Lady Godiva

This picture was drawn by John Collier in 1898. I saw this picture in the magazine about 2 years ago. When I saw the picture at first, I thought it was just like other nude pictures. However, after reading an article about the history of the picture, I looked at it again and was impressed.

The woman in the picture is Godiva, who was the wife of Leofric, a noble of Mercia in what is now the United Kingdom. She took pity on people who were suffering under her husband's oppressive taxation. Although she appealed several times to her husband, he refused it. And then, he challenged her to ride naked through the marketplace, promising to reduce the tax burden. She received his challenge and proclaimed that all persons should keep within doors and shut their windows when she rode through the town. However, only one person in the town, a tailor known as Peeping Tom peeked at her. According to the legend, he is said to be a blind. Finally, Godiva's husband kept his word and abolished the heavy taxes.

Many people know about this famous story and alreay might see Lady Godiva on the wrapper of Godiva's chocolate. Whenever I see the picture, I think of a woman who had a tender heart.

Old Capital Museum

I have never visited speical places in Iowa City until we visited the national museum. I serched for information in the Internet and decided to visit old capital museum on campus because admission fee is free and it is near. So, I visited with Joy, Nayeon, Ambrosio and a unkown guy after the potluck party. There were two people in the desk. I asked for museum touring and one officer was willing to guide us.

The first place that we went was the auditor's officer, which was smiliar to a common office. Then, we moved to the govener's offficer which was lager than auditor's officer and had good view sights out of the window. The govenor could see people who was comming to and going outside the building through the large window. In this room I found the window cover that can block the window from sunshine and is made of white-painted wood. I loved it. I wished to carry out to my house. ^^ One strange thing there was a small toilet whcih looked too small for fat people to go in. I saw several spittoons which were used for spiting out tabacco.

And we moved to house chamber in the second floor in which representatives at that time did legislative activities. I could think that just 26 chairs for representatives and a speaker's chair showed that Iowa was a small state in about 1840. There was senate chamber in front of the house chamber, where was a grand piano and about 4feet high ceiling. I loved there because of the grand piano. The officer said that this room is used as a place for a concert or a lecture. After comming back home, when I told my roomate about this room, she gave me happy news. Next week we can go there to see the piano concert, so, I was so excited.

I was happy to visit there with my classmates. Even though I have lived in Iowa for 7 months, I didn't know about the history of Iowa. Through this short tour, I heard that Iowa became the 29th state in the United States. Now the old capital building is used for museum and university, but it was the capital building of Iowa state before Des Moines became it. One sad fact is that the building was burn by fire in 2001 in spite of having been recovered completely after that.

Maybe I can think of the history of Iowa whenever I hear the chime bells ring from old capital. It was fun and meaningful time.

At Age 10

When I was 10 years old, I was not an unusual girl. I think I was shy in class, outgoing outside class and home. I can remember that I was so shy I couldn't ask our teacher somthing. I felt ashamed of rasing my hand for asking something even though I cannot understand it now. At that time my world was divided in two parts before and after my father's car accident as I wote it in my first essay. Before my father's accident I was cheerful and sensitive, but I was a little mature after it.

I liked playing the piano at that time. Fortunately I met an old piano teacher who was almost 60 years old and liked me, and I could get a lesson everyday. My tutor was so busy that I went to his house early in the morning before going to school. I really liked the time that I practiced the piano and sang a song wisperly. Another important memory is my best friend HeeRa with whom I shared my everything, and we always spent free time together after school with doing homework, playing a game, talking about ourclassmates and something. Her father was a pastor and he was so kind and generous, especially for HeeRa and me. Looking back to my time at age 10, HeeRa was the closest person even though I don't know where she lives now. I liked close relationship with only one friend as if Maya did with her brother, Bailey.^^

In school I was an obedient and naive student. When our teacher said something, I always followed it. Before my father got the accident, I was just common, not prominent student. However, after my father was in hospital, I studied very hard, and I became an excellent student because I thought that studying was all that I could do. And I learned the traditional dance called Changguchum in shcool, which is dancing with a changgu like a drum. It was so fun to beat a changgu and dance with the unique rhythm. However, I didn't like doing exercise nor drawing. I think my drawing was the worst in our class.

Now I am a defferent adult from a little girl at that time, but there are some charaters that I have kept until now.

Italy

In 2006 spring, I have been to Itay because the conference related to my job held in Como, Italy. Since I had to go alone, it was a good chance not only to get new information in conference but also to adventure. I traveled many countries but traveling without any company was first.

Both of the flutter and fear went cross my mind until I started. At that time, the company that I was working for supported my traveling expenses so I had to buy cheep air tickets. However, The amazing event happend in Japan when I stoped there to trasfer. A airline worker exchanged my business ticket into first class one. I could enjoy delious meals and kindest service.

