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Talk loudly, smile, and carry a big “parking lot”. You can train anything with confidence and ease using the right tools, even when you don’t know all the answers. Secret: you never do.
Stand
Stand up a lot, bring laughter, and make the class fun. It’s all right to take a moment during an activity to recoup your energy. Then, when eyes are on you, pour that energy into your audience.
Adult Learning
Adults learn differently. Utilize their existing knowledge; collectively, they always know more than you. Let them learn independently; they need to be able to carry what they learn into their own environment toward their own goals with their own motivations. Give them group activities; adult learners work effectively through interaction with peers and colleagues – their learning has a corporate context. That said, teaching children can really drive home an understanding of learning styles that persist through adulthood. Utilize multiple presentation methods.
There’s much more
There’s just really no way to cram it into a few photos or bullet points. Some things are “irreducably complex” – they can’t be simplified past a certain point, and an atomist can’t tell you anything about culture. Some things I learned by living elsewhere: People are not the same all over – so it’s important to never lose sight of them as people. There’s no such place as the greatest country in the world – greatness is about personal character. And it’s always me that has to change first.
Safety first
Korea has the world’s highest fatality rate from automobile accidents. So even though the taxi driver may think you’re casting doubt on his driving ability, apologize and buckle in. This is never more true than when you’re riding in the infamous bullet-taxi – a long-distance taxi that goes as fast as the engine will allow.
Personally, I really dig the subway (for getting all over the place quickly and cheaply), the ordinary taxis (for shorter speedier jaunts – the subway is still better to cross a city – no traffic), and the trains. There are two types of train tickets, just like there are two types of buses, sitdown or standup. I’ve done both. For long train rides, sit down – it’s worth it, but sometimes I’d get a stand up ticket; I wanted to be with those who couldn’t afford to sit down. Besides, they were more fun to listen to and chat with.
The Moonger
This year our beloved child, our dog Sundog, died. We still talk to her, where we believe she waits for us in paradise. We had room in our family for a new member, and this is MoongChee. A boy, this time. He likes me a lot 
He likes to cuddle – he relaxes when he puts his head on my shoulder. We got him from the rescue in Prague, just like we rescued Sundog. We’ve all adapted to each others’ idiosyncrasies.
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Click any image to enlarge. There are also a couple of videos in my YouTube library.
Muffler
People are always giving me a hard time about the muffler. The fact that it is referred to as “the” muffler is quite telling. It means they’re jealous of its beauty and practicality. Truly, though, what is a man without a muffler? Less stylish? Less debonaire? You bet. I realize that some men favor suspenders, like that guy on Little House on the Prairie. Some prefer the pretentious beret. But the muffler – I”m convinced that, much like the noble goatee, it makes a man just a little bit more of a man. Women look quite dashing in them, too.
Anyway, every year or so, for you distant friends and family, I post a few photos so you’ll know what I look like. These are the latest and, just for you naysayers, I’ve decided to share the lens with “the” muffler. It’s just one of many, many that I have in drawers and on pegs, but it’s unmistakable in its style and forcefulness as a fashion statement. Behold:
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Click any image to enlarge. Oh, and this one is cashmere. I picked it up from a Chinatown street vendor in New York.
2009
Those eyes have seen a lot of work. The Office is still central to my life, and this is me in it.2007
Big Galoots. I’m not sure what we’re fending off here, since we’re actually planning to get photographed. This is a friend of mine whose hat I will snatch and run with at least once before he makes it to the car. Despite his gargantuan strength, I once beat this former wrestler in a game of spoons. A rematch is pending.
2004-2006
Older Now. We clean up well, I think. I’m devlishly handsome, and the wife is all grown up.
