Minutae

MINOR AGGRAVATION DU JOUR
So.. in the faculty apartments you either get an electric stove or a dual gas-burner thing. Normally, I’d prefer the gas burner by a Korean mile (which, as it happens, is equivalent to 2.2 Kilometers or, in the local parlance, “100 times the distance I can spit”). But there is a truly annoying “safety feature” with the ones we have. That is that you can’t turn it down below about medium. The lever that controls gas level won’t go low enough (I presume) to run the risk of the flame guttering out and the gas killing me in my sleep (Since, like all waygook, I frequently sleep while cooking). This means browning vegetables is a bit difficult. Just another reason, I suppose, to give up on them entirely.

MINOR BLESSING DU JOUR
After class one of my Academic Writing Students comes up to me in one of those Korean Serious Moods and I’m starting to think I said something to offend Korean Pride. Instead she says, “Are you teaching this class next term? Because if you’re teaching it again I want to take it again.” Aaah.. at least one of the students likes my teaching. I told her I hoped so and said that if I was, she’d better prepare what she wanted to do since the rest of the class would be behind her. She looked properly serious (she’s trying to go to Grad School) and said, “I have many writing projects planned.”

Because 10 of them were ill with the flu that is raging through the college I only had 28 Chinese students and the class went smooth as glass. 30. Keep my conversational classes under 30 and I will be a happy little imperialist.

And because Korean students get a day off for the elections (now THAT is democracy, my friends!), I only have them once next week.

TONIGHT’S SWEETNESS
Off to read two short stores from the collection I will be reviewing. After that some Korean history for the piece I am speccing for Education in Asia. Can’t think of a better way to spend an evening here in the Land of the Morning Calm.