And the han don't stop

I wrote previously that the word han was "originally used to signify the kind of sadness that would cause a dead person to linger in 'this' world, becoming a guishin, or ghost, rather than departing for 'that' world." Almost, but not quite. Cross out "originally" and replace everything after "used to" with: "signify the kind of sadness that stays with a person even after death. According to my dad, interpreter of all things Korean, han is usually paired with a verb that means, roughly, 'undigested'. So if someone with han dies, their han remains. Unchanging, undigestable, unresolvable."

Miss D writes in to add that the writer of the West Wing episode is Korean American.

In totally other and unrelated news, I studied a few hours with Lewis, the NZ sheep shearer, and had lunch with him and Antoine, the Frenchman. If you recall (which you probably don't, because it's only significant to me), in the summer, I ended up somehow sleeping on the floor in Lewis' room with both of these gents, and smiling up at the ceiling at the absurdity of it all. So at lunch today, I thought of that, and smiled again, as we devoured our food and listened (not by choice) to Christian songs on the music system.

After studying until 4 or so, I went to my Chinese friend Gyung-li's apartment and hung out there a little bit before heading out to do some shopping. Picked up some excellent sweaters for less than $10. (We'll see if they hold out after the first washing!) Freakin' cold, but a good time. We also met the world's most honest salesman, who, when Gyung-li was choosing between two pairs of Nikes, said, "To be totally honest, this pair is totally unpopular, and no one wears it." Gyung-li and I burst into laughter, and the sales clerk, probably a college student, broke into a smile. "I'm just saying," he said.

Gyung-li didn't buy the shoes. But an hour later, after buying several other things, we went back to the store and she bought the shoes anyway, asking, "Please don't tell anyone at school that I bought a pair of shoes that no one else would be caught dead wearing."