Women's voices from Iraq

I make a break from my usual subject matter to bring to your attention one of the most thought-provoking pieces of journalism to come up yet on the Iraq war. BBC Arabic has interviewed a number of Iraqi women, and has posted short interviews with six on their website. If the link does not appear obvious in the previous sentence, just mouse over "interviews," or click on the post's title.

The women describe their daily lives with candor. Most of them are financially better off now than they were a couple of years ago, but there are new uncertainties and fears that they face, too. Do read them all, they will open your eyes and engage you in a way that few journalistic pieces on Iraq have done. Note that the BBC has summarized the interviews in ways that reflect the general media bias against the war by taking certain comments out of context. In the interviews, you will read that:

-food is cheaper than it was under Saddam
-that school is better, textbooks are new for the first time, and that teachers are paid enough to actually make the job worth doing
-that "basic living supplies" are now available
-that the Iran-Iraq war was the worst thing to happen to Iraq; that the next worst thing was the war resulting from the invasion of Kuwait, and that the UN sanctions were the next thing; the last war, while still damaging, was the least of these problems
-that the security situation is still dangerous. On the other hand, one girl who used to walk to school under Saddam can now afford a cab. Obviously, one hopes the danger will recede. All the women hope that Iraq will become a better place. Amen.

Taken for granted are some obvious facts, e.g. that Uday Hussein won't be raping anymore 12 and 14 year old girls (as profiled by Time Magazine last year). Two women mentioned that they now have freedom of thought that they never used to have. The women urge the international community to stick with them in their hour of need.

(The best good news round up of Iraqi news in English, by the way, can be read here. You can click on the "good news from Iraq" columns on the right hand side of the screen. This blogger's work has been featured several times on the WSJ online; I confess that I never read him directly from his blog.)

A short miscellany

In Seoul you can...

-see three nuns leave a restaurant
-see many nuns in the streets
-see Buddhist monks in robes by the subway, talking with young women
-see a habited R.C. nun eating in KFC
-be approached while on the subway by a businessman to ask for help with an English lesson
-rub shoulders with men riding on scooters or motorcycles, who are, like you, crossing the street on a crosswalk (they might turn left and ride by the curb, or they might ride on the sidewalk)
-see old ladies squatting in the subway station by the tracks while they wait for the train
-go into a public market and see more goods crammed into a square foot than you'd have thought possible
-be going to the bathroom in the men's room and have a cleaning lady come up behind you, nonchalantly mopping the floor!
-eat very sweet burnt dough, purchased from a sidewalk vender. The taste isn't so great, but, surprisingly, the aftertaste is!

...And, my thanks to: Alexandra, Brian (finally, Brian, don't wait so long next time, old buddy!), Missy, Ian (gotta get that phone), and Ben for their emails.

Yet another update

Today I had my first two class evaluations come in. The evaluation for my 3pm class had only good things to say about me, and made a recommendation or two, as per the usual practice. I have a feeling that anyone could teach my 3pm class (the kids are good as gold, and there are only a few of them), but it was nice to see the evaluation, just the same. But my 5pm class had nothing positive to report, and only a vague recommendation to let my "voice be heard." This helps, but not a lot. So, the battle continues. The battle for control of the class, that is.

Today I learned something experientially that I knew, or thought I knew, academically. I learned that you can't give a dictation exercise that requires the entire class period to do and go over. Now, this seems very obvious, but I had to learn the hard way, for some reason. Compared to this, however, the test tomorrow for my 4pm and 5pm classes will be a cake walk. Joo Ah was back today, which was nice for me. I'm not sure if the class was more work to teach with her there, (she's very hyper). On the one hand, I had to tell her to be quiet several times, but she stayed in her seat more today. And she told the class to be quiet for me on one occasion--it worked. I prefer not to raise my voice, using "SHH!" instead. But maybe I'll have to. I hate being yelled at, and so I don't like yelling either, especially at kids. And they're nice kids too, even if they're prone to hyperactivity or minor misbehavior. I think I'll try taking one or two outside the class for a little talk tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I have to get off my chest a very minor little story that still kind of bugs me. I was waiting for the subway last night in Dongdaemun Station, and sat down on the bench alongside a few other people. A man in heavy rain-gear came buy with an umbrella or something, and with the same hand that was holding it he was holding a dog. I looked up at his face, and he was wearing a mask that completely covered his mouth and nose. I must have looked a second too long, because he immediately made a gouging motion with his fingers at my eyes, only missing them by a few centemeters--I closed them right away at that point, and when I opened them, he made a motion to hit me with his free arm. I didn't blink and looked straight ahead(since my eyes weren't being threatened this time), and he left quickly. I know the guy was likely insane, but it still annoys me. I don't want to run into him again, but if I do, I will call for security. I don't want to catch any diseases, and I also don't want my eyes gouged out. It's a sad fact of life that in every major city one goes to there will be many street people with mental problems, and some of these people will be very hard to deal with.

All those little things...

