Yay Photos!

Then again maybe not... I'm having issues with my uploader... WAAAA!!!

Back with a Bang! Jeju!

Yes yes yes... it's been forever. I apologize to those who think I've died because I haven't updated. Truth be known, I'm not only fickle but I'm also a procrastinator. Sigh, I know. The disappointment in not being perfect is even heavier on my shoulders than yours I assure you. Enough of this... On with this show!

So! Jeju! Please be assured that if you're reading this, it was the first official broadcast of what happened in Jeju. We only just arrived home an hour ago, unpacked, grabbed coffees and I uploaded my photos. All in all the trip was spectacular! We had one hitch that was easily solved. But I'll get to that later.

Let's just start with a small preface saying that the tickets were booked 3 months prior to departure and during the last month of work, I kept feeling like I needed a vacation. The week before we left I started feeling antsy. The day before, it was all I could talk about and I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. The night before, I didn't sleep I was so excited. I was a bit worried that not sleeping would definitely impact my energy level on the first day, but when we landed, I was ready to go.

Our first place to stay was a pension and they arranged to meet us at the airport to pick us up. We had the details of the car and besides waiting a bit, were greeted by a very friendly Korean man who was very glad to see us. He didn't speak a lot of English and so communication was kept simple and involved lots of actions on both parts. Curtis and I were both really happy that he was trying to communicate though and didn't just give up.

The nearest beach to our pension, Iho beach. It was nice but there were lots of little lava rocks scattered on the shore so not as comfy as we would have liked

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A fisherman on the rocks.

A mural of the women divers on Jeju, called Haenyo.

We couldn't check in right away so we went to the beach. We didn't stay long as we wanted to have a shower and check out other things in the area. I had read about a park with wooden and stone sculptures that sounded interesting. It turned out that they sculptures were mostly of driftwood that had been arranged in an artful way rather than carved. Some of the pieces had really funny names but others were really inspired and amazing. There was also a shrine to the founding fathers of Jeju-do. Apparently, the first inhabitants of Jeju were three demi-gods who crawled out of three holes in the ground. I guess we all come from caves somewhere down the line.

Speaking of caves, that was next on our tour. Since Jeju is a volcanic island, there are many interesting volcano related topographical features! Woo hoo!! I was in my glory and Curtis was very patiently listening to me babble on about how this cave was created and why it has this or that feature. I learned a bit too from the signs they had posted. Lava is so cool!! The cave it self was a 20 degree temperature drop from outside that day and boy was it welcome! 10 degrees has never felt so good.

After the caves we went to see a crater that's pretty unique. It's completely forested but the north facing slope has a completely different ecosystem than the south facing slope. One is sub-tropical while the other is temperate. It's really deep and wide, quite amazing to behold for sure. The forest within was really thick and jungly too.

We'd been trying to pace ourselves and so only saw a couple of things each day. The third day we planned to sleep early and wake up before sunrise, walk to the peak of an ocean crater and then watch the sunrise from up there (it was recommended in Lonely Planet). It's quite famous for the sunrise view over the ocean so we were dedicated and got to sleep early. The pension we stayed in this time had a bunch of single units rather than an apartment style. It was nice too. Haewabada is the name, I recommend it to anyone staying near Seongsan because taxi's actually know it, it's clean, and it's nice.

Ok, so we got the number for a taxi so we could call before dawn to get one to the foot of the crater. We woke up at 4:30 am, yes that's right mom and dad, it is possible when you've got something to do. We headed up the crater walk with about 100 other people. The sun was already starting to light up the horizon and I was getting worried we wouldn't make it. Curtis isn't as much of a morning person as I and was having trouble keeping his temperature at a comfortable, unqueasy level so we had to stop often. As much as I would not have wanted to see it without him, I was nervously counting our resting minutes hoping we wouldn't be late. We were some of the last to the top and as any good climb goes, the top was magnificent. We were about 20 minutes behind sunrise schedule though. We looked out to the horizon to see that the sun had not risen! It was patiently waiting for us behind some thick clouds and was casting some pretty glorious colours. We stayed to enjoy for about an hour listening to the cicadas and chatting with some fellow expats. A white rabbit appeared and he was too tame, so we decided that he'd been a pet set free by his generous if not naive owner.

