Today, I’m in the mood of wrting about SFC Roesh. He was a combat medic but was sent to South Korea as the Equal Opportunity adviser. He was my supervisor and my boss.
When I first met him, he was 31 years old, not too tall,not too small but he was a tough soldier. He had been to combat zone in 1989.
Since our Equal opportunity office was not a busy place and me and SFC Roesh was the only soldiers in the office, we spent time talking.
When I was a private, SFC Roesh brought something in the office and hung on the wall. It was the map of United States. He told me that I should know the regions of USA in order to understand America. I learned all the names of the States by heart, I like to tell me stories of the Civil War and the differences and tensions between the South and the North.
“PV2 Lee, you have to come and travel in America to understand the culture.”
“But how should I travel such a huge place. USA is 50 times bigger than Korea. And you told me the public transportation system in USA is bad.”
“Most people travel in the States by car”
Then I told him that I didn’t have a driver’s license. He didn’t even believe me that I had never been behind the wheel. I was 21 years old.
“Lee, You told me you cycled across Europe, right?”
“That’s right, Sarge”
“How long did you travel?”
“About 2000miles”
“ From East to West, it’s about 3000miles. I think you can do it”
“But it’s going to take forever. I don’t think there’s anyone who does a stuff like that”
“I know a guy who did it within 8days.”
“You must be shitting me, right,Sarge?”
But he wasn’t lying. I met a guy in North Carolina who really cycled across USA within 8days. Twice.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Crimes commited by US soldiers in South Korea
Here is something that might help you understand why I didn't like United States so much.
Understanding the United States through the Crimes Committed by its Troops in Korea
- Lee Sohee (us@usacrime.or.kr) Secretary-General, National Campaign for Eradication of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea (Written January, 2004)
From 'liberator', 'ally', and 'blood brother' to 'occupying force' and 'source of all evil'could Korean public opinion be split so differently on the issue of the United States? This inevitably means that there must be a concealed and distorted history.
A History of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea
In modern Korean history, the U.S. troops first stepped on Korean soil on September 8, 1945 at the port of Incheon. Many Koreans welcomed the 'liberators' that had saved Korea from the Japanese occupation. Soon that welcome faded, however, when Koreans realized that the US military was to be stationed in Korea as an occupier as well.
Afraid of possible interruptions to the landing operation, American forces arranged for the remnants of the Japanese military and police to keep Koreans indoors. When some Koreans gathered at Incheon port to welcome the U.S. troops, Japanese police shot two Koreans to death and ten were injured for trespassing. Against the protest of Koreans, the U.S. authorities ruled in favor of the Japanese police, saying the incident happened in the interests of public order. This is recorded today by advocacy groups as the first crime by U.S. troops in Korea. The charge level is 'aiding and abetting homicide.'In the intervening fifty-six years, many other crimes have been committed by U.S. troops. According to official Korean government statistics, roughly 52,000 crimes were committed by the U.S. troops and civilians related to the U.S. military from 1967 to 2002. Some 59,000 U.S. servicemen were involved in these crimes. When one considers that not all crimes are reported to the police, it is not difficult to imagine that there are in fact more crimes. Based on the statistic above, it is estimated that there would be more than 100,000 crimes by U.S. troops in Korea since their stationing in 1945. U.S. troops in Korea have committed about 700 crimes every year. In a word, they usually commit 2 or 3 crimes everyday.
The types of crimes are indeed diverse. They include people being shot to death, bitten by intentionally unleashed military dogs, poked in the eyes with a fork, strangled to death with a bra, cut in the throat with a razor blade, put into a water pool naked in the middle of winter and burned after killing. Records show that Koreans were killed without any particular reason, for not obeying the order to stop, for intervening in a quarrel, for waking up, for eating too much jam, for smoking too much, etc. Each and every case cannot be listed in detail.
It was only in 1992, after a half-century since US troops entered Korea, when the crimes by U.S. troops in Korea became widely publicized. The landmark case of Ms. Yoon Geumy , which involved a certain. Kenneth Lee Markle, still remains as a shocking picture for many Koreans until today.
