Wax Museum

There's a group of wax models on display at this place here in Seoul. Kylie and I went there today (she didn't really want to, but I was tired of sitting in my apartment). It was mostly freaky. Lots of the models looked so realistic you were sure they were about to move, and the ones that didn't look realistic looked scary in a whole different way. My favorite was the one of Yasser Arafat, and the fact that I had Kylie take a picture of me beside it holding up the peace sign. If nothing else, at least I crack myself up. Anyway, here are some highlights of our afternoon at the wax museum.

And yes, that would be me grabbing Depp's rear end. I'm so naughty.He's totally got nothing on Kylie.

I imagine even his boogers are smart! Seriously though, this one was SO real I was afraid he might reach up and grab my hand mid-picture. Freaky!

From the commentary on Romans I am reading right now:

"As Calvin puts it, faith is 'a kind of vessel' with which we 'come empty and with the mouth of our soul open to seek God's grace.' 'Believeing,' then, while a genuinely human activity, possesses no 'merit' or worth for which God is somehow bound to reward us; for salvation is, from first to last, God's work." (on 1:16-17)

This is Christine (Chung-Un is her Korean name), one of my greatest friends here. Her birthday was on Tuesday, and I didn't even know about it until today. We went out for lunch and I gave her a crap gift. But the point is that I love her a lot. She's Korean-Korean but speaks English so well I forget that. Today at the restaurant, she just busted out speaking Korean to the waitress, and I was temporarily surprised. I had forgotten again. Anyway, she's amazing. She offered to help me with the whole moving enterprise that is coming soon (and was, until the moment she offered her assistance, absolutely terrifying). She's great. We had a good time together today.

The picture only shows the aftermath. To get the idea of how it really happened, you have to (in your imagination) put the lightbulb back in the fixture, screw on the glass cover, and then place yourself less than a foot away roughly 15 seconds after waking from a near-comatose sleep, while said lit-up glass orb is flying towards your face. That was my Friday morning. It's a miracle I (and all the annoying people I work with) survived the day after a start like that.

I got these two notes (from the same girl, by the way) about an hour after my class before hers told me I had dark circles under my eyes and my new hair style looked like a bird's nest. Ups and down, ups and down.

Actual TOEFL Prep Book Listening Scripts

First one:

We can buy instant noodles all over the world. It is very easy to cook the noodles. Do you know who made them?
Nissin, a Japanese company, made instant noodles called ramen in 1958. They made very tasty chicken ramen first. People simply boiled noodles for about 3 minutes. Then, in 1971, Nissin made the first instant cup noodles. Making ramen was much quicker. People only poured hot water into the cup. Ramen made our lives simpler and easier in a busy life.

Question: Why did ramen change our lives?

A) Because they saved time
B) Because there were many types
C) Because not many people at them
D) Because the noodles were not tasty

2nd (background: people here drink hot water if they have sore throats or are sick. Also, if it's a cold day and you go into a restaurant, they bring you a steaming cup of hot water. just water. At first it made me gag, but now I'm used to it. In fact, over Christmas break when Christie was sick, I recommended the hot water thing to her. I'm becoming so Korean.)

W: What is the matter?
M: I have a cold and a runny nose.
W: Hmmm. Did you wash your hands after coming home?
M: Well, actually...no. I played soccer yesterday. So, I was hungry when I came home. I had a snack without washing my hands.
W: That's the problem. You should always keep your hands clean. Take this medicine three times a day and drink hot water.
M: I don't like hot water.
W: You must drink hot water, or else the cold will not go away.
M: I guess you know best. Alright, I"ll do it.

According to the question that follows, the woman speaking above is supposed to be a doctor. Bizarre stuff, I tell ya. Really though...hot tea is just hot water with some stuff in it. It still strikes me as a little strange, but whatever. When I went to my job interview for my upcoming job, they actually gave me a cup of hot water when I turned down tea. I should've just taken the tea, and then wouldn't have had to choke down the water without trying to stifle the gag reflex. My gag reflex has relaxed a lot since being here though. Plain sticky rice used to make me a little gaggy. So did warm water. But now...bring it on. The water is no issue, and now I just have kimchi with rice, and it's nowhere's near bland.

That's my input for the day. Enjoy, everyone.

I went to the doctor again today. I broke down and went to the international clinic that's far from my apartment and maybe a little more expensive, but totally worth it. Last night I couldn't fall asleep for ages because my ears were all stopped up, hurting, and I was dizzy from it. The doctor said there was nothing in my ears (same thing the doc on Friday said) but then said that I could have a sinus infection (something the doc on Friday did not say). He did a few x-rays of my face, and said that I do, in fact, have a kinda severe sinus infection. This would explain basically why I've been so sick for the past few months, and why the headaches and ear problems have just been increasing.

Then I went to this supermarket that has a lot of imported food. I do not know how I have lived here for over a year without going to this place. I bought Cheez-Its, a HUGE thing of ultra concentrated Downy (for a whopping $25 dollars), and Campbell's tomato soup. They also had Feta cheese, but I'm going to save that purchase for when I can also find hummus and have the delicious little snacks Haley and I had together ages ago in the apartment. (Remember, H?)

I'm teaching an intensive on the TOEFL test (dunno what it stands for, but it's required for foreigners to be accepted at US and Canadian universities). The TOEFL test is really hard for excellent speakers of English, so I'll just let you imagine how difficult it is for fourth graders. It's a little ridiculous, but the school is not in the least interested in my opinion or something more realistic for their ability levels (TOEFL prep is a money-maker). Anyway, I teach listening and speaking. The listening book was definitely made in Korea and has some of THE funniest stuff in it. One of the dictation passages was entitled "How Ramen Changed Our Lives." I have the teacher's guide with the scripts, and I'll copy some of it. The one about Ramen, and the hot water one crack me up. I'll maybe post them tomorrow.