After our decent, we went back to bed for a few hours and then went on to the next destination. With our back packs, it was much easier to arrive at our lodging, drop our bags and then go sightseeing. The last place we stayed was called Gold Beach Pension. This is the accommodation we had a bit of a snag with. On the day we arrived, I called around to the other pensions to communicate that we still intended on staying with them. I wasn't quite sure where this one was and when I looked it up online, it looked completely out of the way. I got nervous so I called Rachel and asked her to translate for me.

As it turned out, I had booked our stay for Saturday night and Sunday night... rather than Friday and Saturday. Also, since it looked out of the way, I thought we'd be better to cancel and see if we could get something closer. Rachel was able to find out that they could still accommodate us for the two nights we needed and that it was actually quite easy to get to. Since we already paid the deposit and couldn't get it back, we'd decided to stick with it, even if it was a bit of a taxi ride to and from. When we stepped off the bus,we flagged a taxi right away, not having a clue where this place was. The taxi wasn't sure either so we called up the pension and handed the phone to him. The taxi driver laughed, drove about two blocks on the same street and then pulled over and pointed to the sign. It was right there!!! We couldn't believe it! It was in the Jungmun tourist area which turned out to be quite handy as it's in the middle of most of the attractions. Phew!

We didn't intend for this to be the stair master day, but boy was it ever! We went to see a three tiered waterfall and there were steps up and down that sucker. It was quite amazing and beautiful and the pools were the best part. I have never seen water that colour before and might never again. It was completely unique. After we went to a part of the coast with really amazing topography. There are rocks that have spheroidal weathering on them where the salt in the water has eroded circular patterns into the rock. It was fabulous. We stayed there about an hour walked all over these rocks. At then end a group of people was having a picnic and they invited us to have some soju with them. Being polite we enjoyed a shot glass full. They were eating a type of raw shellfish that some women were preparing and selling. They offered us some and after explaining that Curtis was "allergic" I took a piece and crunched on it. It was really tasty but the texture was strange and cartilaginous... wouldn't eat a whole one by myself for sure, but I don't regret having tried it. Plus the people were really generous so I didn't want to offend them.

Having seen more of the coast we figured it was time to fit in a Buddha in a cave. Once again, neither of us suspected it, but more stairs were in order to reach said Buddha. We thought the stairs wouldn't end. Then we saw a rock face instead of brush cover and we though, geez, we must be close... nope, more stairs! Finally the cave and buddha. The buddha was a buddha, I mean, I haven't studied Buddhism enough to know what each buddha pose represents and I don't speak enough Korean in order to ask so mostly they all look similar to me. The cave however was fantastic. I got a picture but it's a bit dark... and like always, never does justice to the subject. We finished the day of the stairs, got a bite to eat and then slept like babies.

The next day we got up at 7:30 to get ready for our scuba dive. We were both just trying it out to see what it was like since we haven't taken any courses. Before I got in the water I was a bit nervous having read some of the safety precautions on the internet. Once I got suited up and got in the water it all seemed very fluid and calming. Ralph (Big Blue 33 dive shop operator), the dive master helped quite a bit with his calm professional manner. He also had a good sense of humor. The corals were spectacular in bright pinks and purples. There were many schools of fish swimming close and investigating. No uber-amazing appearances of unique species, but then, I really should study up a bit more on my fish species. I was just so happy to be swimming with the fish that at times I forgot to move ahead and keep going. :)

We only went down once on account of our being new divers and thus sat on the dive site most of the day. We both got pretty bad sunburns even though we liberally applied SPF 40 to ourselves. Dagnabbit!! Carrying backpacks the next day was a bit rough and I whined a lot. We didn't end up doing much on the last day, just going to the airport and relaxing. The last thing we wanted is to return home from our vacation being completely exhausted. We felt like we saw everything we wanted to and relaxed as well. It was perfect.

Once again, I'm having issues uploading photos... I'll do a whack later, but for now, the written will have to suffice.

Elanie and John's Turf

Being that July 4th was John's birthday we decided to celebreate in style. We planned to go into Seoul after work on Friday night to a bar that we happened across when John, Elaine, Curtis and I wandered through an area of town. It was called Monkey Beach and because it served drinks in pails and baby bottles and most of it was rediculously cheap, we decided this was a get drunk bar.

