A Walk into the City

Today I ventured a few miles away from my home, something that I have previously been unwilling to do as I don't really have a keen sense of direction, into the main of Daegu.  On the way I passed through what we would call "the slums" of the city but in reality might just be more of a country living style for Korea.  There were many mud huts set on farm land and quite a few people working tediously to ensure that whatever they were growing turned out to be a great success.  As I was passing through, I noticed large trench ditches (much, much larger than the scary ones they have in Michigan) littered with garbage and many forms of debris.  I didn't give them a second thought until I came upon little tent like structures, at which time it occurred to me that people were actually living in the ditches and most likely drinking the dirty water that filled the bottom of it.  On the way back, these thoughts were confirmed when I saw a small group of the ditch inhabitants surrounding a small fire.  It really made me grateful for my small room in Daegu and my warm heat and hot shower.  None of these people hassled me for any money, which I would have given them had I been carrying anything at all.  What I saw, was people laughing and enjoying each other's company.. They work hard in the fields during the day and don't seem upset about living outside.  Maybe it's temporary, maybe they have homes when they aren't working in the fields.  I doubt it, but I was glad to see that they could still smile and laugh with each other, even though their lives are rough.  I guess it's all just a matter of perspective.  The trip downtown was exciting, and I really enjoyed the colors and sounds of the city.  For a minute, I felt like I wasn't in Daegu, but I was walking down the streets of New York City.  Like maybe I'd turn around and my brother would be there asking which pizza shop I wanted to stop at for dinner.  But, as it turns out, I was alone in a foreign city.  It's been a strange experience, being alone.  I feel like it's the first time in my life where I look around and I don't know anyone and no one knows me.  Back home, I'm a Resident Assistant in the dorms.  I walk around campus and I see a lot of familiar faces and people to wave to or people to glare at.  But here, there's just a lot of empty faces.  And I like it a lot.  I like being able to go where ever I want and not having to worry about getting back for a meeting, or seeing someone doing something that they shouldn't be or what I'm doing and what I'm wearing.  And when I come home for the night, I don't have to bother with being Ms. Perky-go-lucky or having to tell people to stop smoking near the building or getting woken up in the middle of the night for some silly crisis.  I guess that was just a lot of babble to say that here I am just a student and for the minute, I'm loving every second of it.  Anyways, so I wandered around the big city and I saw a lot of tents with people selling fish type products (most with their heads still on), coffee shops, movie theatres, PC-bangs (cyber cafes, in our world), and a lot of people rushing hither thither for reasons unknown.  Basically, it was just another city in the world.  But for a handful of moments today, it was my really big city in the world.  To cut the story short, I got a little lost, and before  I knew it, it was dark.  I was able to make my way back, passing by the homeless people and finally winding my way through the dark narrow streets back to my great big dormitory and, in turn, to my little warm room.  It felt good to go out and finally get a good look at the city, but even more importantly, I was able to find my next great adventure.  In the town I saw signs for a little Buddhist temple on the outskirts of town (about 6km away).  I got a few things from the store when I got back to pack a lunch so I can journey forth tomorrow and find the place that preaches on a strong inner peace.  I could go for that in my life.  I'm sure that it will make dealing with rowdy college students much easier in future days.  Anyways, that's all I've got.  Just a small update from the big city.  <3 Cara