More Kyungju

Rock paintings in the National museum. Note the shaman with the erection in the top right.

In front of the big bell with Paul (note the ajumma hairstyle), Robyn, and Hye Yoon.

Bulguksa temple from the outside.

Rape flowers in profusion with ancestral tombs in the background. It must be spring.

Door knob inside Bulguksa.

Kyungju STEM

Buddies on the bus down - me and Keenan at Bulguksa.
This was the tourist aspect of the trip. The main motive was the conference (11th STEM conference. Theme - Strengths and limitations of using movies in the classroom.") I didn't talk about movies at all, but compared some spoken data with emails from the same students from a discourse perspective, emphasising the importance of context for language production and the emerging language of CMC as a new kind of discourse. After that it was the usual dinner/karaoke combination. Todd and I left earlier than others - two hours of karaoke is enough for me - and headed back to the hotel.

Administrative anality

Can you believe it? The original title of my presentation at Kyoung-ju was "The relationship between spoken conversation and email 'conversation.'" I changed the title for my final draft to say "A comparison of email and oral language production by Korean University students" and submitted my paper for funding from the University. The reply came back that I was ineligible as the title on the brochure for the conference was different from the title on the submitted paper. !?? Okay, the wording has been changed but wouldn't you think there is a similarity between the two that suggests they may well have the same content? That there is more than a possibility they could even be the same paper, just with a slightly different title? I don't think it would take much to arrive at that conclusion. And yet...the same thing happened to someone else. Anyway I sent an email of complaint and sought a reappraisal and appeal from none other than our illustrious chief. We'll see what the morrow brings.

Tennis again

It's old news but still...

Is it for real?

Apparently, yes. In preparation for the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open, tennis legend, Andre Agassi and the world No. 1, Roger Federer, had a friendly game on the world’s highest tennis court, the helipad of Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel.

The week I turned 50...

Oops, already mentioned the QSI experience...it wasn't that great, just a day's work really. Anyway, the big 5-0 this week - Wednesday. A much more relaxed week than last week for sure, and not just because of my birthday. Three directors were away (Kuwait and New York)so all my early morning classes except Wednesday were cancelled. It was also interview week at Kookmin so no preparation for my Intermediate and Advanced classes. Just had to organize an amp and get help lugging it around for the classes that needed it. I had asked several people about borrowing a small practice amp but no-one had one to lend and it was only at the last minute that I asked Nick and he found one down the hall in the English Lit. student's hideout. They graciously allowed me to use it and after the usual embarassed laughs and halting attempts to speak English - this from students of English Literature - I had the second amp that I needed. One student even carried it up to the 8th floor for me and connected it. In the end the Advanced students didn't need it at all but I now knew where to go for future requirements and organized to borrow it again for Thursday. One of those things that just work out. Ask and you shall receive. Hoon and Leo turned up again on Thursday, so had my second Korean language session with them; it was a beautiful fine day so also got down onto the tennis court with Todd for a few hits, met Yang on time this week after forgetting the time last week (first class is acceptable I guess), ate dinner with Kim, all in all things went very smoothly.

A new professional image courtesy of my agent...

Finally got copies of the photos taken at our photo shoot three weeks ago. In the interim I have had one more day's acting - in a company promotional video for QSI, a maker of laser diodes. We, me and a Finnish guy, acted the parts of foreign buyers in various interactions - inspecting the products, signing contracts, watching a presentation, and viewing the facility where the chip wafers are made, suitably attired in coveralls, masks, boots, and gloves to prevent any random dust particles from our bodies entering the air. Still no sign of the Hanaro advertisement being aired yet, however.