Plagiaat, plastiese sjirurgie en ander hartseer stories

Die laaste paar weke was erg, om die minste te sê. Vernaam die laaste week tot-en-met Maandagoggend om 5:30. Hierdie week het ek spandeer aan eksamenantwoordstelle merk, insluitende navorsingsprojekte. Laasgenoemde was veral ’n slegte belewenis. Die hele Sondag, reg deur die nag, het ek aan die navorsingsprojekte gemerk – gelukkig was daar genoegsaam plagiaat dat ek ’n paar kon oorslaan. Dat dit “gelukkig” genoem moet word is eintlik tragies. Meer as 25% van die studente het plagiaat gepleeg. Nie gedeeltelike plagiaat nie, maar volkome plagiaat! Met ander woorde, hulle het navorsingsartikels vanaf die Internet getrek en dit netso aan my gehandig as hulle eie werk.

Om die waarheid te sê, ek voel in die gesig gevat hieroor. Dink hierdie studente so min van my dat hulle meen ek sal nie eers die verskil agterkom tussen professionele werk, en hulle eerste pogings aan ’n navorsingsverslag nie? Is hulle vanmening dat ek ’n rekenaarongeletterde uit Afrika is, en nie hulle diefstal vanaf die Internet kan opspoor nie? (Wat Internet-plagiaat betref gebruik ek graag PlagiarismChecker, asook Naver. Laasgenoemde is een van twee hoofsoekenjin in Korea – die ander een is Daum.)

Dit is natuurlik moontlik dat die studente geen bose gevoelens teenoor my koester wanneer hulle sulke blatante plagiaat pleeg nie. Ek het hier met ’n kollektiewe kultuur te doen. ’n Kultuur wat graag “deel”. Aan tafel deel hulle kos – dis nie ongewoon om uit mekaar se borde uit te eet nie. Hulle het publieke baddens en deel dus badspasie. Hoekom dan nie inligting, toetse en navorsingsprojekte deel nie? Nietemin, tydens die betrokke klas, Research Methodology, het ons ’n hele hoofstuk spandeer aan plagiaat. Ek het selfs vir hulle gesê dat plagiaat “illegal” is, waartydens van hulle gegiggel het. Het hulle gedink ek maak grappies? Die 13 studente wat 0% vir hulle navorsingsprojek gekry het, het ek dus min simpatie voor. (Twee studente het gedeeltelike plagiaat gepleeg en het 8% en 21% onderskeidelik gekry.) Die kersie op die koek is dat sowat twee of drie van hierdie studente vir my kom vra het hoekom hulle finale punt so laag is. Vermetel.

Vroeër vandag het ’n groepie meisies my kom uitvra oor hulle lae punte in verskeie van my klasse. Die een student het ’n tolk nodig om met my te kommunikeer weens haar swak Engelse vermoë. Sy is bloot net nie die taal genoegsaam magtig om in my klasse te prestreer nie. Hier kom sit sy met trane in haar oë omdat sy nie die vak deurkom nie. Die feit dat sy nie Engelsmagtig is nie, is nie haar grootste bekommernis nie – dis dat sy druip. Weereens demonstreer dit dat daar ’n kulturele konflik is tussen my doelwit (naamlik taalassimilasie en vaardigheidontwikkeling) en die groter gros van hierdie studente se doelwit (naamlik ’n stuk papier).

Sopas! Sopas kom hier ’n student by my aan – dit lyk of sy enige oomblik in trane gaan uitbars. Haar finale punt vir my 19th Century British Poetry-klas is 40%. Haar hartseer storie is as volg: Sy het reeds twee waarskuwings vanaf die akademiese administrasie gekry weens swak punte en as sy nog ’n waarskuwing kry gaan hulle haar studies staak. In ’n epos wat sy gister aan my gestuur het, skryf sy: “I know I have disappointed you this semester, but I can assure you that you will be proud of me next semester.” Die teleurstelling is nie soseer myne as haar eie nie. Ek het hierdie selfde student in Research Methodology en sy is een van die kalante wat plagiaat gepleeg het.

Gister kom sien ’n student my omdat sy in een klas ’n B gekry het en nie ’n A nie, en in ’n ander klas ’n A en nie ’n A+ nie. Terwyl ek aan haar haar punte uitwys en dit duidelik maak hoekom sy die punte gekry het wat sy verdien, maak sy gedurig sulke piep geluidjies asof sy enige oomblik gaan flou val. Ek weet nie of dit veronderstel was om my hart sag te maak nie. Dit het nie gewerk nie. Inteendeel, dit het my erg geïrriteer en my herinner aan ’n worshondtefie met wie ek gedwing was om spasie te deel toe ek op ’n tyd in ’n kommune gewoon het. Die worshond het soortgelyke patetiese tjankies gemaak as haar eienaares nie by die huis was nie.

