Articles by mgedwards

The end of a funny week

This week witnessed a cornucopia of interesting news events.  Martha Stewart got out of jail and landed on Forbe’s list of the world’s richest people.  (Congratulations, Martha–was the insider sale worth spending time in Camp Cupcake just to add a few more thousands to your net worth?)  Michael Jackson’s defense team scored points against the prosecution by backing the plaintiff into a proverbial corner after they got the child to admit that he lied about being shown pornography.  Then Jacko turns around and hurts his case by nearly being thrown in jail for showing up one hour late to trail wearing pajamas.  (Note to Michael–do not show up to a molestation trial wearing pajamas–it just does not look good to the jury.)  Wall Street reminisced over the 5th anniversary of the the peak of the NASDAQ at 5,048 (it now stands at 2,059), and the rest of us who lost money remember when we all thought we were investing genuises.  We have since been humbled.  Yes, it was a strange week indeed, and that’s not even including all the strangeness in the world today.  One year after 3/11/04, the date of the train bombings in Madrid, we remember that the world is still an insecure place. 

I had lunch today with a Korean lady who works at our office.  I volunteered to help her practice her English, and we met to discuss a variety of conversations–family, Korea, the U.S., work.  She is the first local I’ve had a chance to get acquainted with since I arrived in Seoul.  Her English is already very, very good (she majored in English literature), but as I know from personal experience with the Korean language, practice makes perfect.  While I’m here in Korea I also want to look up a couple of old friends I knew back in the United States.  I met them while pursuing my MBA, and I haven’t seen them since we graduated and they returned to Korea.  I’ve located two of them; the third I haven’t been able to connect with yet.  Meeting and spending time with Koreans while I am here is one of my personal priorities.  I find at work that Americans and Koreans tend to remain somewhat aloof from each other.  It’s natural for people to have an affinity for others of their own culture.  Language differences also hinder inter-cultural communication.  Breaking down culture and language barriers is important, especially if you live and work overseas.  The conversation partner program at work I joined is a convenient way to help break down that barrier.  Having married into a Chinese family, I relate well to Asians.  Language is a much bigger barrier for me than is culture.

I’ve been nursing a head cold all week.  I’m feeling better, but now my family is sick again.  My wife isn’t feeling well and hasn’t found the rest she needs, and tonight I noticed that my son has a runny nose.  Darn, this one is my fault.  I was hoping we could finally move past these nagging illnesses and enjoy the weekend, but we may have to stay home and rest again.  Drats.  I just hope and pray that we can all heal and start feeling like we’re past the move transition period.

Spanish in Korea?

We will be in Korea for two years, and we don’t know where we will be heading after we leave Seoul.  I just spent many months studying Korean, and I’m now living and working in Korea, so you would think that I am busy studying more Korean.  Au contraire!  I’m busy studying another foreign language.  "Why?" you might ask.  Well, here’s why.  Korean is primarily spoken in the two Koreas.  I won’t be heading to North Korea anytime soon, and really there’s no other place I can really use my Korean unless I head to northeastern China or Los Angeles.  Thus, I have to look ahead to the next two years when I know I’ll be heading to a place where another foreign language, perhaps English, is spoken. 

Early next year I will bid on assignments around the world.  I can bid on jobs that require English or Chinese, my second language, or I can tackle learning another language.  To maximize my chances of landing a good assignment, I’ve decided to polish two other languages I’ve previously studied, Spanish and German.  If I can improve my speaking and reading in both languages, I will qualify for additional training in those languages should I be chosen for an assignment that requires Spanish or German.  I decided to focus first on Spanish because the number of Spanish-required assignments worldwide exceed German-required assignments.  Moreover, German-speaking locations such as Germany and Switzerland tend to be highly competitive (who doesn’t want to work in Zurich or Berlin?).  Should I be successful in improving both Spanish and German I may also try to improve my French.  I took all three European languages years ago in high school and college, but I have not used them in years.  I have not studied Spanish for over 15 years.  Still, the level I am required to speak and read Spanish to receive additional training is not much higher than where my level is now.  Learning Korean, one of the world’s most difficult languages for English speakers, has emboldened me to tackle Spanish and German, languages I consider far easier to learn.  My challenge now is to find adequate resources to polish these languages before I retest.  Spanish and German resources in English, not Korean, may be a bit difficult to find.  I have about one year to improve both of them and retest in each language before I bid on my next assignment.

While I want to continue improving (or at least keep from backsliding) my Korean, I believe that I now need to place higher priority on learning another language for my next assignment.  I will continue to take Korean classes one hour per day at work and try to study other languages at home.  That is one of the unfortunate aspects of working in a job that moves you often.  You sometimes have to focus more on where you’re going than on where you are now.

A few firsts in Seoul

As I mentioned in earlier blog entries, I haven’t seen much of Seoul yet.  This morning I had the pleasure of driving past two of Seoul’s most famous monuments, Seoul Station and Namdaemun (남대문).  Seoul Station is Seoul’s central railway station.  Built in 1925, has served as Seoul’s rail hub for 80 years.  It is still a fully functional rail hub.  The building’s structure is a classy design that reflects the architecture style of that period.  It is one of the few remaining structures built by the Japanese during the colonial period.  I also saw Namdaemun (literally "South Gate"), the former southern gate of the City of Seoul.  The wall that once surrounded the city was dismantled by the Japanese during occupation, and only a few of the prominent gates remain.  Namdaemun is perhaps the most famous.  It is especially well-known for its large open market situated just to the west of the gate.  The gate has been beautifully restored.  Because it sits on an earthen island in the middle of one of Seoul’s main traffic arterials, Namdaemun reminds me of an Asian version of the Arc du Triomphe in Paris (or vice-versa).  The ancient gate in the middle of modern Seoul serves as a reminder of the city’s pre-modern history.  Although I was only able to view Seoul Station and Namdaemun from a car window, I enjoyed seeing them for the first time.  I read about them often while learning the Korean language, and now I finally know what they look like firsthand.  I want to revisit them as soon as I can as a local tourist.

I also encountered my first demonstration (데모) today in Seoul.  It is well-known that demonstrations are common in Seoul, especially near the U.S. Embassy.  This is the first one I have seen, and it was very orderly.  Police outnumbered the number of protesters, and the protesters marched peacefully, waved colorful banners, and chanted with bullhorns.  Traffic was snarled near downtown, but otherwise the protest passed without incidence.  A Korean friend mentioned that these protesters were primarily street vendors protesting recent changes in the law on how they can conduct business.  I don’t know much more than that.  I observed the protest with curiosity while I was stuck in traffic.  It was not an anti-American protest, as I feared it would be.  Local police patrol vigilently in large numbers at key points in the city everyday.  It’s a strange feeling wearing a suit and overcoat and walking past an armored vehicle with a squadron of police in riot gear armed with shields and batons.  It’s one of the surreal aspects of Korea I’ve encountered since I arrived.