Sanctuaries

These churches don't look like they belong in Daegu. But the grey cathedral, in the third photo, is visible from miles away. I stare at it from the bus every time we go downtown, so yesterday I finally decided to get out and have a closer look. On my way there, I found this brick church about a block away; far less visible from a distance, but far more interesting.

This wall-sized mural, inside the cathedral is made with oneinchsquared tiles. I appreciate the intricacy. And it's a beautiful picture.

'Days gone by'

The final sun of 2007sets over Pohang.
The first sun of the new year rises over the East Sea.

It's a popular tradition in Korea to watch the first sunrise of the new year, and Pohang is the Eastern most point in the country. Seeing as it's only a two hour train ride from Daegu, we decided to check it out. As we stepped off the train, we were greeted by a blistering, freezing wind - by far the coldest day we've seen in Korea. And after being ignored by two taxi drivers who apparently didn't want to deal with foreigners, we took a ride to our hotel - the Ramada Encore. It was a very Western establishment and we were able to walk on carpet. That may not seem very cool, but after ten months of walking on cold, dirty linoleum everywhere we go, we may as well have been walking on gold. Despite Cate not being able to sleep and eventually having to crash in our bed, the night was great. That's a lie. The night wasn't great. It was long and frustrating. If you've never shared a small hotel room with a two year old, I'd compare it to trying to sleep in the same room as an espresso-drinking spider monkey. It was that relaxing.

Nonetheless, we answered our sixoclock wakeup call, bundled up and headed to Bukbu Beach. There were already hundreds of people on the beach, shooting fireworks and huddled around campfires. We found a spot, set up the camera and waited. And waited. We stood around, freezing our lips off before the big moment finally arrived. After taking it all in and contemplating life - and doing all the things you do when you experience such a natural wonder - we headed to Family Mart to warm up. There were hundreds of people crammed inside already, all of them eating ramen. It was one of those you have to live in Korea to understand the humour in this situation kind of moments. Despite not being able to move my fingers and being reduced to tears in the taxi ride back, it was well worth it.

Then it was back to the hotel for a 40 minute shower before we headed back to Daegu, where we are now enjoying the remainder of Carmen's vacation in the comfort of our own, tiny, lovely home.

Saturday

These photos were taken at Dongdaegu Station (East Daegu Station), the major transportation hub of the city. The first picture is from a walkway above the old rail lines. It's taken through a window, which explains the vague reflection in the top right.


The photo below was taken just outside the entrance to the subway. The pyramid is a skylight to the underground. It's also the first thing we saw when we stepped off the bus in Daegu. The bus terminal is just off to the left.

Merry Christmas

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother;
and in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is our Lord! O praise His name Forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!

- Placide Cappeau

'The most wonderful time of the year'

Saturday, on our way home from downtown, we witnessed the aftermath of a fatal crash involving a bus and a scooter.

Pulling up to the busiest intersection in Yongsandong, our taxi driver started shaking his head vigorously and 'tisk'ing. I looked ahead and saw a man lying next to a tiny scooter in the middle of the road, motionless, with a bus stopped about ten feet from him. He was flat on his back with his hands on his chest and it was clear it had just happened. Despite me telling her to do otherwise, Carmen watched as we drove past and noticed the man's helmet was under the bus. I assumed the worst, although we couldn't confirm whether the man had been killed, but passed over the scene the next day in a bus and a chalk outline confirmed what I thought.

In the 45 seconds it took our taxi to pass the scene and pull away from the intersection, no one had gone to help the man. I told my friend, Andy, about the incident. He told me another story about his friend who watched a man get thrown off his scooter by a car. Andy's friend was about 400 yards away - and he was the first person on the scene. By the time the ambulance came, he was still the only person helping the man, who had two visibly broken legs. I'll let you form your own opinion on what all this says about Korean culture. I'd tell you mine but Carmen suggested some people may find it offensive. I guess people have places to be an' all that.

Anyway, the rest of the ride home after seeing a body lying in the middle of a busy intersection was sort of eerily quiet. There's not really much to say about something like that. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Sure, people die in car accidents every day all over the world, but you just don't usually see it.

On a cheerier note, Homeplus is currently selling M & Ms, which means we'll have a very chocolaty Christmas. It's very hard to find any kind of Western candy, so the timing is perfect.

Yongsan on a Sunday

This is our 'hood. These photos are taken from the same spot.

Sunggok Elementary School

4:25 pm. Waiting patiently for Carmen to walk out the front doors. The tree in front tells us Fall is in its last throes. We put on our mitts and persevere. This photog could've been taken on virtually any street in Daegu. Apartments and schools: the heart of the urban jungle.

