I've never even heard of 금촌, but it seems like the place to be (thanks, Jae).

The other day, one of my high school students said some mean things in Korean about my appearance to all of the girls in our class. It was pretty humiliating to hear them all laugh while I had to feign ignorance. The next day, my slanderer complained to me in front of a bunch of elementary school boys about how they were calling her fat and ugly (Assah!).
One of those kids likes to headbutt my body whenever he gets the chance. That same day, he was headbutting my back but accidentally made contact with my elbow really hard. That was painfully funny.

Lately, I haven't been able to study any of my Korean vocabulary because I've been bogged down with so many books to read for work. However, there are some benefits to reading some good literature. For example, Hatchet had some good words to chew on:

“He did not know how long it took, but later he looked back on this time of crying in the corner of the dark cave and thought of it as when he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work. It wasn’t just that it was wrong to do, or that it was considered incorrect. It was more than that-it didn’t work. When he sat alone in the darkness and cried and was done, was all done with it, nothing had changed. His leg still hurt, it was still dark, he was still alone and the self-pity had accomplished nothing.”

I've also been thoroughly enjoying a book called The Good Earth. There's one part where Wang Lung talks to his daughter about the pains of her bound feet:

"and my mother said I was not to weep aloud because you are too kind and weak for pain and you might say to leave me as I am, and then my husband would not love me even as you do not love her."

This book has taught me that Chinese people have had it tough too. The interesting thing is that the author, Pearl S. Buck, was a white American who grew up in China for many years, which allows her to write beautifully yet with accurate cultural and historical knowledge. Strongly recommended.

Finally, I was able to watch an awesome German movie called "The Lives of Others" earlier tonight. It's been a long time since I was impressed by a movie's story and message. Although my Korean isn't being stimulated these days, I am learning and growing through the "lives of others." But one interesting thing that Mike said in small group was that "you are your own best testimony" or something along those lines. 참 신기합니다.

Thought of the Day: Retreat.
Song of the Day: Utada Hikaru-Flavor Of Life (Ballad Version)