Settling in

It has been an eventful week, so today has been a wonderfully lazy, sleep-in Sunday. A load of laundry quietly grinds behind the growling blues of Tom Waits while I type and Alex paints. tTe world outside our open windows is hushed. We are enjoying the stillness, so I will stop typing about it.

A surefire way to ruin tranquility is to notice it, and any moment now the neighbors upstairs will start with their obnoxiously loud sex thus waking the baby next door whose mother has decided the remedy to an upset child is frying meat and turning on all available lights.  It’s pretty humorous, the domino effect of sounds around our corner of the building.  After the baby’s meat-fry comes a series of slamming windows that trigger yapping-squeaks from tiny dogs which in turn wakes their owners (more lights).  The yapping-squeaks turn into yelps as the football-sized terriers are tossed, bounced or “reasoned” with.  Once awake the dog owners decide a meat-fry or some other sustenance is in order, so they talk loudly rousing their sleepy partners while preparing a midnight snack.  Finally, the men step outside for a cigarette or a deep, meaningful spit before retiring to a full-stomach sleep.  There is a natural rhythm here, but it definitely isn’t always a spiritual thing.  Although I did see a little granny blow a tremendous snot-rocket. That’s an image that makes a profound impression.

I was invited to help chaperone a fieldtrip to Gwangju’s Coca-Cola Factory on Friday. it was a fun opportunity to see Alex interact with his students, and I took several pictures of the little monsters.

 

Aaturday morning was an early start. Alex and I spent the better part of the day hiking with friends.  It was wonderful to venture outside the city into the calm landscapes of the Noryang Mountain Range, Damyang Lake and the gentle steppes of rice paddies. The hike was invigorating and challenging requiring careful navigation on ropes and loose rocks that lead to a small temple and wonderful views.

 

 

Saturday night we hit a new part of town, and found ourselves in a resto-hof for beers, fried chicken and soccer. It was like being at the sports’ bar all over, again. We came home and crashed, making way for Sunday, and the beginning of a fresh week.