http://eng.nkhumanrights.or.kr/bbs/bbs/board.php?bo_table=FNN_News&sca=FNNArchive
here is the website to see past FNN articles and newsletters. you can sign up to receive these newsletters as well if you are so inclined. but i realized my post from last friday makes no sense if you don't know what i am writing about or what i am doing. so if you are interested, here is the info. enjoy! :)
Friday, March 20, 2009
korea gym
so as everything is changing i feel i must evolve or well what other option is there? so one step is to join a gym. i personally love the outdoors so i oppose gyms and treadmills but i have yet to find a good running place so i joined a gym for one month. they kind of speak english there. i kind of speak korean, so we have a really good time.
yesterday i signed up and did my thing. well this morning i went in because i had plans after work. so i go in and run on the treadmill for about 20 minutes. i went to get some water before heading downstairs to look at the weights and not really do much of anything, when one of the trainers comes up to me. she asks me some questions and points to some machine in a room. i hear something about fat but really thats about all. something about did you come yesterday...yes but only for a little bit. so i just agree to join her in the room. she asks me to take off my shoes and then wipe the sweat off of my feet - i just assume thats what she says. but i am quickly making a list of new words to learn to make life easier. :) so this machine without intrusion at all, gets my Body mass index, ratio of waist to hips, fat, etc, etc and gives her a nice little printout. might i add that i am currently the same weight as when i played soccer in high school (whoo hoo) - but i eat too much ice cream and ddoekpokkee. so she said only a little bit now. hahaha!
so after trying to explain the printout to me we decided to head downstairs to the weight machines. here she had me do each of the machines and helped me checking which muscles i was using - you know the stuff that a trainer should do. in america i feel like i would have to pay alot of money for that! but its all included in the 60,000won price - basic. unless she asks for something later. hahaha! so she went through the machines and then left me to finish on my own, including the 30 more minutes of running she wanted from me. oye.
but after it was over she came up to me and thanked me - why, i don't know. but she will study english - and i will study korean i told her- which by the way i need to figure out how to say i will study korean in korean...and she is happy to work with me. overall it was a great time. surprising, entertaining and fruitful, both a mental and physical workout.
i love this place.
yesterday i signed up and did my thing. well this morning i went in because i had plans after work. so i go in and run on the treadmill for about 20 minutes. i went to get some water before heading downstairs to look at the weights and not really do much of anything, when one of the trainers comes up to me. she asks me some questions and points to some machine in a room. i hear something about fat but really thats about all. something about did you come yesterday...yes but only for a little bit. so i just agree to join her in the room. she asks me to take off my shoes and then wipe the sweat off of my feet - i just assume thats what she says. but i am quickly making a list of new words to learn to make life easier. :) so this machine without intrusion at all, gets my Body mass index, ratio of waist to hips, fat, etc, etc and gives her a nice little printout. might i add that i am currently the same weight as when i played soccer in high school (whoo hoo) - but i eat too much ice cream and ddoekpokkee. so she said only a little bit now. hahaha!
so after trying to explain the printout to me we decided to head downstairs to the weight machines. here she had me do each of the machines and helped me checking which muscles i was using - you know the stuff that a trainer should do. in america i feel like i would have to pay alot of money for that! but its all included in the 60,000won price - basic. unless she asks for something later. hahaha! so she went through the machines and then left me to finish on my own, including the 30 more minutes of running she wanted from me. oye.
but after it was over she came up to me and thanked me - why, i don't know. but she will study english - and i will study korean i told her- which by the way i need to figure out how to say i will study korean in korean...and she is happy to work with me. overall it was a great time. surprising, entertaining and fruitful, both a mental and physical workout.
i love this place.
Friday, March 13, 2009
internship
so part of my new job here in korea is an internship with north korean human rights. my mom sent this great email so i have decided to post it along with my response. this email is the reason i am doing this. the search for answers, the sharing of perspectives. i like it.
Ok,so I've been trying to wrap my head around the Human Rights group you are working for. I think many folks would consider the North Koreans like Hitler and the germans. Most people would not think that North Koreans deserved Rights. But when I looked through the newsletter your focus was not necessarily on Human rights but on Religious persecution and Christian refugees. One would have a hard time understanding that maybe there are a few Christian N. Koreans and that they are not all communist.But at the same time, if I am the receiving country and I have fought life and death, tooth and nail to keep those commie bas---ds out of my country, do you think I'm going to be compassionate towards the ones who "claim" they are not communist but Christian??During the Vietnam war, children were given explosives because the soldiers were not afraid of the children until they learned that the children could and would kill the soldiers. Then ALL children had to be considered dangerous and were shot before they had a chance to kill the solider.I'm sure that these surrounding countries, China, S. Korea, are dealing with this same stigma.You are in an interesting situation with this agency. Good luck!Love, Mom xoxox
hmm, this is a good, thoughtful email. thanks mom! yes north korea is a communist country, or at least there is a communist regime in charge. and i think it was all going well until the 1990s when they had a famine. since then they cannot support themselves so many people are trying to leave the country for a better life. i actually never looked at the situation as you are describing it here, so i like that. i have just looked at it as there are people who are trapped in this country where there is no food, no health, education is expensive and no one has any money. if someone escapes and is caught (in china or north korea) they are sent back and are tortured or imprisoned. but you are right. at the same time these people worship Kim Jong Il or his father at least. i haven't really heard any stories about the repercussions (spelling?) of their mental state after believing and being taught stuff for so long and then having to deal with the rest of the world telling you how crazy it is. i need to find out more about this. there are lots of materials to read at the office but they have to stay there. but yeah, right now i focus on the refugee issues. what happens to them as they are trying to escape to a better life. and yes sometimes they are liars and they are spies in korea when they arrive. that happens. i dont know how the agency i works for feels about that when it happens. what great questions! more lunch discussion!