Verlede week het ’n Suid-Afrikaanse vriend by my kom kuier. Hy woon al byna ’n dekade in Korea en het ’n Koreaanse vrou. Hy is van mening dat Koreane nie antisipeer nie. Dis asof hulle nie kan besef dat die werk wat hulle nou insit die latere resultaat gaan lewer nie. ’n Kolega deel onlangs met my haar mening. Sy glo dat die uiterlike (“outward appearance”) is ’n groter prioriteit as die "werklike". Om die vakgebied te bemeester is nie die hoofdoel nie, bloot die uiterlike, m.a.w. die diploma, is die hoofdoel. Ek het al baie keer gewonder hoekom Koreane deur sulke moeite gaan om geskenke en dinge te versier. Partykeer in supermarkte sien ’n mens vrugte wat met lint en strikke versier is. Nou begin dit sin maak – dit is hierdie klem op die uiterlike. Wat binne is, is nie so belangrik nie... solank dit net uiterlik beindruk. G'n wonder dat Korea so ’n ongelooflike hoë geval van plastiese sjirurgie het nie. (Sien ’n YouTube-video omtrent Koreaanse plastiese sjirurgie). In ’n artikel “Changing Faces” in TIME staan die volgende: “In China, Korea and Indonesia, where virginity is highly prized, young women go in for hymen reconstruction in time for their wedding night.” Outentieke maagdelikheid is nie so belangrik nie, dis die uiterlike voorkoms van maagdelikheid wat belangrik is.

In tussen sit ek in my kantoor en wag vir nog studente om my te bel of te besoek met soppie-stories, tranerige ogies en tjankerige stemmetjies. Ek moet myself net herinner dat hierdie vertonings bes moontlik ook uiterlike demonstrasies is, en min met die innerlike te doen het.

Pappa maak vir baba bang

Waarvoor was jy bang as kind (of dalk nog steeds)? In sy reeks Horror Photogrophy verken die fotograaf Joshua Hoffine hierdie tema. Vir meer fotos in die reeks (asook die moontlikheid om afdrukke te bestel) besoek sy aanlynportefeulje.

Online Game: Samorost

I tend to avoid computer games as I easily get hooked on them. Nonetheless, the following little online game was quite nice, partly because it is a relatively short, once-off quest-game. The graphics are very well done, and the quirky little puzzles set in a surrealist sc-fi fairytale makes for fun escapism.

Go to the Samorost website here.

The Other Woman

A recent post by another blogger made me think about all those songs about “the other woman”.

Nina Simone sings about having to compete against “the other woman”, in that old time classic by the same name. The song starts out with the “rival” (the wife) describing how poorly she compares against “the other woman”, because her husband always sees “the other woman” at her best, after she had “manicure[d] her nails” and “enchante[d] her clothes with French perfume”. In contrast, he has gotten used to his wife – used to the “old routine” – sometimes seeing her with “pin curls in her hair”. Nonetheless, she finds solace in a strange irony: “But the other woman will always cry herself to sleep / The other woman will never have his love to keep / And as the years go by the other woman / Will spend her life alone.”



From the perspective of “the other woman” is the song I’ll be the Other Woman by Soul Children, with the adulteress accepting her fate as the “other woman”, enduring the reality that her lover will not leave his wife for her. She adds a sad condition to her plight: “I’ll be the other woman / All your life / Just as long as I’m the only one / Other than your wife” [Lyrics].



Devendra Banhart also sings about The Other Woman. In this lyric the narrator used to be the woman, but now suddenly finds herself as the other woman. She is perplexed at her [ex-]lover’s fickle feelings towards her: “If you love me then why won't you hold me”; “You love me, you hate me, I’m losing my mind”.



A third perspective, of course, is that of the man who has fallen for “the other woman”. In another song with the same title, Ray Parker Jr sings of falling in love with what was supposed to be a “one night stand”, but turned into “a hot romance”. While he declares that he “hate to have to cheat” one is hardly convinced as he admits to “[fooling] around a little on the side” just like “the average guy”. In his paradigm “a little on the side” seems a common and acceptable occurrence [Lyrics] .



The country singer Ray Parker also sings about The Other Woman. The narrator in this song blames his infidelity on his wife, saying that he did not leave his wife because the other woman is more beautiful (“the other woman, isn’t prettier than you”), but rather because the other woman “soothes [his] wounded pride” and makes him “feel wanted again” [Lyrics]. (Warning: Only watch this video if you have a high tolerance for whining country music.)



