Sign of the Times

Went for a stroll in the area behind my university again today. It's not the full-on 'ghost' village i've mentioned before, but there are still a handful of deserted homes and derelict buildings scattered inbetween the other dwellings, which are inhabited exclusively it seems by the older generation.

It really is, to me at least, a surreal and other-worldly place, i think in part because it's so close to the modernity of the university with it's huge, white concrete structures and pointless PA system looping endless crappy music, as well as being near a huge road and constantly noisy traffic, not to mention the tall apartment buildings and sprawling industrial estate beyond.
Coming from all that stimulus and activity, then stepping into this old and quiet place, a place where birds sing, dogs bark, chickens warble, where the occaisional faint sound of people gossiping or a distant transistor radio can be heard, it kind of messes with your senses (a beautiful woodpecker even landed on a tree not two metres from my face today, likely the closest I'll ever be to one).

If you look closely you'll see that even the blue sign above warns of oldsters roaming these parts, and to keep your speed down accordingly. There are a couple of these along the small street, and I would say they are somewhat pointless - there is no through road here and traffic is mostly none existent. That said, it looks like someone donned their irony hat and promptly hit this one with a car, so maybe they are needed after all.

Just around the corner from the sign, I stumbled upon a garden jam-packed with the most Jindo dogs I've ever seen in one place. They were pretty huge, and thankfully didn't look overly thin as is sometimes the case - there were even a couple of very young pups.
They went totally mental when i peered over the wall though, to the extent of even being a little scary. One got so wound up it started attacking another dog, which just lay on its back submissive, howling in pain at being bitten. There were maybe eight to ten dogs, and it's the first time in a long time I've seen Jindos not tied up. A couple were chained, which must be pretty frustrating as they watch the others roaming around the yard, but the rest were free to run around as they pleased. The yard itself was a tad trash strewn and somewhat stinky, but it was also pretty big - so as things go I suppose life could be much worse for them.
I'm a little bit concerned about what their fate may be, it seems like a lot of dogs to have simply as pets. But perhaps it's not worth thinking about for now.




For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.
- James Baldwin

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