Korean Thanksgiving

This week is Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, vacation time. The dates change every year, and sometimes every one feels ripped off, especially when the holidays (it's a 3-day stretch) fall on Sat./Sun./Mon., for example. Last year was like that. This year, however, is the best possible scenario: the holidays fall on Tues./Wed./Thurs., so many schools and businesses, like my academy, also have taken Mon. and Fri. off, so we have a 9-day stretch. Cool!

I left Seoul early Sat. morning in order to be any traffic (there is a massive exodus out of Seoul as people return to their hometowns, typically to their parents' grandparents' houses; it's been reported that 400,000 vehicles, carrying several million people, will leave Seoul in a 1-2 day period).

I went to the beach on Sat. (where I was the only person swimming. Korean "beach season" is over, so nobody swims. But the day was hot and the water was nice, so I dove right in. Crazy foreigner.)

I'm staying with a friend on the east coast; his Korean wife recently went to England to do a 1-year M.A. program in English/teacher education.

When I get back to my place I will post some pics . . .

Fireworks

"Where are the fireworks?"

"They're over there, next to the microwave rice and instant noodles."

Thanks!"

Neighborhood Dryin'

Grilling Dinner in a Restaurant

The Artificial Harbour

A Gangneung project for the last five years or so.

Someboy Got Married

Somebody got married, and apparently somebody's daddy was rich and gave them a nice, new car . . .

Still Raining

It's September 1st and still raining almost every day. I can't remember this happening before, and I've been in Korea for several years. Usually the rainy season ends by mid-August.

The forecast for the next 10 days shows one day with a 20 % chance of rain; the rest of the days are all 60-90 %. So it's gonna keep raining for a while.

Sometimes I wonder if I did something to piss off Mother Nature.

Or maybe the North Koreans are seeding the skies/cloud, hoping to cause a deluge that will flood the South.

But that can't be true, because they flood the South anyways, sometimes adding landmines (unintentionally or not) to the released rainwater.

I always carry a mini umbrella in my backpack. That's kind of sad:(

It's also still hot (and, of course, humid), though the heat shows some signs of abating, at least at night.

Sigh.