Apart from the title, I’m not sure if these “other woman” songs have a unifying moral, except that someone is always paying the price – and it would seem to be the women (yes, both of them). Regarding the “the other woman”, it’s better not to take on that role. The man is unlikely to leave his current woman for you. As GurltalkkTV puts it, men might appreciate “the other woman”, but they definitely do not respect her, regardless what the country singer says.

Mmm

You don't want to be a gambler; you want to be an invester. -- Joyce Meyers

Iran: The Beauty and the Beast

Image from Claudia Lynx's MySpace.

While the world keep their eyes on the (fraudulant?) (albeit final) Iranian election results, I'll keep my eyes on Iranian models, like goddess Claudia Lynx. (See more beautiful Iranian people at Persian Hub.)

Educational Paradigm Clash

Image by Gerald Grow.

It is confirmed. The way I teach, and the goals I (as a teacher) strive for, are in direct opposition to the way Koreans learn and the goals they strive for.

Koreans believe in memorizing information, regurgitating that information for a test and getting a high score. So, if you memorized all the facts, vomit those facts correctly onto paper, then you have succeeded in your goal. The goal: A reiterated A+.

My method of teaching is not as an all-knowing oracle pouring information into the empty cup held up by the information-thirsty student. My goal is not to spoon feed facts. Instead of conveying information I aim to teach skills. The goal: Nurture skills.

Here’s the problem: The students approach my lectures on “skills” as facts that they should memorize for the exam. There’s a clear clash of interest. On the exam they are not asked to regurgitate, but to demonstrate skills, not to tell me the facts I shared with them, but to show me that they can think for themselves.

Only very few get it. Honestly, I feel somewhat frustrated. I’m clashing with a completely different educational culture. I'm realizing that if I want to succeed in my goal, I should not merely get them to think for themselves, but I should firstly get them to think differently. I have to change their whole paradigm regarding education.

Remembering that I am a guest in a different culture I have to be careful about over emphasizing my goals at the cost of my students' goals. Nonetheless, I strongly feel it my duty to get my students to be independent thinkers and self-directed learners. I've decided to make a decided effort to study Gerald Grow's article on "Teaching Learner's to be Self-Directed". I've skimmed through it before, but think it deserves some attentive reading.

Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009)

Image from the website Ali Akbar College of Music, Switserland.

The great Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan passed away over the weekend at the ripe age of 87. Khan is credited for introducing and popularising Indian traditional music in the West.

Dood in die familie

’n Oom, my tannie aan moederskant se man, het homself vanoggend geskiet. Die werklikheid daarvan wil nie insink nie. ’n Deel van my huiwer om dit te glo. Dis soos ’n siekgrap en ek wag vir ’n tweede oproep om te bevestig dat dit nie waar is nie. Maar daardie oproep gaan nooit kom nie.

Die motief is onseker. Party mense vermoed dat dit sleg gaan met sy besigheid. In konteks gesien is dit dalk ’n moontlike rede. Hierdie oom het jare gelede met ’n klein koffertjie Suid-Afrika toe gekom, platsakarm. Deur die jare het hy homself opgewerk tot ’n baie ryk en suksesvolle besigheidsman. Indien sy besigheid ten gronde gaan kan dit dalk ’n erge knou tot sy menswees hê – sy besigheidsukses het ’n metafoor vir sy selfwaarde geword; die verval van sy besigheidsukses simboliseer sy eie val. Ander mense sal seker beweer dat die (finansiële?) probleme te groot was, en hy daarvoor nie kans gesien het nie.

Maar is hierdie regtig redes vir selfmoord? ’n Dekade of wat gelede het ek aan ernstige depressie gelei en het ek die geleentheid gehad om selfmoordgedagtes van naby te beskou. Die besef waartoe ek gekom het daartydens was dat mense pleeg nie (noodwendig) selfmoord omdat probleme te groot is nie. ’n Mens pleeg selfmoord omdat jy beweer daar is niks meer om voor te leef nie. So ’n bewering is (gewoonlik) nie waar nie – ondanks, weens jou depressiewe toestand is jy nie instaat om te sien dat daar baie is om voor te lewe nie.

Die laaste paar jaar het ek selde met die Oom te doen gehad. Tog, sy een dogter en ek is goeie vriende – persoonlikheidsgewys het ons baie in gemeen. Sy’s my gunsteling niggie. Dis ’n tragiese gebeurtenis en ek kan my nie indink watse hartseer die familie (vrou, drie dogters, twee skoonseuns en kleinkinders) tans beleef en voortdurend nog gaan beleef nie. My hart is seer vir hulle. Ek wil vir my niggie trooswoorde stuur, maar watse woorde is daar wat troos kan bring? In die aangesig van die dood, voor sulke groot verlies, is woorde soos wasem. Dit verlaat jou mond en verdamp onmiddelik. Daar bly niks van oor nie.

