November 7, 2005

• Just checking in. Just like eastern Kentucky in the fall, it is cool here. Very cool. The leaves are yellow and red, the sky is a murky blue, mostly from the smog that hangs over the Han Gang. (Gang is the word for river.) I've seen a few people wearing surgical masks to filter out the pollution. In spite of this, Seoul is a very clean town. It is very rare to see litter on the sidewalks. Cigarette butts are the only thing I've seen as far as litter goes. No pop bottles, no burger wrappers, nothing like that.

  
  

  Seoul has a population of 22 million people. Yet, I have only heard sirens once since arriving, and have seen firetrucks responding to a call on one occasion. I think the police are bored. There are no police helicopters flying along the highways keeping track of the traffic flow, and there are no news helicopters in the air to update on highway conditions. When I go to sleep, I only hear the roar of the highway, less than one-tenth of a mile from where I currently share an apartment with two other missionary teachers. It is safe to walk down dark alleys in Seoul.

  
  

  Across the canal is an island where Donald Trump constructed four towers. Trump World and Trump World Two are about a quarter of a mile apart, and are within a mile of Daebang Station. Prominent on this cityscape is a promotional poster for programming for KBS. This television station has an incredible antennae array on the building.

  
  

  Korean food is good. I've grown to like kimbob, a seaweed roll filled with steamed rice and a center made of egg and mixed vegetables. I can handle kimchi, but no more than three times a week. Cabbage kimchi is good, but I like the turnip or radish kimchi better. Think of kimchi as sourkraut with tobasco sauce mixed into the recipe.

  
  

  I have pictures on my keydrive. I hope to share pix before the end of the week. More later.

  
  

   

  • 12:16 am
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