Just a few morsels hanging on the edge of my plate. * Sung-Hee, the organizer for my trip across South Korea, takes great delight in teaching me the primary foods of Korea. They are: (1) Kimchee (2) Bob (rice) (3) Bull (water) (4) k-ho-ge (dog meat).........(I can't vouch for the spellings of all these)........she enjoys getting me to preform like a circus monkey in front of others as she asks me to name each of these. I am now trained to do so on que and she has a great laugh at my expense, especially when I do the fourth item. I've eaten all of them except the dog meat but Sung-Hee can't help but make me suffer over the thought of it.
* South Korea's right-wing president is named Lee Myung-bak. He is often called a rat and he does indeed look like one and acts like one as well. Lately though I have been reading that he is also called 2MB and tonight I inquired what this means. It seems as though the computer age also has created nicknames for presidents. 2MB means that Mr. Lee is so stupid that his left brain is only 2 megabites in size. I love that one. You've got to keep a sense of humor.
* My last two nights speaking events were memorable from a food standpoint. I was fed a big dinner before the talk and then after each talk the entire group of people who attended went out together for another dinner. Two nights ago there was a talent show of sorts and I was asked to sing, which I did. Then they called for an encore and I did my second number. I also was a background singer for one Korean woman who did all the verses of John Denver's big hit "Country Road."
* At every meal I am handed a fork but I have yet to pick it up. I continue to insist on using chopsticks. And yes, folks watch very closely how I handle them.
* At every single meal, just as the food is put in front of me these words are always spoken to me, without fail: "It's good for your health."
* Tonight at my second dinner I was asked the difference between American and South Korean peace activists. Without hesitation I said, "South Korean peace activists are much stronger fighters for peace. There are of course some exceptions, but this is the truth."
* No one is surprised that I say Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. They have a long history of presidents who were working for the colonial masters (first Japan and now the US). They can relate.
* Black Agenda Report has a new article on their website called: Top Ten Reasons President Obama Should Give Back the Nobel Peace Prize
More later.
1 comment:
Hilarious! I agree with your US-Korea assessment. And I can picture Sung-Hee doing just that!
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