Baie mense (veral religiëuse mense) wil glo dat selfmoord ’n onvergeefbare sonde is. Ek glo dit nie. Iemand wat selfmoord pleeg is gewoonlik nie by hulle volle verstand nie. En God weet dit beter as enige van ons buitestaanders wat nie die "hart" ken nie. Verder is daar voorbeelde van “selfmoord” in die Bybel, byvoorbeeld Simson wat homself en ’n klomp Filistyne gedood het. Is Jesus se selfopoffering nie maar ook ’n tipe (passiewe) selfmoord nie? Jesus het die vermoë gehad om Homself te verlos, maar het gekies om dit nie te doen. Natuurlik is Jesus se voorbeeld nie wat ons as ’n tipiese (selfsugtige) selfmoorddaad sou beskou nie; nietemin, dit illustreer dat selfmoord geensins ’n wit-en-swart, uitgemaakte saak is nie.

Aai...

Do mermaids exist?

"A Mermaid" by John Miller Waterhouse.

When I was about six, seven or eight years old my family and I went to Greece on a holiday. On our way there the movie Splash played in the airplane. Back then everyone didn’t have their own little screen and option of 100 movies to choose from – everyone had to watch the same movie that was projected onto a screen at the front of the cabin. The movie we saw, both when flying to Greece and when returning to South Africa was Splash. Also, while in Greece practically all the tourist sites sold mermaid souvenirs, alongside little models of the Acropolis and pendants of talismanic blue eyes. So began a fascination with mermaids. The visit to Greece merely enforced what seemed to be an inherent enthrallment with mythological creatures and chimeras have always been of special interest.



But do they exist? These beautiful aquatic femme fatale that beguile sailors to their death? Are they marine apes, as suggested by some theorists, or fish with limbs, or are they real merfolk living under the sea, or the strange fantasy of cultures all over the world? One thing we cannot deny is the latter. Talk of mermaids seem to be universal. I was shocked to read in a recent column that according to some there are mermaids in the Karoo! (The Karoo is a desert-region in Southern Africa).

Do they exist? I would like to think so. The world would be such a more interesting place if they do.

Some Links:

• Mermaids are Real! is an interesting blog obsessed with mermaids, however I think the blogger has a femdom fetish.

• Mermaids on the Web is a nice portal site that gives a good overview of everything mermaid with links to various related sites.

A Ghost Train Statian, a Surreal Border and the Evolution of Taekwon-Do

Dorasan Station is the first train station between South and North Korea on the Trans-Asian Railway, which connects with the Trans-Siberian railway and so joins the Far East (and South Korea) with Europe. Well, in theory at least. The “war” between South and North Korea means that the railway between the Koreas is closed. Dorasan Station is fully equipped, spick and span, but a ghost station.

The photo was taken a little reluctantly. I don’t mind photos; I just didn’t see any purpose in taking one of myself with the station in the background. However, my Taekwon-Do instructor said that the station might not be there in a year or two, who knows with all the political upheaval recently, so I better get a picture taken before the station is destroyed by a North Korean invasion – this, of course, was all said in jest. So, to please him, I posed for the photo. Looking at it again now, I see that my face did anything but radiate excitement over yet another example of a common North-South checkmate. Also, I’ve never been a fan of “tourist”-sites and this felt very much like a tourist picture.

I went to the DMZ with my Taekwon-Do instructor and some friends last Sunday. I’ve been to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) during my previous stay in Korea and cannot say that I was tingling all over with anticipation. Nonetheless, it was a good excuse to spend time with friends and maybe see something I might have missed with my previous trip.

There were actually some changes since my previous visit. A very surreal change, I must admit. A theme park – all with merry-go-rounds, a swinging ship and a myriad of other fun rides. To fully grasp the queerness of this, one has to remember where exactly this is. The DMZ. The Korean Demilitarized Zone. The world’s most heavily fortified border. Hotspot for an estimated two million soldiers. Heavily buffered with landmines, barbed wire, soldiers with machine guns and mean sneers. And here is an amusement park with little children playing and eating ice cream, and grannies sitting on little blankets enjoying picnics. Adding to the obscurity is the American take-away selling “Louisiana”-style chicken, or the DMZ-only-white-chocolate, sold nowhere else in the whole wide world.

