today seoul got its first snow of the year. there was a flutter of snow this morning, but in the afternoon the snow came down steadily for about an hour. i got a few text messages from friends who were excited about the snow … i took a few photos from my office window, but i don’t expect anything decent from the shots.

last year i saw the first decent snow at the end of october … however this year has been unusually warm right up until last weekend. on monday the weather dropped through the floor and it’s been freezing cold. followed quickly by the first snow of the season.

… it’s gonna be a chilly winter. rubber chicken better be prepared or he’s gonna freeze his arse off!

the socceroos claimed all three points with a late victory over bahrain last night. the aussie team traveled to bahrain determined to continue their unbeaten run in the world cup qualifying group. despite missing a few big names, the socceroos were favourites to win the match.

both teams had chances to win the game, however thanks to good work by aussie keeper mark schwarzer, the hosts remained goalless. bresciano scored late in the game to secure the win.

australia remains on top of group b. japan is second after their win. in group a, south korea beat saudi arabia for the first time in nineteen years to go top of their group. the koreans were helped in their cause by iran who could only manage a draw against uae.

all national teams take a break until next february.

i sometimes find interesting photos in korea … not as many as i would like to see, considering the number of koreans who carry expensive cameras. anyway, i came across a photographer who goes by the name of rapa nui. for those not in the know, rapa nui is the polynesian name for easter island, which is in the middle of the pacific ocean and belongs to chile.

i’m not sure where this shot was taken (i’ll go back to the korean page and find out where it was shot). however the image is a great photo and is the kind of photo i like taking … turning a photographer into the subject. i don’t know if he knew the photographer in the photo, but it’s clear that the subject was brave enough to risk the water in the reservoir, and his camera, to get those shots of the women enjoying their conversation.

the main reason why i like this shot, however, is because it makes me think about my own travels. i would probably never think to actually get into the water and take these women’s photo. it made me realise that during a trip like mine, i shouldn’t really waste the opportunity by not taking a few risks … i gotta get my feet wet!! lol

the original photo is from naver’s photo portal, here …

there’s a bit of a story behind this photo. my students and i went for coffee on friday. we decided to go to dunkin donuts, enjoy some coffee and talk. while there, i drank my coffee and under the lid was a prize token. the prize was for a small trash can which looks like a dunkin donuts coffee cup. we had some fun with the trash can, taking pictures and pretending it was a real coffee cup.