11.1~Article

Korea Herald

U.S. dramas distort S. Korea image
By Song Sang-ho | Published October 24, 2010

Many images of South Korea in hit American television series have been “distorted,” raising concerns over their detrimental impact on the country’s overall image, a ruling party lawmaker pointed out Thursday.

Rep. Hong Jung-wook of the Grand National Party said that shows such as “Lost,” “24” and “Crime Scene Investigation,” each of which has been watched by hundreds of millions of people, including Koreans, have shown images that are far from reality.

He made the mention during a parliamentary audit of the Foreign Ministry at the National Assembly, offering a series of examples in which the country was wrongly depicted.

One example is “Lost,” which has gained much popularity here thanks to Korean-born actress Kim Yun-jin. In it, the Han River, regarded as one of the iconic landmarks in the capital of Seoul, was described as a small stream in a village, the lawmaker said. The 1-kilometer-long bridge over the river was shown as an old small bridge, he added.

[ The image of the Han River Grand Bridge in the U.S. television series “Lost” (right photo) and its actual appearance ] 

In another scene, a fishing village in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, was described as if it were located in Southeast Asia. In the scene, there is a villager wearing a traditional Vietnamese hat and a small sailboat, which can hardly be seen in Korea given its shape and size, was also shown, Hong said.

Also in the television series, a person seen drinking soju, a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage, uses a glass different from the typical Korean glass for the drink. Korean houses and Buddhist temples were also different from those commonly seen here.

“In short, it was a mix-up of elements from China, Japan and Southeast Asia,” said Hong in a press release.

In the TV series “24,” a scene where a person suffers harsh torture in Seoul is shown, which could tarnish the overall image of the capital city even though it was a fictional one, Hong said.

In “CSI,” there was a scene of a Korean community in the United States where a North Korean song regarding an allegiance to the communist state’s ruling Workers’ Party was played as background music.

“Given the enormous impact of popular culture, the images that people have about South Korea will be more similar to those represented in the popular culture rather than images related to the hosting of the Group of 20 summit or the exporting of the nuclear reactors,” Hong said.

“The Foreign Ministry has underscored superficial ‘soft power diplomacy’ and ‘culture diplomacy.’ However, it needs to make substantial efforts to leave a good national image in the minds of the world’s people.”

An Bo-seob, professor of public relations and advertising at Sookmyung Women’s University, said the country could utilize Hallyu, the pan-Asian popularity of Korean culture, to promote the positive image of the country.

“People abroad vicariously experience Korea through the dramas. Thus, the dramas play a crucial role in making images of a country for the general public,” he said.

“It would be efficient for us to highlight the advancement and development our nation has achieved through Hallyu as it would be difficult for us to review their synopses (before the dramas are aired).”


QUESTIONS~

1. Can you think of some recent TV shows that have discussed Korea (in any aspect, whether news pieces or Korean people, lifestyle or culture)?

a. Was the tone positive or negative?

b. Was the coverage thorough? Accurate? Incomplete? Misleading?

c. Was the way in which it portrayed Korea stereotypical or representative of how things really are?

2. If you’ve ever witnessed a poor or unfavorable portrayal of Korea, why do you think it was so? Is there a “right way” or “wrong way” to confront or address it? Please explain.

3. This was recently said about Korea:

“With the G-20 Summit approaching, all eyes are focusing on Seoul. The Korean economy has been growing rapidly over the past couple of years and it now ranks 9th in the world in terms of export volume. However, Korea’s national brand image still lags behind. According to criteria on national branding developed by the Samsung Economic Research Institute and the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, Korea’s national brand ranked 19th in terms of substance and 20th in terms of image.” 

excerpted from Korea’s national brand needs to be improved by Yoon Chang-hee (Korea JoongAng Daily, Nov. 1, 2010) 

a. In light of this, how do you think the Foreign Ministry, Korean Tourism Organization and other similar groups are doing to make Korea’s “national brand” more appealing?

b. Could they do anything else to improve it?

c. Should the burden of the “good ambassador” rest entirely on the marketing, advertising and public relations groups working for the Korean government? Who else?