It was the evening when I arrived in Como. Beautiful sunset and peaceful atmosphere in a small town made me comfortable. During the conference, I saw charming landscapes of the beautiful Lake Como which I have never seen before and heard chimes of chuches. It was a new experience for me because I have been living in a big and crowded city. After the conference hours, I meandered around the town. North of Como was Switzerland so I could the Montblanc Mountain on the top of the hill in Como. One day I was looking for a restaurant to have for dinner and I found a restaurant which was designed pretty. I ordered bacon spagetti and tried it in the original place of spagetti. Unfortunately, the taste was different from my expectation. Even though I couldn't eat less than a half of the spagetti, the mind that I tried original Italian spagetti made me pleasant.

On the second conference day I attended in a party which was held in a old villa which was constructed more than 100 hundreds ago. Interior design and antic furniture were so attractive and made me misunderstand that a price and a princess might live there. At the night, on the way to the hotel I saw the glow of the fireflies in the forest near the villa. It was so wonderful secene.

After conference finished, I traveled Milano and Venechia. There were a lot of shopping shops in Milano and I lost my way several times in Venechia because almost ways and buildings were very similar and roads were like labyrinth. In spite of a short trip, I was impressed by Italian culture, especially architecture and nature.

Kimchi

Kimchi is the most favorite food of Korean people. In our saying, we cannot live without Kimchi. If someone is Korean, they would be keeping one or several kinds of Kimchi in their refrigerators. Let me introduce Kimchi for a while. Kimchi is a raw and pickled vegetable. Most foods can keep their tasts just within 1 week, while Kimchi is possible to keep over than 3 years. I would like to boast Kimchi as a magic science. In fact, according to experts, the kinds of Kimchi are more than 200. It depends on ingredients. I have seen that my mother made Kimchi many times but honestly, I have two experiences to make Kimchi by myself. One was in Korea and the other was in Iowa here. After arriving here in last summer, I tried to make cabbage Kimchi. Unless my mentor's help, I might not eat it. Even though same ingredients are included, tasts are different.

Now, as you already heard my presentation about Kimchi in communication skill class, in this blog, I will introduce another Kimchi, Gakdugi, which is made of radish . I think making this is easier than cabbage Kimchi(Beachu Kimchi).

ingredients
a fresh radish
green onions
fine red pepper powder
ginger
galic
salt
optional ingredient : pickled baby shrimps

First of all, we can cut radish into cube-shaped and put in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and then let them stand. Next, we have to prepare for source. Cut green onions and mash galic and ginger. And mix them with red pepper powder and some pickled baby shrimps (option). Finally, mix the cubed radish and the source that we made above. If you don't like spicy taste, you can control the quantity of the red pepper powder. Put them into a containter and eat them 2-3 days later.


This is Gakdugi, one of side dishes in Korea.

I love this.

My father

Whenever I think of my parents, I become to think about their lives. In particular, I learmed lessons of life from my father. My father is very diligent. He had run the shop until I graduated from university. He always opened the door of the shop in the early morning and closed it in the late evening even though there was no a customer. In my childhood, I could not understand my father why he did so. However, as I grew up and became adult, I realized that his diligence was a important lesson such like treasure. My father showed my brother and me diligence his own lives. I have never heard " be diligent"or "study hard" from my father but I could know what was good and followed that. My father trusted me and it made me be proud of myself. When I shoud choose or decide to do somthing, he always trusted me and respected my choice. Even when I decided the university as well as the job, they trusted my thought and choice.

Looking back to my childhood, I have good memories with my father. He loved to go out with me. In summer we used to go swimming in the river and collect snails. In winter my father sometimes went hunting. I can remember that my father and I followed the footprints of rabits and other animals on the snow at that time. When I was 10 years old, I had homework that is to make camera by using boards and cellopane papers. My father helped me cut the thick board and glue the green cellopane papers between boards. we successed to make a nice camera. My camera was selected for the exibition in our school. In my childhood, my father was my best friend as well as a mentor who guided me.

There are two sides to every coin.

I really agree with this idiomatic expression. Every situation and event have two sides as if coin has sides of head and tail. In my life, this expression was applied a lot. In particular, when I faced trouble that seemed not to be solved, thinking of various possibilities was helpful for me. Sometimes these thinking habit helps me find unexpected results. In other word, If I loose somthing, I can get something. However, in trouble situation, it was hard for me to think of this. When I was elementary student, my father was injured in car accident. At that time my father had to be in hospital for 6months. I was so scared because I thought that my father might die. I prayed for my father with all my heart and studied hard at that time because those were all that I could. Even though my father's car accident was bad news and sad event in my life, I could realize that not only existence of my father was very precious for me but also I loved my father so much. In my adolescent period, I could be mature through this event. I don't believe that terrible situation always have bad side and all situation and people cannot change.