I was on the subway last night when I saw this old couple who looked to be in their late 60s. The guy looked drunk and sleeping. What I noticed about them was that they looked very sweet because the man’s hand was on his wife’s thigh while her hand was on his thigh. A little while later, the guy shifted a bit and their hands changed into holding hands position but then the guy put his other hand on the thigh of the woman on his other side. His wife was laughing softly as she got hold of both his hands. I guess the old guy was really out of it. Maybe he had one too many sojus. Then another old man who also had more soju that he can take almost fell over on his way to the door because he stumbled on the crossed leg of the sleeping old man. There are really a lot of drunk people on the subway especially Friday and Saturday nights.
Being a construction worker is usually hazardous to one’s health, especially if one is working in a developing country. Safety belts and hard hats are not the norm. One can see these workers hanging out of rickety looking scaffoldings with no safety mechanisms that will protect them from a fall. Although big construction companies are now investing in safety products for their workers, there are still companies who do not or cannot do so. Aside from such obvious risks, there are not so obvious ones, like unknowingly being exposed to carcinogenic materials like asbestos. Asbestos poisoning causes mesothelioma; which is a cancer of the membranes that surround vital body organs. It is sad how these workers are exposed to such risks just so that they can earn mere pittance to support their family. Employers should be careful about their workers health and ensure their safety by providing proper safety equipment.
Almost every international student I have talked to has lost weight since they started here in school. Both guys and girls have been telling me they lost five or six kilos over the past months. It really frustrates me when I hear this because instead of losing, I have been gaining those kilos. Maybe they are really taking some kind of weight loss pill that they are keeping secret. In fairness, some of them are really gym fanatics and others do not like Korean food so those are valid reasons why they are losing weight. Unfortunately for me I like Korean food but I do not like going to the gym. I guess that explains why I have been gaining what they had been losing.
Our school is really taking the threat of H1N1 seriously. They invested in safety products such as automatic dispenser for alcohol, liquid soap dispenser for the dormitory restrooms, antibacterial hand wash in the school restrooms aside from the liquid soap in the dispenser, and they even provided a thermometer in the dormitory lobby so that the students can monitor their temperature daily. Moreover, they have only left the lobby entrance to the school open. Everybody has to pass by there and have their temperature taken by school staff once a day before they can enter the building. They also cancelled our field trip scheduled in the first week of September because of this H1N1 scare. I really hope that this scare will finally be over before it can take more lives.
Imagine if there are moving companies Los Angeles that will take on jobs of moving from Seoul, Korea to Los Angeles, and then I know some people who would be glad of the service. This coming December, students who are going to participate in the Global Master’s Program, will be moving to the different parts of the United States for the second year of their studies. All the married students will be bringing their wives and kids along so I imagine the logistics of it all will be quite a nightmare. I am sure their wives would be very happy to hire moving companies if it were only possible. Most of the companies now are going global so why not moving companies as well?
Here in Korea, hiking is really a favourite exercise, especially of the older people. I am not really fond of any physical exertion but I am game to try some things so when I got invited to hike, I went for it. The first time was in one of the mountains here in Seoul while the second one was in Seoraksan. Both times, I was the last to reach the top. I really have a hard time going up. The more I walk, the faster I can hear my air intakes and my heart beating. I think it is because of my asthma that I have hard time breathing whenever I go on hikes and that is why I always lag behind. But despite the discomfort and lagging behind, I was able to reach the top and see the great views the mountains had to offer.
In the countries we have studied who have become economically successful in recent years like Korea and Singapore; it is common to note that one of the keys to their success is their efforts towards the education of their people. In Korea, education is highly regarded by parents. After the war, government made basic education compulsory and provided the proper infrastructure for learning. In the Philippines, talk of politicians about the importance of education as key to economic development is all rhetoric. If education is really a priority for the government, then how come there are public schools without proper buildings or even classroom desks. Another problem is the lack of teachers. It is not because there are few graduates of education courses but because of the low salaries that these graduates prefer to work abroad or work in other sectors. The Philippine government should really be serious in addressing the problems of the education sector if it really wants to have sustainable economic development.