10.18 ~ Article

Seoul Journal
Rising Cost of Kimchi Alarms Koreans
By MARK McDONALD | Published: October 14, 2010

Koreans buy napa cabbages subsidized by the government after waiting in line for about an hour at the Tongin market in Seoul.

SEOUL, South Korea — Even in the middle of a loud and bustling outdoor market, her voice drops to a whisper when she agrees to reveal the two secret ingredients that make her kimchi so popular with her customers.

“Fermented-anchovy paste and pickled-prune sauce,” says Kim Gil-soo, looking warily, both ways, down the alley in front of her store, called Prosperity.

“I special-order the sauce from a certain place in the countryside,” she said, still whispering. “I’m quite well known for my kimchi.”

But recent sales have been disappointing, Mrs. Kim said, because of an unavoidable spike in the price of her kimchi, the fiery and pungent Korean national dish that typically combines cabbage, radishes, red chili peppers, garlic and salt. The price for one head of long-leafed Napa cabbage grown in Korea has skyrocketed in the past month, to as much as $14, from about $2.50. Domestic radishes have tripled in price, to more than $5 apiece, and the price of garlic has more than doubled.

Kimchi has become so expensive that some restaurants in the capital no longer offer it free as a banchan, or side dish, a situation akin to having an American burger joint charge for ketchup, although decidedly more calamitous here. The politics editor of a major South Korean newspaper called the kimchi situation “a national tragedy,” and an editorial in Dong-a Ilbo termed it “a once in a century crisis.”

Wholesalers and economists have blamed overly rainy weather for the cabbage shortage, as well as fewer acres having been planted after a bumper crop and low prices in 2009. The average price for a head of Napa cabbage last year was $1.40, according to food industry figures.

The opposition Democratic Party also has laid blame for the shortages on a large river-reclamation project, saying it destroyed farmland that would have been used for cabbages and other vegetables, a charge the government has denied.

Meanwhile, there have been reports of cabbage rustling in rural areas, and the government has suspended tariffs on imported cabbage and radishes from China, beginning Thursday. The president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, has said that until the crisis eases he will eat only the cheap and inferior kind of cabbage — the round-headed variety commonly found in Europe and the United States.

“There is no reason for regular folks to have to buy items integral to daily life at higher prices than international prices,” Mr. Lee said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, while instructing his economists to more closely monitor commodity prices that have sent the South Korean consumer price index to a 17-month high.

The price increases have caused many middle- and lower-income homemakers to cancel the making of kimchi at home this year, a traditional rite of autumn that typically brings together mothers, daughters, aunts, grannies and neighbors. Some families can go through a couple of hundred heads of cabbage, and it’s not unusual for all the bathtubs and sinks in a house to be filled with bobbing cabbages as they are washed, soaked and brined.

“I’m probably not going to do it at home this year,” said Roh Eun-ja, a Seoul restaurant owner. “Even if the price of cabbage comes down and I do make kimchi, I’ll be downsizing. Not so much this year.”

Mrs. Roh has two daughters, both in their 30s, and she said they learned to make kimchi “by looking over my shoulder, by tasting and doing, like all Korean girls are supposed to.”

One daughter works at an Outback steakhouse, the other at an upscale department store, and they have little time to make kimchi on their own, Mrs. Roh said, lamenting the loss of another tradition to the “ppali ppali” or “hurry hurry” lifestyle of modern South Korea.

“It’s also more expensive to make it on your own,” Mrs. Roh said, “so more and more people buy it ready-made now. That’s what my daughters do.”

Supermarkets have reportedly had difficulty keeping packaged kimchi in stock. A pouch of the popular Chongga Jip brand, made solely from Korean ingredients, sold this week for $4.05 a pound — about half the price of homemade.

Some Koreans are taking the kimchi crisis in stride, saying it is a blip in the market. At her food stall in the sprawling Mo Rae Ne market in western Seoul, Lee Young-ae still serves free kimchi to the vendors and laborers who come by for a $5 plate of roasted pig cheeks, blood sausage and her famous soondae soup.

“The prices will go down,” she said. “Sometimes they’re high, sometimes they’re low. Easy come, easy go. That’s life.”

