Ok, so North Korea decides to attack and starts firing a round of shells. You know its serious when not just CNN is making a live broadcast, but so are the Korean TV channels and even the Japanese channel we get. Initially sounds like something to be alarmed about. But it was on a remote border island, not the mainland, although it was a populated island. Unfortunately two south korean soldiers and two civilians have died so not a joking matter.

In Daegu I dont think we need to worry. We are four hours drive from the border. Any missle would have to pass Seoul and heavy populated areas first. We have four US army bases in Daegu which probably went on red alert. I can swear I heard more jet planes than usual patrolling that nite. Plus the country is inundated with foreign language teachers all over so we would be the first evacuated. Like a problem child, North Korean tends to throw these tantrums as bargaining when it wants attention.

Everything was normal the next day at school, no-one was talking about it, and wasnt sure if I should bring it up with any of the teachers to ask their views? CNN is making a bigger deal of it though panicking people at home. South Korea is an economic power of almost 50 million so I doubt it will develop into anything more, and Japan, China, US will not want their economies dragged into anything.

Saturday a co-teacher and me went to the Daegu Shooting Range in Chilgok. First we tried the Air Rifles, you get 20 rounds for $3. First we tried 10 metres and we kept hitting the paper which had a CD sized bullseye. I tried 15 metres and you have to account for the curvature but I still did well. Then I tried a few at 20 metres and one at 25 metres which was the max distance. I still seemed to do ok. These rifles were heavy and pushes you back when you fire so need a firm standing. This was pretty easy.

Next we tried the hand guns. You get 10 rounds of 9mm bullets for $15. This time you need a bullet vest as well as ear covers and have to hit a dartboard sized target about 20 metres away. Again, the gun was heavy and was tied across to a bicyle chain so you have no free control in your hand. It fires the casing back onto you, hence the vest, and also jerks your hand as you fire with the reverse pressure. Again I seemed to do ok and got most of my holes on the black part of the target. I would rate this medium difficulty.

Last we tried the clay pigeons. This was the most difficult as it was a moving target and you have outside factors such as wind. Also the rifle was quite heavy. You have to lay your cheek on the handle which rests on your shoulder and bend your back forward. The jolt when you fire banged the wood hard across my face. You get 10 shots for $10 and I only hit two clay pigeons. The key is to fire early when it launches and not to wait for it to curve down for the descent. We had a really good time and both want to go back. Then we drove to Costco for the first time. They had really good pizza, you can actually buy a slice instead of a whole pizza, which is rare in Korea. But we couldnt go in the store as you have to buy a $30 membership.

A few weeks back a student saw me in Homeplus with bags of shopping so called me a pig. I tried to tell her thats not nice. Now in class she keeps saying I am a pig. On pepero day I saw her buying a few boxes so I got to call her a pig back. Another boy likes saying 'Moto' after the motorola commercials. Now we refer to each other as 'hello moto' and in class I call him 'moto' when I want him to answer a question. Other elementary kids that dont know me want to say hi and run off giggling. Back home kids are taught not to talk to strangers!

Another boy in the neighbourhood wants to walk home together and he comes and waits for me after school. He wants me to tell him where I live and that he can keep a secret. I have to watch him go down his street otherwise he tries to follow me and hide behind the parked cars. One morning he was waiting for his friend and they both saw me come out the building.. Busted!! So now I have resort to blatant threats and blackmail if he tells anyone. Undetered, now he is asking to see inside my apartment!

Been watching the Asian Games from China with less eurocentric sports like fencing, archery, and taekwondo. We also get other HBO shows on tv like a vampire show True Blood and a zombie show Walking Dead. Figured out how to check movie times in korean online. There is a theatre 20 min walk from me. I can buy a ticket online for $6 or $7 in person. Right now they are playing Skyline, Let Me In, and Unstoppable. Been using the website and trailers in class to talk about movie types and opinions. I get so many movies on tv I havent bothered to goto the movies. Also it takes a while to read english titles as the letter combinations dont always make sense. For example, Skyline is se-ga-ah-ee le-ah-ee-nn so you try different pronounciations until it makes sense!

Here is some sites if you want to try..
http://www.lottecinema.co.kr
http://www.cinus.co.kr
http://cgv.co.kr

On Saturday when I did goto the movies after the shooting range to watch Skyline, I found out there are three different theatres near Homeplus. I had only ever seen one because the other two are hidden inside office towers and you have to take the elevator up. They were showing a couple of other movies such as Social Network and Saw II. Also when you buy your ticket you select your seat like on an airplane. The movie was english with korean subtitles. I also found a Science University campus 25 mins walk in the other direction with cafes, pizza/pasta restaurants, and video arcades. So finding quite a few things to do in my neighbourhood.

There was a Miss World type pageant on TV and Miss Korea won the Miss Asia category. I tried asking the students in class who won Miss Asia and some boys started yelling Miss Pakistan knowing my background. I lost it in fits of laughter with that image! Booked my ticket home in January to see family and a 'supply run' to bring more stuff over. I also have to plan for 13 days of winter camp classes in January before I leave. Next weekend am planning to visit a giant stone buddha statue north of Daegu so more on that in the next entry....