We did see a picture of Kim Shin-jo, a North Korean assassin that was part of the guerrilla team sent to the Blue House in 1968 to kill the South Korean president. Kim Shin-jo was the only of the 31 North Korean soldiers that survived. I find his story interesting for two reasons. Firstly, Kim has defected from North Korea and is now living in South Korea. He has converted to Christianity and is currently a pastor. Now isn’t that an interesting story? A North Korean atheist assassin becomes a South Korean Christian pastor. The second reason I’m fascinated with him is because while in captivity, the South Korean army made him fight against their soldiers. He frequently and easily won. Keep in mind that South Korea had in the meantime produced Taekwon-Do, which was developed in the military out of the Korean War. This one North Korean soldier highlighted some serious flaws in Taekwon-Do. Of course, Kim Shin-jo was not an ordinary soldier. He was one of North Koreas elite soldiers that could cover 100 km on foot with a gun and a backpack in one day. Still, the South Korean military had to take inventory of its combat system, and so Taekwon-Do was remodelled. What I like about this story is that it shows how Taekwon-Do has always been a martial art (i.e. military system), and also that it is open for adaptation. Of course, my research into the incident is still very scanty; nevertheless, I hope to look into this evolution of Taekwon-Do.

On our way back, my instructor and I were talking about martial arts and self-defence. I told him that my main interest in the martial arts is self-defence. He confessed that self-defence is usually not the reason for people in South Korea to take up martial arts. We didn’t talk about what the reasons are Koreans usually take up martial arts, but I understand why they do not take it for self-defence. Unlike South Africa where violent crime is a common occurrence, in South Korea it is rare. In general, the crime rate in South Korea is very low and the most common crimes are usually not violent (although I did mention the assault on foreigners in a previous post).

Well that was last Sunday. This coming Sunday I’m going to be a judge at a middle school speech contest. Yeah!

An Asian, an Aussie, and an African-American walks down a street...

Fantasmagorie: The Origins of Animation

It is no secret that I'm an anime-fan; especially Japanese-anime. I recently stumbled upon--what many consider to be--the first full film animation ever made. "Fantasmagorie" was created by the Frenchman Emile Cohl in 1908. Cohl is considered the "father of motion picture animation" and is credited as the person to have made the first puppet animation film, the first animation film in colour, the first animation based on comic strips and the first to make an animated commercial.

I wonder . . .

. . . what happened to the 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not irritate thy neighbour."

Joo Ji-Hoon: A Korean Case Study

Famous Korean actor, Joo Ji-hoon, was sent to jail – he is one of the Koreans recently caught in a drug scandal. Upon asking a student of mine if she thinks he will resume his acting career again she said that the Korean people are disgusted with him, so she doubts he will act again. Two other students suggested that after he served his time in jail, he should try and resume his career in another country. Korean actors are well liked in both China and Japan. Because of Joo Ji-hoon's fine features he is probably quite famous in Japan. I asked another student the same question. Her reply was a bold: “Yes, [he will resume his acting career in Korea] since he is a man.” According to her there is more grace towards men in the Korean society. If a woman is caught in any wrongful act she would be ostracized from the society and in a communal culture like Korea that is almost a death sentence. (Severe ostracization often leads to suicides.)

None of the students I asked today (we have oral exams this week in my Listening & Conversation Class; the topic is cinema) said that they would like to be actors.

We're Not Used to Thinking Deeply

Image from IdeaChampions.Com.

"Teacher," she says "my friends and I have tried really hard to do well this semester, but it was very difficult."

"Which classes?" I ask. (She is in several of my classes, hence the question.)

"All your classes," she replies.

"Why?" I ask.

"We're not used to thinking deeply," she replies.

And that is the truth. The Korean education system focusses on memorization. This, of course, is not what I require of my students at all. I give them open book exams. At first the idea of an "open book exam" made them really happy, but they soon realized that it didn't help them much. I do require memorization of key concepts--at least they should know the meaning of certain terminology--but what I really test them on is the ability to apply certain skills I've tried to teach them; such as analytical thinking, giving interpretations, motivating ideas, writing persuasively.

If I could get just a handful of them to learn to question things, to wonder about reasons, to find the causes (rather than treat the symptoms), I will feel that I have accomplished something. Of course, it is difficult to evaluate such a paradigm change. Interpreting a poem or critically analysing an essay is one thing, being critical of their "reality", their society, their lives, is something quite different; and it is not something I can keep track of as easily.

Nonetheless, that is my mission. To nurture (creative) thinkers, not mere regurgitators.

