a shortcut home

This weekend a friend hosted a party for a small group of friends, among whom there were two Koreans. We enjoyed delicious BBQed food and indulged in the taste of beer and soju throughout the night. Soju (소주) is a Korean alcohol made from rice. We played a terrible game of poker, I lost, and called it a late night. Les invited me to sleep in a spare room and I was asleep quickly.

The next morning I needed to get home quickly, walking from Namchung to Deokshin. There are rice fields between Deokshin and Namchung and the road between the two cities winds far to the north of Namchung, and then back towards Deokshin. I have seen the fields from the road and you can see concrete walkways between the fields. It seemed logical to be able to walk between the two towns so off I went. Not long before I got to the field, I encountered muddy tractor roads and I started to get worried. Fortunately I was wearing my hiking boots purchased for my little adventure in Banff and have been anticipating a winter in Korea. They kept my footing secure after brief slips until things got worse. The tractor paths ended … at a river. The river was much lower than the fields and you could not see them from the road. I had been walking this point for about 15 minutes and I had a deadline to meet in Ulsan to meet some friends. Awesome.

Voices carried well in the otherwise empty field and I heard a family harvesting their crop of golden rice stalks. I walked over and with my limited Korean tried to explain that I need to walk to Deokshin but I could not get across the water. It sounded something like this to them: “Excuse me please, blah blah blah Deokshin blah blah blah blah, blah where blah blah water blah blah blah please.” I had a gesture for bridge and I know the word for where. The father who had son and daughter age 7 and 9 perhaps at his hip, encouraged me to look again and pointed in a direction from which I had come. I went back. I did not find a bridge or enough rocks to let me pass over the water safely. I began to feel like I did when I was asked to look for things in the freezer “…did you lift anything up Matthew? …” Maybe Koreans can walk on water? I could see myself rolling up my pants, removing boots, and wading through the shallow water. There were not enough pebbles reaching out into the river to get all the way across… just enough to tease. I waited and tried to come up with a safe plan, being dressed in some business casual clothes I did not want to risk falling and ruining a fantastic 100% black wool sports jacket I scored for about $10. Materialist, perhaps.

Then the unexpected happened. A Korean Engineer pulled in to the field on a tank and they created a steel bridge just for me like they do in the movies. No, not really but that would have been great. Instead, the family I had words with before was gently rolling along on their tractor sitting proudly on their many bags of rice; a proud days work. I waived to them and they understood I was still hopelessly out of my league. I figure they were probably thinking “What is he thinking, not wearing rubber boots and walking in a rice field…?” The father helped me and almost galloped to the river; likely in a hurry to get home. I quickly assessed the situation and then squatted, gesturing for his back. What, I thought to myself, he wants me to jump on? Indeed he was inviting me for a piggy back ride across the river. His boots were at least 15 cm clearance for the shallow river water.

I was dropped safely on the opposite bank, gave a very enthusiastic Kamsahamida to he and his family and watched them pull away, waiving madly. I was dumbfounded. The rest of the walk home was significantly easier and a highlight was seeing a family of five white herons in the fields before me. I have often seen a blue heron in Ontario on canoe trips with family and friends but never five together. These elegant animals are common in the rice fields and happen to be Ulsan’s official bird. I got home safely, covered in burs and a smile from ear to ear.

Tae Kwon Do classes are great, my teacher is very kind and supportive. I have brilliantly tight hamstrings and hope to solve that problem...slowly. I wanted to try Haidong Gumdo but there is not a dojang in my town that is worth attending, according to friends.
(photo of dragonfly here)
Breakfast has been in shared company, a couple of dragon flies; red females and brown tailed males who are a little more aggressive. Thinking again about buying a motor bike and not a bicycle. I don't know for sure - too many variables, safety-wise, cost and environmental.

