I have not idea why this has made me so excited. It is not like I have never seen this before - for goodness-sake I grew up in Pittsburgh. But I walked out of dinner this evening to discover - IT IS SNOWING!!!!! I am so happy - big heavy flakes of snow. So funny thing is I have been told it does not snow much here so they really so not know what to do with it. Glad I am staying into tonight. That's okay I will just look out the window and enjoy the snow.
HEHEHEHE this is so fun!!!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Happy Pepero Day
How silly of me to have forgotten.
Hapy Pepero Day!!!
Hapy Pepero Day!!!
Pepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Sweetest Day. It is named after the Korean snack Pepero and held on November 11th, since the date "11/11" resembles five sticks of Pepero. The holiday is observed mostly by young people and couples, who exchange Pepero sticks, other candies, and romantic gifts.
According to one story, Pepero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls' in middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow "as tall and slender as a Pepero" (Pepero means "thin like a stick"). However, it is more likely it was initiated by Lotte, the company which produces Pepero.
In Japan, a similar Pocky Day was held on November 11 in 1999, which was the 11th year of the Heisei era. The date, 11/11 of the 11th year, resembled 6 sticks of Pocky.The Attack of the Evil Killer Fans
Okay so ever culture and generation has its little quirks and strange beliefs. It is hard to sometimes turn away from the superstitions and folklore of your parents. Come on they were smart people – they would not have believed in something if it were not true. Now be honest we all have things we do because well that is just the way my folks did it.
Well on Friday, I learned that if I sleep in a closed room (windows and door shut) I will die. Being that I love the sound of a fan to help me sleep – I should have been dead years ago. How did I become so enlightened? I was reading a bit that one of my fellow English teachers had written, and it mentioned something about “fan death”. “Fan death”? And that this thing called “fan death” was something that Koreans believe in very strongly and will even try and back up with science. And actually they are the only nationality known to believe this. So being the curious person that I am, and my fellow teachers of the Korean design being the open individuals that they are and understanding of my curiosity and random questions – poked my head above the desk divider and ask, “What is ‘fan death’?” This time there was a collective OOOOOHHHH – kind of like I had just summonsed ones dead grandmother. And then there was a quiet giggle.
Now Ms. Sho sits across from me and is a rather hip young Korean lady with a rockin’ sense of humor. Many times the jokes or snappy banter between myself and the other native teachers is not gotten. Completely understandable – English is not their native language and so a play on words or cultural puns are lost on them. And you do not want to make them feel stupid by not explaining it (cause they are not by any means) or make them feel excluded – but it really kills a moment when you have to go back and explain why something is funny – they think about it for two minutes and them come back to laugh with you. ANYWAY – so Ms. Sho proceeds to explain this theory of “fan death”. Now mind you as I stated above these are all very bright and reasonable people. But if you try and talk them out of this idea – you will simply end up blue in the face.
So what causes “fan death” you ask? Well below is an excerpt from a website called www.fandeath.com.
How Can Fans Kill? (from www.fandeath.com)
The very concept of an appliance killing without direct contact or electrocution is a hard one to accept. There are many theories to what causes fan death. Here are a few of the main theories. Try to keep an open mind.
Hypothermia
If a fan is blowing in a sealed room then it may cause the body temperature to cool down enough to cause hypothermia. Severe Hypothermia can cause death.
This is an interesting theory and one that sounds good. Until now, I have not been able to find a source or website that suggests fans as being able to cause Hypothermia.
Suffocation
The blowing fan somehow creates a vacuum around your face area, which prevents you from breathing correctly. The result is death.
This is also interesting. I don't think skydivers or people who stick their head out the wind of a moving car ever died.
High Levels of Carbon Dioxide
Another suggests that fans use up oxygen and create fatal levels of carbon dioxide in the room.
Now here is another little gem of the Korean culture (especially the highly competitive and money flowing Seoul). I had heard about “tongue surgery” about a week after I got here. A girl (Korean born and bred) that I go to church with work at a pre-school. I asked her how she liked it and what exactly she did with the kids. She is an assistant. She helps to keep the kids focused and in control during their English lessons (yes English lessons in pre-school). Wow really English that early – I reply. And then she mentions that for many parents it is a big deal that their children grow up as fluent as possible – even to the point of “tongue surgery”. I looked at her with wide eyes, but for some reason did not press for details. Then while looking up things for “fan death”, I found a reference to the “tongue surgery” of which she spoke. Now my question is what about all of the Korean immigrants who have children who grow up in an English speaking country with no Asian accent? The lack of surgery does not seem to have held them back.
Tongue Surgery for Better English (from www.fandeath.net)
The theory is that if you cut the frenulum (that's the tissue linking the tongue to the floor of the mouth), your tongue will be more flexible and be able to pronounce those difficult English sounds. Why? English pronunciation is important in Korea. Koreans have a belief, the better you speak English, the better your life will be. English just offers so many opportunities. Korea is a highly competitive country, some parents believe that this may give their child an advantage. Hey, there's nothing to lose if you try, right?
