Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Teach Me K-Pop

Sometimes, I am incredibly naive. Okay, maybe most times I am incredibly naive. This can be a strength. For instance, if I had known how hard graduate school was going to be, I doubt I would have applied. If I had known how difficult this transition was going to be, I seriously doubt I would have my own lab half way around the world.

I had hints. I remember watching my daughter perform with the swing choir the day before I was to leave for my interview. I recall thinking to myself, "Why am I even getting on the plane? There is no way I am going to accept this position." Well, I did get on the plane, and I accepted the position. Perhaps my naivete counterbalances my preconceived notions allowing me to hope even when I really shouldn't. Or perhaps I am not as smart I would like to believe. Regardless, that hope has led to some amazing successes and some epic failures. Fortunately, the path is usually pretty interesting which is what I really cherish.

Let me give you an example of how naive I can be. I actually believed I could learn Korean watching Korean TV. I would sit in my chair and try to repeat the sounds I heard. It was fun for about five minutes. Then I got cable and came across a top ten countdown show. I had just read a blog suggesting that if you wanted to speak Korean you should try to sing the theme songs to TV shows. Uh, okay. If you say so.

This top ten show was perfect because they showed the lyrics while they sang. I was and still am trying to decipher all the characters. This gave me the chance to 'follow along' and hear how the characters were pronounced. Of course, I was a joke. I didn't know where the words ended or 90% of the characters, but every K pop song has at least one English word enabling me to reset and keep on trying. I must admit it was fun. I would get so far off, I couldn't help but laugh. I liked trying the impossible. Hey, you never know.

The next day, I asked my colleagues about K-Pop. They were amazed I knew so many groups. That was the day I went to get a cell phone. A secretary from the office was helping me. As we were waiting for my application to be approved, one of the songs from the previous night played on the radio. I told her that was one of the songs I liked. She said something to the salesperson helping us and the next thing I know he has downloaded over 160 K-Pop songs onto my phone. They call me K-Pop.

I have already posted about the concert held here. Let me show you another reason why I like K-Pop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_u5amB7cDs
That group performed at the concert. Nice. The program had the lyrics. "The After School girls are oh so tasty." Some English usage is oh so wrong. Anyway, a few days after the concert, the following appeared on my desk.



The note reads something to the effect: "Saw you on the big screen. Wanted to deliver this in person. After School". I particularly liked the heart.

They should really rename this album.
It took a while to discover the culprit. It was my Director! He sat beside me at the concert and couldn't help but laugh at the After School lyrics as well. He had someone write a Korean note, created a diversion to get me away from my desk, and watched as I was dumbstruck as to who would do this. I was 'punked' by my Director! Awesome. You just never know where the path will lead.

1 comment:

  1. Barry Green should read this. You too have an awesome director! PS you write veru engagingly, great job, thanks for keeping us uptodate in BradWorld ,Dr KPOP! Juice

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