I have a string quartet gig in Busan for New Years! We are performing January 5th as a quartet, and playing some other ensemble formations as well. I am so pleased that the musicians I found are interested in performing and have connections; this is exciting!

ulsan world music festival

Although Ulsan is not Seoul, she does have a fairly impressive four day world music festival. I was lucky to enjoy the music of the Czech Republic, Serbia, Cuba, Spain, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador and a surpise, Montreal's Dobacaracol! I have been missing Montreal and she came to me! Talking with the artists like I did when I was younger after pantomime performances in Toronto was wonderful; I may not ever grow out of this sneaking back-stage habbit. It's better than cocaine so it must be alright. I was inspired, compelled to dance and spent an exhilirating time meeting other musicians and hearing their art. On a more personal musical front, I have two violinists from Ulsan University who would like to get together and play chamber music. Apparently there are not many violists here in Ulsan, none at the University, so I may be in luck in terms of playing opportunities! I brought home a small blener for smoothies in the morning and am looking forward to hitting work fresh for monday... despite not being home for thanksgiving.

ulsan musicians

A day off this week enabled me to hop into the city of Ulsan to recruit some musicians with whom to play chamber music. Before we found the music faculty, I noticed a student carrying a violin case and dashed over to try and talk with her. She was friendly and although she did not understand everything I said, she did accept my e-mail address.

The same day, there was a foreigner's festival and as we arrived we met three new young women from North America. We exchanged e-mail information and the David and I kept moving. Although I did not know campus well, there was a map in both Korean and English and before we found this, David from Denver, led me in the generally correct direction. I knew we were getting close because a voice major was singing, I never thought I'd find the sound of a singer so welcoming. A trombonist also sounded the fanfare that we were in the right corner of campus. A band rehearsal was about to begin and there was a lot of activity in the front hall. Another game of charades ensued, my Korean dictionary foolishly at home, and we found the practice floor where I had a second convsation with a violinist in Korea and again, gifted my e-mail.

David and I left feeling successful and found a small restaurant where we sat and ate a delicious dinner and basked in the success of finding musicians. The owner spoke with some of his other clients to help us figure out what we were interested in/able to eat while David and I sat and watched them talk. I was so happy to have found people that are passionate about what I have worked so hard to learn. The poster I pinned up was in English, logic being that the musicians that reply will speak some and I think it might be wise to post something in Korean as well. This could be a brilliant learning opportunity for me; the Korean language is taking a little while to sink in!

David and I shared feelings of teaching methods and discovered that we both felt like being in Korea was until recently a very surreal experience. My situation is becoming more real now, being here feels a little more permanent and real. It still doesn't feel like I was really in Italy, oddly enough; that month passed so quickly yet I have to accept I was there with hundreds of photos wonderful memories and incredible leather shoes.

seoul

This past weekend I was lucky enough to connect with my friend Sarah and Rowen. The three hour bus ride left Ulsan at 22:30 and arrived in Daejon at around 01:20. My boss had somehow miscalculated time as I had been told we would arrive by 2:oo. Having 40 minutes before the scheduled rendez-vous I explored the city with my camera and noticed that sand from Busan had somehow crept in.

Before we left Sarah's home city of Daejon, we took a day drip to climb a brilliant mountain, Mt. Taedun, with steep endless stone steps and narrow steel bridges. Although it was only 878 meters, the climb was at least 35 degrees the whole way, sometimes pushing 50 degrees. We were short on time on the way back and took a gondola half of the way down reaching the bus stop moments before the last ride left the village. Pictures to come I promise...little time to edit and download.

busan

During the Chuseok holiday, the Korean equivalent of thanksgiving, I took the opportunity to visit Busan, or Pusan twice. This large city, the third largest in Korea, is home of one of Koreas most famous beaches, Haeundai Beach. During the hot summer, the beach is wallpapered with umbrellas and tanning bodies. Over the course of two days, I was lucky to enjoy the winding trip from Deokshin to Namchung and then to Busan via many small towns.

Along the way were rice fields with white heron, living room furniture filled bus stops, traditional homes under highway overpasses and other magnificent treats for the eyes. One of the most touching moments was watching the little children play on the beach and at night seeing couples sitting on large san dunes by the ocean’s edge, just talking quietly or listening to a shared set of headphones. Most unusual for a foreigner was how close small unrelated groups of people were sitting together; personal space must not be a consideration in Busan. Everyone felt very comfortable sitting 30 or so centimeters apart.

I hope to try surfing on this beach next time I visit, possibly during the upcoming film festival that some other friends are interested in catching. The waves weren’t enormous but for a first time hitting baby swells, it might be just right.

The sound of the waves was calming and the fresh smell of salt water rejuvenating. We enjoyed some green tea and Soju, fermented rice alcohol famous in Korea. It tastes like vodka, goes down more smoothly and leaves you with a killer hangover if you’re not careful. One 250ml bottle is plenty for a group of 3 beginners!