Koreans

Today I met my new Korean friend, Lusia Choi, at the Rec. Centre.  She’s a very strong swimmer.  She lapped me many times before I finally dove under the buoys, out of the laps lane and into the open area where I could do my ‘aqualates’, unchallenged. I invented this when Jim and I were swimming at the condo.  Because my arms are so weak now, I can only swim a bit and then I work my flabby abs and arms in a combination of moves that makes me think of Pilates in water.  When I saw Lusia leaving, I joined her in the sauna, my favorite part of any visit to the Rec. Centre.  As I had walked there, we left in her car and drove to a Starbucks for our first session of Korean/English.  Lusia, like my last year’s friend, Misoon, drives a Mercedes.  Understandably, Koreans do not want to drive Japanese cars, but I haven’t yet figured out why they are so keen on, let alone how they can afford, Mercedes.  Misoon and her husband owned a car wash; they had owned a gas station before that, and Lusia and her husband also own a gas station.  Oh well, it’s none of my business, and I have enough to learn about the Korean language to keep me occupied without concerning myself with the question of whether or not owning car washes and gas stations is a way to get rich quickly.  It seems as if I will probably be tutoring her 2 children as well, which will bring my total to 5.  We are still working out a schedule that suits us all.  At $20.00 an hour, I certainly won’t get rich, but neither will I be bored, and I like the Koreans I’m meeting.  Wait until Jay finds out that Lusia has a 33 year old neice who has lived and worked in Canada for about a year but is now back in Seoul and would probably like to meet him and have a Korean/English exchange with him, similar to mine with her.  She mentioned it today, but I didn’t hold out too much hope that anything would come of it.  I laughed when I thought of a way to compare English Canadians and Koreans.  From reading books like David Copperfield, we have the understated attitude of, “Barkis is willin’,” while my limited experience with Koreans has led me to generalize that, ‘Koreans is keen.’  They are formal and polite when you meet them, but if they get an idea into their heads, they will pursue it.  And they know what they can do and have accomplished.  Even John, the little boy in grade 5 that I tutor, informed me in one of our first lessons that the Koreans have replaced the Scots as the premier ship builders in the world.  I actually spoke a bit of Korean with Lusia today and think we will enjoy our Wednesday meetings.

The second espresso machine works, and I have enjoyed many cappuccino mornings.  I haven’t been skiing again, but I’ve walked a lot.  There’s still no snow in town and the weather is perfect for fast walks, so I’m not tempted to ski, but downhill opens at Silver Star tomorrow, so I’m going to go on Friday.  I’ll probably cross country ski though because I only have one pair of downhill skis and it sounds as if there’s not quite enough snow yet to cover all the rocks on the downhill slopes.    

One of the older crosses in the Vernon Cemetery, where my dad's sister is buried.  It simply says that he was electrocuted in 1913

This boy died when the Okanagan Hotel burned in 1909

These men also died when the Okanagan Hotel burned in 1909.  I wonder if the reason why there are no women listed is that they didn't even have 'ladies and escorts' drinking areas in those days.

A view from the walk along the old Grey Canal.