Moenie weg gaan nie

'n Ruk gelede het ek 'n inskrywing gemaak oor Jacques Brel se "Nemme Quitte Pas", waarin ek verskeie weergawes van verskillende kunstenaars geplaas het. Terwyl ek op YouTube gesoek het na van my gunsteling liefdesliedere vir die vorige inskrywing, kom ek toevallig op 'n ander versie van Nemme Quitte Pas af, nogals in Afrikaans. Die lied (veral Nina Simone se vertolking) is waarskynlik een van my top drie gunsteling liefdesliedere, maar omdat ek dit alreeds onlangs op die blog geplaas het wou ek dit nie nou weer herhaal nie. Hierdie Afrikaanse vertolking is deur Laurika Rauch. Om eerlik te wees, ek is nie 'n Rauch aanhanger nie. Nietemin, hierdie weergawe van Brel se tydlose lied is nie te sleg nie. Die Afrikaanse vertaling is ook ryk aan pragtige beeldspraak wat aangenaam is om te hoor. Ek het op 'n keer gehoor hoe Amanda Strydom die lied vertolk en dit is los hande beter as Rauch se vertolking, ten minste in my opinie. Ongelukkig kon ek nie Strydom se vertolking aanlyn opspoor nie. Ook twee van Strydom se ander liefdesliedere wat ek meen van die bestes in die Afrikaanse taal is--Hooglied en Stoom, albei vanaf haar Hotel Royale plaat--is ook ongelukkig nie aanlyn te vind nie.

Love Songs

Ten of my favourite love songs in no particular order:

#1 Chris Izaak's "Wicked Games".



#2 Garbage's "You Look So Fine".



#3 Fiona Apple's "Slow Like Honey".



#4 Skunk Anansie's "She's My Heroine"



#5 Ryan Adam's "Damn Sam"



#6 Sheryll Crow's "I Shall Believe"



#7 "Blou" by André Swiegers, with Réana Nel



#8 Oasis's "Wonderwall"



#9 "I've Just Seen a Face" originally by The Beatles, but as sung by Jim Sturgess on the Across the Universe soundtrack.



#10 Dido's "Who Makes You Feel"

Slapelose nagte

Image from CartoonStock.Com.

Verlede Donderdagaand, oppad terug van Taekwon-Do, bel 'n Koreaanse vriend my. Hy is een van my Taekwon-Do-kenisse en aangesien ons byna dieselfde ouderdom is, is ons feitlik outomaties vriende. Dis mos hoe dit werk in Korea -- jy kan slegs vriende wees met jou portuurgroep. Dit was omtrent 23:00 toe die vriend, genaamd Byeong-Du, my bel en vra of ons kan ontmoet. Aangesien hy nie by die Taekwon-Do oefening was nie, dog ek iets is onjuis met hom en besluit ondanks my moegheid en vroeë verpligtinge die volgende oggend, dat ek hom sal ontmoet en vis of dit wel is met sy siel. Byeong-Du kry my toe by die moltrein (teen die tyd is dit al middernag), en ons ry in sy kar omtrent vir 'n uur na teehuis in Yangpyeong of so iets. Ek is seker eers na drie in die oggend by die huis en moontlik eers teen vier uur aan die slaap. Agt-dertig is my eerste verpligting, fakulteitsvergardering.

Gisteraand skakel Byeong-Du my weer. Hy wil Taekwon-Do videos by my kom leen. Hy vertrek rondom drieuur die oggend. Agt-dertig is my eerste verpligting. Die oggend; nog nie eens 11:00 nie en ek is reg vir 'n uiltjie-knip.

Wat steek agter Byeong-Du se kuiers? As ek een tema kan uitlig wat in beide laataande uitgekom het, was dit sy eksmeisie in die eerste aand, en sy verlange om 'n meisie in die tweede aand. My vermoede is dat hy eensaam raak in die aande, verlang na 'n meisie en soek dan 'n spreekwoordelike skouer om op te huil. Nou ja, as vriend is my skouer altyd beskikbaar. Dis soms net ongerieflik as my werksverpligtinge vroeg begin die volgende dag. Gelukkig is dit eksamen week en het ek geen klasse hierdie week nie, slegs eksamens om oor toesig te hou, vraestelle om te merk en nog twee vraestelle om te finaliseer.

Not the Destination, but the Journey

5000

My visitor counter for this blog passed the 5000 mark. My ClustrMaps-counter reports around 2300+ visitors since I installed it last year. These are not unique visits. Regardless, what's so special about unique visits? It is the regular visitors that I care about, many of whom I don't know*, but who still find my life interesting enough to come by regularly.

Blogging has multiple functions for me. Sometimes it is just to blow off steam, as one fellow blogger recently confessed. Usually, in my case, it is to "log" for the purposes of remembering. I don't keep a diary anymore -- blogging has become one of the ways I log my experiences, my thoughts, my curiousities, my interests... Another reason, of course, for starting this blog was to keep my "Global Family" up to date with my expat experiences. With so many people with whom I feel an affinity, it is practically impossible to share my life in personalised individual emails. Blogging, is one means of bridging that problem. Then again, blogging is a way to force myself to write. Writer's block occurs when you stop writing, as I explained in my very first post for this blog. And that is in part, the reason for the title Skryfblok, literally "Writing Pad" in Afrikaans but also by auditory inference "skryf"-block (writer's block).