The making of kimchi is more art than science, more a craft than a repeatable recipe. There are hundreds of variations, with varying ingredients, colorations, textures and levels of heat. As well as a condiment, kimchi is eaten in Korea as a main dish, in soups, stews or with fried rice. There are kimchi burgers, kimchi bacon rolls and kimchi pizza.

“Even if it’s pickled and fermented, if it’s your national dish and you’re in Asia, believe me, they’ll find a way to make it special,” said the celebrity chef Bobby Chinn, the host of World Café Asia, a travel and cooking television show. “For Asians it’s a popular alternative to salads.”

The cabbages are not usually shredded or dismembered, and the salted leaves are slathered with spices, sauces and pastes. The intact cabbages are then placed in earthenware jars and buried in the ground. (Apartment dwellers and urbanites now use stainless steel containers or special kimchi refrigerators.) The cabbages then pickle and ferment into the eye-watering dish served year-round in Korea, at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Most Koreans see kimchi as a staple food, even a daily necessity, a kind of health food. During the SARS panic in Asia in 2003, the rumor spread widely that kimchi was an effective antidote.

For most Westerners, however, kimchi remains an unacquired taste. It can offend not only with its taste but also with its odor, which can linger on a person for hours. And for those unused to its fire and fury, even a small dish of kimchi can appear less as a delicacy than as a kind of incendiary device.

“To a Western palate, with all the other options out there, kimchi won’t rank very high,” Mr. Chinn said.

A gathering was held in Seoul last week to promote Korean food, with European master chefs coming in for panels and demonstrations. Michel Troisgros, the renowned French chef from Roanne, listened to a Korean official hold forth on the wonders of fermentation and an ambitious project to export Korean foods like kimchi.

“I think you have to stop talking about fermentation,” Mr. Troisgros told the man. “It’s not sexy.”

 QUESTIONS~

1. What do you think is Korea’s most well-known food among non-Koreans? What other foods deserve a chance in the spotlight beyond kimchi?

2. Is really good kimchi hard to come by in America? Or is there a small shik-pum or ka-geh around here that sells kimchi just like halmonee used to make it?

3. Do you have a special food that you can make “better than anybody”? On which occasions do you usually make it?

4. Sometimes, we have a tendency to “Americanize” things like cultural foods from other countries: Taco Bell, even the obligatory Chinese buffet that serves spaghetti next to lo mein are great exampls.

a. What would be an example of Americanized Korean food? (For example, “cheese ddokbokki” has the American-inspired ingredient of cheese, right? But it’s still so delicious!)

b. Are there “Koreanized” American foods, too?

5. Store-brand and cheaper? Or homemade but pricier?

10.11 ~ Article

Fold it, wear it - just don’t toss it

By Sung So-young

October 08, 2010

“People thought paper furniture was something unique - but more now see it as a green product.”

You doodle on it, fold it, wrap it and play tic-tac-toe on it - some people even fold it into airplanes. But when brought to life, paper - more precisely, what it becomes - is a growing industry all on its own. With the expert touch of designers, paper is transformed into chairs, bookshelves, toys and even clothes.

One factor leading the trend is environmentalism, as consumers move away from plastic products, especially shopping bags, to recycled paper and more creatively engineered furniture and apparel.

Momot’s superhero paper toys are popular with kids. Provided by Momot Design Studio

Paper toys for kids

If you find Bearbrick or Sony Angel irresistible, Momot is for you. Momot means “nemo nemo robot” (nemo is the word for square in Korean) and this brand offers hundreds of paper toys with different faces and outfits. From monsters to dog-faced humans, celebrities and superheroes, Momot Design Studio creates all these 5-inch tall-and-zany toys all out of paper.

“[People] say they can’t believe these toys come from just paper because paper is two-dimensional, but these toys are three-dimensional. That’s their first reaction,” said Lee Joon-kang, a Momot designer.

Lee is a leader in the paper-toy trend and first came up with the idea to make toys out of paper for his industrial design graduation project at Hoseo University in Asan.

Taking a closer look at these paper toys, the details are as delicate as the folds are precise. One Momot named Street People is actually a series of figures that have ear piercings and wear bulky watches, Adidas Superstar gear and black caps. All his accessories are detachable.

