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moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Happy: My Arab university students exploding the myths and stereotypes promulgated about them on Dave's and other venues--and taking on the concept of stereotyping as sick, as well as accepting they are wrong when they have done it.

Annoyed: Folks churning the same old tired myths and stereotypes on this and other venues.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

you wouldnt be referring to the thread i started on the ME forum. Wink

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Wittgenstein said: "The world is what it seems to be". Another quote with far-reaching implications.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

happy:

finally in a country where I can speak the language (although I am far better in personal conversations than "eavesdropping" on the streets)

I managed to go from winter (Japan) to winter (Chile), thus prolonging my 2005 snowboarding season

my scrappy little San Diego Padres are in first place

I just read Harry Potter #6 two times

sad/annoying:

there is nobody, NOBODY to speak English with outside of class here--sometimes I just want to chat without worrying about comprehension!

the snow is a bit far from here--I just blew a wad of money for a weekend trip, but gone are the days when I could just head up to the hills after class and be snowboarding in 30 minutes. I'll be lucky to go one or two more times this winter, compared to the 40+ times I went in Japan.

the rain is coming down hard right now, and it is coming down sideways, making umbrellas damn near useless

my first-place Padres have a crappy record--under .500, the last time I checked

d

VanIslander · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:50 pm Post subject:

There are longer term happy fuzzies and annoying buzzes but at the moment...

Happy

- on a 10-day vacation
- just had a pleasant couple of days on Bogildo, the historic island off the southwest coast of South Korea
- just had a great home-cooked meal and tour freely provided by a Korean family (the father, of course) who saw me travelling alone (and seemed to want to practice his English, which was fine)
- am anticipating re-visiting one of my favourite swimming beaches on Sinjido island near Wando tomorrow

Annoying

- today has been rainy and stormy and I've motelled it in Wando, questioning the wisdom of not going with my initial bad-weather plan B (bus it to the old temples of Gyeongju). But I've got the beaches of Plan A in my head and darn it, I expect some sunny days ahead this week!
- you can be the only person in a PC room (Internet Cafe) and the next two people will often choose to sit on each side of you, and smoke of course. Confused

- seeing the only three other foreigners in town, three blondes of the opposite sex, chatting it up in the pizza shop while on your way to getting the dolsot bibimbap (hot pot veggie and rice mix) you swore you'd get,... and choosing to go with the food Sad

(...must... get... a... life...)

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 4:17 pm Post subject:

Happy:
Students who REALLY learn stuff, take responsibility for their own learning and are proactive.

The view of Cotopaxi outside my window right now.

Traditional music.

Cheese

Beer

Annoyed:

Students who blame the teacher anytime their language learning isn't going well. (Especially when they are constantly absent, late, distracted, and lazy.)

Overpriced wine. (It is SOOO hard to get good bottle...)

Gender roles in Latin America. (Changing, but still aggravating...)

Neighbors with small children.

Traffic.

Lynn · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 696 Location: in between

Happy

Summer is here. I love summer.

Annoyed

I just can't get my apartment clean and keep it clean.
I work nights and waste my day.

Gregor · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 842 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Happy -
My wife and I are still newlyweds, after two years together, and still deleriously in love with one another.
I'm slowly but progressively improving my school and my teachers' collective lot in life.
They finally finished building my new home in Shenyang!

Annoyed -
I'm in Dalian and haven't had the chance to see the new house yet.
I have to work for a living!

I can't think of anything to be particularly upset about.

Maybe this - I used to suffer from depression, and though I've mostly got over it (what IS depression, anyway? It makes no sense to me! Where does it come from, and what - perhaps evelutionary? - purpose does it serve??), it's been rainy here lately, so I have to fight back the occasional tendency to cry for no reason. THAT is annoying, but nothing more than annoying, and calling my wife on the phone pretty much clears it up, so no serious problem there.

Life's pretty good.

expatben · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 9:40 am Post subject:

Happy:

Saw an old friend yesterday
Using a CD Rom to help me learn Polish

Annoyed:
Darn Polish is hard to learn...ahh but its worth it!

JonnytheMann · Joined: 01 Dec 2004 Posts: 337 Location: USA

merlin · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 5:22 am Post subject:

2 over lee · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:18 am Post subject:

Happy>

My new split shift sleeping program, I sleep 4 til 8 after work, I have to get up at 7 and teach at 8, but at 2 in the morning drinking beer, I know Idont need to hit bed til 4.

Annoying>

The educated uneducated. The South American elite have protected their European privilages too long. I'm tied of dealing with 12 yr olds proficient in French English and Spanish who think Chinese have hortizontal pu ssies and Australia is in Africa.

JonnytheMann · Joined: 01 Dec 2004 Posts: 337 Location: USA

Horizontal vaginas?! WTF?!

expatben · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:45 am Post subject:

What!?

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

The more obvious answer is that I am not the one stereotyping folks from the US. Folks from the US seem to run on the platform of stereotyping themselves--as exceptions to every rule on the planet.

Self-parody is alive and well. Apparently.