Things I Should Have Learned From M*A*S*H

Well...you should have known that a blog referencing  M*A*S*H would appear eventually.  Does it surprise you that it took 6 months?  This is the blog of things that I should have learned...but somehow forgot until I got here.

1).  Korea will drive you to drink:  No, I have not set up a still in bathroom using various medical equipment stolen from the US government.  Though I have read about a few people here that do brew beer in their bathtubs and sell it online.  (which is gross if you ask me).  I would say a good 90% of the English teachers here drink...and maybe 30% can be defined as alcoholics.

2).  The weather is quite crappy quite often.  Those sweltering summers and those frozen winters are real!

3). Nothing really ever makes sense.  Though Hawkeye always blamed that on the US government for the way things run without making sense...I will blame it on life.

4).  Nothing is EVER under control.  See # 3.

5). Ohio wasn't so bad after all:  Like Jamie Farr, I find my thoughts drifting back to my sleepy little town in NW Ohio.  And just like him...cross dressing won't get me out of this mess...haha.

6). The food....  Well let's just say, I haven't had to call Adam's Ribs yet but Mommy has sent me quite a few care packages with food.

7).  The locals have a lot of National Pride.  This is good up to a certain point.  But sometimes it is taken to extremes.  Example: Korean teachers claim that I have lost weight.  According to them it's because I eat Korean food now.  Once, I packed American food for lunch...and they took it away from me and gave me Korean rice.  :-(

8).  Last thing.  These are some strong people (emotionally).  They have pulled out of oppression after oppression and turned out alright.  They have a strong sense of family and community.  They enjoy sharing once they get to know you.  (unfortunately the elderly sometimes find themselves not wanting to get to know you because you are foreign).

One closing remark.  As foreigners we are called Waygooks.  As Americans we are called Migooks.  Imagine the look on Frank Burn's face if he knew that they Korean's were calling us "gooks"...ha ha ha!