Speaking Words of Wisdom (Let it Be)

For the third night in a row, I awaken in a cold sweat, panicked at the thought of having done something some as permanent as tattooing my face. I worry that my eyebrows are not absolutely symmetrical and perfect, which frankly, they never have been. I manage to squeeze in another couple of hours of tossing and turning, before dragging myself out of bed at 6:30. Then Rob drops this pearl of wisdom: "The imperfection of life is very often better than the sterility of perfection." And this is before a cup of coffee. This man is truly from another time and place.

Class is a complete hoot. It's Hao's group, and they're in fine form. They get great pleasure out of seeing pictures of Kael, Rob, and the dogs. We discuss how the most popular breeds in Korea are different from those in North America. As Rob says, their dogs would be our dogs hors d'oeuvres. They recognize our dearly departed Border Collie, Sparky, as a very smart dog, being a relative of that ultimate canine hero, Lassie.

At lunch time, I wait for Rob on the steps of the cafeteria building, and students stop by to pay homage. A young woman tells me her weekend was great, except for the nasty "boogy boogy" bites she got on her arms. Other students ask me about my weekend, and offer that they had big drinking parties. As in North America, drinking is a major passion of university students, and they have no qualms about sharing their experiences, even with elders and teachers. This surprises me, given the reticence to share other, less potentially contentious, or embarassing information.

TA Se Hee pauses to ask if I'll be back for the second half of the Summer Exploration Program which runs July 21 - August 9. When I explain that I must return home, she's crestfallen. (I think when a teacher does something as simple as address an assistant by their given, Korean name, rather than as "TA" it goes some distance toward fostering good interpersonal relationships.) Later, Rob tells me that Dr. Shin is fully expecting we'll return next year.

Over lunch Rob is compelled to express another deep thought. When I say that banana in coleslaw is not what I expected, yet is delicious, he says it's another universal reinforcement of why we do well to invite little surprises into our lives and just, "let it be." I remind him of this later when he calls me Harvey Two Face (of Batman villiany). Poking fun at my fear of asymetrical eyebrows, he says it's cool when I turn my head because I look like an entirely different woman, from side to side. He suggests I might consider dying half my hair blonde, and the other half black. He is rapidly losing his credibility!

Four hours of sleep leaves me feeling more Rumplestiltskin than Rip Van Winkle, so I grab forty winks in the cool, air-conditioned apartment, on this hot, humid July day. Just before dinner, program assistant Karl delivers the picture discs he has kindly burned for me. When Rob and I thank him, he's shocked and says, "It's my duty."

In the evening, we consider consider getting a cup of coffee, but realize we'd have to go into a cafe to sit and drink it, or stand in front of the store and drink it quickly. A friend tells us that Koreans believe only beggars walk along eating on the street. This reminds me of my mother telling me not to chew gum or whistle because, "That is what the Hamburg prostitutes do." Is all that is good in this world the domain of Korean beggars and Hamburg prostitutes?!

It's cooled off, and we enjoy a beautiful, warm summer evenings stroll through Hu Moon before calling it a day.