual world of foreigners and Koreans, as in a kind of sociopolitical analysis of it, Franz Fanon-styled. Keep your eyes peeled for it, that’ll be my next major post …

I didn’t know that a page like this existed. Looks like an online hub of foreigner activity. Worth a quick look, even just for all the linkage.

Over at Green Boogers Laura writes about the linguistic challenges of living in a foreign country. I have to admit I was a little jealous. Look: – Hi, can I have a donut, please. – Med sukker eller med chokolat? – Er, with sugar, please. Can you put it for a hundred kr?a? – Blah blah blah blah blah. – I’m sorry? – Blah blah blah blah blah. – I’m sorry, I don’t understand you. – [sighs, speaks perfect English] I can only put it for hundred over. – OK, that’s fine, thanks. – [hands over the money without a …

On the way home tonight after hanging out with Lime, I took a taxi. It was far enough to warrant this, but the second I got into the cab I was a little scared. It was something about the driver’s body language that signalled to me immediately that there was something not quite right about him. Preparing to make a U-turn at the first available chance (I was getting into the cab going in the wrong direction), he asked me in all seriousness (I realized he was serious the second time he asked me) whether the flashing light to our …