life is settling down
I haven't posted an entry in awhile, mostly because there isn't much new to post about. I've gone into Gwangju several more times and have realized that the chaotic circus is always the same and far from being a vast expanse of lights and streets full of people, it's only half a dozen blocks. The teaching side of my job has become a lot easier and routine, leaving only the challenges of a work environment where disorienting personal relations and management problems are a daily occurrence. There are a few new things to talk about, though.
Apparently the anti-FTA rallies have continued under heavy repression from the government, which declared the strikes illegal and suppressed them with road blocks and the mobilization of twice as many riot police as protestors, etc. The news, of course, says nothing about these rallies and I rely on internet sources and blogs to get an idea of what's going on. The government's rationale for this censorship probably has to do with maintaining the illusion of democracy when they are making top-heavy decisions that disregard the apparent will of the people. As far as I can tell, this FTA has more to do with 'national security concerns' than with the general health of the Korean economy. I try to bring up the topic in my last class of the day, where the middle school students are able to produce some basic commentary on the whole situation. What they have expressed to me is that they don't feel the farmers have much choice but to protest the situation, because it threatens to destroy their way of life and that the police can "do no wrong" in their suppression of the protests.
I bought an mp3 player last weekend so that I can get some peace at work in the midst of rowdy children, the crowded teachers office and my perpetually screaming boss. I've been thinking a lot lately about how I want to go back to school for a masters degree once I'm finished my year in Korea. It occurred to me that I don't really need the supervision of a class environment to learn, though, and so I've started using my mp3 player to listen to lectures series that I've downloaded. I'm halfway through a 45-lecture series on "Interpreting the 20th Century," which so far has been very interesting. The lecturer has a strong bias supporting the universality of American values, but it's easy enough to weed through it. I've found the lectures really useful for contextualizing Western disillusionment in the period between World War One and Two, including a lot of stuff about the Great Depression that I wasn't aware of. I've also found it useful for filling in some gaps about the Russian Revolution, the Nazi and Stalinist states, and most recently the Chinese history surrounding the Opium Wars, the Unequal Treaties and how these led to the establishment of the Communist Revolution under Mao Zedong. I've found that all these things help me transcend the repetition and monotony of my daily routine. I'm hoping that by listening to some other lecture series, I'll be able to get any idea of the specific field that I'd like to pursue further education in.
One of the other teachers arranged for us to meet up with four other foreigners from Naju last Wednesday after work. It was refreshing to know that there are other people around here whose jobs are mostly boring, but who find exciting things to do on the weekends. We were supposed to go somewhere an hour away by bus and climb a mountain this morning, but it was rainy and only a little above freezing and under those conditions I couldn't pull myself out of bed at 8:30 in the morning. I was disappointed with myself once I finally got up a couple hours later, so I spent most of the day playing Super Nintendo on my computer. We went into Gwangju later in the evening as some excuse to get out of the house, and while we were there we decided to do the "rent a karaoke room" thing. I was skeptical at first, but it was a lot more fun than I expected and I sang out some stress until my throat was hoarse. It's on these type of trips that I listen to the lectures, so it gives me something to think about and keeps me from getting bored. I don't feel like there's much else I can say about my life at this point, so this is where the entry will end.
Apparently the anti-FTA rallies have continued under heavy repression from the government, which declared the strikes illegal and suppressed them with road blocks and the mobilization of twice as many riot police as protestors, etc. The news, of course, says nothing about these rallies and I rely on internet sources and blogs to get an idea of what's going on. The government's rationale for this censorship probably has to do with maintaining the illusion of democracy when they are making top-heavy decisions that disregard the apparent will of the people. As far as I can tell, this FTA has more to do with 'national security concerns' than with the general health of the Korean economy. I try to bring up the topic in my last class of the day, where the middle school students are able to produce some basic commentary on the whole situation. What they have expressed to me is that they don't feel the farmers have much choice but to protest the situation, because it threatens to destroy their way of life and that the police can "do no wrong" in their suppression of the protests.
I bought an mp3 player last weekend so that I can get some peace at work in the midst of rowdy children, the crowded teachers office and my perpetually screaming boss. I've been thinking a lot lately about how I want to go back to school for a masters degree once I'm finished my year in Korea. It occurred to me that I don't really need the supervision of a class environment to learn, though, and so I've started using my mp3 player to listen to lectures series that I've downloaded. I'm halfway through a 45-lecture series on "Interpreting the 20th Century," which so far has been very interesting. The lecturer has a strong bias supporting the universality of American values, but it's easy enough to weed through it. I've found the lectures really useful for contextualizing Western disillusionment in the period between World War One and Two, including a lot of stuff about the Great Depression that I wasn't aware of. I've also found it useful for filling in some gaps about the Russian Revolution, the Nazi and Stalinist states, and most recently the Chinese history surrounding the Opium Wars, the Unequal Treaties and how these led to the establishment of the Communist Revolution under Mao Zedong. I've found that all these things help me transcend the repetition and monotony of my daily routine. I'm hoping that by listening to some other lecture series, I'll be able to get any idea of the specific field that I'd like to pursue further education in.
One of the other teachers arranged for us to meet up with four other foreigners from Naju last Wednesday after work. It was refreshing to know that there are other people around here whose jobs are mostly boring, but who find exciting things to do on the weekends. We were supposed to go somewhere an hour away by bus and climb a mountain this morning, but it was rainy and only a little above freezing and under those conditions I couldn't pull myself out of bed at 8:30 in the morning. I was disappointed with myself once I finally got up a couple hours later, so I spent most of the day playing Super Nintendo on my computer. We went into Gwangju later in the evening as some excuse to get out of the house, and while we were there we decided to do the "rent a karaoke room" thing. I was skeptical at first, but it was a lot more fun than I expected and I sang out some stress until my throat was hoarse. It's on these type of trips that I listen to the lectures, so it gives me something to think about and keeps me from getting bored. I don't feel like there's much else I can say about my life at this point, so this is where the entry will end.
posted by Pope Lithium at 8:43 AM
1 Comments:
It is so nice to read more about your adventures. So this is kind of off the subject-- but who is Omar Ravenhurst? He sounds very distinguished and intelligent in his (or her) comments. We are going to miss you so much over Christmas, but we will really celebrate when we finally have a Christmas together, eh? Well, this is not very much of a response to your blog. Between Molly and me, you will for sure not get much stimulation for intercontinential social historical discourse topics!!!!!
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