Amanda Takes Off...

I should have known better.

When I was 9 or 10, I read Charlotte's Web. I cried at one part, which I remember clearly because I arrived at my grandparents' house sobbing.

I picked up 샬롯의 거미줄 this winter, even though when I tried to read the first page, it was too hard. Recently, I tried the first chapter and understood most of it, so I decided it would be my next book to read.

Yesterday, Charlotte hinted to Wilbur that she was getting tired and old.

I cried.

Good Man stared at me. "Why?"

"She's going to die!"

"No, she's just getting old, that's what it says."

I wailed, "She's being Korean! She's talking around it! 'It seems like I am getting old...'"

"You are strange. You are like my mother, you cry a lot."

This afternoon, Charlotte told Wilbur she really wasn't going to return to the farm with him. She had a day or two left to live. And Wilbur begged, begged, begged Templeton to get Charlotte's egg sac.

I cried.

Good Man stared at me. "It is book!"

"I know! But Charlotte's Wilbur's best friend, and she's going to die and he's going to be stuck with the mean old rat!"

"She is laying...how many?"

"Five hundred fourteen."

"Five hundred fourteen eggs!"

I shook my head, "But they won't be Charlotte!"

"You are 울보," Good Man said.

"I am not a crybaby!"

"Then you are cryadult."

Tonight, Charlotte died. All alone. And Wilbur watched all but three of her 514 babies leave. He asked them to come back, to stay, but they left. Wilbur did befriend the three who stayed.

And I cried.

Good Man just looked at me. "If roach did magic, would you cry?"

"Roaches don't make webs."

Good Man pointed to the wall in the bedroom where our house spiders live, "This is why you don't kill spiders! You read when you were kid and now you expect spiders to do magic!"

"Of course!" Then I started laughing. And crying. Because I sounded ridiculous. But isn't that the joy in reading children's books? Believing in magic?

"If you care about fake talking spider in book so much, then you should never kill spider, roach, grasshopper, ant..."

"I'm not Buddhist," I said.

"Why don't you join PETA?"

"I eat meat."

Good Man shook his head, "And you are crying over spider in a book! I am just pointing out your paradox..."

***

I was on-track for my Korean goal and then Mother's visit, the end of the school year, a weekend at the beach, ten days in Canada, and having a hard time getting through multiple books all set me back.

But, onward and upward. I've finished "소나기" and 샬롯의 거미줄 since my last update.

533,300

This is by far the most ridiculous Korean song I've heard in a long time. When it came on in my car today, I couldn't stop laughing.

The song is called "High Calorie" and it's basically a list of foods with the demand to eat. The woman sings:

먹을 걸 참지 말아요
맛있는 것을 참지 말아요
손으로 집고 무작정 입으로 넣어요 맛있잖아요

Don't resist eating.
Don't resist delicious foods.
Grab it with your hand, and shove it into your mouth because it's delicious.

The name of the duo? Fat Man.

Another song featuring the same female vocalist (정인) is "Rush."

And another one, by Dynamic Duo (one of Good Man's favorite groups).

Dynamic Duo is going into the military soon, and their newest album cover has a military theme. This song ("Keep the Change") has multiple people telling a taxi driver their hard situations/lives. One even asks the taxi driver how much training is required to get the job.

"Fireworks" is about being a trouble maker and making people uncomfortable.

And one I adore, "I'm Sorry." Soju fixes everything according to this song.

While this would be the perfect post to discuss MC 몽's teeth, I'll save that debate for another time.

"[굳멘], 노력 '력' 하고 적응력 '력'... 도같아?" [Good Man], effort "력" and ability "력" are the same root 력?

"응." Yep.

"난 똑똑해. 똑똑한 부인 있지? 나 같이 사는 것이 어려워?" I am smart. I'm a smart wife, huh? Is it hard living with me?

"아니. 내 밥 그릇 더 켜." No. My rice bowl is bigger than yours.

According to Good Man, if you say you someone has a large [rice] bowl it means they have a large ego, or very big ambitions and goals.

***

Trying to describe to Mother the way a woman was talking to me, I muttered some phrases in Korean. I finally settled on "거시기, 거시기."

Good Man figured out what I meant and said, "Oh, 어쩌고 저쩌고."

Eo-jjeo-go jeo-jjeo-go.

Koreans, please. Why couldn't you have something easy like "blah, blah"?

***

I've really been struggling with my 1,000,000 characters goal lately. First, I started reading Little House in the Big Woods. Vocab was too hard. Switched over to Alice in Wonderland. Too weird/strange/hard. Switched over to a book of Greek myths. Too boring. Tried Romeo and Juliet in manwha (cartoon) format. Not in the mood.

I have been reading a lot! I just can't seem to get through a book.

To that end, I'm reading a short story ("소나기," a very well-known Korean story). It's part of a larger book, but I figure if I can get through one complete story, I'll be back on track.

And hell, if that doesn't work, I'll read 삐삐 again. I do love Pippi!

"I'm a little nervous about this new job," I said to Good Man last night, "because I am going to have so much more freedom in my teaching. And it's a new school, new grade..."

"Be like a roach."

I looked at Good Man. "What?

"You know, adapt to your environment."

"Can you please tell me to be a dandelion next time instead of a roach? Do you remember what 'dandelion' is? That yellow flower that gets white poofy seeds that you blow off. It's a weed. It lives everywhere."

"Oh, 민들레. But it is Korean saying."

I shook my head, "I don't believe you."

"바퀴벌레 같은 적응력. 바퀴벌레 means 'bug with wheels—'"

"'Bug with wheels'?!"

"Yeah, it is 'roach.' And 적응력 means 'adaptable.'"

"Like 노력? 'To make an effort?'"

"Same 력, it means 'ability.'"

I thought for a moment. "No wonder Koreans are so full of han, they're used to being compared to roaches!"

This year we've joined a CSA (community supported agriculture). A CSA is somewhat like a co-op with a farmer. Back in February, I mailed a local farmer several hundred bucks for 15 (16?) weeks of fresh produce that I pick up from a local house once a week.

The produce is local (we could get to the farm in less than 90 minutes...can't say that about the produce from the grocery store), organically grown (although not certified), and fresh, fresh, fresh!

Since we paid cash back in February, if the crops fail, we lose out on our money. If the crops are bumper, we get a bumper share.

We don't get to choose what we want to eat, and if we get something we don't like? Well, we have to find someone to give it to or something to do with it. Of course, we could also discover foods we've never eaten before but really like (last week it was Japanese mustard greens—really good).

We can also order locally made cheese from another farmer through our CSA. We haven't done that yet, but I'm sure we will.

The farmer sends an email a few days before the delivery telling us what we're getting, some recipe ideas, and a farm update. There's also an optional email group made up of subscribers who share recipes.

Today's update said, in part, that the lettuce is a hodge-podge because the heavy rains made a bunch of lettuce rot, and now the heat is causing the rest of the plants to bolt.

That is why I wanted to join a CSA. I want to know where my food comes from, and I want to support the local farmers, even if it means getting almost-bolted lettuce.

While researching our CSA, I found another website for buying locally produced goods (the Virginia Food and Beverage Directory). I look forward to using it to buy more local goods from "the little guy."

***

I started reading Little House in the Big Woods in Korean, but it was really hard because I don't know words like "bladder" (오줌통) or "butter churn," so I've put that book down temporarily in favor of 이상한 나라의 앨리스 (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland).

I've read Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass several times. Yet I don't know that I realized before just how nonsensical it really is. Something about slowing down to read it in Korean made me realize that the book is a long, strange trip.