I felt quite down about the day over all, and I guess that's part of starting a new job that one isn't at all used to: having ups and downs. On the subway I had an amusing exchange with a Korean businessman. He sat down on the bench beside me (actually, we were waiting for the subway--there was standing room only once we got inside the car), and kept looking at me. When I turned to look at him, he moved his hand over his upper lip, and laughed, and nodded. "Moustache," I told him. He repeated, "moustache," and smiled again. He pointed to my ears, and asked through gestures if I was deaf. I answered in English "I can still hear, but without them it's harder," and I took out one hearing aid. "I sorry," he quickly said, but I told him not to worry about it. He smiled and then the train arrived in the station.

Yesterday on my way to work I was fortunate enough to have a seat, at around 11:30am or so. A grandmother and a toddler sat down beside me; the toddler on his grandmother's lap. Now wouldn't you know it, but the small children have been noticing me, and I them. I think for many I am their first foreigner. This one kept looking at me. "An-yung" he said, and his grandmother and I both laughed, as did other people on the subway. "An-yung ha-se-yo," I answered. I put my hand up, and he promptly gave me a high five. This from a tiny kid who could barely talk, and--still in diapers! The other day in McDonald's (oops, I guess I let that slip out!), a charming little girl kept looking at me, obviously fascinated. Finally her father turned to see what she was looking at, although he wasn't quite so fascinated. I greeted them, and they smiled, and the father greeted me in return. The girl was a bit too young to talk.

Today one of our secretaries said to me, "you always dress so handsomely!" Now this is not quite as flirtatious as it sounds. People in Korea are obsessed with appearance, and comment regularly on their own, and each other's, appearances. But it was funny, because when I said, "and you all look so nice" in return, another secretary teased me for forgetting her name! Un-Mee. It was a humorous little moment. Actually, all the office staff (there are four men and five women) are quite nice, and it's a priviledge to work with them. Mr. Sohng likes my bell. By the way, I use the bell, now, only in two classes. My 5pm class is too hyper and noisy as it is, and I think the middle schoolers would see it as a cheap gimmick. They're pretty cynical, those middle schoolers, although they're nowhere near as bad as North American high schoolers!

Another thing I enjoy about South Korea is the frequent display of affection between people. Apparently men used to hold each other's hands quite commonly as a sign of affection, but this practice is not as visible as it used to, no doubt because of Western interpretations of such behavior. But famales, the young and the middle aged, hold arms or hands all the time. Today I saw four very ordinary looking businessmen walking and laughing together. One had his arm around the waste of the other. Several days ago I saw three businessmen walking along the sidewalk, and two were holding hands. They dropped hands when they saw me. I'm certain that these people were not gay. (Several days ago, I did meet one probably gay foreign middle aged man, who tried to pick me and Ian up with a promise of a free dinner!) Recently, I also saw a young boy of about 10 dragging his slightly older friend enthusiastically through the street. Koreans are just very warm people, and it's so refreshing to be around all these smiles and displays of affection.

...And, my thanks to Alexandra, Missy, and Ben for their emails! And Ian, too! (I simply have got to get a phone!)

Teaching on Tuesday

Today was not such a great day at school. For one thing, I know I need to improve a lot, and I had a teacher observing me in my 5pm class today. Of course, the kids were somewhat rowdy. Fortunately, the teacher was Barbara. She left early, which I hope isn't a terribly bad sign. My biggest fear is that the administration will think I'm incompetent, and that I can't improve. Of course, I'm willing to learn to improve, and I'm glad Barbara will be able to give me some more pointers more specific to me. I feel like the elementary kids are far too clever for their textbooks, and I'd like to move through at at three or four times the required pace. It's tough to drag things out, and then the kids get bored.

My middle schoolers, on the other hand, seem dumber than the elementary kids, substantially dumber. Some of this is a result of their fear of speaking. Here, apparently, middle schoolers are told in no uncertain terms to be quiet in school. And then they come to English class, and we tell them to talk! On the other hand, it's obvious that many of the middle schoolers don't want to be there. Their hormones are changing, and they're overworked.

Little Suhl Kee was not present in class today. I hope she's ok. Several of my kids were not present today. Unfortunately, my two trouble makers in my 5pm class were both there, and I entered just in time to see one hit the other. His motivation was that Duhk Min had just put his notebook in the garbage. I made Duhk Min apologize to the other student for throwing his notebook in the garbage, and then I also made him apologize to the class for wasting their time. Then the other student had to apologize for hitting. And then I moved Duhk Min to the seat beside Joo-Ah, which surprisingly worked relatively well. Joo-Ah is a very intelligent, cute and charming but hyper girl, but they managed not to get each other into trouble today. After class I kept the two boys, and told them that I knew they were smart kids who could do well at English and make their parents proud. All they had to do was to concentrate, and stop the horseplay.

Well, tomorrow I find out from Barbara what she thinks of my teaching in general. I'm quite nervous, but I'm glad it's Barbara and not someone else!

