I bought a ticket to Tokyo, Japan - home of Godzilla and Hello Kitty! It'll be a short trip, four days from October 30th to November 2nd. I'll be staying with my friend Taka and visiting with another friend Naoko!
As you may have noticed, Halloween falls within those dates, so I'll be celebrating one of my favorite holidays in Tokyo. Any ideas as to where I should party or what I should dress up as would be greatly appreciated!
I don't usually delve into politics, but it seems it's time to get a little political.
I've been following the American election closely here in Korea - by reading the newspaper at work, checking in with BBC.com and watching the Daily Show and the Colbert Report online.
In fact, I find the American election much more interesting than the Canadian one (yes, Canada is having an election too!)
Republican John McCain's pick for Vice President surprised and shocked me. Sarah Palin is the governor of Alaska with no experience - at home (mayor of a small Alaskan town and less than two years as governor) or abroad (she "can see Russia from her home!")
Is it just me, or can nobody else see that Palin was only nominated because she is young and she can get all the disgruntled Hillary Clinton voters and the scary right-wing gun-totin' voters. Come on!
Internet rumours also ask the question: Does Sarah Palin, a creationist, believe dinosaurs existed 4000 years ago?
Apperently this is a major concern for non other than Matt Damon (Jason Borne!) Check it out:
"Crazy. I mean, did she, I mean I really need to know if she thinks dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago. That's an important...I wanna know that, I really do. Because she's gonna have the nuclear codes. You know, I wanna know if she thinks dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago. Or if she banned books, or tried to ban books. I mean, this is...this is...we can't have that." -Matt Damon
As a teacher, I believe it is incredibly important that leaders are well educated. The thought that she might actually think dinosaurs lived with humans, or that she might have banned books scares me.
To be honest, I absolutely want Obama and Biden to win. Oh man, do I want Obama to win! If I was American, I'd be a Democrat. And I don't just want Obama to win because he might become the first black president, but because I am scared of McCain and Palin. He is old (72!), and if he dies, she would become the President of the United States. And that is scary.
Time to lighten up this post! Here's a recent segment from the Daily Show about Sarah Palin:
This weekend is the traditional thanksgiving Korean holiday of Chuseok!
It is a time where traditionally everyone returns to their hometown (an important concept - where you were born affects your status and creates instant friends) in a mass exodus turning Korea into a giant traffic jam.
It is a time to show respect to grandparent and elders, to visit family graves, and to enjoy a meal of traditional Korean food with one's family.
Sounds wonderful, but in reality (as my students have complained to me) it is the women of the family who spend the holiday buying, preparing, cooking, and serving the meal while the men relax and play cards. And watch TV.
While this is changing with the younger generation, this is the traditional division of labour. It makes sense that many Korean women hate Chuseok.
Time to play some cards! Happy, er... Merry Chuseok!!!
Oh, we were fortunate enough to be invited to Chuseok dinner by our good friend Hong! So expect a post confirming/disputing what my students said!
Also expect a post soon on my adventure into North Korea!
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Well done to those who guessed right!
