One more list…

As some of you know, this year I’m reading my way through the BBC’s list of most loved English books. Not all of them are great, but at least it gets me reading things I usually wouldn’t choose.

Now, thanks to Ben’s Blog, I’ve decided to start working my way through the top 100 wonders of the world. Hopefully by the time I retire, I’ll have seen at least one on each continent.

I’ve been to

#2 – the Great Wall of China (9 thumbs up)

#16 – the Forbidden City (8 thumbs up)

#73 – New York Skyline (I couldn’t see my thumbs. It was dark)

#88 – Statue of Liberty (I was far away, so it was the size of 1 thumb)

#94 – British Museum. (5 thumbs up.)

Let me know where you’ve been! And assume you have 10 thumbs to rate ’em with.

And the beat goes on…

Next week is Festival Week here at DaeguDae. Already there are tents, stages, lights and mammoth speakers being erected around campus. It should be a fun week. My students are already excited about it, and have been inviting me to come visit their tents (each faculty has a beer tent, with snacks, games and, well, … beer).

We’re expected to teach next week…even though the music is so loud we’ll hardly be able to hear ourselves talk, only 4 or 5 of the keenest students will actually come to class, and even they will be hung-over. So, I’ve told my students that I’ll be there, but I won’t be taking attendance. To my students, this translates as “Oh, I don’t have to go to class.”

On Saturday, 2 of our teachers will be close to their birthdays, so all the teachers are getting together to play volleyball and/or frisbee in the afternoon, and rounding off the evening with a big BBQ bash. There are big brick BBQ’s in a little park near our apartments, and everyone is always up for a good reason to slap some meat on the coals.

All this makes me realize that I’ve been here for 3 months (nearly a whole semester), and I still don’t feel as though I’ve been working. I feel as though I’ve been on holidays ever since the weather turned nice. Ahhhhhh….. Life is Good.

Just to prove you wrong….

On occasion, some of my friends accuse me of having an exciting life. In order to dispel such vicious rumours, and prove once and for all that my life is really pretty dull, I’ll relate how I’m spending my Saturday.

I have spent 3 hours doing laundry and cleaning my closet. As a reward for finally packing away my winter wear, I made myself a glass of Ice Cappuccino, and sorted my coins. The thrills never cease.

While sitting on my floor surrounded by coins, I got to thinking… mostly about how much I like my new colour of toenail polish, but also about 3 other things.

1) There’s not a great deal of creativity going into coin-size in this world. Except for the pictures, there’s no difference between a Canadian quarter and a Korean Baek Won. A Canadian Dime and a Singapore dime are also about the same size. The Japanese do get some credit for showing some spunk in their coins with big holes in them.

2) Coins say a great deal about what’s important to a culture. Korean coins have ancient temples, Great Historical figures and rice. (As an interesting aside, the first modern South Korean coins were minted in 1959…in Philidelphia) Canadian coins on the other hand have leaves and weird animals. I’m starting to think of some other ideas we can submit to the Canadian mint… suggestions, anyone?

3) I’ll come across an old coin, or one that looks like it’s got some wear and tear, and I think about everything it’s been through. Riots, Revolutions, floods… all kinds of things. Then I start to think about where it’s been…pockets, sidewalks, gutters, and I start to get grossed out, and go wash my hands.