More random pics on the way to work today . . .

This morning on the way down the stairs from my fifth floor apartment I saw this,

In Korea this is how garbage and recycling is collected. I think it's done by private contractors.

I'm more used to seeing this kind of truck . . .

Walking downstairs I realized I've never blogged about mailboxes in Korean apartment buildings. There are no locks. Anyone who is curious can see what is in your mailbox without even really having to open the little door. Sometimes a neighbor will notice that you haven't picked up your mail and they'll even bring it to your door and give it to you in person . . .

Contrast those mailboxes with these and you begin to see the differences . . . these have a small narrow flap that mail can be pushed in through . . . but note that you cannot SEE inside and that the slit is very narrow.

Some friends I know in Canada have this kind of mailbox embedded in the wall next to the entrance to their apartment building. The mail is put into the boxes from a locked room that is behind the boxes. Each apartment has a mailbox and then the person living there has a key that unlocks the box. No one can SEE inside it, and no one can even get their FINGERS inside it . . .

It's amazing how just looking through the lens of 'mailbox culture' you can see such fundamental differences in the day to day lifestyles of Koreans when compared with life in Canada or America. The innate sense of privacy and individualism and property rights is sooooo different here . . .

On the way to the university . . .

These moving crane trucks kill me. When you need to move something in Korea often there isn't an elevator in the building (if it's under 5 stories) and/or the elevator isn't big enough to deal with the size and weight of the items being moved.

That's when you call one of the moving crane truck companies to help you out.

On the university campus this is the gym building . . .

One of my favorite spots on campus is to the left of this tree. There are sculptures and some picnic tables. It's a really nice area to go and relax.

I really like how the deep blue color of the sky makes it look like she's diving upwards into the sky . . .

This is what the sculpture looks like with more light . . .

And lastly, I tried to do a panoramic 3 pics shot and then stitch them together on my computer. Apparently I have a few things to learn about how to do this though I have managed to eek out some decent panoramic shots in the past--this one, well, nuh-uh.


J