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!