Spell-check, A Love Hate Relationship

I’m basically Simone de Beauvoir, we both like to read, we both like to take ambling walks without special equipment or shoes, and we are both feminists. I guess there are a few difference, nothing big, she just likes to sleep with both men and women, is very intelligent, and has wrote a few books. Like I said, practically the same person, although, I would never fuck an asshole like Sartre. To be fair, de Beauvoir was no innocent, but she still got the short end. She made big sacrifices for his loves and required none from him, she was so intent on trying to not show her jealousy that she actually put up money to take care of more than one girl that Sartre had a thing for, and then he had the audacity to make her feel guilty about some her liaisons. He told her that he could never marry her or anyone else, but then he asked Dolores Vanetti to marry him. I’m only about half-way through the book and I am pissed at Sartre. Mean while, de Beauvoir ruins a chance to be with someone who seems to really love her because Sartre suddenly wants to spend more time with her. How could she be so blind? I suppose she was just as bad as Sartre, stringing along various men and women, running to them when Sartre sought the arms of other women, and dropping them when Sartre called. One other annoyance that I would like to point out, in my spell check, Sartre exists, but de Beauvoir does not. I had to add Beauvoir to the dictionary. Apparently, he is important enough to pass through spell check, while she is not.

This rant may seem like it is coming from nowhere. However, it is relevant to my life right now. I’m reading Tête-À-Tête: The Tumultuous Lives & Loves of Simone de Beauvoir & Jean-Paul Sartre by Hazel Rowley. They lived in an incredible world, their friends included a cast of writers, artists, and film makers that I almost blows my mind. Many of the names dropped in the book are known to me but many more are not. Clearly, I have some reading to do.

I didn’t expect to be so absorbed in this book, I thought it might be kind of interesting, but seeing how two important philosophers and writers were connected and how they affected the work of the other is fascinating, Sartre gave de Beauvoir the inspiration for The Second Sex, the book I plan to read immediately after I finish Tête-À-Tête.

However, I just bought a copy of War and Peace, my way of keeping up with the Underground Book Club, I might have to read that next. I have been reading faster than I intended, but I only have a month until my family comes to visit, bearing more books, I don’t think I can possibly finish everything I have along so far before then.

Today, for my solo subway adventure, I visited Bandi and Luni’s, a large bookstore or chain of bookstores in Seoul. They have a large English selection that is actually pretty decent and quite well organized: Literature is separate from pocket fiction, and there is a separate section for classics, including cheap copies of classics: War and Peace was only 6000 won. That’s like six bucks. Although, thinking about it now, if I would have gone for the 12,000 won edition, it would have been a better translation. I’m actually really annoyed at myself, I didn’t even think about that at the store. Shit. There is a couple that translates Russian literature together, they live in France, I think they must be the sexist couple in the world. And they do really good work.

Anyway, I went to Bandi and Luni’s, I didn’t realize that I would be heading to Insadong again. Sometimes I am very confused by this city, and the subway map is not to scale and therefore very misleading. So, although the purpose of riding the subway was to go places that I am not comfortable with and to not ride to the same place twice, I found myself in Insadong for the third time in two weeks. It’s ok though; I didn’t to go Insadong-gil because I was unable to find it. There was a sign, I though I was heading in the right direction, but somehow I missed it or didn’t turn at the right time. It is a popular area, so it was no problem finding a coffee shop; in fact, I had many options. So far, I have only gone with American coffee shops, because I want the guarantee of good latte’s that are easy to order, but I think that soon, I will have to venture into one that is purely Korean, they look much more cozy and interesting.

On Tuesday, the temperature suddenly decided to take a nosedive suddenly it is winter in Seoul. Monday was cool, but lovely day, Tuesday was kick your ass cold. I went for an ambling walk in the morning, cold but sunny, so the air felt crisp. But school is cooooold. I guess the it is impossible to control the temperature in individual rooms, and the classrooms get really hot because they are small and in the middle of the building, but the staff room is mostly (covered) windows. It is like working in a freezer. The cold has put all the teachers in bad moods, I almost burst into tears in class on Tuesday I was so frustrated at the hell class. At the end of the class, one of the boys who sits near the front asked me if I was ok. How can you not feel better after that?

I went home after school to use my new pencil crayons, plan my Wednesday subway adventure, and eat boiled sweet potatoes. It made me feel better. I have discovered a new love and it is boiled potatoes eaten cold. It is a common thing here; restaurants will sometimes serve boiled potatoes as one of the many side dishes. Occasionally they are in soy sauce and sugar, surprisingly delicious and very easy to make.

In case you are curious, so far I have read: The Watchmen (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons), Mercy Among the Children (David Richard Adams), Serendipities (Umberto Eco), Blindness (Jose Saramago), The Vagina Monologues (Eve Ensler), The Skin of a Lion (Michael Ondaatje), Dune (Frank Herbert), and The Stone Angel (Margaret Lawrence). I bought Serendipities and Blindness at Bandi and Luni’s during my first weekend here. Today, at the coffee shop, I saw a girl reading Blindness in Korea, I could tell it was Blindness because it had the same cover art, it looked extra cool in Korean Script.

Dee

November 19, 2008