“Feedback from all these people was great after the graduation project. Right after that, we received business proposals from a couple of companies,” Lee said.

This picture is one I found separately wanted to include; it shows the depth of these paper toys really well!

Oh, and is that SANTA CLAUS in lumberjack clothes?! Well, I guess when you have to make so many toys, you dress for comfort. ^m^

Here’s one more I found... Wouldn’t you love to get something creative and cute like this instead of candy on Valentine’s Day?

Or, to demonstrate deeper love, perhaps you can put some candy pieces and cutesy notes inside the Momot.

That was the beginning of Momot Design Studio. Clients now include Nike Korea and hip clothing brands such as DOHC and Feltics.

Of the many paper varieties, the design house said it uses ordinary vellum paper.

“If we use some other paper that has a glossy texture, Momot doesn’t look like paper toys - but plastic toys,” Lee said. “In order to let the rough and natural feeling of paper survive, we insist on using ordinary paper.”

Among its other products, crafted paper bags and boxes are becoming especially popular thanks to the government ban on plastic bags. By cutting out Momot patterns by hand, a simple box is turned into a Momot product.

The design studio operates an online shopping mall at www.momotstore.com. A single Momot can be as cheap as 3,000 won ($2.70).

Ynnos started making paper furniture for kids in 2007. Provided by Ynnos

Paper furniture for children

Kang Jae-won and Yu Su-young both made props and sets after graduating from college. After creating many different props, with anything imaginable, they found that paper had limitless potential as a raw material. Layers of paper are sturdy enough to handle a human being’s weight - but still light enough to be lifted with a finger.

In 2007, Kang and Yu launched Ynnos, a company specializing in paper furniture for children. Their brand is Funny Paper.

After years of research and development, Ynnos has begun offering chairs, stools, tables, bookshelves and toy houses made with cardboard.

“In the early days, people thought paper furniture was something unique - but an increasing number of people now see it as a green product,” said Oh Dan-bee, a Ynnos public-relations officer.

In case there was any doubt, the state-run Korea Environment and Merchandise Testing Institute put the products under the microscope, so to speak. It found that the furniture is strong enough to hold up to 300 kilograms (661 pounds).

“The biggest advantage is it contains no toxic chemicals, ” said Oh, adding that the furniture is very mobile and safe for children.

Questions:

1. Do you make origami?

• What kinds of paper-folding do you know how to do?
• Many people also make hundreds of a certain kind, such as lucky stars and cranes, collect them in a glass jar, and maybe give them to friends as presents. Think about this American saying: “It’s the thought that counts.” Would you rather receive a gift with more sentimental value or monetary worth?

2. Pictures of Ynnos paper furniture were hard to come by on the Internet, so instead…

• What’s the weirdest /most interesting /most cherished piece of furnishing or decoration in your room? 
• How long have you had it for? Where did you find it? What is the story behind it? Do you display it proudly or use it often? Or do you hide it away when people come over (just to make sure they don’t accidentally chip it or spill coffee over it)?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE! 

Hopefully, my computer will be in tip-top shape in a couple of days :)

Pretty lights on the Nam

Hey everyone!

Today I found this beautiful picture taken on the Nam River in Jinju, South Gyeongsang. The "City of Lights," it's called? Apparently, all this colorful luminosity is in celebration of the 91st annual National Sports Festival!

• Has anyone been to this before? 
• Do you know something interesting about it? 
• Which are your favorite ones to see? 
• Is it a popular attraction among Korean people?

Please share in the comments!

Meeting on Oct. 4

(Just a little reminder to everyone. This was sent out to you by e-mail, too.)

Due to busy schedules, we will resume our regular Monday Meet on...Monday! The date is 10-4, the time and place are (roughly) the same. We will be going over the article+expressions we did not get to this week, so please review and read those if you have not done so yet. Additionally, I will send you one more shorter article to look at over the weekend, so be on the lookout for that.

I'm going home this weekend, so if you have anything you'd like me to check over for you, just shoot me an e-mail!

See you soon!

In honor of my favorite caffeine-infused drink!

