Cows By The Fence

First off, I would like to say goodbye to Jessica who is now probably back in America. It was great knowing you!

Alright, down to the nitty gritty. This is going to be about the value of some of the objects that I have found dumpster diving in Korea so far. So much of what has been thrown out is valuable, in good condition, and is perfectly usable (sometimes with some very minor repairs). Walking home from Alex’s on Tuesday, I was halfway home when I stumbled upon a trash pile with a funky case on the top. I felt the case and realized there was something inside it. Grabbed it and went home. I proceeded to open the case to find this in my case.
YES! A chroma harp! It is a Samick SH 21 chroma harp. It works. A few strings a broken, but those can be replaced. It also came with a book (in Korean) on how to play the harp and finger picks. I kind of wonder if someone just got frustrated with learning and tossed it out in anger and frustration. :P The harp new has a value of $318 apparently. What did it cost me? Nothing at all (free).

Next up is this desktop I found in June. I don’t have a monitor yet but it does power up and boot fine. It has a 20 gig hard drive and 256 megs of ram. I am going to use this as a torrent download pc. This isn’t worth very much due to age, but it is still very useful.

It’s really a shame how disposal we view things. Instead of tossing them away, can people not donate them? They’ll do someone else good than rotting away in a dump. Sigh.

I know it must seem like I am in love with this country by what I have written as of recent. I’ll be honest, I like Korea. I like the random thing that happen. Today I was riding the #20 bus to Hadang. The bus was pretty busy and the only seat available was the one directly behind the bus driver so I parked my behind and sat. The bus drove on for a while before hitting a red light. The driver said some words to me in Korean, then grabbed a cup and her mug and poured me a cup of iced coffee! It might not be a big deal, but that was something that would NEVER happen in Canada. I am loving everything that has been happening the past while. I hope it continues.

Yesterday, Virginia, Ty, Camille, Alex, Jessica and I went to the Peace Park Festival in Mokpo. What exactly it was for I do not know. There were LOTS of other foreigners there, including a group of four Americans we met who are here to teach summer camps at Daebul University. We arrived around seven and the first thing we saw was a giant table/feeding trough with watermelons that everyone was going nuts after. The watermelon was pretty yummy though I have to admit.

There were lots of vendors selling cheap toys, nice art work, drinks and snacks, and other odds and ends. I kept on running into students from my high school too. It’s so funny and cute to see how excited they get to see a foreigner they know. We kept on walking towards the giant floating stage and bleachers (for the foreigners apparently - overcrowded) for a bit then turned back. We came across a tent that had some really old fossils, coral samples, and a stuff seal. Virginia and I did the Canadian thing and proceeded to club it with her sandle.


There was also something else that was super cool I want to make a note of. There was a billboard/sign that constantly changed what was on the sign. What was cool about it was that the letters and shapes were made by falling water. A youtube video should offer sufficient explanation.

There was also an ice box (literally made of ice) that was full of watermelons. I don’t know how long it lasted due to how hot it has been the past while. The group of us decided to head to a MiniStop to get some beer and water and TRY to find a decent seat for the fireworks. After bring ran into by countless Koreans, we gave up on the seats and sat beneath one of the lights at Peace Park on the grass and proceeded to enjoy the show. There were also some amazing drummers that I missed but Ty saw, opera singing, the mayor of Mokpo gave a speech, and other things happened. The fireworks themselves were good, but very short. They were much longer last year apparently. We all decided to leave after the fireworks.

Strange and exciting things keep on happening to me this week in Mokpo, South Korea. I was walking home from school and I was only two blocks from home when I passed the Police Station. There were two police officers in a car and they gestured to me to come to their car. I walked over and they said they wanted to give me a ride and asked where I lived (two blocks away - NO PROBLEM). They were asking me questions in Korean such as where I am from and what my job is, etc. Two blocks later they let me off in front of my apartment.  It was such a random thing to have happen but I’m starting to expect that with Korea. Something always can and probably will happen.

My story COULD end there but it won’t. I am cat sitting for a friend and I was walking home from cat sitting when I came across a pile of garbage (dumpster diver heaven). I noticed a black odd shapes case on top and I felt the case and realize there was something inside. I opened it up and found a perfectly fine chroma harp!!! With finger picks and instruction books.

Oh and some adjoshis gave me cookies yesterday too.

I am going to make a note of another neat/fun experience that happened last Friday afternoon while waiting to take the bus home from school. I had a crappy day. The first grade class was hell and I couldn’t wait to leave. I was waiting at the bus stop and there were two middle-school girls singing Korean songs (and were doing pretty well singing wise). I had brought my laptop with me to school and decided to play some Radiohead while waiting for the bus to arrive (the #2 bus can take a while to arrive). The first song to come on was A Punch Up at a Wedding (No No No No No No No No) and the one girl started bobbing her head to the beat. They then asked me to sit down and play more music. The one student asked me what music was playing and I smiled and replied “Readiohead.” This was followed by ohh and ahhhs. My bus then arrived and I said bye to the students. I hope they do check out some music by Radiohead. It was a neat and uplifting encounter that made by bad day not too bad in the end.

Yesterday was a good day because it reminded me that there are many positives about living in Korea. What did it was that there are kind old people in this country. Some paint all the old men and women as being old and angry and not good people. I’ve been guilty of this too sometimes. I was riding the bus to the post-office to mail some boxes home and there were no seats left to sit on. I was left holding one box while holding onto the hand rail. An old man offered to hold one of the boxes on his lap so I wouldn’t have to hold it. It was a very kind gesture and I was very appreciative of this. It reminded me that there are lots of kind old people out there and we just have to remember to not paint them all with a negative brush stroke.

I heard from my parents back home that my cat, Fluffy, died. She was ten years old. She was an eccentric cat who had a habit of biting ears and making pigeon noises. I love you and you will be missed. You were a great cat and I hope you can catch lots of mice wherever you are.

I will miss you dearly.

It’s official! Kid hunting season has begun! I noticed this sign in Old Mokpo on the weekend and thought it was great!

I turned 25 (26 Korean) today (July 20, 2008). I feel good. I had a great celebration last night. I’ve never been one to really celebrate my birthday but living in a new country calls for new experiences to be had. It was pretty low key and consisted of drinking at the Drunk Chicken Hof in Old Mokpo, hopping to the Texas Moon (Magic Sparkle) bar then off to a noreabang (karaoke/singing room). Good turnout of people too. I have to admit it was touching for me. It was so nice to see so many people come out and celebrate with me. The hangover wasn’t as much fun as the actual festivities!