Cate and I took a trip to the zoo Wednesday morning. I noticed this tree, and its leaves, really hangin' in there through this freezing cold breeze that hasn't let up in about two weeks.

Weekend

We went to Apsan, a mountain in Daegu, which has a cable car going up to the top. The view of the city was fantastic, but the smog and the fact it was a cloudy day took away from it a bit. Here's one half of the city, including our neighborhood, which is at about elevenoclock, directionally speaking, on the opposite edge of the city.
On our way down we found this little temple, where a monk and, apparently, an adjuma live. They were making kimchi outside and didn't seem to mind if we wandered around and took a few pictures, as long as it wasn't of them (I don't know this for sure, but my run-in with an adjuma while taking pictures recently resulted in me being chased down the street).




By the way, we bought a new camera. Again. This time a dSLR. A mutual Christmas gift. When I first started this blog, it was being passed around the Korean blogosphere as a photoblog. That's not what I had intended, but that may very well be the case from now on.

Wednesday

It's been cold here lately. Not as cold as Lethbridge, but cold enough for me to complain a bit. But that doesn't stop Cate and me from walking to Carmen's school every day to pick her up, and Cate wouldn't have it otherwise.

Yesterday, as we were walking home, we saw all the usual goings on of life in Yongsandong. Kids in Taekwondo suits, kids in school uniforms, kids buying large quantities of cheap candy, kids playing video games on the sidewalk and kids narrowly dodging high-speed traffic. 4:30 is right between the end of the elementary school day and all the evening stuff like English academies and martial arts classes, so the sidewalks are overrun with 10 year olds, and they all need a way to get where they're going so there are dozens of vans and small buses parked along the street. The drivers of these vehicles usually sit on the sidewalk and play cards or eat kimchi while they wait for their load of sugar junkies to finish whatever they're doing. They usually look quite bored and I've even seen them putting back a few beers in their spare time, before they get behind the wheel.

However, yesterday was a bit more interesting. I saw a well-dressed driver, about 50, standing with his hands in his pockets and a cigarette in his mouth. He was standing next to a tree, which was next to the road, and he leaned back and gave it a little kung fu syle kick. Nothing much and I didn't really think anything of it. Heck, I've kicked a tree out of boredom - plenty of times. As we got closer, he assumed a more fierce stance. With his hands still in his pockets and a dart still in his mouth, he spun around and gave a beautiful but deadly roundhouse, chin-high kick to the unsuspecting poplar. We were right next to him at this point and I gave him a smile and the usual half bow, thinking we both found it amusing, but he only glared in return. The funny thing is, neither Carmen or I said anything about it at first, like it wasn't out of the ordinary - and it's not. But I couldn't let it go. "So . . . that well-dressed older gentlemen just karate kicked that tree with his hands in his pockets and a smoke in his mouth on a busy sidewalk in the middle of the day, and was completely serious about it."

Other than that, life's been uneventful - but really good. Christmas is a lot more prevalent here than we thought it'd be, which is nice, even if it's mostly the consumerism part that's promoted. A few stores and restaurants are playing festive tunes and some even have decorations. Our iTunes switches between Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas and Hanson's Snowed In (Questionable choice? Maybe. Guaranteed to bring Christmas cheer? Definitely). Some friends of ours gave us a little tree and some decor when they left in the summer so it won't be completely depressing to be away from home during this holiday season. It's hard to believe, though, that after Carmen's holidays at the end of this month, we've only got eight weeks left.

"We're not breaking out of a Jamba Juice, gentlemen."

Michael Scofield, I love you but you're bringing me down. ref. LCD Soundsystem

Prison Break is a big deal in Korea. Strike that. Wentworth Miller is a big deal in Korea. He's the face of a major clothing line, Bean Pole, and is generally seen as a perfect specimen of humanity and sexuality ("Hellow Wentworth~welcome to the Korea").

Carmen and I finally decided to experience what all the fuss and desperate screaming is about (Prison Break, not Wentworth). We rented the first eight episodes of Season One and haven't looked back since. I'm not really a TV guy; if you'll remember, I started watching Six Feet Under a while back, and made it to the fourth season but needed a break from the sheer intensity that comes with a family who lives in a funeral home and consists of a neurotic widow, a recently widowed alcoholic single father, a troubled teen and a gay Catholic holding down the fort. Anyway, 7:30 is not only Cate's bedtime, it's also Fox River time. We're halfway through the second season now and we basically talk, and dream in my case, about nothing else. I fear what will happen once we catch up with current episodes and are forced to wait a week in between fixes, or longer if this strike holds up.

But I suppose it's almost time to move on to more festive stories, like Clark Griswold and his cousin Eddie, or Billy Mack and his "festering turd of a record". 'Tis the season, even for escaped convicts on the run from murderous, anti-government agencies.