Ever had an "energy ball"? If you aren't sure about this delicatessen's special ingredients, check out this article I found. :)

from "10 Coffee Facts for National Coffee Day"

Today is National Coffee Day. A day to celebrate a drink that many people can’t start their day without.

There are numerous stores, like Dunkin’ Donuts, who are giving out free or discounted coffee today, but before you set out to get your cup o’ Joe, here are some interesting facts about coffee.

1.) A dancing goat discovered coffee. Well, farmers in Ethiopia noticed that their goats would get all jumpy after eating coffee beans

, so they decided to try it for themselves.

2.) Coffee was a food before it was a drink. Before people figured out how to brew coffee, they used to eat it. The Oatmeal reports that African Tribes used to eat “energy balls” of coffee beans and fat.

3.) Coffee grows on tree. I’ve never seen one, but coffee trees can grow up to 30ft tall. Farmers cultivate coffee trees to about 10 feet.

4.) A “cup of Joe” was first coined in World War II. Soldiers, known as “Joe’s,” were identified as big coffee drinkers.

5.) Only two types of coffee tree are widely cultivated. 70% of the world drinks coffee from Arabica coffee trees. The rest drink coffee from Robusta trees.

6.) According to Herritage Coffee, there is only one product that gets traded more than coffee. Oil.

7.) A coffee tree takes about 5 years to mature. The average annual yield from a coffee tree is only enough for one roasted pound of coffee.

8.) Americano is another coffee term coined during World War II. American soldiers would order espresso with water to cut down on the bitter flavor.

9.) Coffee has been used as a beverage for about 700 years. Instant coffee was invented in 1906 by George Washington, but not that George Washington. The man who invented instant coffee was from Belgium.

10.) Gomestic reports that an average of 1400 million cups of coffee are consumed every day around the world. 

09.27 ~ Worksheet & Article

Expressions . . . . . . . . . .

•         out of the question – From the speaker’s point of view, a particular action/situation/event that is “out of the question” is completely impossible to occur or simply not an option. It can also mean an action/situation/event is not worth considering because the speaker has excluded it from the realm of possibility.

o        FORMS – out of the question, not out of the question, not completely out of the question, just out of the question, etc.

o       Ex 1:  

Grace, he said, is when a cop doesn’t pull you over for doing 62 in a 55. You may get a warning, but a ticket is almost out of the question.

o       Ex 2:  

Surrender is just out of the question.

o       Ex 3:  

Playoffs are not out of the question, but not much more should be expected.

o       Commonality (out of 4) – 4/4; frequently used in both writing and speech

•         (to) have an edge – When someone or some group “has an edge,” they have an advantage over someone else or over some group to which they belong (e.g. a sports team). It can imply the person has some extra-special quality or defining characteristic that designates him or her as exceptionally fitted to win against others, to competitively beat them. The person or group over whom they have the advantage is not  always necessarily named.

o        FORMS – he/she has an edge, I/you/we/they have an edge, to have an edge over/on someone, to have a big edge, to have a bit of an edge, to have a small edge, etc.

o       Ex 1:  

Bowyer didn’t have much of an advantage, but he clearly had a little edge – and he won the race.

o       Ex 2:  

Sarah used to have an edge in gymnastics, but after the car accident, she was never quite the same competitor on the mats.

o       Ex 3:  

As he’s begun to do in recent weeks, Obama also took on an area where Republicans have an edge on Democrats: enthusiasm. The lack of enthusiasm among Democrats this election cycle is reflected in poll after poll.

o       Commonality (out of 4) – 4/4; frequently used both in writing and speech, especially in the competitive sense, such as in a political race or a sporting game.

•         (to) make the cut – When someone or some group “makes the cut” they have succeeded in some test, competition, application process etc. to go on to a higher round or bracket with others who have also succeeded alongside them.

o        FORMS – he/she makes the cut, I/you/we/they make the cut, to nearly/barely/just make the cut, etc.

o       Ex 1: 

An out-of-sorts Padraig Harrington faced an anxious wait before it was confirmed he had made the cut for the final two rounds of the Vivendi Cup in Paris.

o       Ex 2: 

Two other Windsor players, Colin Johnson and Austin Geuke, nearly made the cut with scores of 81.

o       Ex 3: 

School friend Dylan Bond said everyone was “pretty shocked” when they found out the 17-year-old had made the cut for Australia's Next Top Model.

