Sunday, February 8, 2009

yikes

You're more sensitive to tragedy when it strikes people you know. Living in Korea gave me the privilege of meeting, among others, plenty of Canucks, Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis, and right now, perhaps as a function of the friendships I've made, I find the blazes in Australia to be very worrisome.

Hang in there, Oz!

ADDENDUM: I know a Korean woman who spent several years studying English in Australia, but who had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if she'd ever gone into the Outback. "What's Outback?" she asked. This is what happens when "learning about a country" means "hanging in one big city." Foreigners who spend their days in the Itaewon district of Seoul should take note.


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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's the ABC news website: http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/bushfires/

They have eyewitness accounts set to jarring photographs. There is also an interactive map at the bottom of the web page detailing the latest on the fires.

John from Daejeon

Stafford said...

Perhaps she thought you meant the faux-ozzy restaurant chain which, with an HQ in Florida, has very little to do with Australia.

But everything to do with gorgeous greasy cheesy fries!