In the evening of the day before the crime, October 27, 1992, drunk after barhopping, Ms. Yoon Geumy (26 years old at that time) was heading her home in Dongdoochon with Pvt. Markle (20 years old at that time), after agreeing to spend the night with him. On the way, the two came across with U.S. Cpl. Jason Ramburt in front of her house. They got involved in a quarrel for quite long time. Ms. Yoon, who had slept with him the night before, was now in another soldier's arms. Ramburt, who was already in a bad mood from negotiating for cost at another military camp town bar, picked on these two people. Pvt. Markle got mad, took Ms. Yoon by the hair, brought her into her room, and started to beat her up. He hit her forehead several times with a cola bottle.
When blood poured out from her forehead and she stopped resisting, he poked in her anus with an umbrella he found in the room. The tip of the umbrella reached her rectum, 27 cm from the anus. This did not satisfy him. He stuffed two beer bottles into
her vagina. When she was found dead, she was naked and a half of the cola bottle was still poked in her anus. He tried to cover up the evidence by putting broken matchsticks in her mouth and sprinkling white detergent powder all over her dead body. The autopsy reported the cause of death to be physical trauma and bleeding from the forehead.
As the truth of this incident was revealed, civil, social, and religious organizations got together and formed the Taskforce Committee against the Murder of Ms. Yoon Geumy by U.S. Troops in Korea. The committee fought for more than a year, requesting fair punishment of the U.S. soldier. In the end, the Korean Supreme Court sentenced Pvt. Markle to 15 years imprisonment.
Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea and National Security
The main reason that prevented crimes by U.S. troops from being discussed in Korean society was the special position the U.S. occupied in the Korean national security framework.
In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, the U.S. was called our 'blood brother' because it dispatched troops into the war and sacrificed its young men to keep Koreans safe from the communist invasion. Since then, however, as U.S. troops remained stationed in Korea, their role changed to one of augmenting South Korean national security against an attack from the north. As a result, many of the crimes committed by U.S. troops in Korea were either justified or concealed in the name of 'national security.'
1964 was a year of particular note in the history of crimes committed by U.S. troops. On February 4, 1964, while picking up cans near a U.S. base, Ms. Suh Myungja was shot to death by a U.S. soldier. She was nine months pregnant at the time. On the 6th of the same month, a 16-year-old boy, Ahn Jaeseop, was catching rabbits with a friend when he approached wire entanglements of a U.S. base. Right away a U.S. guard shot the boy through the boy's throat, and he died. When Koreans demanded an accounting of the incident, the U.S. authority announced that throughout the day, the UN Forces need to perform maximum protection for our war munitions for there are continuing threats of infiltration by communist spies. They justified the shooting by saying that it occurred to prevent the theft of military resources.
Continued shootings in the 1960s and the resulting official stance of U.S. troops vividly showed us the frightening barbarity of how crimes can be justified in the name of 'security.' Above all, the fact that the 'beautiful country (美國 how the U.S. is translated into Korean)' commits crimes was intolerable for Korean society.
The blind pro-Americanism of Korean politics resulted in a corresponding blind anti-North sentiment. Talking about the negative image of the U.S. was taboo because it was easily connected with 'pro-Northern' sentiment. This oppressive atmosphere was reflected in the fact that civilian massacres during the Korean War, including Nogeunri incident, came up to the surface only after a half-century of silence. In addition, unlike other countries under the U.S. sphere of influence which all had anti-U.S. movements, anti-U.S. sentiment or slogans were seldom found in Korea for several decades during the stationing of U.S. troops. This in fact shows how much the existence of the U.S. in Korean society has been considered unquestionable.
As time passed, however, the Korean people started to raise critical voices against the U.S. The most significant change appeared in 2000 when two major incidents created great controversy: the Maehyangri explosion and the illegal disposal of toxic materials. The Maehyangri incident revealed the effects of life-threatening noise pollution and serious heavy metal contamination over 50 years. Disposal of formaldehyde, which causes cancer and miscarriages, raised concerns throughout the country. Influenced largely by improvement of the relations between South and North after the summit of
June 2002, anti-U.S. sentiment from various interests led to revision the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Korea and the United States. The reconciliatory mood between South and North caused damage to the national security ideology rooted on the logic of confrontation between South and North. The changing atmosphere also affected the foundation of the U.S. troop presence in Korea because it was and is based on a possible attack from the North. There developed, therefore, some splits in Korean politics surrounding the existence and role of the U.S. troops in Korea.