My first teaching Monday

Well, it was my first teaching Monday today, and I was really nervous about it. I prepared a bit for my classes, and then met with Barbara again, and again, she gave me some useful ideas. I walked into my 3pm class and addressed the errors from Friday's test. The kids in that class are good as gold! They're just a wonderful bunch to teach, really. Both my 4pm AND my 5pm classes surprised me by being better behaved than they were on Friday. In fact, they were fairly delightful, and I had three classes in a row that I would call enjoyable! I had only a very few problems with the 5pm class (the one that has 14 students in very cramped conditions), and none at all with my 4pm class. I guess I ended out being stern enough after all on Friday, when Joo-Ah noticed my face reddening with frustration!

Today one little girl came to my 5pm class with about one third of her face red and swollen. She wouldn't open her notebook and do any work, and she wouldn't answer my questions either. So, very tenderly, I led her by the hand to the office, and asked the staff there to find out what was wrong. Apparently she had many mosquito bites, although I'm still a little skeptical. If she had some kind of reaction it might have been possible, I suppose. I asked specifically if they thought she was beaten, but they said no. Certainly there are many mosquitoes here (I'm swatting at two right now!), a surprising fact to be sure, given the size of the city and the reputation for air pollution (not altogether deserved, I must say). Anyway, the girl came back, and I gave her only easy questions to answer orally for the rest of the class. I asked her if she wanted any water, and she said no. Of course, when she heard that, my rambunctious front-row student Joo-Ah immediately wanted water, but I declined her request. She could have had one in the break only 5 minutes before, and besides, LTRC rules state that drinks of water are to be had only during the breaks! As for the little girl, I should giver her her name: Suhl Kee. Suhl Kee was talking normally by the end of the period, and I hope that she is ok. Suhl Kee has a last name, too, but I forget it. All Koreans have a two-part first name (or, two first names), and one last name. When you ask a Korean his name, he will say, "Kim Young Joon," putting his last name first. We do not use English names in my school, which makes things harder for the teacher, although I think it likely for the best. Having said that, you try memorizing a class of names when there are five Kims, two Ohs, three Parks, two Woos, and a bunch of first names consisting of Hyoung, Young, Yohng, Joon, Joo, OO, E, Kyung, Sahng, etc.! By the way, my favorite name is "Min-Soo." It's a guy's name, apparently, although many names are unisex.

The last class of my day was my MWF class of middle schoolers. They gave me their warmest greeting yet when I greeted them, but as usual, there were some focusing problems. Still, they're good kids, too, even if they really don't want to be there.

And, my thanks to: Alexandra, Ben, Lyle, Sylvia, and Jeff for their emails!

Itaewon

Friday wasn't such a great day, especially for my 4pm and 5pm classes. They were getting rowdy, and were less easy to handle than the day before. I'll write more on today's classes in the next entry.

On Sunday night Ian and I went to Itaewon, the foreigners' district. It's incumbent on everyone to visit it at least once, apparently. We were both visible minorities there. The population seemed to be mostly African Americans sporting those awful baggy pants, toques, gold chains, etc. There were many Iranians, Arabs, and East Indians there, too, in addition to quite a few Caucasians. But the blacks seemed to be most of the population on several streets. I guess many of them are US servicement and their family members; they definitely did not look like the English-teaching type. I felt quite nervous there; many people looked like the type to pick a fight with you if you accidentally were to bump their shoulder. On the sidewalk Ian and I were accosted by three beautiful Korean prostitutes (prostitution is legal here [UPDATE: Since late Sept. 2004, there has been a new, if largely unenforced law on the books which apparently does prohibit this activity]). Those switchblade knives that are illegal in Canada were being sold by the merchants on the sidewalks for about $15 Canadian. The lone police motorcycle in the area had his flashing light attached to the pole, crookedly, with plastic tape! The whole neighborhood is very seedy, and I have absolutely no intention of going back. If Seoul embodies hard work and diligence, politeness and beauty, culture and evolution, Itaewon embodies some of the very worst aspects of American culture. The only positive thing that happened there was that I bought four pairs of dress socks for an excellent price. However, I could have done that in Myongdong market, so there's no need to return to Itaewon for shopping. After leaving Itaewon, I felt very thankful to live in a normal part of Seoul with normal (Korean) people!

After visiting Itaewon, we went back to the Bongeunsa Buddhist Temple, quite some distance away. I really like that temple, and this time I had my camera. Unfortunately, all the shining paper lanterns were gone! It was dark and raining lightly. I felt disappointed, but the best part of the place there, is the massive statue at the back, and nobody can take that from me. The Buddha stood, unmoved by time, still beckoning us to eternal peace. I took a few pictures of it, but they were terrible because the flash couldn't provide enough light, and the shutter speed was too quick. So I took two 5-second video clips, in which it showed up much better. Unfortunately, the Buddha didn't wish to be photographed that day; I forgot that I must hold the camera horizontally for video clips! We also looked inside the open-air (but covered) prayer rooms. They are open 24 hours a day, so one can sit at the feet of the golden Buddha statues inside and meditate anytime. I must say, the temple grounds, both the structures and the garden, were designed very well. The whole compound is sacred space at its very best.