Thomas journals

  Please Look After Mom, written by popular Korean novelist Kyung-sook Shin, was published in English after selling over a million copies in Korea. Shin is a visiting scholar at Columbia University, and lives in Seoul.  Jeff taught this book in his Grade 10 World Literature Class to explore local culture. It does that and more. It represents the guilt of countless women in Korea of the new generation, struggling with the implications of society modernizing, as Korea careens into a super-modern nation. Korea changing from a war-torn country of farmers to the land of Samsung and Hyundai in one generation is bound to produce the themes explored in this book.  But not just a book for and about Korean families, Please Look After Mom focuses on the universal theme of what it means to be a mother -- in this case defined through self-sacrifice. Mom's duty it seemed to the central character was to put her children, now grown and on their own, as well as her husband before herself. They let

I just returned from a quick shopping trip in the neighborhood, and I'm moved to write how nice it is: our apartment building is mounted on the side of a hill, so we walk about fifty yards down a steep alley to the district center, with five "BBQ" (i.e. grill-your-own meat) restaurants in a cluster, along with a tiny hotdog shop, a fashion clothing shop, an optician, and a specialty pigs-knuckle restaurant (good for your joints!).  Upstairs is a pub (kind of grimy), and then around the corner for the taxi-stand cigarette vendor, an outdoor coffee vending machine right where we wait for our morning bus to school (only 30 cents for a tiny cup of instant coffee!), a decrepit pharmacy, then a jeweler shop.  In the same block is the local public-bathhouse and a discount housewares store.  Across the street are the chain stores: 7-11 and Paris Baguette.   A bit further up the street, after a couple more little restaurants and clothing stores, is Song's Florist along with t

 Barb's  summer trip notes for personal blog 2015 Thursday, June 11 arrived at airbnb in Akasaka; dinner at local ramen place - great tasting Friday, June 12 visited International School of Japan - tour with Tim Thornton walked around Omota-sando shopping area free film festival of short films Saturday, June 13  hydrangea festival and shrine icecream at McDonald's swan boat ride at Ueno Park lake al fresco dinner under the elevated metro tracks at Ueno Station dessert back in Omota-sando for chocolate fondue at Max Brenner's Sunday, June 14 church at Tokyo Union Church - South African pastor; knitting ministry for local homeless -sale at church; commissioning of youth for Japanese mission trip Met up with Tim Thorton for tour of Roppongi Hills and National Art Museum; discouraged for applying to AISJ - hiring younger; suggested other schools Wrong date for concert! So steak dinner at Bubby's in Ark Hills - too full for pie- must go back Monday, June 15 Train to Hakone t