What Will the U.S. Choose?
What is the U.S. and why are U.S. troops in Korea? Now it is the time for Koreans to ask themselves this question. How should Koreans interpret the reality that the ones who are supposed to be here for the security of our nation are in fact threatening our life and safety? Is this situation benefiting or hurting Korean national security?
There needs to be a clear line between the defense of national security and criminal acts. In particular, impunity on the recent schoolgirls incident was without a doubt unacceptable for Koreans, though it happened during official duties of U.S. troops. It is quite natural that the recent rise of anti-U.S. sentiment in Korea coincided with the transformation of the Koreans' view of the U.S. according to a reality which was romanticized for so long.
It is necessary to make clear that the fundamental reason for anti-U.S. sentiment was the arrogant attitude of the U.S. authorities towards the victims of the crimes by U.S. troops in Korea. The perception of unequal relations between Korea and the U.S. also was a contributing factor.
Just looking at the case of the schoolgirls, the U.S. authorities investigated the incident for the sake of formality that the truth is still not known. It refused the Korean government's request to turn over jurisdiction, and ended the trial with acquittal on the charge of negligence. After continuing requests for an apology, the president of the U.S. only delivered an indirect apology. This left a scar on Korean people's pride. This portrait stands in contrast to the image, which the U.S. projects, as being one of the best countries in protecting human rights. That the death of a few Koreans can be nothing serious to the U.S., and that the incident is treated differently because it happened to a foreign people, cause Koreans anguish. It is natural to raise doubts as to whether the U.S. is indeed an ally of Korea.
Now the U.S. is no longer an 'unconditional' benefactor to the Korean people. If the U.S., without accepting this clear fact, keeps insisting on the conventional relationship of the past, it could loose its blood brother. Only things left now is the choice of the U.S.
Understanding the United States through the Crimes Committed by its Troops in Korea
- Lee Sohee (us@usacrime.or.kr) Secretary-General, National Campaign for Eradication of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea (Written January, 2004)
From 'liberator', 'ally', and 'blood brother' to 'occupying force' and 'source of all evil'could Korean public opinion be split so differently on the issue of the United States? This inevitably means that there must be a concealed and distorted history.
A History of Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea
In modern Korean history, the U.S. troops first stepped on Korean soil on September 8, 1945 at the port of Incheon. Many Koreans welcomed the 'liberators' that had saved Korea from the Japanese occupation. Soon that welcome faded, however, when Koreans realized that the US military was to be stationed in Korea as an occupier as well.
Afraid of possible interruptions to the landing operation, American forces arranged for the remnants of the Japanese military and police to keep Koreans indoors. When some Koreans gathered at Incheon port to welcome the U.S. troops, Japanese police shot two Koreans to death and ten were injured for trespassing. Against the protest of Koreans, the U.S. authorities ruled in favor of the Japanese police, saying the incident happened in the interests of public order. This is recorded today by advocacy groups as the first crime by U.S. troops in Korea. The charge level is 'aiding and abetting homicide.'In the intervening fifty-six years, many other crimes have been committed by U.S. troops. According to official Korean government statistics, roughly 52,000 crimes were committed by the U.S. troops and civilians related to the U.S. military from 1967 to 2002. Some 59,000 U.S. servicemen were involved in these crimes. When one considers that not all crimes are reported to the police, it is not difficult to imagine that there are in fact more crimes. Based on the statistic above, it is estimated that there would be more than 100,000 crimes by U.S. troops in Korea since their stationing in 1945. U.S. troops in Korea have committed about 700 crimes every year. In a word, they usually commit 2 or 3 crimes everyday.
The types of crimes are indeed diverse. They include people being shot to death, bitten by intentionally unleashed military dogs, poked in the eyes with a fork, strangled to death with a bra, cut in the throat with a razor blade, put into a water pool naked in the middle of winter and burned after killing. Records show that Koreans were killed without any particular reason, for not obeying the order to stop, for intervening in a quarrel, for waking up, for eating too much jam, for smoking too much, etc. Each and every case cannot be listed in detail.
