Fate Does NOT Poke Us in the Eyeball, Part - Wait, fate didn't poke us in the eyeball?

In a shocking turn of events, something we thought had gone catastrophically wrong turned out to be completely fine. Yes, believe it or not. This is a stunning exclusive and you heard it here first!

This morning, we could only find one of our passports in the drawer where we've been keeping them since we last used them to apply for our Korean Alien Registration cards (We walk among you! Take us to your leader!) We turned the drawer inside out, checked all the other places we store paperwork, tore our desks at school apart, checked the school office, and finally came back home to halfheartedly confront the inevitable. And yet, wonder of wonders, we found it on the bookshelf! Huzzah!

On the plus side, we are now experts in embassy passport policy. Or at least the web links.

And in reference to Justin's post earlier - anybody want some Pepero? We're freaking drowning in the stuff. I got five more boxes yesterday.

Snakes on an Afterlife

From the homework assignment "If I were a pharaoh, what would I put in my tomb to take to the afterlife?," by Grade Six:

- pencil ("My pencil is my friends because, it always working me.")

- "I will bring my lego box because if there is someone with children, I can give a lego box to them and they can play with that legos."

- "a watch to see the time after time."

- a television, "because I love TV"

- "bodyguard, to guard my self from saints afterlife"

- "APIS teachers, to learn more even after having death."

And of course, the titular comment:

- "I will bring snakes."

I did follow up on this one with the student - would she bring them as pets? Did she remember that they were the symbols of the pharaoh? Were they there to guard the tomb?

In fact, none of the above: I don't think Korean has a flat "a" sound (like "hat") - I've only heard "ah," "eh, and "ay" as in "say". So "snakes," it turns out, was a Konglish mistranscription of the word "snacks."

Everything tastes better after death!

Old and Busted / New Hotness

Ask and ye shall receive.

Old and busted (with expert electrical-tape repair job by Nana):


NEW HOTNESS!!!!
Nana aptly describes this shot as "emo book jacket."

Bonus: Nana acts fierce as I test the camera. Thus illustrating the perils of watching too much America's Next Top Model.


(Nana asks: Why are my eyes the size of peanuts?)

Peppered with Pepero!

Today, Nov. 11, is Pepero Day in Korea, a day when young people shower their friends and favorite teachers with Pepero Sticks, the Lotte-megaconglomerate's answer to Pocky--a delicious, chocolate-dipped sesame-cookie stick. The holiday is a stroke of marketing genius: Started in 1994 by a bunch of schoolgirls in Busan (read: Lotte marketing execs in Seoul) who thought 11/11 looked like Pepero sticks, the holiday now rakes in millions of dollars in Pepero sales for Lotte every year.

Not that I'm complaining, of course. While I spent much of my life trying desperately NOT to like Pocky and its derivatives (the Pocky-lovers I knew where all creepy and irritating Japanophile anime fans--except for Hudson, who was not irritating! I kid, I kid!), I have since developed a fondness for the little things in this country where every third thing I eat makes righteous war on my gut. And any holiday that results in piles free, unreciprocated candy is fine by me!