thanks for this email, you have given me a whole new way to look at this. and it also explains a lot more about the big argument right now which is like the Six Party Talks with Clinton and many people said she should not focus on the nuclear weapons instead we need to focus on helping those peopel in the country. but like the US makes a new stipulation, there must be korean speakign monitors in teh country if we are going to provide food aid and north korea wont comply. instead they talk about testing missiles. from what i have learned thus far we are only concerned with helping those suffering in north korea, especially children who have no way to help themselves. :) this is what i like.
Ok,so I've been trying to wrap my head around the Human Rights group you are working for. I think many folks would consider the North Koreans like Hitler and the germans. Most people would not think that North Koreans deserved Rights. But when I looked through the newsletter your focus was not necessarily on Human rights but on Religious persecution and Christian refugees. One would have a hard time understanding that maybe there are a few Christian N. Koreans and that they are not all communist.But at the same time, if I am the receiving country and I have fought life and death, tooth and nail to keep those commie bas---ds out of my country, do you think I'm going to be compassionate towards the ones who "claim" they are not communist but Christian??During the Vietnam war, children were given explosives because the soldiers were not afraid of the children until they learned that the children could and would kill the soldiers. Then ALL children had to be considered dangerous and were shot before they had a chance to kill the solider.I'm sure that these surrounding countries, China, S. Korea, are dealing with this same stigma.You are in an interesting situation with this agency. Good luck!Love, Mom xoxox
hmm, this is a good, thoughtful email. thanks mom! yes north korea is a communist country, or at least there is a communist regime in charge. and i think it was all going well until the 1990s when they had a famine. since then they cannot support themselves so many people are trying to leave the country for a better life. i actually never looked at the situation as you are describing it here, so i like that. i have just looked at it as there are people who are trapped in this country where there is no food, no health, education is expensive and no one has any money. if someone escapes and is caught (in china or north korea) they are sent back and are tortured or imprisoned. but you are right. at the same time these people worship Kim Jong Il or his father at least. i haven't really heard any stories about the repercussions (spelling?) of their mental state after believing and being taught stuff for so long and then having to deal with the rest of the world telling you how crazy it is. i need to find out more about this. there are lots of materials to read at the office but they have to stay there. but yeah, right now i focus on the refugee issues. what happens to them as they are trying to escape to a better life. and yes sometimes they are liars and they are spies in korea when they arrive. that happens. i dont know how the agency i works for feels about that when it happens. what great questions! more lunch discussion!
thanks for this email, you have given me a whole new way to look at this. and it also explains a lot more about the big argument right now which is like the Six Party Talks with Clinton and many people said she should not focus on the nuclear weapons instead we need to focus on helping those peopel in the country. but like the US makes a new stipulation, there must be korean speakign monitors in teh country if we are going to provide food aid and north korea wont comply. instead they talk about testing missiles. from what i have learned thus far we are only concerned with helping those suffering in north korea, especially children who have no way to help themselves. :) this is what i like.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
floating fingers
so i know its been a really long time...and things have been crazy. some of you i have seen since my last post, some of you may think i dropped off the face of the earth. well good news is i am hoping to continue posting on this blog considering how much more time i am near a computer with my new job and i am kind of lonely at the moment. i dont think lonely is a good word...rather i am always at a computer or my phone so i can check it and its a sad feeling to look and see nothing. but thats life. especially when your email is continuously up.
there have been some crazy changes and let me say this year will be a totally different experience here in the lovely city of seoul. on monday i started a new job. i am now working with avalon which is a big franchise hagwon. its huge. this particular branch hasn't even been open for a year and its a nice new building with lots of teachers in it. there are like 7 other foreign teachers, i think thats elementary and middle, im not sure...so if im wrong, well then there are even more teachers. and there are about 15 to 20 korean teachers. its big. we each have our own computer. we each have to input grades and attendance into the computer. ive gone from the vern's general store to the walmart of hagwons....dun dun dun....
this even includes my apartment. i moved from a massive family apartment to a box. its a nice box though! haha. but my favorite part is not the inside...but the quirky outside. we have a gate you have to use to go in and out with that green carpet/fake grass stuff like grandma schrenkel used to have on her porch. then we have a ROOF! hahaha! its awesome. but i have to admit, if i die it will be coming down those stairs. but totally worth it. plus my little quirk of a place is right next to Sungshin Women's University, as in like at the base of the hill on the same street! and next to the shopping area there - like im finally living in the college town that houghton never had...which I am thankful for because i can already feel my money slipping from my fingers without a good sense of discipline.