It was only in 1992, after a half-century since US troops entered Korea, when the crimes by U.S. troops in Korea became widely publicized. The landmark case of Ms. Yoon Geumy , which involved a certain. Kenneth Lee Markle, still remains as a shocking picture for many Koreans until today.
In the evening of the day before the crime, October 27, 1992, drunk after barhopping, Ms. Yoon Geumy (26 years old at that time) was heading her home in Dongdoochon with Pvt. Markle (20 years old at that time), after agreeing to spend the night with him. On the way, the two came across with U.S. Cpl. Jason Ramburt in front of her house. They got involved in a quarrel for quite long time. Ms. Yoon, who had slept with him the night before, was now in another soldier's arms. Ramburt, who was already in a bad mood from negotiating for cost at another military camp town bar, picked on these two people. Pvt. Markle got mad, took Ms. Yoon by the hair, brought her into her room, and started to beat her up. He hit her forehead several times with a cola bottle.
When blood poured out from her forehead and she stopped resisting, he poked in her anus with an umbrella he found in the room. The tip of the umbrella reached her rectum, 27 cm from the anus. This did not satisfy him. He stuffed two beer bottles into
her vagina. When she was found dead, she was naked and a half of the cola bottle was still poked in her anus. He tried to cover up the evidence by putting broken matchsticks in her mouth and sprinkling white detergent powder all over her dead body. The autopsy reported the cause of death to be physical trauma and bleeding from the forehead.
As the truth of this incident was revealed, civil, social, and religious organizations got together and formed the Taskforce Committee against the Murder of Ms. Yoon Geumy by U.S. Troops in Korea. The committee fought for more than a year, requesting fair punishment of the U.S. soldier. In the end, the Korean Supreme Court sentenced Pvt. Markle to 15 years imprisonment.
Crimes by U.S. Troops in Korea and National Security
The main reason that prevented crimes by U.S. troops from being discussed in Korean society was the special position the U.S. occupied in the Korean national security framework.
In 1950, with the outbreak of the Korean War, the U.S. was called our 'blood brother' because it dispatched troops into the war and sacrificed its young men to keep Koreans safe from the communist invasion. Since then, however, as U.S. troops remained stationed in Korea, their role changed to one of augmenting South Korean national security against an attack from the north. As a result, many of the crimes committed by U.S. troops in Korea were either justified or concealed in the name of 'national security.'
1964 was a year of particular note in the history of crimes committed by U.S. troops. On February 4, 1964, while picking up cans near a U.S. base, Ms. Suh Myungja was shot to death by a U.S. soldier. She was nine months pregnant at the time. On the 6th of the same month, a 16-year-old boy, Ahn Jaeseop, was catching rabbits with a friend when he approached wire entanglements of a U.S. base. Right away a U.S. guard shot the boy through the boy's throat, and he died. When Koreans demanded an accounting of the incident, the U.S. authority announced that throughout the day, the UN Forces need to perform maximum protection for our war munitions for there are continuing threats of infiltration by communist spies. They justified the shooting by saying that it occurred to prevent the theft of military resources.
Continued shootings in the 1960s and the resulting official stance of U.S. troops vividly showed us the frightening barbarity of how crimes can be justified in the name of 'security.' Above all, the fact that the 'beautiful country (美國 how the U.S. is translated into Korean)' commits crimes was intolerable for Korean society.
The blind pro-Americanism of Korean politics resulted in a corresponding blind anti-North sentiment. Talking about the negative image of the U.S. was taboo because it was easily connected with 'pro-Northern' sentiment. This oppressive atmosphere was reflected in the fact that civilian massacres during the Korean War, including Nogeunri incident, came up to the surface only after a half-century of silence. In addition, unlike other countries under the U.S. sphere of influence which all had anti-U.S. movements, anti-U.S. sentiment or slogans were seldom found in Korea for several decades during the stationing of U.S. troops. This in fact shows how much the existence of the U.S. in Korean society has been considered unquestionable.
