some africans are still enslaved and dont feel complete without a chain around their neck...

thanks to nisha for passing this on.

this doesnt have anything to do w/korea or esl... it is part of a 1999 documentary called 'Cry Freetown' .

ive noticed a couple of nigerian men here in korea (i notice ALL them, actually, handsome lot they are), and im saddened and enraged at the same time to see how they emulate this one part, this bane of african american culture: wearing the shiniest, gaudiest, bit of bling they can buy, adorning their fingers and necks and wrists and ears and teeth.

it's up to us, black people. we can make a choice. BE the change you want to see in the world. dont buy diamonds. dont glorify it. it's a stone, it's NOTHING. sisters, let's not reward our brothers for stepping on the backs of our own people to showcase their "success." brothers, be brave and turn away from the self deprecating display and quit showing off your necklace to the camera. as if it's supposed to mean something. only if we give it meaning.

i love rap music. i hate that the only rap music that is more known and mainstream is anything that cripples and distorts black culture. what are non black people to think when the only thing they see in the media is anything gangster, showcasing one's material goods, im so tough, i got guns, all women are hoes and tricks and bitches and i fuck them all (whatever, all this muscle flashing is ladden with homo erotic OVERtones anyway)... and then compile that with the few lost and brainwashed black folks they see on the street. no wonder. and it's fucking global! africans on the continent call themselves Niggaz!

ok... and now i leave you with the words of krs one:

Instead of broadcasting how we smoke them trees

On the radio we need to hear more local emcees

Where you at?, c'mon where you at?

This is the difference between emceein' and rap

Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal

Emcees spit rhymes to uplift their people

mental health/pills

good chunk of info on daves about mental health. i do not advise you tell anyone at your job about it if you do take meds. not that it's anything to be ashamed of, but you'll have enough questions/intrusions about you/your life without adding your mental health to it. if you can function w/out hurting/affecting others, then really, it's not anybody's business but yours.

Dr. Park's Psychiatric Clinic for Foreigners
Tel: 02-563-0609, 0678
email: mdoctor@korea.com
Exit 7, Seolleung Sta Line 2
http://www.psychotherapy.co.kr/

sometimes when you call, the woman who answers doesnt speak english, so just say "i'll call back" and then do so later, and get help from someone who speaks english. or just email with the day/time you want to come in. the doctor is korean, but speaks english.

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update 03/09 these are emails from a davester about getting pills cheaper at mental health/stress clinics:

Just about any Korean mental health clinic should be cheaper. I have been to three others. One in Gwangmyeong, one in Yeoju, and one in Wonju. They were all cheaper.

They don't really like to give you a month's worth. They like you to come in every couple of weeks to monitor your progress. They usually adjust the medication pretty regularly. Obviously there are pluses and minuses to this, but it's worth the savings. Just find any mental health clinic near where you live. I'm sure you could find a bilingual to help you if the doctor doesn't speak English well enough to consult with you. It is less than 10,000 a week. 7,000 a week maybe? Again, I don't know how many other docs would be willing to give you a months supply, I don't think they do things that way here. You could go to the doc, tell them what you are taking and see if they would continue you on the same stuff, but they might want to put you on something else.
Koreans doctors I have been to have perscribed anti-depressants and anti-anxieties for me to take at the same time. They work nicely together, and for the first few days really left me feeling groovy. Going in every couple of weeks allows them to monitor your progress and adjust the meds/dosages accordingly.
I know from years of experience with different psychoactives that a body will build up a tolerance for the drug and need to be changed after some time.
When I came to Korea I had just gotten off of 2 years of taking Lexapro. I started taking meds again after I was here less than a year, went through a major life philosophy change, quit taking those meds in 2006, haven't felt the need for them again since. Last year I was taking some more SSRI's to help with my temper and anxiety and in turn help my marriage, but I haven't experienced the same kind of "want to run into oncoming traffic suicide" since my change of philosophy back in 2006.
Anyway, from a fellow human who has suffered a great deal of depression, good luck with your journey. If I can offer you any help/advice, just let me know.

how i got cable tv

if you need help getting cable or anything "living" related, contact global village.

update 07/2011:
a good number for getting cable tv:
KT has a customer service number for English speakers (in seoul). You can have them come on a saturday even. ah-sahh! 02-1588-8448
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i didnt have cable back home b/c it's so expensive and i was always so poor. we can add cable tv to my top ten reasons of why i came to korea.

i asked a coworker that lived in my building how he hooked up his cable and he tells me, "oh, i dont know, my girlfriend helped me." >:( that alone made my teeth clench b/c every question i ask of him is answered, "my girlfriend helped me." well damn, can you ask your girlfriend how she did it and pass the info onto me? you jerk! not really. he's the nicest guy, but i was annoyed.)

i asked the doorman in my building and he gave a phone number that was disconnected. i asked another coworker, who gave me another number, which was also disconnected. i asked a third coworker, who said i need to ask the landlord. i emailed human resources at my school who got my the apt to find out how to get in touch with my landlord & he told me i ought to talk to someone at the school..../

angry. not so much b/c people didnt know, but rather i was annoyed that it was something i couldnt do on my own. even if i did have the right phone number, i couldnt call it w/my english only fat ass. usually im really independent, i do things for myself, not have people do things for me. my ultimate goal is become as fluent as i can in korean, so that i can better take care of myself.

i hate asking for help, b/c often this is exactly what happens: you have to ask and ask until someone finally can help you; it makes me feel like a pest. having to lean on other people sucks. for one it means you have to wait on people to get back to you and for two i hate asking help from people i hardly know. thanks again to the coworker who helped me with the cell phone. i appreciate not only her taking the time to help me, but she also showed me HOW to keep up on the phone so that i can do it myself and not have to run to somebody for help all the damn time. *sigh* i'd have asked her for help, but she doesnt have a tv.

i REALLY hate asking the korean staff at my school for help b/c they're so overworked and underpaid and im sure have better things to do than to take care of the new foreigner. plus they speak little english and im embarrassed to try to communicate b/c i speak no korean.

hey, thanks for letting me rant, blogworld. anyway, i sucked it up and one of the korean staff at my school helped me. she was of course really sweet and kind and helped me out.