How quickly it fades!

Well, I just got back from a conference in Thailand.  It was good to learn more about the work I'll be involved with in the future - really a tremendous, refreshing time, filled with unexpected blessings.  But it was only 8 days.  I just got back today only to find that my tongue feels weird, slurred almost, things don't come out like I want them to.  Gone only 8 days and my Korean noticably slips!  It's a bit discouraging.  However, I imagine within a few days or a week I'll be back up to speed.  Still, it's sobering to think how quickly I lose it.  I realize now I need to make a concerted effort to begin to think all the time in Korean. 

Then there's the problem of what will happen when I move to China to learn some Chinese.  At that point I'll also need daily exposure to Korean to make sure my Korean doesn't falter!  The good news is that I'll only be learning Chinese for 7 months, so if I just buckle down and plow through both, it's really not such a long time, though I know it will be stressful.

Oh, and the real reason I really wanted to write today - I just took another deep step into the culture!  Monday nights my roommates and I usually gather to share and lift each other up.  Tonight we made a special trip to the sauna/bath house for some real male bonding.  That I've done many times so it was nothing special, until my roommate asked me to scrub his back!  Ok, you may be freaking out, but when you think about it, obviously you can't scrub your own back, so growing up this is what father's would do for their sons, and later friends would do for each other, so it's a real sign of trust.  Of course, then the 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' got replaced with 'since you scrubbed my back, I'll scrub yours!'  I can't believe how smooth my back feels! 

The other thought that came to me was 'thank goodness Korean culture still has at least one refuge that's men only (and on the other side of the wall, women only).'  I don't recall experiencing this kind of relaxed male bonding in the States.  It seems there the all-male arenas have either been shut down or broken by women's lib or other lib efforts (many rightfully so) and any others that remain are the targets of jokes and stereo-typing on the sitcoms and generally portrayed as things that society has to put up with but doesn't really approve of.  The backlash, then, is a forced, macho masculinity even when women aren't present that leads to a pervading sense of inauthenticity.  Well, that's my two cents anyway. 

One thing I do feel very confident saying is that the development of the West that has let to the rampant privatization of our lives has caused tremendous damage because we are essentially created to be relational beings. 

SNOW!

It snowed last night!  So, our first snow here.  They say it's supposed to snow a lot this winter.

I wanted to take a picture of the fall leaves with snow on them which was really nice, but my camera battery was dead!  I think the battery is dying.  It seems to run down now even when I don't use it.  Does anyone know a good place to get replacement batteries for a Canon SD300 camera?  Please email me if you do...

Cooking With Colin

Well, here's a bit more pleasant food experience of late.  It's "Cooking with Colin!"  Find out how to make Chocolate Windowsill Cookies and hear a little bit about my life here.

(If the video stutters, press pause and let it complete downloading before watching)

(If you can't see it, try this link: http://nknews.phanfare.com/album/154626/193038/8932841)

Let's have a Donner party!

    Well, I feel now I somewhat understand the Donner Pary.  I have eaten that which should not be eaten, but I feel justified... I feel you would have done the same had you been in my desparate state. 

   I have eaten that which is unholy... and found that it tastes a lot like chicken.  Like horrible, mutant chicken!  You know, like the kind they sell at Albertson's...

   It all started when all we had left was SPAM (which stands for "SPiced hAM", or perhaps more accurately, "Squirrel, oPossum And Mouse").  Through some cruel twist of fate, or perhaps the most effective marketing campaign of all time, SPAM is a treasured food product here in Korea.  Anyway, I had a clever idea.  "I'll mince the SPAM so that it no longer seems like SPAM" I thought.  Yeah, big mistake.  Somehow in it's minced state the SPAM glowed an even more putrid shade of pink and when touched was eerily soft.  However, through a sheer act of will I was able to resist my urge to bolt from the room.

   Did I mention my goal here was to make quesadillas?  Perhaps I should have said that first.  SPAM quesadillas.  It has a bit of a ring to it, don't you think?  Anyway, with the SPAM minced and covered so I wouldn't have to look at it during the rest of my preparations (making it easier to controly my gag reflex) I apologized in advance to the tortillas I was about to desicrate.  Well, they were frozen flour tortillas anyway (there are no fresh tortillas available in Korea), so I didn't feel quite so bad.  Then I got out the cheese

  Ok, fine, so it can't really be called cheese.  Post Processed Cheese Food is what it's actually called.  But, to steal a line from another blog, WHAT KIND OF PRODUCT ACTUALLY HAS TO TRY AND CONVINCE YOU THAT IT'S FOOD!!!  How did this stuff pass AFDA approval anyway?    Anyway, so yes, this food product is commonly referred to as American Cheese.  I know what you're thinking... Children love the stuff!  Yeah, and they also eat the pre-licked lollipop they found under the couch at Aunt Mildred's house.  But wait, you say, your friend actually prefers this to real cheese... Yeah, BRIAN, you're a sick, sick man!!!  As for me, real cheese is too expensive so I had no choice.  There are a lot of things a man will do when he's desparate...

  So, the rest of the story wraps up pretty quickly.  Layer the tortilla, Post Processed Cheese Food, and minced Squirrell, oPossum, And Mouse, heat over medium-high heat and, voila, death by quessadilla.

      A gruesome close-up:  During the cooking process.

     The finished product:  It's not so bad if you pretend what's inside is actually edible.

    Add a glass of Coke and some salsa and you've got yourself a regular Donner Party!

Disclaimer:  Please don't try this at home.  Author is not resposible for death or dismemberment that may result from trying to repeat the above-listed steps.

correction

Correction:  Jane Goodall when asked about her faith says she wouldn't call herself a Christian but that she does believe in God.

In any case, the work she's doing is work that Christians should certainly be doing.  I think far too many have forgotten that man's original job even before the fall was to take care of the earth...