The Jack Russell Terrier, or the Parson Russell Terrier (Author Unknown, http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/jack-russell-terrier#/slide/1), is a leka breed of dog among rural dwelling people of South Africa. They are a fearless, loyal, energetic, inquisitive and keen-spirited breed. If you're fortunate enough to spend a few days with a Jack Russell-owning farmer you'll probably watch as a Jack Russell jumps off the bakkie and scampers away from the vehicle with the farmer calling after him, "F@£$ sakes, Slabbert/Sally/Rusty/Charlie (or any other commonly used name for a Jack Russell), leave that porcupine alone!" And then Slabbert/Sally/Rusty/Charlie (etc) will most definitely follow the porcupine down a hole and come out again whimpering with a quill or two sticking out his nostrils. The farmer will then dislodge the quills, chuck the hound back onto the back of the bakkie and grumble to you about "These bleddy f@£$ing dawgs never learn". The farmer won't feel any sympathy for his hound and a well trained Jack Russell won't look for go looking for it, either.
To be honest I didn't go chasing any proverbial porcupines down their holes this last week or weekend. Jack Russells are just gees animals and deserve a mention
The weekend kicked off with a South African (myself), a German, a Korean, a Korean-American and another Korean-American being led by Eric the Korean. The plan was to summit Surisan's highest point, which is a staggering 488m. I laughed in the beginning, too, until I saw what kind of gradient the hill had. The landscape here is a lot like a bell curve - there's plenty of flatland all about the place, and then out of nowhere a steep ridge appears. As I ascended what was a supposedly simple and straightforward process turned into a near-vertical ropes-course. It was a moer of an enjoyable hike and it was helluva gees at the top. The excursion lasted five hours. The pastime of hiking is a popular one among Koreans, and even the geriatric crowd will make regular trips to the peaks of the country's various bell-curve type mountains. I passed a few on the way to Surisan's peak. These Korean ballies (the 'older' crowd) have the spirit of the Jack Russell well into their later years, it seems.
We celebrated the outing with a seafood buffet at a restaurant whose name escapes me (my Korean is barely basic). Mussels, prawns, baby octopus and crab were consumed in large quantities. The meal didn't go down too badly with a beer, and when I offered some of my beverage to Bart the German he declined saying, "Korean beer isn't beer" and proceeded to tell the table about how good every German's work ethic is. While he rambled about the proud and industrious German nation I simply thought to myself This beer's alright. Stereotypes aside, Bart was a pretty chilled oak. One train-ride later I was in Itaewon for a bit of live music at 'All That Jazz'.
Sunday came around and I did a little bit of urban exploring and generally aimless meandering. I did get a little lost. It wasn't so bad.
To be honest I didn't go chasing any proverbial porcupines down their holes this last week or weekend. Jack Russells are just gees animals and deserve a mention
The weekend kicked off with a South African (myself), a German, a Korean, a Korean-American and another Korean-American being led by Eric the Korean. The plan was to summit Surisan's highest point, which is a staggering 488m. I laughed in the beginning, too, until I saw what kind of gradient the hill had. The landscape here is a lot like a bell curve - there's plenty of flatland all about the place, and then out of nowhere a steep ridge appears. As I ascended what was a supposedly simple and straightforward process turned into a near-vertical ropes-course. It was a moer of an enjoyable hike and it was helluva gees at the top. The excursion lasted five hours. The pastime of hiking is a popular one among Koreans, and even the geriatric crowd will make regular trips to the peaks of the country's various bell-curve type mountains. I passed a few on the way to Surisan's peak. These Korean ballies (the 'older' crowd) have the spirit of the Jack Russell well into their later years, it seems.
We celebrated the outing with a seafood buffet at a restaurant whose name escapes me (my Korean is barely basic). Mussels, prawns, baby octopus and crab were consumed in large quantities. The meal didn't go down too badly with a beer, and when I offered some of my beverage to Bart the German he declined saying, "Korean beer isn't beer" and proceeded to tell the table about how good every German's work ethic is. While he rambled about the proud and industrious German nation I simply thought to myself This beer's alright. Stereotypes aside, Bart was a pretty chilled oak. One train-ride later I was in Itaewon for a bit of live music at 'All That Jazz'.
Sunday came around and I did a little bit of urban exploring and generally aimless meandering. I did get a little lost. It wasn't so bad.
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