Clocking out for now

The day after tomorrow, Jess and I fly to America.

We originally started this blog two years ago to keep everyone up to date on our experiences living abroad. Since we’re coming home now, and since I won’t have long afternoons in the office to opine about politics, the blog seems to have passed its prime of usefulness.

I’ll keep it up, but probably won’t be active on it for months to come. Facebook is perfect for keeping in touch. Who knows, maybe I’ll have a reason to return to blogging in the future.

Till then, g’bye. It’s been fun.

Nate

Next career step

One more month in Korea.

Word has probably reached most of you by now that I’m enlisting in the army. This Wednesday I’ll be swearing in on the Yongsan base in Seoul. I’m signing up for a September boot camp and infantry training in Georgia.

It was surprising to find I’m part of a fast-growing number of EFL teachers joining the US Army while in Korea. But the main response I hear from friends is, “Why the heck would you do that?”

Reasons…

• It first came up when Jessica mentioned it as an option based on my personality, etc.– something I never, ever would have expected to hear from her. Since she was fine with it, I finally started thinking and praying about it.
• I had to agree with Jess: the infantry would match my deep-seated interests more closely than other jobs have.
• Also, both of us are in love with travelling, but I’m not really sold on the idea of doing it as a career English teacher.
• With my bachelor’s degree, I’ll be able to go to OCS and pursue an army officer’s career, which I’ve seen turn out very well for my grandpa and uncle.
• Army health insurance is ideal for Jessica’s needs, both now and in the case of future pregnancies, etc.
• Army housing allowance is an answer to our desire to keep life simple, and to avoid having to decide yet how to invest our Korea savings.
• While periodic desires for other careers always fade, my interest in and respect for the military has been constant for as long as I can remember.
• Why not try it while I’m still young and mobile enough? I spent two years teaching, which I’ve never really wanted as a career. If for some reason I don’t want the army after three years, then so be it.
• You may call it peer pressure or jealousy, but I call it family tradition: Grampa Crew was in the US Army before he was actually a US citizen, and his offspring ever since then seem stuck on the military. I grew up in an army family.
• Ok, I’ll admit it. When my brother Caleb got deployed to Afghanistan, I got a bit jealous. I’ve always been intrigued by the Middle East, and want to be where news and history are being made. Then another brother, Amos, joined the Marines. I hesitated no longer.
• After living in a feminine society, surrounded constantly by female coworkers, it’s time for a break from all the estrogen. Boot camp might be a good detox.
• Living and travelling abroad, I initially went through a phase testing the waters of liberalism. But as time goes on and my understanding of the world develops, I’ve actually become more appreciative of America, and more patriotic than I was before. I’m excited for this chance to serve.

Phone-collecting mountain gods and “rost” ladies

After learning about cause and effect, one of my classes was answering this essay question:

“Imagine Mr. Crew got lost at Mt. Sorak. What could be effects? Finish the story.”

Here’s a sample answer, word-for-word.

Mr. Crew made a wood house. Mr. Crew dropped his cell phone in pond.

then an mountain god came there. he bring a haptic and asked him “Is this yours?”

and he said “no.”

soon, god bring rollypop phone. and god say to him, “Is this yours?”

than he said “No”

god bring Mr. Crew’s old phone an asked “Is this yours?”

then he says “Yes!”

than he got 3 phones because the god gave to him. than he sold haptic and rollypop phone, and he is be a very rich.

Another student even hooked me up with a date in his story.

He see a person. He say “hey! I rost. You have a map?”

Person is not say and go. He is angry. “Not good person!”

And one laddy ask to him. “I lost this mt. did you have a map?”

He say “Sorry. I don’t have a map. I rost too.”

At night they are hungry and cold. they find to cave and sleep there.

one grand father care they to his home. They get up, there is a tree house! laddy see a grand father. and they say “thanku!”

Europe tilts to the right

If you’ve seen world headlines today, you know this already. Europe is about to go conservative.

The notorious British National Party got its first two EU parliament seats. But as far-right as the BNP is, it won’t be lonely.

I’ve also been reading about the parties that have made gains in the Austrian, Danish and Dutch governments. They seem to have many key policies in common with each other. All three, like other right-wing European parties, especially want to restrict Muslim immigration and deny Turkey entrance into the EU.

In other words, “Keep Europe European!”