Now, people who know Curtis and myself know that we're not generally down with the whole bar thing. Not to mention that we get off work at 9:40 and it would be at least an hour and a half out to the bar. We both were feeling a bit reluctant when we set off. We got there and the party had just kicked up to full speed according to Amber who had joined us with Matt to celebrate. John was already feeling quite "happy" so gave us each about 3 gigantic hugs and said, "Wow! So glad you made it." That's the first thing that started to swing things around and start the weekend on a good foot. The other thing is that they had lockers. I know it sounds strange, but instead of having to lug my purse around or have someone watch it, we stuck it in a neat little cubby and locked it all up. Besides my purse, we also had all of our sleep over clothes for the weekend.

The rest of the night involved the girls; Amber, Elaine, and I, getting a bit free with the stripper ploes they had set up on the dance floor stage/table area. It was wild! I never thought I'd do that in my life, especially at a dingy foreigner bar! It was fun because I knew Curtis was keeping a close eye on me and the girls and I were just having fun and being a bit goofy.

We headed to John and Elaine's place to spend the weekend and despite the fact that they were both a bit blitzed, we got to their place safe and sound. We didn't wake up until the afternoon the next day and after that we wanted to find a Dr. Fish cafe. We went to a cafe... and they had Dr. Fish... but the Dr Fish were "sick" so we weren't allowed to dip our feet in and let them nibble. We were a bit disapointed. Since we were there and wanted to experience a Korean self service coffee shop we decided to stay. Curtis and John got into deep conversations about travel and looked in some magazines, Elaine and I chatted about a lot of everything and nothing, but mostly travel and dreams. We had a bit of a self serivce foot bath where they put some salts in a tub lined with cedar wood and let the water run. They gave us a timer and some paper towels and let us sit with our feet in some hot water for 20 minutes. I'm not sure what else I would have expected for $2.

We tootled around in Beomgye a bit after that and decided to see what was playing. We went to "Wanted" which has made it into my worse movies ever list. It was so bad that it was fun to dis afterward and therefore not a complete waste of time. We got pizza and John and Elaine's favortie place and then headed to a park to watch the water fountains. By the time we'd arrived, they'd already finished for the night. We chilled out in the park a while longer hoping that they'd come back on. After 10:30 we lost hope and were also getting geared up for the next, long awaited Nore-bang!! I sang "Suddenly I See" by KT Tungstall and figured out it's perfectly my rage. Another song to add to my blazing repetoire. Elaine was channeling Leona Lewis when she sang "Bleeding Love". The new pop songs make me feel so old! I never know the latest songs... YIKES!

After Nore-bang we headed for a drink at a more relaxed venue called "Danke". They had German beer and besides the name, I'm not sure what else was decidedly German about this place. We sat down, got drinks and then I noticed something in the corner of the room. It was like a seating area with no table. I was incredibly curious and decided to wander over. It was a pool!!! With Dr. Fish!!! I couldn't believe our luck! Elaine was the first brave soul and though she was giggling like a mad person, we all eventually got our feet in as well. It was rediculouly ticklish to begin with. I'm not sure I got over it entirely in the whole 90 min I was in the pool, but I learned to control my flinching so I wouldn't scare the fish away. It was really neat to see them come up closer and then take a bite, well I guess a suck. I'm not sure how they do it in a real spa, but I'm pretty sure someone has to work our feet a bit in order to get the dead skin off in the areas the fish don't like as much.

Going home late again meant that we slept in quite late again. We didn't get to the zoo with John and Elaine, but they'll always be a next time.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

OK OK OK!!! I'm back! It's a good thing too because this summer we have some amazing things planned and you would have missed them all!

So... it's instantaneous recap time. I got super busy when Curtis' folks came. I wasn't about to spend one minute typing when we had so much to do and see. We took them to Gyeong-ju which is an ancient capital of Korea. It was amazing. It was what you would expect from an old city. None of the neon and all of the charm and culture. Here are some of the best pics.

Rock-Paper Scissors for loot!

Does this look like a good time or what!!??? It was so great! We signed up for an Adventure Korea tour thanks to the helpful wisdom of Hokunani. At first it was just her and I, then I suggested inviting Amber. Well soon the whole troop came with and we had a blast.

