Tuesday, March 23, 2004
I spent much of this past weekend tutoring a dentist in conversational English. He is studying English so that he might some day move his practice to America, where the market for dentists is, in his own words, much less competitive. He is highly personable and eager to learn, which makes my job both easy and enjoyable; though I think it's a tremendous effort for him to continuously make conversation in a foreign language for three hours. Towards the end of our second meeting on Sunday evening, his hands started to shake from the exertion and his mocha coffee. So while I'm glad to have him as a student, I'm not sure how I'd feel about having a man with shaky hands as my dentist.
Other than my temporary job as an English tutor, I visited an old friend who is now serving his conscription, though he somehow managed to work out a deal where he serves as a policeman for the next two years, instead of joining a combat unit at the DMZ. It's not as good a deal as it sounds, since normal cops are allowed to go home at night, whereas my friend will be making the police station his home for the next 22 months, and all that with negligible pay. At times, I wasn't sure what the difference was between my friend and the criminal being held at the police station. Both have had their freedom taken away by the state.
Other than my temporary job as an English tutor, I visited an old friend who is now serving his conscription, though he somehow managed to work out a deal where he serves as a policeman for the next two years, instead of joining a combat unit at the DMZ. It's not as good a deal as it sounds, since normal cops are allowed to go home at night, whereas my friend will be making the police station his home for the next 22 months, and all that with negligible pay. At times, I wasn't sure what the difference was between my friend and the criminal being held at the police station. Both have had their freedom taken away by the state.
