Found in Translation - not a blogging or WA-related entry

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Fun story from today. I was on the American base eating breakfast in a food court. A really old Korean woman holding a couple US newspapers came up, said she was working on her English, and asked me to explain some of the headlines.

First headline was something like: "A president wimps out about human rights talks." The confusion was over the term "wimp out". I described it as slang for something between coward and weak. I then explained that many Americans view Donald Trump in this way.

Pictured on a front page was young boy cleaning a gravestone in a Jewish cemetery. The headline was about Anti-Semitism and vandalism, and how "bigotry was hiding in plain site". She didn't understand ANY of this, so of course the picture made no sense to her. I was like oh shit, where to start? My first question was "...do you know about the Jews?" Luckily, she did.

Swastikas are an ancient buddhist religious symbol - MANY churches here have them in big bright neon lights. And WWII was all but eclipsed for Koreans by the Korean War, which surely this woman had lived through. So I couldn't explain Nazis quite so easily ... but "people who don't like Jews." seemed to work.

Oddly the hardest term to explain was VANDALISM...but then I thought about it and realized it's rare in Korea. Explaining it as graffiti in the subway made no sense to her at all - Koreans just don't do it. Public spaces are clean here.

It finally clicked when I said the kid was probably cleaning off his grandfather's gravestone that had just been pushed over, and painted on. Koreans definitely understand ancestor worship, and why this would be offensive.

The overriding point here is that I had to explain, in BOTH of these two stories, that many Americans are ashamed of our coward new president, that his administration is comprised of many "people who don't like Jews", and having anti-Semites in high places has inspired spikes in violence against Jews in our country. fun, right?

It was EXTRA fun to be explaining this, slowly and loudly and patiently, in a public space that's a hotbed of Trump supporters.

Although I will note that Trump fever seems to be diminishing, particularly for those of us within artillery range of North Korea. Each unhinged, warmongering tweet brings a new rude awakening many of to those still clinging to the idea that Trump deserved the national security vote.

This exchange made me think about how much we rely on idiom, and how idiom and slang can be so inexplicable from the outside.

I'm still impressed that someone so old - I mean, this woman was easily 80 - would be trying to piece together and understand newspaper headlines in another country. And would care enough to walk up and ask a stranger! I hope I'm even half as curious about life when I'm her age.

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Recent Comments

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Awkward comes to mind, but cudos to you for helping her. I too hope I'm so eager to continue to learn at an old age. :-)

thanks, Angie. Yeah, awkward would be applicable here :)

Hi there
Well done and a great deed you did for that person
Congrats and best wishes
Cheers..PB

It sounds like this was a learning experience for both of you:)

The sad thing is you needed to explain the hate of people because of who they are and vandalism. Things like that shouldn't even exist.

I agree completely.

The hatred stems from blaming someone else for your own failures. Jews have always been the scapegoats for 2 reasons
1.Education is an important part of the culture because that's how we pass along the teachings of the Torah
2. In ancient times Jews couldn't own land so they had to find other ways to earn a living.

II have an education today and the opportunity to live a better quality of life because I was raised in the Jewish faith. Because IDEA didn't come into existence until 1977 there were no children with disabilities in the classroom, and parents who had children with disabilities didn't fight for children's rights to get an education

What's sad is that I had to explain to an outsider that in the US right now, acts of hate targeting Jewish people are happening and apparently condoned by our current political leadership. that's f*cking insane, by any standard, and you realize just how insane it is when explaining something like that to a stranger...as in, "oh, this is just a fact about my culture at the moment".

the only reason Ivanka is with Jared is because of his money---if Jared didn't have the background he has, Trump would never have allowed his daughter to be with Kushner---he keeps him around to cover up that he's a bigot

Trump has created the environment that allows this to happen in the first place so when he turns around and says he doesn't condone it he's talking out of 2 sides of hios mouth

I saw an article today where they're betting in the UK on when Trump gets impeached---odds on this year and each year after to 2020

This situation is revolting. They're looting the government and selling off the parts; we'll be lucky if there's anything left when they're done. Who appoints their kids to key cabinet positions? Oh, that's right: dictators.

I feel sorry for the people who thought Trump would actually help them - falsely seduced by his populist message. Populism is good; Trump is NOT a populist.

