Much and More

Admittedly I haven't been great about posting much lately, partly because I don't have a lot of recent photos and partly because I just haven't remembered to do it. There's a bit to tell in this one though, so bear with me because it's going to jump around a bit, beginning with last weekend. Finding that I didn't have a whole lot planned for the beginning of the weekend of the 7th, I decided to make my way early in the day to Suncheon, the closest large city near my small county of Gurye. I'd only been there once before to make a bus transfer to Yeosu, so it's safe to say that I had and have no idea where anything is at any point in time. That doesn't really matter, as I've found. It's hard to get seriously lost in Korea (I've done it, and it took every ounce of poor judgement at my disposal at the time), partly because it's not that large of a country, but mostly because you can just hire a taxi to save you in the event of total despair. Taxis are cheap here, and while it would cost me roughly twenty dollars Canadian just to get to downtown Kitchener from where I lived (a fifteen minute bike ride), it will cost about 8 000 won (7 bucks) to get from one end to the other of a major Korean city. It's wonderful. Also the bus only costs $1.00, so if you have a good idea of where you're going than transportation is barely an expense at all.
So I arrive in Suncheon looking for a guitar store, not having a clue where to start looking, and I managed to find one in about ten minutes. That doesn't sound as significant as it actually is. Guitars are a specialty item here, and it's nowhere near as easy to find a dedicated store as it is back home. I managed to find quite a nice one as well, and that meant that the day was already a success very early on. I dropped some respectable cash on it, but a guitar like this would cost more than I paid if I'd bought it back home. Probably a lot more.

I spent the rest of that Saturday with a couple of friends living in Suncheon, having lunch in a gazibo-like structure on the top of a mountain, with a panoramic view of Suncheon spread out all around below us. Since Korea's a very mountainous country, views like this are common, but rarely so conveniently accessible. So that was nice, and we went to a shoe store downtown as well, so I was able to get a pair that actually fit me, rather than the size 9's I was wearing on my size 11 feet. Korean people are small, and so are their shoes, so when someone steals your North American sneakers they're really being a dick.
To top it all off we spent a couple of hours on their apartment building's rooftop garden/patio, polishing off a bottle of makgeolli while I broke my guitar in a bit. Also there was a bathroom built in up there as well, so you don't even have to go all the way back downstairs or be tempted to test the resilience of the plants. The downside is that the bathroom was built with see-through walls, so friends, family, co-workers, or maybe just the building attendant can check to make sure that you're not having difficulties. On to Sunday.

Sunday was two things: market day, and the day of a float-down trip we had planned on the nearby river. Market day is every day that ends in an 8 or a 3. Every town has a different pairing of numbers, because to hell with standardization. I didn't get any pictures because I was a man on a mission, and that mission was to find reasonably priced fruit. I managed to get a few deals, but a deal here on fruit is typically an average price in Canada. It doesn't rob you of the joy of knowing you accomplished something though, so it's all relative. Markets are quite fascinating, bringing in all the local farmer goods with stands set up in crowded areas frequented by countless people meandering about while 80 year old men barge through on mopeds. There is literally no place you're ever truly safe from motorized vehicles driven by Koreans. I would say that perhaps my living room is, but I know enough at this point to not tempt fate by claiming that to be fact.

So I get my grapes, my bananas, and a couple complimentary apple pears to top it all off, and I make my way back home to grab my inner tube and a backpack full of beer, because a float trip is much as it sounds. You take a bus up the river a ways, get on your tube, and let the current take you back to town while you work to maintain a steady buzz and simultaneously avoid getting entangled in the fishing lines of the pissed off and slightly baffled local fishers. I've been told that while Koreans go on tubing trips (there's a company dedicated to it here) their idea of tubing is to get on a tube and float around a sectioned off bit of river no bigger than an average community swimming pool. Apparently Koreans are afraid of water, and perhaps adventure. I'm unsure. From what I've been told and what I've seen, there seems to be a general mistrust of anything not meticulously structured. Needless to say, the sight of eight or nine foreigners all floating down the river in a non-predetermined or professionally organized fashion was probably a bit surprising. The whole thing was incredibly enjoyable though, lasting about five and a bit hours, just floating down a river surrounded by mountains, a clear, sunny sky, and herons and giant butterflies flying around. Also beer.

The weekend was incredible, and my week so far has been going very well, too. I finally started teaching my classes on Monday, and that's been going really well, so it's feeling like everything's finally coming together. I got my phone contract for the year, and booked my train ticket and accommodations for Seoul for the Chuseok weekend. Chuseok is a five day weekend for the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, but it's really a lot more like Christmas in spirit. You give and receive gifts in a similar fashion, and it seems to be the main holiday event of the year.

Also Koreans have perfected toilet paper technology. Not too rough, not too flimsy, and you can just feel the dedication in every roll. For those back home, I may mail you a box of it for Christmas. Scoff all you like, but since you only need a couple of squares at a time, it's a gift that'll really last the whole year through.

Here are some pictures of my town.

Traditional Korean roof tiles 

A small river that runs through the town

Not a great picture for the view, but as the sun goes down it looks pretty nice

GangStar Rabbit 24, whatever that is

Just a quick shot of a typical street view, complete with small Korean children. As you can see they only really have one lane, and although there's space to squeeze over and accommodate everyone, they damn well won't let it happen on their watch.