Again, thanks to all my regular visitors. And if you haven't posted a comment before, please introduce yourself sometime.

Sincerely,
Sanko

* I'm suspecting that at least one regular visitor to be a geeky CIA-operative spying on me. I'm sorry to disappoint him though. My life's interesting, but not that interesting.

Teaching: Present and Future

Image from Language Arts Teaching Expert.

I've received the list of subjects I'll be teaching next semester.

• Intermediate Listening & Conversation (2nd Year)
  
• Intermediate Reading & Writing (2nd Year)
• Fundamentals of Academic Writing (1st Year)
  
• Presentation (Public Speaking) (3rd Year)
• 19th & 20th Century American Poetry (3rd Year)

Last semester, I taught the first four of the five modules listed above. While I am happy for the poetry class that I'll be teaching, I was hoping to get more literature classes. On the other hand, it might be a blessing in disguise. This semester was really tiring -- partially because of all the preparation required for many of the classes. Since the Language Skills classes that I will teach next semester follow the textbooks closely, my prep time will be much less. Also, having had taught these classes before, things ought to go much smoother this second time round. So hopefully I will have more time next semester to get to the many other things which I have been neglecting of late.

While I'm not to keen about the Listening & Conversation classes, the are not too bad. As I said, they don't require too much preparation and the topics are often quite interesting. This semester I had trouble getting the students to talk during the conversation time. I sometimes allowed to speak about anything as long as it is in English, but many of them still did not make ample use of the conversation time. This coming semester I'm planning to walk around with a name chart and if ever I hear a student speaking in Korean, I'm going to deduct points. Since they do not seem to have much intrinsic motivation, I'll have to provide them with some extrinsic motivation instead.

The writing classes are not too bad. This semester I taught Essay Writing (3rd Year). Last semester, as well as this coming semester, I'll be teaching Intermediate Reading and Writing; the same goes for Fundamentals of Academic Writing. I think that my own writing is actually improving because of this continuous revision of the basics of composition. What I do not like about these classes, however, is that they require LOTS of grading.

I am looking forward to the Presentation (Public Speaking) class again. I enjoyed it a lot, and my preparation from last year will only require a little tweaking. It's also a smaller class in which I can get to know the students more intimately; something which is not possible in the other classes.

I taught 19th Century British Poetry this semester. Next semester I'll be teaching 19th & 20th Century American Poetry. It would seem that Fate is grooming me to be a specialist in 19th century poetry. This is not a bad field to specialize in. The poetry of that era is rich, and lyrical, and makes for pleasant reading. Perusing Romantic Poetry is hardly what I would consider a terrible day job.

Still, the balance between Language Skills classes and Literature classes is a good one. It keeps me versatile in my work experience. Who knows where I'll be going a year or two or three from now? Having taught in a variety of subjects (not just literature) is sure to be good for my résumé. I might even get a job at my Alma Mater now that they have a whole department devoted to "academic writing".

Taekwon-Do Tournament in Daegu

The past weekend I attended a regional ITF Taekwon-Do tournament in Korea as an umpire. You can read a report focussing more on the tournament itself here.

We departed for Daegu (which is a city in the south east of Korea) late Saturday afternoon and arrived around 22:00, where we booked into the motel that we stayed at. Our team decided to go out a bit, so we went searching for a coffee shop. We went back the motel around midnight. The following morning I decided to skip breakfast and sleep in, as I was not in the mood for a Korean breakfast, which typically consists of rice, kimchi and side-dishes (which is a typical meal anytime of the day).

I attended the tournament as an umpire, the same reason I went to Japan in December last year. It was a nice day spent with my Taekwon-Do friends, but exhausting. I only arrived back home around 01:00 Sunday evening.

Some photos... Below is two photos of the Seoul ITF-Taekwon-Do team that went to the tournament.


Below is me and Soho, a Chinese-Korean Taekwon-Doin that trains with us at our dojang.

Haley and I. She is a fellow South African and quite passionate about her new hobby, Taekwon-Do.

Following are more photos of the tournament: a sparring match, me doing some "umpiring", and flying Taekwon-Doin performing a demonstration.

An Academic Self-Revelation

"Retrospect I" by Johnathan Bauman.