As time passed, however, the Korean people started to raise critical voices against the U.S. The most significant change appeared in 2000 when two major incidents created great controversy: the Maehyangri explosion and the illegal disposal of toxic materials. The Maehyangri incident revealed the effects of life-threatening noise pollution and serious heavy metal contamination over 50 years. Disposal of formaldehyde, which causes cancer and miscarriages, raised concerns throughout the country. Influenced largely by improvement of the relations between South and North after the summit of
June 2002, anti-U.S. sentiment from various interests led to revision the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Korea and the United States. The reconciliatory mood between South and North caused damage to the national security ideology rooted on the logic of confrontation between South and North. The changing atmosphere also affected the foundation of the U.S. troop presence in Korea because it was and is based on a possible attack from the North. There developed, therefore, some splits in Korean politics surrounding the existence and role of the U.S. troops in Korea.
What Will the U.S. Choose?
What is the U.S. and why are U.S. troops in Korea? Now it is the time for Koreans to ask themselves this question. How should Koreans interpret the reality that the ones who are supposed to be here for the security of our nation are in fact threatening our life and safety? Is this situation benefiting or hurting Korean national security?
There needs to be a clear line between the defense of national security and criminal acts. In particular, impunity on the recent schoolgirls incident was without a doubt unacceptable for Koreans, though it happened during official duties of U.S. troops. It is quite natural that the recent rise of anti-U.S. sentiment in Korea coincided with the transformation of the Koreans' view of the U.S. according to a reality which was romanticized for so long.
It is necessary to make clear that the fundamental reason for anti-U.S. sentiment was the arrogant attitude of the U.S. authorities towards the victims of the crimes by U.S. troops in Korea. The perception of unequal relations between Korea and the U.S. also was a contributing factor.
Just looking at the case of the schoolgirls, the U.S. authorities investigated the incident for the sake of formality that the truth is still not known. It refused the Korean government's request to turn over jurisdiction, and ended the trial with acquittal on the charge of negligence. After continuing requests for an apology, the president of the U.S. only delivered an indirect apology. This left a scar on Korean people's pride. This portrait stands in contrast to the image, which the U.S. projects, as being one of the best countries in protecting human rights. That the death of a few Koreans can be nothing serious to the U.S., and that the incident is treated differently because it happened to a foreign people, cause Koreans anguish. It is natural to raise doubts as to whether the U.S. is indeed an ally of Korea.
Now the U.S. is no longer an 'unconditional' benefactor to the Korean people. If the U.S., without accepting this clear fact, keeps insisting on the conventional relationship of the past, it could loose its blood brother. Only things left now is the choice of the U.S.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
My Great America.Com
I bought this domain 2 years ago, when I got out of the military service.
I was hoping to make an website where me and other people from all around the world can gather together online and talk about United States.
But I realized it is really hard to talk about USA rationally. People from different background have different opinions on USA. Many people seemed to be biased by the media. I didn't like USA but some people seemed to hate America just because it's a cool thing to do.
I started cycling, so that I can speak for myself. I can't be wrong as long as I tell from my real experience.
That's why I started.
This trip has changed me.
I was hoping to make an website where me and other people from all around the world can gather together online and talk about United States.
But I realized it is really hard to talk about USA rationally. People from different background have different opinions on USA. Many people seemed to be biased by the media. I didn't like USA but some people seemed to hate America just because it's a cool thing to do.
I started cycling, so that I can speak for myself. I can't be wrong as long as I tell from my real experience.
That's why I started.
This trip has changed me.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Businessman Y
Y visited me from Charlottesville. It’s been 15 years since I saw him last time. My family moved to Germany and He came to USA.
I think his parents were pursuing the “American Dream”. His father quit job, sold the house and sent all the money to his uncle who came to USA earlier. His uncle promised his family that he was going to set up everything for them; finding a new house, a job, school.
But when they landed in Chicago, noone was there. His uncle ran away with the money.
“We used to live in house in a bad neighborhood” he said, “after a while we weren’t even surprised to see rats strolling in the living room”
He and his mom worked 15 hours a day, cleaning big stores like Bestbuy or Target, stacking boxes.
Y became a very successful business man now.
I think his parents were pursuing the “American Dream”. His father quit job, sold the house and sent all the money to his uncle who came to USA earlier. His uncle promised his family that he was going to set up everything for them; finding a new house, a job, school.
But when they landed in Chicago, noone was there. His uncle ran away with the money.