ive thrown the discipline out the window at the moment as i have no food in my apartment, no furniture except a bed and 2 tiny bedside tables and bags and bags of my crap. so i just walk next door and buy some ddoekpokke and then go and buy a cup of coffee as im trying to adjust to my new work schedule of 3pm to 10pm. this is a joke. i work from 5:30 to 9:45....the rest is free to do whatever. how sweet is that?!? and no one questions anything....well i mean so far. i wonder if they will wonder about me. luckily i have the youngest students but even those students stare at me like im crazy when i give them a high five. i plan on bringing my "kindy-ness" to this business place. please don't let me grow up!
actually my new manager who helped me move was saying how he saw a plastic sword in one of my bags (from my halloween power ranger costume) and he was wondering if i taught kids or if i was being taught. good. thats my style. i have a plastic sword, plastic snakes, games, bouncy balls and lots of clothes....but no frying pan, or even a bowl to my name. ;) thats how i roll. and i like it. i like kids. even those who are being institutionalized.
i also have started my internship which so far so good. a lot of computer work so hopefully i can prove myself and move onto the bigger and better things that i like. but im learning a ton even so far. so its perfect. so my mornings i go out to insadong to work at the NKHR office and then stop home, get a nap and some food and then head out to Avalon until 10pm. busy. fun. enjoyable. though i am looking for one nice long day to just work on house stuff and once thats in order i will feel alot better...especially if i get some food in my house. :)
so thats the story for now. i met a museum curator this morning when i was just studying one of the maps while waiting for the subway. he thought i was lost. i wasn't. but apparently he got his MA from University of Chicago and works for some sweet museum out on the East Coast (like near the beach) of Korea. He might need help with some proofreading his english. i might need help with some summer beach action. i love the randomness of life! :)
so i hope you enjoy this post and i will try to do this more often which i think will be very possible especially once i wrap my head around this work schedule that is just too easy. and prepared for me.
always, your amber
there have been some crazy changes and let me say this year will be a totally different experience here in the lovely city of seoul. on monday i started a new job. i am now working with avalon which is a big franchise hagwon. its huge. this particular branch hasn't even been open for a year and its a nice new building with lots of teachers in it. there are like 7 other foreign teachers, i think thats elementary and middle, im not sure...so if im wrong, well then there are even more teachers. and there are about 15 to 20 korean teachers. its big. we each have our own computer. we each have to input grades and attendance into the computer. ive gone from the vern's general store to the walmart of hagwons....dun dun dun....
this even includes my apartment. i moved from a massive family apartment to a box. its a nice box though! haha. but my favorite part is not the inside...but the quirky outside. we have a gate you have to use to go in and out with that green carpet/fake grass stuff like grandma schrenkel used to have on her porch. then we have a ROOF! hahaha! its awesome. but i have to admit, if i die it will be coming down those stairs. but totally worth it. plus my little quirk of a place is right next to Sungshin Women's University, as in like at the base of the hill on the same street! and next to the shopping area there - like im finally living in the college town that houghton never had...which I am thankful for because i can already feel my money slipping from my fingers without a good sense of discipline.
ive thrown the discipline out the window at the moment as i have no food in my apartment, no furniture except a bed and 2 tiny bedside tables and bags and bags of my crap. so i just walk next door and buy some ddoekpokke and then go and buy a cup of coffee as im trying to adjust to my new work schedule of 3pm to 10pm. this is a joke. i work from 5:30 to 9:45....the rest is free to do whatever. how sweet is that?!? and no one questions anything....well i mean so far. i wonder if they will wonder about me. luckily i have the youngest students but even those students stare at me like im crazy when i give them a high five. i plan on bringing my "kindy-ness" to this business place. please don't let me grow up!
actually my new manager who helped me move was saying how he saw a plastic sword in one of my bags (from my halloween power ranger costume) and he was wondering if i taught kids or if i was being taught. good. thats my style. i have a plastic sword, plastic snakes, games, bouncy balls and lots of clothes....but no frying pan, or even a bowl to my name. ;) thats how i roll. and i like it. i like kids. even those who are being institutionalized.
i also have started my internship which so far so good. a lot of computer work so hopefully i can prove myself and move onto the bigger and better things that i like. but im learning a ton even so far. so its perfect. so my mornings i go out to insadong to work at the NKHR office and then stop home, get a nap and some food and then head out to Avalon until 10pm. busy. fun. enjoyable. though i am looking for one nice long day to just work on house stuff and once thats in order i will feel alot better...especially if i get some food in my house. :)
so thats the story for now. i met a museum curator this morning when i was just studying one of the maps while waiting for the subway. he thought i was lost. i wasn't. but apparently he got his MA from University of Chicago and works for some sweet museum out on the East Coast (like near the beach) of Korea. He might need help with some proofreading his english. i might need help with some summer beach action. i love the randomness of life! :)
so i hope you enjoy this post and i will try to do this more often which i think will be very possible especially once i wrap my head around this work schedule that is just too easy. and prepared for me.
always, your amber
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