Denmark’s rising “People’s Party” even supports Israel, the US war on terror, and the maintenance of Denmark’s National Church. Their Netherlands counterpart is openly protective of “Judeo-Christian” culture.

Of course, many of Europe’s conservative parties are decidedly more Christian than their liberal counterparts. But that doesn’t make them all good news.

As American conservatives, let’s remember there are some crucial differences between Europe’s political right and North America’s.

Hungary and Slovakia, for instance, now have some governing officials from parties know for racism (antisemitic, anti-gypsy, etc.). Don’t forget, Europe’s memory of right-wing leaders isn’t filled with people like Ronald Reagan. Try Hitler or Mussolini.

That said, Hungary and Slovakia are relatively unimportant. I do think this general swing to the right could turn out to be a healthy thing for Europe overall.

In other news, I’ve figured out why I’ve become such a political blabbermouth while living in Korea. It’s because my job doesn’t keep my mind and body busy enough. And in the office, my default boredom activity is reading the news. So all the excess mental energy goes into analyzing and blabbering about politics.

Oh well. Hopefully that will be remedied once we get home and I start a real job.

Photos from Soraksan

Mount Sorak is a breath of fresh air in more ways than one, especially set in such a crowded, busy nation. Besides being my most challenging hike in Korea, it was that most beautiful place I’ve seen in this country. These photos don’t do it justice at all.

Click on any sample here to see the Facebook album.

 

  

 

Finally, the Southeast Asia footage

Watch the video here on Facebook.

Korea the drama queen

Public opinion is a beast in any society. But to me, Korean political emotions seem especially confusing and twisted. What’s more, these impulsive emotions seem to move in sync across the nation, as if on cue.

It’s almost like the mental roller coaster of an unstable teenage girl.

Bribery scandals surrounding liberal former president Roh were a huge disappointment to many Koreans. They let the world know by giving conservative Lee Myun Bak a landslide election last year. Now Lee is their new target of even stronger disapproval.

That hasn’t stopped indignation from still growing about how corrupt Roh had been. But the instant Roh jumped off the cliff behind his house, he ensured his place in Korean hearts as a beloved martyr.

It makes some sort of sense, I guess. But despite Koreans’ loathing of their new president, I’m baffled by just how extreme the ongoing displays of affection for Roh have been. In my neighborhood today, someone put up enormous banners honoring Roh. Right now, I’m watching dubious photos on TV that make it look like Lee’s evil cops are desecrating Roh’s funeral flowers.

The moment Roh jumped, he stopped being the weak old man who got crooked and let his nation down. He became everyone’s sweet, innocent grandfather. And of course, Lee is the murderer.

If that’s how effective suicide is in east Asia, I now see why it’s so popular here. Like I said, unstable teenager…

Anyway, I you never got a chance to read about the incident, here’s the story I read the morning it happened.

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s former President Roh Moo-hyun, hounded for weeks over his links while in office to a widening corruption scandal, appears to have jumped to his death in the mountains near his home on Saturday, a top aide said.

[Read it.]

Why to know your history

I’ve been reading C.S. Lewis’ book The Weight of Glory. Today I ran across one of those quotes that’s quotable enough to add to my Facebook “Favorite Quotations.” It’s about the importance of knowing history.

A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village; the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age.

Welcome to Korea

Here’s a huge example of the bizarre planning some of us see at work on a smaller scale every week.

If there was an award for the world’s quietest international airports, Yangyang in South Korea would be a strong contender.

One of its newest terminals, which cost almost US$400m to build, has not seen a single passenger in more than six months.

Campaigners have dubbed it a “ghost airport” and claim it is far from an isolated example.

The BBC’s John Sudworth went to visit it.

[Watch video]

 

North American theism (compare with previous post)

Here’s a comparable map of North American religious belief by state/province. I say comparable, not parallel. Data from some areas is a couple years earlier than from others. Also, the question was slightly different: this shows people who identify with a religion as opposed to having “no religion.”

I still see older religious traditions standing out in dark color, although there’s not as noticeable a contrast. The US is extraordinarily religious in relation to Europe. Look at little North Dakota up there.

But Mexico and Quebec (with its neighboring provinces) represent Roman Catholic majorities, and they stand out as religious even compared to states in the US “Bible Belt.” Interesting.