“We used to live in house in a bad neighborhood” he said, “after a while we weren’t even surprised to see rats strolling in the living room”
He and his mom worked 15 hours a day, cleaning big stores like Bestbuy or Target, stacking boxes.
Y became a very successful business man now.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Borat
The whole adcenter crews went to theater in Shortpump to watch the premier of Borat.
We went to a Italian restaurant “Bertolucci” and celebrated a birthday party.
Borat wasn’t fun at all. He seemed to making fun of every innocent people he met in America. But it occurred to me that I’m the only person in the theater who didn’t enjoy the movie. Others laughed “their asses off”.
It was funny to see James, who is Jewish, cracked himself out the whole time.
“I don’t care. Cohen himself is a Jew. I heard he is even a strict Jew.”
First, I don’t understand Americans laughing at themselves. If somebody came to Korea and made of fun of my folks, most people find it offensive.
Maybe, Americans are more tolerant than anybody else. They are cool people, joke is joke and they laugh. That’s why comics make fun of all the races in America, Latinos, Blacks, whites and even Asians(are Asians really bad drivers? I think it’s just Asians in America) and noone seems to start the riot.
(Kramer: I mentioned earlier in this blog about the tolerance of Americans about jokes. But Americans have very strict line. And Kramer crossed the line. I used to like the Kramer character (my favorite was Costanza). Americans are very harsh on people who cross that line. I think Kramer is out forever. Some people don’t cross the line and they are out.
Saddam is out. Kim Jung Il is way over the line. I’m very afraid.
We went to a Italian restaurant “Bertolucci” and celebrated a birthday party.
Borat wasn’t fun at all. He seemed to making fun of every innocent people he met in America. But it occurred to me that I’m the only person in the theater who didn’t enjoy the movie. Others laughed “their asses off”.
It was funny to see James, who is Jewish, cracked himself out the whole time.
“I don’t care. Cohen himself is a Jew. I heard he is even a strict Jew.”
First, I don’t understand Americans laughing at themselves. If somebody came to Korea and made of fun of my folks, most people find it offensive.
Maybe, Americans are more tolerant than anybody else. They are cool people, joke is joke and they laugh. That’s why comics make fun of all the races in America, Latinos, Blacks, whites and even Asians(are Asians really bad drivers? I think it’s just Asians in America) and noone seems to start the riot.
(Kramer: I mentioned earlier in this blog about the tolerance of Americans about jokes. But Americans have very strict line. And Kramer crossed the line. I used to like the Kramer character (my favorite was Costanza). Americans are very harsh on people who cross that line. I think Kramer is out forever. Some people don’t cross the line and they are out.
Saddam is out. Kim Jung Il is way over the line. I’m very afraid.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Halloween as "Cat in the Hat"
It was a nice neighborhood. I didn’t see any blacks around the neighborhood.
I went there dressed up as the “Cat in the Hat” (it was funnier when Mike Myers wore this costume)
Samie got lots of candy. I didn’t get anything. People thought I came to accompany the small kids. I wanted to have chocolates for myself too.
Kirsten told me “people look down on you if you go trick of treat when you’re over 12.” She suggested that I don’t ask for candies. I was sad. It was another Halloween ruined.
I went there dressed up as the “Cat in the Hat” (it was funnier when Mike Myers wore this costume)
Samie got lots of candy. I didn’t get anything. People thought I came to accompany the small kids. I wanted to have chocolates for myself too.
Kirsten told me “people look down on you if you go trick of treat when you’re over 12.” She suggested that I don’t ask for candies. I was sad. It was another Halloween ruined.
I think it is amazing that people spend so much money on decorating houses for one day.
They spend money on the decoration and on candies.
Maybe this is way of American life I don’t understand.
Friday, October 27, 2006
My miserable Halloween 2005
My first Halloween party. This is not my first Halloween that I spent in USA.
Last year, I rented a “orange pimp” costume. It cost me 80 dollars. I was very excited about one of the biggest American events.
But I had 3 hour long “Interpersonal communication” class at 7. I talked to the professor about my plan.