Shocking right? We would never do that to our children. Right? Yeah cause taking a baby boy and cutting skin off his penis it a fine idea. Oh but not that is different – we do that for the child’s health. He might get an infection if we do not disfigure him. Or what if he feels self-conscience when he sees that he is different from his dad? To quote my brother when he realized that his penis looked different then his dad’s and it was explained to him why, “OH MY MOMMY WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ME!!!!” Or does dad have some kind of hang up about being different than his son? Go take it up with your mother.
So really can I fault a parent here for allowing a slice under a child’s tongue? But please if it is not life threatening – leave your kids alone. There are enough adults out there who believe the solution for their woes will come at the slice of a knife – there is not reason to give them a head start.
Signing off.
Well on Friday, I learned that if I sleep in a closed room (windows and door shut) I will die. Being that I love the sound of a fan to help me sleep – I should have been dead years ago. How did I become so enlightened? I was reading a bit that one of my fellow English teachers had written, and it mentioned something about “fan death”. “Fan death”? And that this thing called “fan death” was something that Koreans believe in very strongly and will even try and back up with science. And actually they are the only nationality known to believe this. So being the curious person that I am, and my fellow teachers of the Korean design being the open individuals that they are and understanding of my curiosity and random questions – poked my head above the desk divider and ask, “What is ‘fan death’?” This time there was a collective OOOOOHHHH – kind of like I had just summonsed ones dead grandmother. And then there was a quiet giggle.
Now Ms. Sho sits across from me and is a rather hip young Korean lady with a rockin’ sense of humor. Many times the jokes or snappy banter between myself and the other native teachers is not gotten. Completely understandable – English is not their native language and so a play on words or cultural puns are lost on them. And you do not want to make them feel stupid by not explaining it (cause they are not by any means) or make them feel excluded – but it really kills a moment when you have to go back and explain why something is funny – they think about it for two minutes and them come back to laugh with you. ANYWAY – so Ms. Sho proceeds to explain this theory of “fan death”. Now mind you as I stated above these are all very bright and reasonable people. But if you try and talk them out of this idea – you will simply end up blue in the face.
So what causes “fan death” you ask? Well below is an excerpt from a website called www.fandeath.com.
How Can Fans Kill? (from www.fandeath.com)
The very concept of an appliance killing without direct contact or electrocution is a hard one to accept. There are many theories to what causes fan death. Here are a few of the main theories. Try to keep an open mind.
Hypothermia
If a fan is blowing in a sealed room then it may cause the body temperature to cool down enough to cause hypothermia. Severe Hypothermia can cause death.
This is an interesting theory and one that sounds good. Until now, I have not been able to find a source or website that suggests fans as being able to cause Hypothermia.
Suffocation
The blowing fan somehow creates a vacuum around your face area, which prevents you from breathing correctly. The result is death.
This is also interesting. I don't think skydivers or people who stick their head out the wind of a moving car ever died.
High Levels of Carbon Dioxide
Another suggests that fans use up oxygen and create fatal levels of carbon dioxide in the room.
Now here is another little gem of the Korean culture (especially the highly competitive and money flowing Seoul). I had heard about “tongue surgery” about a week after I got here. A girl (Korean born and bred) that I go to church with work at a pre-school. I asked her how she liked it and what exactly she did with the kids. She is an assistant. She helps to keep the kids focused and in control during their English lessons (yes English lessons in pre-school). Wow really English that early – I reply. And then she mentions that for many parents it is a big deal that their children grow up as fluent as possible – even to the point of “tongue surgery”. I looked at her with wide eyes, but for some reason did not press for details. Then while looking up things for “fan death”, I found a reference to the “tongue surgery” of which she spoke. Now my question is what about all of the Korean immigrants who have children who grow up in an English speaking country with no Asian accent? The lack of surgery does not seem to have held them back.
Tongue Surgery for Better English (from www.fandeath.net)
The theory is that if you cut the frenulum (that's the tissue linking the tongue to the floor of the mouth), your tongue will be more flexible and be able to pronounce those difficult English sounds. Why? English pronunciation is important in Korea. Koreans have a belief, the better you speak English, the better your life will be. English just offers so many opportunities. Korea is a highly competitive country, some parents believe that this may give their child an advantage. Hey, there's nothing to lose if you try, right?
Shocking right? We would never do that to our children. Right? Yeah cause taking a baby boy and cutting skin off his penis it a fine idea. Oh but not that is different – we do that for the child’s health. He might get an infection if we do not disfigure him. Or what if he feels self-conscience when he sees that he is different from his dad? To quote my brother when he realized that his penis looked different then his dad’s and it was explained to him why, “OH MY MOMMY WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ME!!!!” Or does dad have some kind of hang up about being different than his son? Go take it up with your mother.
So really can I fault a parent here for allowing a slice under a child’s tongue? But please if it is not life threatening – leave your kids alone. There are enough adults out there who believe the solution for their woes will come at the slice of a knife – there is not reason to give them a head start.
Signing off.
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