Commonality (out of 4) – 3/4 in speech, 4/4 in writing; I think you’d more often run across this phrase in written pieces, with specific regards to businesses, organizations, sports, or the individuals therein. I only say 3/4 for speech, because it’s not really a phrase you’d use everyday; but it’s a totally plausible phrase to inject in speech if the situation calls for it. No one would look at you funny if you said, “Yeah, I was hoping to get into law school this semester, but my grades just didn’t make the cut.” In fact, in this specific situation (if you’re speaking with another like-minded student) you might even get the desired nod of sympathy or even an, “I know what you mean, dude. I know what you mean.”

Article . . . . . . . . . .

- Prepare -

Please breeze through the following article, and think about (you don’t need to write anything down) the questions I’ve added at the end, prior to our meeting this Monday. I’ve lightly highlighted some phrases in context you might pay particular attention to if you aren’t familiar with them. You can also highlight or notate any other words, phrases or portions of dialogue you would like to explore further when we meet.

We will meet to discuss the article and questions together.

Good luck!

“Tee For Three: Student Golfers Have Big Plans For Senior Year — And Beyond.”

by Ryan Black | The Red & Black

22nd September 2010

The Georgia men’s golf team features three standout seniors — Russell Henley, Hudson Swofford and Harris English — who are positioning themselves for successful professional careers during their final season in Athens. Photo by Wes Blankenship

“Rex,” “Big Hud” and “Big Harry.”

These three seniors — Russell “Rex” Henley, Hudson “Big Hud” Swofford and Harris “Big Harry” English — are expected to be the key players in leading Georgia to glory on the golf green this season.

Just don’t ask Henley how he got his moniker.

“I don’t even know why that’s my nickname,” he said.

Head coach Chris Haack did not have similar difficulty telling what each player’s strengths are.

“They’re all three pretty similar,” Haack said. “They’ve all got a calm demeanor, they’re all very good ball-strikers, and they’re all kind of streaky. If all of them play well, it’s going to be a good day. All three of them have won golf tournaments at the collegiate level, so we’re definitely going to lean on [1] them a bunch this year.”

The trio has extensive experience playing in various amateur tournaments around the country.

But for Henley and Swofford, a taste of the PGA Tour came early, as both qualified and played in the U.S. Open at legendary Pebble Beach in June.

“Going out there and playing with the pros helped my game a lot, and it continued to help me throughout the summer,” said Henley, who made the cut and ended up finished in a tie for 16th — tied for lowest amateur score. “I played in a lot of tournaments, did a lot of traveling, and all the tournaments you play in help, but the U.S. Open was by far the biggest one.”

Having the opportunity to play with the best golfers in the world was something Swofford made sure to take advantage of because, as he said, “Playing on a stage like that, you can only learn from it.”

In fact, he attested it paid dividends [2] immediately.

“The next week I played at a similar venue to the [U.S.] Open, tight fairways and fast greens, and the stuff I learned at the Open helped me have a pretty successful week there, where I finished fourth,” he said.

But the two Bulldog golfers were not the only ones who made the trip to the California coast for the U.S. Open — Haack also went in support of his players.

“As a coach, it was a huge sense of pride,” Haack said. “To have one guy out there is pretty special, but to have two guys out there was almost surreal [3]. To have them both play pretty well [was great]. Not only did they represent themselves well, but they represented the University of Georgia well, and they made the Bulldog Nation proud. I’ve got a lot of e-mails from kids across the country wanting to know more about our golf program, and wanting me to look at them as a possible recruit, so I think [the U.S. Open] helped put us on the map [4] a little bit and get our brand out there a little more.”

Though the aforementioned Bulldog “brand” saw its name often during U.S. Open week, get used to it at more PGA Tour tournaments in the future — all three seniors plan on turning pro [5].

Both Henley and English are going to play amateur tournaments after Georgia’s season ends, as well as trying to make the Walker Cup team, the collegiate version of the Ryder Cup.