“Too bad” he said, “It’ll be an unexcused absence and you’ll have a quiz after the break. You’ll get C for class participation and 0 point for the quiz”
I went to the classroom, dressed as an orange “pimp”. After the first half of the class, I went out to talk to some of my friends where I was. I came back to classroom and the professor told me that I cannot take the test because I was late. “But you’ll be absent for the half of the class”
I walked out of the classroom. By the time I got to Georgetown, my friends were done with trick or treating.
The whole decoration in front of houses thrill me. This Halloween will be full of fun. “This time, it’s a payback”
Last year, I rented a “orange pimp” costume. It cost me 80 dollars. I was very excited about one of the biggest American events.
But I had 3 hour long “Interpersonal communication” class at 7. I talked to the professor about my plan.
“Too bad” he said, “It’ll be an unexcused absence and you’ll have a quiz after the break. You’ll get C for class participation and 0 point for the quiz”
I went to the classroom, dressed as an orange “pimp”. After the first half of the class, I went out to talk to some of my friends where I was. I came back to classroom and the professor told me that I cannot take the test because I was late. “But you’ll be absent for the half of the class”
I walked out of the classroom. By the time I got to Georgetown, my friends were done with trick or treating.
The whole decoration in front of houses thrill me. This Halloween will be full of fun. “This time, it’s a payback”
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
I-commerce
I knew it. I should have known that an attractive- but- 40 year old woman is never attracted to an Asian.
She showed me a small pamphlet which showed how the ‘system’ works. It’s selling all the brand name product to other people. She told me that I need to be in a lecture next Monday to get more information.
She told me that she knows thousands of Koreans who became millionaires because of this “I-commerce”. She said Koreans are genius in selling stuff.
“Isn’t that just like the pyramid scheme?”
“no, it’s not” she said, “They go door to door to sell stuff. We don’t do that. We use internet to sell stuff”
Is there any Americans who fall for this type of crap? It’s so sad.
It was a very sad meeting at the Starbuck’s.
She showed me a small pamphlet which showed how the ‘system’ works. It’s selling all the brand name product to other people. She told me that I need to be in a lecture next Monday to get more information.
She told me that she knows thousands of Koreans who became millionaires because of this “I-commerce”. She said Koreans are genius in selling stuff.
“Isn’t that just like the pyramid scheme?”
“no, it’s not” she said, “They go door to door to sell stuff. We don’t do that. We use internet to sell stuff”
Is there any Americans who fall for this type of crap? It’s so sad.
It was a very sad meeting at the Starbuck’s.
(some pictures of Smoky Mountain to refresh today's mood)
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Cooking
I cooked today.
Donna called me. We set up a meeting at the Starbuck’s at 4 o’clock tomorrow.
Donna called me. We set up a meeting at the Starbuck’s at 4 o’clock tomorrow.
Monday, October 23, 2006
BMWs
I went to Kroger’s for grocery shopping this afternoon.
I don’ cook usually, but to recover from the cold I have to eat something other than BMWs(Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s)
I bought
Small chicken
4 Ramen
1 miso soup
4 onions
2 garlic
10 yogurt
12 coke in fridge pack
2 Ben & Jerry
3 frozen pizza
A nice woman came to me and asked where I was from.
She asked me for my phone number. She said she’s a business woman. She was looking for somebody who knows a lot about the Asian market.
I asked her how she knew I’m in marketing business
“I saw you dancing in the supermarket”
She maybe one of the ‘desperate housewives” who are lonely inside. She didn’t call today. She’ll call me tomorrow. I’m excited.
Do you know what's more fun than riding bicycle? Not -riding bicycle!
I don’ cook usually, but to recover from the cold I have to eat something other than BMWs(Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s)
I bought
Small chicken
4 Ramen
1 miso soup
4 onions
2 garlic
10 yogurt
12 coke in fridge pack
2 Ben & Jerry
3 frozen pizza
A nice woman came to me and asked where I was from.
She asked me for my phone number. She said she’s a business woman. She was looking for somebody who knows a lot about the Asian market.
I asked her how she knew I’m in marketing business
“I saw you dancing in the supermarket”
She maybe one of the ‘desperate housewives” who are lonely inside. She didn’t call today. She’ll call me tomorrow. I’m excited.
Do you know what's more fun than riding bicycle? Not -riding bicycle!