The first part of the adventure was terrible for us. We almost missed the bus. We got out of our house a little bit earlier than we though, but we didn't count on the train taking as long as it did. Matt and Amber called us really worried saying that the tour director was going to leave us if we didn't show up in 5 minutes. Five minutes later when we still hadn't arrived the tour director called and said they were leaving and I convinced them that we'd be only 5 more minutes. I really thought they were going to leave anyway, the director was angry that we were holding up the show. I started to cry a little cause I was so excited about this trip. We ran all the way to the exit and found a guy waiting there for us. It was like a mini miracle. We were 20 minutes late and really did deserve to be left, but they waited... I couldn't believe it. YAY!

Once we got on our way it was about 2 hours till we got to our first stop. I chatted with Amber almost the whole time. Curtis was up at the front of the bus to avoid getting ill. Our first stop was Ullsan. We went there for a Pumba festival. I was most concerned about this part of the trip. I really wanted to participate, but I wasn't sure how willing Curtis would be and I though it wouldn't be as fun if he didn't. First of all... Pumbas are a type of street performer from Korea's old days (the old days are the poor days for Korea). They would dress up with raggedy old clothes and paint their faces like clowns and then sing, dance, play drums, or do a play to entertain people. Then they would pass around a basket and people would give them a bit of money. One of the pictures above is a mock of the way they used to divide the money. They are doing rock-paper-scissors for each piece. It was pretty funny when they leader decided that they would rock-paper scissors for the entire basket and then he won.

We also saw an amazing performance done by an internationally famous gaksori (pumba). He showed us a couple beats on the drums and then asked a few of us to play with him. I got to and later Amber was having fun banging on some drums with the rest of the group.

The other crazy thing about that weekend that we didn't understand at first was that we really felt like Hollywood stars. We had at least 5 cameras in our faces for the first 2 hrs. It was nuts! As soon as anyone from the group would do something new, like eat or play a game with someone else, the paparazzi would come over. If they missed it they would politely request that you did it again, but not leave you alone till you did. Sometimes when we were talking to other people we wouldn't even notice but with their mega zoom lenses they would sneak up and start snapping. I started taking pictures of them! It was pretty unbelievable, even now, I don't think my words can actually portrait how bizarre it all was. Later on, we found out there was a photo contest. AHHH!!! So it made more sense, but it was still incredibly weird.

The next stop was Woraksan Mountain. WOW! It was really beautiful. We got there at about 5pm with super starting at 7pm and there weren't any planned activities. We chilled out for a bit until we saw that they had 2 seater bikes! I'd never been on one before. Curtis and I attempted to petal and steer. It worked alright except our knees kept hitting the handle bars. We went down a road and did a bit of bird watching and then headed back up to the chalets. There was a soccer game going on so Curtis decided to join and Amber and I watched. After that, we hungrily salivated over the meal to come and chatted more with John and Elaine who we had met on the bus. They're Scottish and I picked up on their Glaswegian accent right away. It was like music to my ears! We had Samgupsal barbecue and it was quite good. After super we noticed a Nore-bang nearby and Elaine had openly confessed a desire to try it out so we took her and John and Matt and Amber came a bit later. The book was kinda crappy and it was a pretty dingy place, but fun was had by all. We made plans to have a proper Nore night in Seoul the next weekend.

We went to bed a bit early because we weren't into drinking around a campfire and we were all a bit tired from all the excitement at the Pumba Festival. The worst part of the whole experience is that we slept on the floor. It was quite uncomfortable and left a few kinks in a few backs. It wouldn't have been a problem except that we were scheduled to walk up a mountain the next day. I could have slept in a tent and been more comfortable.

The next day, breakfast was served at 8 am with the hiking trip at 9am. The guides didn't seem too concerned about leading us though because they let us go ahead and said we could start when we wanted. We wanted to start sooner than later so we headed out as soon as we were done breakfast. It was a really wide path and I can see why they weren't too concerned about anyone getting lost. The scenery was really nice as most of the trees just got their spring leaves and there was lots of shade. It would have been a cooker without the shade. The whole hike was 4 km and we could read sign posts along the way which counted down the kilometers. After about 1 km, Amber, Curtis and I decided that we would be better off to turn around. Curtis knees and back were bothering him and Amber just wasn't enjoying herself. I am a bit disappointed that I quit, but at the same time, I didn't want to be alone and Matt wanted to chug up the mountain like the little engine that could. I like to take my time and take frequent breaks and enjoy the scenery, it wasn't going to be like that so I told myself I wouldn't enjoy it. On the way back down we spent a few minutes at the town's temple. It was really great. They had chanting playing over speakers and incense burning. Inside the temple they had lotus lanterns all ready for Buddha's birthday. It was quite beautiful just to sit and enjoy the moment. Amber and I chatted some about the new friends she had met. It was quite lovely really.