A couple of days ago there was a workshop for students busy with their graduate / post-graduate research at the university where I'm registered for my PhD. Since I couldn't attend, for obvious reasons (me being in a foreign country), I sent them an "informal report" of my research journey over the last year.

The report was read by another attendee and was apparently very well received. A friend informed me that it was "sommer baie mooi!" [very beautiful]. This is a strange, but well received, compliment. The idea that my report on my research (or lack of research) over the last year could be "mooi" [beautiful] is, for lack of a better description, interesting. According to my friend a couple of professors and attendees asked that the report be forwarded to them.

I'm curious as to what would make such a report "mooi". I suspect it is the candidness, the honesty about failure, about finding oneself back at the drawing board after a year, about finding oneself.

Read the report at my, somewhat stagnent, academic blog: Intermedial Notes.

Online Profile

What can people find out about you online? Well, why don't you do a cursory search for yourself? Try Piple.Com. Merely type in your first and last name and see what is out there in cyberspace about you. I was a little surprised to see a mugshot of myself -- one which I didn't personally posted online.

As an active user of the Internet it is no use trying to "hide" everything. Just be careful what you reveal about yourself. Don't reveal things you would not reveal to a crowd of people ('cause that is essentially what the Internet is -- a very big crowd). A healthy Online Profile is also a good thing. Future employers may search for your name and if they find nothing, they may pass you over as insignificant. You aren't insignificant are you?

North Korea -- more thoughts...

Image from Jamie's Digital Blog.

I’ve written about (North) Korea twice (1, 2) in recent weeks on this blog and a couple of days ago reworked those thoughts and added to them in a letter to some friends. Below is the section from the letter, and below that some recent developments.

North Korea is clearing sending a signal to the world that it has become a nuclear weapon wielding power. The international response to this gesture could be atrocious. On the Internet I read rumours that America is considering a pre-emptive strike—possibly even a nuclear strike. At first I thought it a ridiculous unsound rumour, but then South Korean news suggested a similar idea, namely America considering invading North Korea. And just a day or two ago, a friend of mine who is currently in America told me that they are indeed propagandizing the idea in America. This is not new American rhetoric. Rumsfeld has suggested similar ideas in the past. If the USA could invade Iraq on the whim of a nuclear threat, there’s little that will stand in the way of America invading North Korea which undoubtedly has nuclear capability.

Of course, North Korea’s antics are attempts at getting attention, they cannot afford a war. They are probably in need of food or assistance and want to use this show of power as a trump card of some sort. Evidently neither America’s new regime, nor South Korea’s new regime, are capable of seeing that North Korea is just playing an old political game, which it has used many a time in the past, like a naughty child begging for attention—even if it is negative attention. North Korea has announced an end to the ceasefire agreement between the North and the South. The Koreas are theoretically still at war; there is/was just a ceasefire for the last six decades. Calling the ceasefire void is also something North Korea has done in the past. Nothing new; the country isn’t really hoping to go to war. Unfortunately, I think that North Korea is playing with fire. Because of terrorist threats, economic issues and other triggers, the world (and especially America) is jittery and may actually invade the communist state.

Image from Hot Indie News.

The two American journalist (of Asian descent) that were captured at the North Korean border were both found guilty of a “great crime” against the Communist nation and sentenced to 12 years of labour prison. According to the Associated Press it is plausible that North Korea will use these prisoners as “bargaining chips in its standoff with South Korea and the United States”.
As I said, North Korea is playing with fire.

South Africa's Circumcision Phenomenon

Last year I wrote a post on the curious circumcision phenomenon in South Korea. I conveniently forgot that my own country has its own fare share of unethical circumcision. Every year a segment of South Africa's African boys are ritually circumcised; annually a number of them suffer serious consequences--infections which sometimes lead to death. A recent news article reported on this illegal practise.

Who is Doing Drugs in Korea?

The image above is apparently of a North Korean drug dealer, from Chosun Ilbo (English Edition).

The prevailing stereotype in the Korean media is that foreigners are all decadent drug-users; that the Westerners in Korea--American G.I. and English teachers with their big noses--prey on the innocent Korean girls, and what not. As I said, it is a stereotype, not everyone believes it and it is certainly not the case for most Westerners I know. For this reason, it is somewhat pleasing to read news of non-Westerners caught doing drugs. I'm not revelling in others' suffering, I'm merely delighted that the stereotypes are begin broken.

Read more at Korea Beat.

In related news, another crackdown on illegal drugs did include foreigners. However, the incident showed the true situation of drug abuse; it is done by people regardless of ethnicity. Read more at The Marmot's Hole.

Philosophy 101: Plato's Cave

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty, Asia's most famous cartoon icon (similar to Mickey Mouse in the West) celebrates it's 35th birthday this year. Read more...