They won't understand the scope of their mistake until their health insurance, and other benefits vanish. And by then, for many of them, it will be too late. Many people will die, sicker and poorer, feeling betrayed.

And for others, even ones who aren't bigots, hate crimes and racism are still so often "someone else's problem" and don't seem real.

So many people are so extraordinarily racist and misogynistic that they can't see facts clearly. They can't clearly see the policies that would make their lives better, if those policies come from a black man or a woman. They're more comfortable with the illusions coming from a white man. that's why we're in this mess.

just saw an article where Trump is repealing the Internet privacy to track your online browsing history and personal information

Yup. He also recently signed a law allowing hunters to kill hibernating bears and bear cubs. And significantly repealed worker's rights. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-executive-order-fair-pay-safe-workplaces-barack-obama-women-workplace-a7665946.html

and greenlit pollution. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/28/climate/trump-executive-order-climate-change.html

Most people don't want our browser histories for sale, the ability to kill sleeping bears, reduced worker's rights, or more pollution. It's just crazy.

That's what it means to be a person. No barriers would hinder anyone to understand any issue and anyone either could be open enough to take the opportunity to be a friend and a family.

I related to your conclusion of always remaining curious but I'd be careful of stating political views. Not everyone is on the same page on that topic.

That's definitely true- we all have different opinions!

In this case, I found it challenging to interpret and define the meanings of the words, without explaining the political context. It didn't make sense to discuss a headline about the spike in anti-semitic crime in the US and the specific phrase "bigotry hiding in plain site" without explaining that prominent members of the current American administration have Nazi party and white power affiliations.

Yes, that could cause some problems per the rules we all live with at Wealthy Affiliate...Other members seeing this post may also raise a flag...

This can be addressed with some editing to mention the gist of the conversation while not going into specifics...I do like the thread of the story which for me was:

When we talk to others outside our comfort zone, both sides can learn from one another...It is a risk but well worth it IMO...

Good point!

Cheers!
Dave : ),

Interesting experience and what happens when you get out in the world and meet other people in different cultures...

Many people follow what happens in the countries like the USA, Canada, Germany, France, etc...

I think they do because the professed values in the West are what so many people strive for, plus the very real impact these countries actions have for other global citizens...

South Korea is a perfect example where they are literally on the edge of a confrontation point, as Berlin and West Germany were...

In my time in Korea, I always loved the chance to communicate with the people (pretty hard, though, my Korean is limited to a couple of words hehe)...

These people are hard working and they have their own set of norms and beliefs, which are very different from what is typically found in the West (not necessarily a bad thing!?)...

Meanwhile, in Germany, I remember very clearly talking with WWII veterans on both sides who became prisoners of war and were sent to different countries while being POWs....

There was so much to learn and they really opened up once you showed an interest in hearing about their experiences...In this case, I was that Korean woman, trying to understand...

If there is any positive to what is going on now in the USA politics-wise, I would say it is in the fact that people are waking up to the many inconsistencies in the system, and how it is manipulated...

That has been going on forever, and now we have an extreme version or outcome in power...

This is causing people of all walks of life to galvanize their effort to resist and work to fight and overturn the travesties...There are so many it can seem like an insurmountable problem...

I have faith the system will right itself, given time...I do fear that the incompetent leadership in the USA will willfully or unwittingly cause yet another war no one wants...

It can be a difficult time to be an American internationally, whether you are in South Korea or in Qatar (or Mexico?)...What is being played out does not represent who we are nor what we stand for (in my case anyway)...

Thanks for sharing, my guess is that you will be doing this more often in the near future...

Cheers!
Dave : )

Thank you for the long and thoughtful comment. Yeah, it's definitely good to get out of your normal and into the unknown. One thing I've noticed since our election is when I'm traveling, more and more people bombard us, as Americans, with WTFs and legitimate worries.

This has happened so often that I've considered lying and saying I'm Canadian on my next vacation... but it's probably more important to do the right thing and show them we're not all crazy, bloodthirsty, or just terribly uninformed or anarchistic.

And yes, you make a great point as to why others would be interested in learning about the goings on in the West...especially for those whose fate depends on the degree of art in our negotiations.

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