Here we go

It may come as a surprise to you, but this last weekend was Christmas. I won't lie, it certainly didn't seem like Christmas, but what are you gonna do. I still had a good time with some friends, and it's been a good two weeks of vacation so far, only eight more left. If that's the price I pay....so be it.

In roughly 5 days or so, I'll be leaving for Thailand, and I'm feeling an equal mix of excitement, nervousness, and pride. I'm excited, for obvious reasons.I've been doing a little research on where I want to go; I hear about laying out on perfect beaches, snorkeling with sharks in crystal clear water, hiking through jungles with wild tigers and elephants, jumping off waterfalls, and lets not forget the food. Sounds like a recipe for a grand adventure right? Of course. But that's also where the nervousness comes in. Let's be honest, if I ever saw a shark or a wild tiger I'd probably have a heart attack right then and there. That's pretty low on the list of probabilities though. More likely is the chance of catching Malaria or food poisoning, or worse. Also, I'm worried that once I get out there, I won't actually be able to clear my mind enough to relax. But again, what are you gonna do? Let it keep me at home living in fear? Nah, that ain't me. And that's part of where the pride comes from. As I've said before, for a while now I've had a dream to travel to Thailand and now it's actually going to happen. Maybe it wasn't the loftiest goal, and I certainly won't be the first to go there, but for me it was important. Now I've more or less reached it, and for that I'm a bit proud. All I ask is that I come back in good health with a few good pictures, videos, and stories for the folks at home.

Two things 'been pissin' me off lately, so I'm going to rant for a minute. The first is about a certain student in one of my advanced classes, a foreign exchange student from Africa. Now understand, I had never taken her as a very 'open minded' or 'forward thinking' individual; I don't know how many times I sat there in class during her presentations thinking to myself "What?! How high are you??" But I never said anything, mostly because I was too lazy. With this last paper of hers I read though, let me tell you, there was some egregious heresy in there. For context, the assignment was to write about the effects of westernization on Korean culture, and this is what she wrote "Lastly, I hope that Koreans remember that Americans have no culture and so for them it is okay to embrace whatever comes their way as they have no culture to maintain." How dare she! I won't abide that kind of blatant ignorance. Where the hell does she get off saying America has no culture? And no, this wasn't a translational issue, English is her first language. I don't necessarily know where I'm going with this, but the point is that ignorant people piss me off. If I had any less moral fibre, I would have failed her on the spot.

The second thing happened just tonight. In Korea, people don't have garbage cans, they take their bags out to an assigned light pole and then the truck picks it up. So I'm walking down the street, and what do I see but this middle aged lady kicking said garbage bags into the street. I kid you not, she picked up a bag full of glass bottles and threw it into the street, immediately filling it with broken glass, and I'm not talking an empty side street either, I'm talking 3 lanes each way during rush hour traffic. Then she kicks another bag out there, and follows it out and kicks it further into the street, stopping traffic. I was walking past with my jaw open in rage and confusion. It's been suggested that maybe she was not all there upstairs, but she didn't look like it, so she doesn't get a pass. What the hell is wrong with people? QUIT MAKING A MESS YOU CRAZY OLD BITCH!

Now I'm all worked up again.