One of the things about city living which differs from small towns is that in the city one generally has two bases of operation, home and work. I was technically supposed to be living within walking distance of the school, but I’ve ended up in the suburbs, a bus-ride away from the school.

This does have the advantage that I get to know two parts of the city whether or not I want to. I spent some time over the weekend walking around the area where I live – although there is far too much of it get to know in just one walk. Today was a light day at work, so I decided to try to get to know the area around the office a little. I work in a business area, on the 5th floor of a building that has a little shop/market (complete with vegetables and fresh fish spilling onto the pavement) on the ground floor. All the other floors seem to be filled with English language academies – private, after-school english teaching schools.

When I first took the bus to work, I was terrified that I would miss the stop and end up completely lost in a strange city. I’d only seen the place once and the building is not all that different from the many other neon-lit buildings around it, so the fear wasn’t completely unreasonable. Luckily there is one VERY distinctive building – The Fashion Exchange.

Daegu is apparently famous for it’s fashion industry and is described in the guide book as ‘the self-proclaimed capital of Korean fashion’.The Fashion Exchange is an experience all on it’s own. Many, many of the buildings in this city are lit up with bright neon signs in garish colours. This building is a multi-story, rectangular building that is covered on all sides with round things that look a little like the inside of tyres, under glass. Or thick plastic of some sort. These rings are actually lights and the show starts when it gets dark and each of the rings lights up. They start out white, which is pretty spectacular to begin with. And then the whole lot of them start to change colour. And sometimes some of them switch between colours, so that the building flashes between different colours in a wild lights show. Combined with the Korean pop and the icy blasts of air-conditioned air flowing from the doors, the place is something like a whole-building disco, on the outside at least.

The bus stop is directly outside the Fashion Exchange, so there will be plenty of time to enjoy the strangeness of it while I’m waiting for buses in the evening. Between the bus stop and the school (about a block) is a fascinating variety of shops. These include ‘Colon Sports’ and an ‘Athlete’s Foot’, as well as a ‘North Face’ I’m sure I’ll be patronising once winter gets a little cooler. This strip, on either side of the road, and a little further on the other side of the school, also includes an interesting range of Golf shops – like Elle Golf. They seem to be ladies golfing clothes shops. A new one on me.

On the pavements around these shops are sellers of vegetables. They sit, little old ladies and men, in clusters, sorting their herbs and vegetables, and rearranging things and tidying up, and chatting and laughing in the evening light. There is a fish-monger on the pavement, too. In fact, between the fish monger on one side and the vegetables on the other, I glimpsed what I think might be a larger, covered market, beckoning with new and exciting smells and tastes. I will have to explore further some time soon.

Tonight is the first night I’ve taken the bus home. On most nights, I finish after 11pm, by which time the buses have apparently stopped running, so someone from the school gives me a lift home. But today I finished before 9pm. I wandered up the road to the bus-stop and waited with everyone else for the bus. I’m still starting to get used to the idea that the streets and buses are as busy here in the evenings as they are during the day. There are even school children, in school uniform, catching buses and walking along roads at 9 in the evening. When I got off the bus in my neighbourhood, I found myself walking along pavements even more full of people and street-vendors and vegetable sellers than in the afternoon.

I also found the Starbucks. Not that I’m enamoured of the idea of Starbucks, but always good to prove the guidebook’s prophecies of ‘a Starbucks on every corner’ right. I was also feeling peckish, so I even wandered into the KFC but I have to admit that the advert near the door for a shrimp-zinger burger scared me off a little. I skipped the chicken (or shrimp) and headed home, only stopping at the little cafe/supermarket on the corner near my flat for some essentials on the way.

It’s definitely going to take me a while to get used to the idea that it is perfectly safe to walk alone at night but knowing that everyone else – from school children to old ladies – is also out and about helps. Even if I do still constantly pay attention to everyone else on the road and make a point of keeping a firm hold on my bag.