After that, both plan on going to the PGA Tour Qualifying School in the hopes of earning a PGA Tour member card.

Swofford, on the other hand, is going to turn pro immediately after the college season is over.

That may be because the fifth-year senior has been around longer than his two compatriots after suffering a shoulder injury that caused him to miss all of last season.

Swofford said he is now back to “100 percent,” [6] and that he has felt no lingering effects from the injury during any round, but does make sure to ice it after he finishes playing each day. Overall, he is pleased that he was able to come back sooner than he had anticipated.

But now his attention, as well as his teammates’ focus, is now turned toward the 2010 golf campaign.

For this Bulldog trio, this season is about enjoying a final year of collegiate golf to the fullest [7], with the stated goal of winning both the SEC and national championships ever-present.

“Towards the end of the season, it’s going to be pretty emotional,” Henley said. “It’s the last year for all of us, and you try not to take it for granted [8]. I would like a couple more years here. I really enjoy being in Athens and playing for UGA, so I’m going to make sure I enjoy this.”

Speaking from the viewpoint of being around an extra year, Swofford concurred.

“I’m going to make sure I enjoy it, too, because my five years are done. I can’t stretch it out any longer,” he deadpanned, drawing laughter from all in the room.

The rest of the country best take heed[9], for “Rex,” “Big Hud” and “Big Harry” may be laughing themselves all the way to a national championship this season.

Questions  . . . . . . . . . .

1. Have you been to a UGA sporting event?

a. Describe the atmosphere of the event.

b. In your opinion, what was the best part?

c. What kind of game would you like to go see that you haven’t yet? Golf? Gymnastics? Basketball? Baseball? Tennis? Football? Soccer? Swimming? Cross-country? Softball? Hockey?

2. Do you or have you ever played any sports?

a. Did you have a nickname on your team?

b. Do you still pursue this when you have time?

c. What sport would you like to learn how to play?

3. You may or may not have seen these student golfers actually play, but how in general do you feel about student athletes who have dreams of playing professionally and “making it big” one day?

4. Do you think sports teams should heavily “lean on” certain key players to “carry the team”? Why or why not?

5. If you were approaching your final year in college, specifically here at UGA, how would you enjoy your time “to the fullest”?

---

[1] to lean on (someone) = to rely on (someone), to put your faith in their abilities, resources (such as money), etc.

[2] to pay dividends = something that “pays dividends” has become very worthwhile and has produced good results

[3] to be surreal = to be so fortuitous and amazing that it’s almost too good to be true (in this situation); in other contexts, when someone says that some event or thing seems or feels “surreal,” it might sometimes make him/her feel strange and disconnected from “reality” for a moment in time. There are several possible structures, but it is not to be taken literally in these idiomatic contexts.

[4]  to put (someone or some group) on the map = to become strategically poised to succeed. Perhaps winning a critical game could put a sports team “back on the map.”

[5] to turn pro = to advance past the amateur level to become a professional in a certain sport. It is usually used in reference to sports athletes.

[6] to be back to 100 percent = to be completely well again, perhaps following a serious injury or illness

[7] to enjoy (something) to the fullest = to enjoy (something) as much as possible; usually used with a time reference, whether finite or indefinite. For example, you might enjoy life to the fullest, your senior year in college to the fullest, your last vacation day to the fullest, etc.

[8] to take (something) for granted = to allow an opportunity to escape, perhaps because one has ignored it or did not take the time to fully appreciate it; conversely to not take something for granted means the opposite: to seize the opportunity to the highest degree so as to make the most of the situation. You can take physical things (wealth, health), people (a wife, a brother) or abstract ideas (time, love, kindness, generosity, power) for granted. If you had already been talking about “it” (whatever you have taken for granted), it is common to simply say, “I took it (all] for granted.”

[9] to take heed = to pay particular attention to; usually used as an imperative command or warning (e.g. “Take heed lest you fall” is an old verse); it’s very formal and more often encountered in literature and other writings than in day-to-day speech. You can also “pay heed,” but this is even less frequently used in contemporary American society. Hope these comments helped!