As we waited for the others to come back down the mountain, we napped, read, and relaxed. People started to show up in small groups. It was soon time for lunch, we headed to the lunch room and Matt and Hokunani showed up. Phew... more people kept coming. By the time lunch was finished everyone returned except John and Elaine. I was getting pretty concerned because they had been right behind Matt and Hokunani. We waited and waited. Soon, the bus needed to leave because the next group was coming in to use the chalets. Everyone except one guide got on the bus and we drove to a nice lake and rest stop. We waited there for another 2 hours. Finally, they had found John and Elaine. Phew! I was so relieved. Because they were so new to Korea, they didn't know how to read Hangul, the Korean letters. They took a wrong turn near the top and when they realized it were almost half way down. They came down the other side of the mountain, but then didn't know the name of the place where we stayed. Finally, the guide who had stayed back found them and brought them back.

On the way back home, my eye started to get itchy and watery. When I looked I had white puss in my eye! I was so freaked out but there was nothing I could do until the next morning so I just kept my hands out of my eyes and tries to fall asleep. I went to the optometrist in the morning and it turned out to be an eye infection. I also knew that my sinuses were getting blocked again so I went to the doctor too. They both sent me home with butt loads of anti-biotics and I was feeling better in a couple days.

What a crazy adventure! All in all it was really great. I'm thinking of booking with Adventure Korea again, they were well organized and I was happy they didn't leave us!

This is a monk that was painted on the outside of the temple. We just thought he belonged more in a Simpson's cartoon than on the wall of a temple. As it turns out, he's one of Korea's most famous monks and you can see those eyes everywhere!

Speach Contest Day

I know I haven't blogged much about work. I'm not sure why. Some pretty cool things have happened at work. For one, we've met some amazing people here. Jini is one of our co-workers that always goes out of her way to help us and make us feel welcome in Korea. She has invited us to her home and we've been able to have open talks about some of the differences between our cultures. She's also an amazing singer and was the lead singer in a band in Korea until she had to give it up.

Next, I'd have to say the students make my day much brighter. I mean, just look at them! They are so curious and willing to learn! I know only one student in this picture is blurry. His name is Min and he's blurry because not even a camera can hold him still for even a second. He's raw energy and I love it! He was in my first batch of students. The other two girls are in his class. Angela is the one in the middle and she is so quite, cute and conscientious. Hanna is the other. She is going to a different school next month and even though she's not in my class this semester, I'll miss her.

Yes that is Jini teacher and yes that is a BMW. Her husband, Sup, who we've hung out with many times, loves cars. Jini says he's almost obsessed with them. He's a mechanic so it fits. It still was quite surprising to see her get in the first time. They've actually sold this particular car and now own a much more ostentatious red Ferrari. I can tell Jini is a bit embarrassed by how much it sticks out.

This was our Christmas gift last year. It is 4 bars of soap, 4 tubes of toothpaste, one of each shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and a bath poof. This seems like the Korean concept of a gift basket except it's a years supply and no basket! It's super generous, just not typical.

Often when we're marking, Curtis and I will chuckle quietly and then share some of the students writing from their journals or book reports. Here is a particularly good one from a student about "New Years"

For valentines, for instance, we all got various little goodies and candies from the students. However Curtis got a bottle of cologne! How weird is that? We also found it amusing that Jini got a neatly wrapped chicken kabob! (As pictured to the left) Not really a traditional gift back home or in Korea.

For Easter, Rachel gave us all Easter Eggs in a little basket. I like hard boiled eggs so I tried one. I was surprised that it was brown in colour instead of white. Jay said that's because it's a burnt style of cooking it. I thought, why not try. It was so dry... like the pot of water it was boiled in was boiled dry! I didn't finish it and the other egg sat on my desk for a month cause I couldn't bear to just throw it out. I finally did after asking Jay if he thought it might be spoiled.

