We left Korea this morning :( I had an absolute blast in that wonderful country, the Korean people were very welcoming and their hospitality was great. On Saturday I stood watch and then Sunday was let off for liberty again at 1100. Before liberty on Sunday a local orphanage that our school raised money and supplies for came and performed a drum and dance show on board the ship. There were about 60 kids and they put on a very professional show! The orphanage was grateful for our donations and in turn did the performance, which was followed by lunch and then tours of the ship. There is definitely one thing I noticed about Korea that was different than the U.S. and Canada...the people are in general exceptionally respectful and nice! Everyone I encountered smiled and went out of their way to greet me. The friendly attitude of the taxi drivers, bar owners, restaurant owners and shop owners took the stress out of trying to communicate and get along in a foreign country.
On Sunday we went back into the city and into the raw fish market, we ate lots of tempura and fried squid. I have eaten many delicious and very greasy fish on this trip. A monsoon came into the city Saturday night so by mid day Sunday we were well drenched from head to toe however we were still having a blast. After the market we hit some stores and tried to find a club/bar to post up and get out of the rain. There is a street in the midtown area that is called Texas street, famous for its bars, clubs and women it was definitely an attraction for all the CMA guys. So we spent the rest of the day at Texas street and was able to spend some quality time of laughter and dancing with the shipmates. I got back to ship early and hit the sack around 2200.
Today we set sail under partly cloudy skies, it was kind of sad to leave Korea yet we are all anticipating Japan and excited to get off and experience more culture. After we were underway class started up again and was easy and we got out early, we learned about emergency steering systems and rigged block and tackles with a bosun chair. I also was able to complete some CBT (computer based training) we have about 10 due in the next month and each take about an hour. I am going to bed early tonight to catch up on some much needed rest.
The attached picture is of one of the fried fish stands that killed the fish right in front of you and then cooked it up, this lady was very nice and a basket of squid (3 big pieces) was 3000 WON or $3.00.
Love,
V/R,
CDT Jonathan Anderson
Squad Leader, Division 6 MT
Corps of Cadets
California Maritime Academy
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