Saturday, May 28, 2005

Another man's journey

My first year in Korea, I had the pleasure of working with David Harvey. Dave is not only one of the genuinely nicest people I know, he also happens to be a kick-ass photographer. He's currently travelling in India, and has been recounting his adventures via a web journal. It makes for fascinating reading. His site also features countless incredible photos from throughout Asia and Canada. Take a look!

Dave Harvey's Fantastic Website

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Quote

"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired."

Jules Renard, Author
(1864 - 1910)

Friday, May 20, 2005

Fog - A Comparison

A few weeks ago I posted some photos of an excessively foggy afternoon. I snapped a shot recently which helps convey just how foggy it was that day.

NO FOG:

FOG:

Gee where'd that little hill get to?

Is it....possible???

Found this poster adorning the hallway at work. There's apparently been 10 previous speech contests, so maybe the 11th one really is possible!




MMMMM Beer!!!

Though we thought we'd bungled the job, it looks like our beer actually fermented ok. And so, last Tuesday, myself and co-brewer John bottled the batch up. Now we just have to be patient and wait another 3 or 4 weeks till it's good and ready to be drunk. Rooftop BBQ here we come!!!
Here's John syphoning and our bottles o' brew:

Monday, May 16, 2005

Things that make you go "Hmmm"

The paper clip is an incredibly simple thing which performs a highly useful function. Without those little twists of metal, papers would run amok throughout classrooms and offices everywhere. They're a tiny solution winning big in the battle against disarray. As such, I didn't hesitate to use paper clips in my class to keep the students' work together. Once they'd completed their assignment, they were each given a paper clip and asked to attach the papers to the inside cover of their books so as not to loose them. Wouldn't you know that these kids didn't know how to 'operate' a paper clip?What with their no moving parts and simple design, I'd always assumed that anyone could use a paper clip; turns out 7 years old is just before the paper clip 'coming of age'. Some of the kids could figure it out, but others just held up the clips saying, "Teacher, what?" Who knew there's an age requirement for paper clips!

Saturday, May 07, 2005

Neato!

A.I. on the web? Or just an amusing diversion? This is an online game of '20 Questions', where you think of the thing and the 'computer' tries to guess. It didn't guess 'perfume', but it got 'dream' in under 20 guesses. Not bad!

20 Questions Game

Lingiustic Moments

Here are my current top three Korean words (in no particular order):
'mul-chip' (물집), literally: 'water-house', exactly: blister
'son-mok' (손목), literally: 'hand-neck', exactly: wrist
'mok-sori' (목소리), literally: 'neck-sound', exactly: voice

Disappeared!

The last day of Tanya's visit, the weather was sunny and nice so we decided to walk over to the beach near my house. One of the highlights of this beach is the impressive Gwangan Grand Bridge. Much to our suprise, as we approached the south end we discovered we couldn't actually see the bridge - a mysteriously thick and localized fog was covering it up. We proceeded to walk along the water's edge, and at no time was this massive structure visible. Neither could we see the beach! Everything was hidden under a thick blanket of fog. Here's some shots of what we saw. Here's what the bridge looks like when it's visible (which is every other time but that afternoon!)

Temple Trip

Last weekend was very fun because my friend Tanya made the trip down to Busan from Seoul. On Saturday we ventured out on the local buses to find a temple I'd heard was quite beautiful. The temple's name is Yong-gung Temple (용궁사) and is situated a little to the north of Busan along the coast. I didn't take many pictures of the temple compound since preparations were underway for Buddha's Birthday (May 15). For Buddha's Birthday, temples normally string up a fantastic network of lanterns. The day we visited, just the framework was up, and wasn't that nice to look at. But you can see some of the stacks of colourful lanterns waiting to be hung. There's also one very conspicuous picture of fish. This was not from the temple, but from a market in a nearby town. I can't get enough of fish. They're so shiny and shapely.

Temple Gallery

Favourite New Restaurant

Last week my students took me out to a new restaurant, and I loved it! It's called 'Bori-bap Buippet' (보리밥 뷔페) or Barley-rice Buffet. It's sorta cafeteria-style in that it's very simple food, and you have to bus your own dishes, but wow! There's variety! You have 3 rices to choose from, about 5 soups, and like a zillion side-dishes/toppings for your rice. And it costs 3,500 won, or approximately $4.00 CAD! This photo I snapped captures only half of the side-dishes and toppings available. Yum!