This is a brand new segment I will be calling ‘What I Should’ve Said’.

Sometimes it is only after a situation is over that you think ‘Man! I totally should’ve just said _________!’ It was just that, in the moment, you were so choked up with anger, or perhaps in a situation where it wouldn’t have been in your best interest to say such horrible things to someone. Or maybe, like me, you’re just not a confrontational person. I avoid confrontation.

When I first got to Korea, you may have read an entry on here about a girl I met at my first training meeting in Seoul.

She had overheard me asking some girl if New Jersey was a state. She was baffled. She asked me why I didn’t know and telling her that I was a Canadian who studied Canadian geography growing simply wasn’t enough. Even when I told her that she probably didn’t know Canadian geography, she said to me “Atleast I know where it is on the map”. This left me speechless. She practically gasped in awe, half rolled her eyes, and went back to her business.

Heres what I should’ve said…

Do you know how many provinces are in Canada? No, I said provinces. Not states, provinces. That’s right. You have no clue. Why? Because you don’t care about Canada. I don’t really expect you to. I don’t care about you. And I don’t mean Americans. I mean you. People like who think we should all care about you, you, you. Egocentric snobby elitest.

October 20th, 2006 | esprit d’escalier | 3 comments

Everyone and CNN has got their eyes on North Korea. After it tested a bunch of missiles this summer, and then tested, what was apparently, an unweaponized nuclear explosion, everyone all of sudden remembers North Korea and their fearless leader, Kim Jong-Il.

What’s interesting is that despite the headline news he receives in the US, Korean people don’t really seem to give a shit. If Canada’s neighbour were to do something crazy, like, you know, attack another country without real tangible proof to justify so, then it’d be headline news. Everyone would be talking about it. Everyone would have an opinion, informed or not. Could you imagine if our neighbor did something to appear like a direct threat to Canada?

But here, from my perspective atleast, I don’t really hear much about it. Lifestyles hasn’t changed.

It’s really peculiar, because this is the first time I’ve had such proximity to such headlines. And, I don’t feel that threatened by it. I’ve talked to some people, informed or not, and there are the bits of information I decided to believe and retain. The one that comforts me most, is this:

Kim Jong Il wants power. To gain power you need resources and land. He would not Nuke South Korea because that makes the land useless.

Sunday afternoon, Angelo, Craig, Neff, Jessica, and I were walking out of Love Guns band practice at the Waegook Cook. We heard a bunch of noise from far in the distance. Everything slowed down.

It sounded like someone unloading an entire clip from an automatic rifle. 30 controlled explosions.

“It’s a Train” Neff says. I knew it wasn’t a train.

The explosions were followed what sounded like a missile dropping. You know… “beeeeewwooooooooooooooooo!”

Everyone stopped. I looked at Craig’s face. The worry in his eyes and dropping cheeks put a knot in my stomach.

The sounds stopped, and in 5 minutes we went on our way like nothing happened. But for that moment, I was half terrified;half my life flashed before my eyes.

Turns out they were fireworks at Geumo Mountain.

October 16th, 2006 | Life | No comments