Kids Say the Darndest... part II

I have been showing my students a video of a woman trying to sing Mariah Carey's "Without You" on a Bulgarian version of American Idol. My point? Enunciation is extremely important. Take a look, this sh*t is hilarious!







I also show them Mariah Carey's original version, because she is simply amazing in that song:

I can't live, if living is without you.
I can't give, I can't give anymore.

I was asking my 8th graders today if they understood the chorus, because I wasn't sure. One of my students yelled out, "you dead... I dead." I blew up with laughter and so did the other students. It was a simple, yet effective explanation.

The Ubiquitous Chinatown / The Amusement Park

Ubiquitous: it is a word that has been growing on me ever since I saw the Cadillac commercial where the black guy complains about his kids giving him the "ubiquitous sweater vest" for Christmas ("ubiquitous" is a term I never heard before, for something that is constantly encountered).

Well, aside from sweater vests for dads on Christmas and hookers in Waikiki, something else that is "ubiquitous" is Chinatown. No matter where you go, there is always a Chinatown. And of course, this is a good thing, as Chinatown is a very crucial part of communities all over the world. (I mean, where else would we find necessities like wooden back-scratchers and plastic squatting chairs?)



I went to the Chinatown in Incheon this past Saturday with two of my Korean co-workers and enjoyed checking out the place. It actually wasn't as big as I thought, but it was nice to see something different than the typical Korean city setting.



1. As we walked through Chinatown, there was loud cymbals and drums. Lo and behold, there was a lion dance.



2. I had no idea why they were having a lion dance in the middle of May -- Chinese New Year is over guys, get over it. Then I realized that they were creating a mock wedding, complete with traditional Chinese garments. I think this would have to be the least awkward job possible... next to prostate examiner.



3. We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. I ordered some Kung Pao chicken. It wasn't that good, but it was nice to eat something different (and guess what? no kim chi finally!)



4. This was a little entrance into a nearby park.



5. As we walked further, we eventually came across a drunk man, taking a nap on the street. Welcome to the Korean Chinatown.



6. Afterwards, we went to a nearby Amusement Park. I actually have never been to Disneyland and fairs and the like were never anything special to me. We simply walked around. Notice they spelled hurricane wrong.



7. One of the rides that was drawing a large audience was this spinning ride. It seemed to be manually controlled and was made to be a fairly bumpy ride. The objective is simply to hang on tightly and laugh at anyone that loses their grip and tumbles into the center. There is also emcee talking and cracking jokes during the ride.



8. 2 for 1 special anyone? Actually, this is a bizarre Asian phenomenon known as "couple-tees" where a couple wears the same shirt so that everyone stares, laughs and takes pictures of them to post on their blog.



9. Next to the amusement park was a boardwalk. This is a huge sidewalk right next to the ocean with restaurants and game rooms lined up all along the area. I've always enjoyed just taking leisure walks, unfortunately, Hawaii does not cater much to the walker and there are not many wide areas to just stroll and have a chat. This boardwalk was beautiful. I need to find a girl and take her out here.




10. Here's a little picture of the ocean from the edge of the boardwalk. What a sight.

Kim Chi Could Drive One to Insanity

I used to really like kim chi -- it was a fiber-full and spicy addition to my meals. Having been in Korea for over a month now, the joy of munching on spiced vegetables is slowly waning, and in it's place are only the feelings of pain and frustration.

You see, there is kim chi everywhere and at every meal. Whether I'm eating katsu, noodles, Korean yakiniku or eating at the cafeteria, there is ALWAYS kim chi on plate, staring at me ominously, begging me to eat just another plate of them. There is no escape.

Once in a while, it seems restaurants here like to switch things up with a little variety -- radish kim chi instead of cabbage kim chi.



Oohhhhh boy, what a way to spice up my life! Pun intended.

And if that weren't bad enough, well, they are always 50+ other types of kim chi.




Much as the protagonist in Edgar Allen Poe's short-story, "The Tell-Tale Heart," was slowly driven to insanity by the still-beating heart of his victim, I am similarly becoming insane by way of eating kim chi... everyday.