MoFo Day 8 and the Best Translation Ever.

I am constantly flattered by the Korean's faith in me to learn their language. Sadly, I disappoint, as my vocabulary is still painfully small.  But my Charades skills are top notch and, combined with their broken English, we always manage.  But I am no match for the linguistic genius of Google Translate.
I finally stopped at the plant shop for some greenery.  It's just a small beginning, but already the flat feels more lived in.  Here's what I've got so far:

The selection was great, as were the prices and, after wrapping each one, the salesgal attempted to provide me some caretaking instructions. Upon realizing my vocab did not include the finer points of horticulture, she turned to her computer for translation.  I was promptly informed that the little ones (the cacti) would "make a prayer for water once each month" ☺

Even more promising, we came up this sign in the parkade the other night.

Who knew?  It's here, in South Korea!

In order to compensate for missing the first week of Vegan MoFo, I've decided to also post some of my favourite words of wisdom on the topic, in addition to just posting about AWESOME VEGAN FOOD.  Today's quote is taken from Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. http://www.eatinganimals.com/site/book/

The book was a gift from one of my students last year.  It was actually recommended summer reading for students at Yale, where she would be attending in the fall.   I really enjoyed the author's style, which I felt was very accessible to any reader; not only those already familiar with the subject.  He approached the topic with an open mind, not one already certain of the outcome.  Ultimately, rather than conclusions of should vs. shouldn't, Foer focused on the question of compassion, and invites the reader to answer for themselves, because compassion is a choice.  His ideas mirror my own feelings about veganism, which is not simply an opinion about right vs. wrong, and it's certainly not just a diet.  It's about deliberate consideration of actions that impact all aspects of being.

  "But compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use, and the regular exercise of choosing kindness over cruelty would change us".

On a yummy note, tonight we went for Japanese and polished off this plate of delightful deep-fried goodness. (I said yummy, not necessarily good for you…!)

Get a load of the size of those mushrooms on top!