Faculty Corner: Wisdom or Love? Celebrating two cultures
Dr. Nanho Vander Hart
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Feature
During the winter break, a 20-year-old friend of mine had oral surgery, taking three of her "wisdom" teeth out. Wisdom at the age of 20 is very unlikely. I, therefore, want to introduce the Korean term for wisdom teeth: Love Teeth. Isn't it more likely that a 20-year-old person discovers love than wisdom about the time he or she has "love" teeth?
I left home (Korea) over two decades ago, as I did not want to stay as "a frog in a well," which describes a person with limited experience and vision. The only thing a frog in a well knows is its own well and a piece of small sky it sees through the top of the well. I still appreciate the wise Korean phrases that make sense in my life. For example, a Korean phrase, "When outgoing words are gentle, the returning words are gentle as well" reminds me of Proverbs 16:24. "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
When two cultures (American and Korean) meet at my dinner table, there is a celebration of cultural differences as well as similarities. There may be conversations or singing in two languages, one for my left ear and the other for my right ear. There may be comparisons of animal sounds, idioms, literature, folktales, Biblical translations, food and table manners. For instance, the expression "piece of cake" is equivalent in Korean to "laying down and eating a rice cake." I always have wondered how easy it is for someone to digest food after eating in a laying down position. "Piece of cake" seems to be a lot easier than what the Korean expression is saying. On the other hand, there are some phrases that make more sense in Korean than in English, literally speaking. Does one actually "eat like a horse" (typical English phrase) or "eat like a pig" (typical Korean phrase)? The pigs do not know how much or what they should or should not be eating, since they are scavenger eaters. Here is another: when I am so hungry I would rather "eat a cow" (typical Korean phrase) than "eat a horse" (typical English phrase). Think about all of the varieties (from filet mignon to hamburger) that one can create with a cow, compared to a horse. I do not believe that I have ever tried horse meat. Have you?
I left home (Korea) over two decades ago, as I did not want to stay as "a frog in a well," which describes a person with limited experience and vision. The only thing a frog in a well knows is its own well and a piece of small sky it sees through the top of the well. I still appreciate the wise Korean phrases that make sense in my life. For example, a Korean phrase, "When outgoing words are gentle, the returning words are gentle as well" reminds me of Proverbs 16:24. "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
When two cultures (American and Korean) meet at my dinner table, there is a celebration of cultural differences as well as similarities. There may be conversations or singing in two languages, one for my left ear and the other for my right ear. There may be comparisons of animal sounds, idioms, literature, folktales, Biblical translations, food and table manners. For instance, the expression "piece of cake" is equivalent in Korean to "laying down and eating a rice cake." I always have wondered how easy it is for someone to digest food after eating in a laying down position. "Piece of cake" seems to be a lot easier than what the Korean expression is saying. On the other hand, there are some phrases that make more sense in Korean than in English, literally speaking. Does one actually "eat like a horse" (typical English phrase) or "eat like a pig" (typical Korean phrase)? The pigs do not know how much or what they should or should not be eating, since they are scavenger eaters. Here is another: when I am so hungry I would rather "eat a cow" (typical Korean phrase) than "eat a horse" (typical English phrase). Think about all of the varieties (from filet mignon to hamburger) that one can create with a cow, compared to a horse. I do not believe that I have ever tried horse meat. Have you?
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