Perspective...

Perhaps I should have learned this lesson years ago, but if I didn't take it to heart way-back-when the lesson was definitely reinforced ten-fold this weekend in Mokpo. Perhaps I mentioned to a few of you that I was not too impressed with my surroundings here in South Korea. "It's not what I expected, but I'm not quite sure what it was I expecting," was my mantra this past week when meeting all the ex-pats and other english-speaking people in my midst. It's a bit gloomy here: there is an unending haze that hangs in the air, the buildings are not very dense and alternate jarringly between tall utilitarian apartment buildings and low-rise commercial blocks, there are not many parks, no grass to speak of and very few trees. But following a 3-hour bike ride which took me all the way around Mokpo's peninsula, I discovered that there is much more to Mokpo than I had imagined.

Let's think in terms we can all understand: If Mokpo were Toronto I would be living in Scarborough -- but not in the nice area by the bluffs. I'm talking Markham Rd. and the 401. It's still part of Toronto, just not the part that anyone wants to live in. So that's where I am. But the bright side is that the rest of Mokpo is BEAUTIFUL with miniature mountains erupting amidst the city's boroughs, small temples situated here and there amidst the inner-city vegetable fields, a beautiful harbour that wraps around the city filling the already water-laden air with the smell of the sea. Yes, my ambitions to live next to the ocean for a year will have been fulfilled by the time I leave here. Vancouver: eat your heart out!