-> this is not fun eitherbombing Korea
I sat at a bar in an Outback restaurant. I was exhausted from the 70mile trip I did today.
An old man sitting next to me, eating a Sirloin Steak, asked me where I came from.
I said “From Hongkong” to avoid any conversation regarding North Korea. I was tired of the reactions of Americans on the nulcear test.
"Why are the North Koreans like that?" "Why is Kim Jung Il so dumb?" "Your family still lives in Korea? Aren't you afraid about them?"
“So you must suffer a lot from the Communist China.” I said yes.
He started talking about China, using lots of 4 letter words. He was so drunk he didn't care what I said.
Then I got curious about what he thinks of North Korea.
“The damn North Koreans”, he said, “We should bomb that damn place and get rid of Kim Jul Il”
He said he served in the Marines and spent a year in the 50’s in the border between South and North Korea.
“Can you speak Korea?”
“Yes….well, I can think of only ‘Juriga’. ‘Iriwa’ to give orders to Koreas.
'Juriga' and 'Iriwa', which mean ‘get out’ and 'Come here", are not a polite way to speak to other people in Korea. He spent a year in Korea, and they were the only two words he could say?
I got very upset when he started talking about women in Korea. He said it was easy to sleep with Korean women.
"Wow, women were so cheap there?"
"Yeah. Koreans loved dollar. And they still do, I'm sure."
"But I heard US military has been causing lots problems there. Most of the prostitution started because of the US military. I also read an article about the crimes of US soldiers in Korea. They are bad people"
"Well, whereever there are people, there are always problems"
"But you know, a friend of mine told me that USA sends the dumbest soldiers to Korea. I think it was the same way 50 years ago"
I was very sorry after I said it. It's not because I hurt his feelings, but because he showed me what some of Americans think of my country.
And Insulting him didn't make me feel any better.
An old man sitting next to me, eating a Sirloin Steak, asked me where I came from.
I said “From Hongkong” to avoid any conversation regarding North Korea. I was tired of the reactions of Americans on the nulcear test.
"Why are the North Koreans like that?" "Why is Kim Jung Il so dumb?" "Your family still lives in Korea? Aren't you afraid about them?"
“So you must suffer a lot from the Communist China.” I said yes.
He started talking about China, using lots of 4 letter words. He was so drunk he didn't care what I said.
Then I got curious about what he thinks of North Korea.
“The damn North Koreans”, he said, “We should bomb that damn place and get rid of Kim Jul Il”
He said he served in the Marines and spent a year in the 50’s in the border between South and North Korea.
“Can you speak Korea?”
“Yes….well, I can think of only ‘Juriga’. ‘Iriwa’ to give orders to Koreas.
'Juriga' and 'Iriwa', which mean ‘get out’ and 'Come here", are not a polite way to speak to other people in Korea. He spent a year in Korea, and they were the only two words he could say?
I got very upset when he started talking about women in Korea. He said it was easy to sleep with Korean women.
"Wow, women were so cheap there?"
"Yeah. Koreans loved dollar. And they still do, I'm sure."
"But I heard US military has been causing lots problems there. Most of the prostitution started because of the US military. I also read an article about the crimes of US soldiers in Korea. They are bad people"
"Well, whereever there are people, there are always problems"
"But you know, a friend of mine told me that USA sends the dumbest soldiers to Korea. I think it was the same way 50 years ago"
I was very sorry after I said it. It's not because I hurt his feelings, but because he showed me what some of Americans think of my country.
And Insulting him didn't make me feel any better.
(This is not the bad guy. This is a good guy, Franky)
Sunday, October 22, 2006
A Lost Bag
weather: rainy
It was pouring rain. I couldn’t leave this goddamn place! The elevator was broken, so I had to use the emergency stairways.
Then I found a bag, which was open and the clothes were thrown on the ground. It was obvious that somebody was robbed.
I went to the front desk and told them about this. The receptionist said, looking indifferent,
“We are not reported anything about the bag.”
“Now you’re informed”
“I’ll check that later”
I bought two boxes of Chinese food as take-out. They were my lunch and dinner. I don’t want to spend too much time outside.
I don’t think the rain will stop tomorrow. I’m miserable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)