And the last three pictures are from today. I had the best day at work today. We had a speaking contest planned and at first all the foreign teachers were very skeptical as to how well it was going to go. We all thought the students wouldn't have prepared their speeches and would be misbehaving like it was a free day. Before the first bell went, I was talking with a few students asking if they were ready. One of my students (Alex) nodded so I started him off on his speech, thinking he'd need a reminder about what I was talking about. He picked up right where I left off like he was reading off a page. It was so smooth and fluid, and it was only made more precious by the few times he looked up to remember the next sentence. I almost welled up with tears I was so proud of him. The rest of the students also made me so proud. I told them all too. Some of them couldn't remember well, so they looked, but everyone tried in earnest. It was great!

After the amazing day with work, I had a coffee date with Naomi. We have been turning our coffees into walks lately because it's so gorgeous here lately. We walked for about 45 min in one direction and then headed back along the path in the other direction. The walking path runs parallel to a little creek, stagnant in some areas because it's mostly man made.

The paths are really nice though and it's a great escape from skyscrapers and neon lights. There were many people out on the path and even small children. It didn't surprise us too much, children stay up really late here. I've seen them with their mom's at E-mart out shopping at midnight on a weekday. The thing that did catch my eye was the number of people using outdoor workout equipment. I mean, I've seen it around, but I didn't figure people actually used it! There they were, grown adults doing curls and presses on outdoor weight benches with resistance coils rather than free weights. I almost wanted to take a photo, but it was too dark to really have captured it well.

Namoi and I talked about so many things and hashed out the weeks events. It's so nice to have a girl friend here. Not to mention one that's so similar to me. We share really similar values and backgrounds so when I say something she has an idea about where it might be coming from. I mentioned tonight how the "right to being educated" has really messed things up in a bunch of ways. Being a liberal, I expected some debate, but she just asked me how. I feel like I had a brain wave and I just have to write it somewhere so it's going in my blog! hehehe.

This is when most people should probably tune out....

So... the right to be educated started as a movement so that children would all have equal advantages. The idea was sought as a means to equalize background and make it easier for kids with less opportunities to become educated an thus have better futures. While I completely agree with this sentiment, I think declaring a right to be educated isn't enough. I really feel that education is a privilege, but that it shouldn't be reserved for those with wealth. Instead it should be reserved for those with desire. It's similar to an argument used for deciding roles of women and men - to work outside the house or to work inside it. Instead of saying that all people should be educated (and by that it can be assumed people mean public education) it should be allowed that at a certain age, children should be able to learn from experience rather than a text book. I'm not quite as eloquent as I was when I was walking along the river. One of the main ideas to support this is the move away from an agricultural society. We don't value the land as it should be valued and neither do we value those that work it. Being that we need farmers just was much as we need doctors, wouldn't it be prudent to allow children who want to be farmers to learn to be farmers instead of pushing them through high school and community college? Most people would argue that a farmer's lifestyle isn't necessarily what everyone hopes for their child - sweaty, heavy labour till the day you die, but then, shouldn't we care more for those that feed us? If the lifestyle is unsuitable, the price of food should rise until farming is a sustainable lifestyle again. This ties into another issue. The global economy ensures that in wealthy countries we don't need to raise farmers because poor countries will and we can import their produce. The idea whether global or local still applies. Should we not ensure that those that are feeding us have a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Another point that the right to education brings up is the way we do public education. Is public education is what a child needs in order to grow and develop into self sufficient young adult? I think most people would like to think so, but if that's the case, we seriously undervalue the skill it takes to prepare meals, proper nutrition, budget, clean a house, parental skills, keep a tight schedule, etc. all of which are traditional women or home work skills. Doesn't the education system today completely undervalue the role of the work in the home? Does it not at the same time undervalue necessary labour jobs in the world like farming, chefs, custodial persons, most art professions, parental skills, work of the home, etc. What kind of self sufficient young adult would you be if you didn't have any of the skills necessary to function outside of the workplace?

Another problem that bring up is... what exactly does public education aim to teach? If it claims to only teach the core subjects, it's denying the basic concepts of respect, discipline, manners, and honesty that it depends its students use every day. Should a school teach these things?

Ok... that's the meat and potatoes of these ideas I've been having lately. Please shed some light on it if you will.