8 Seasons in the Land of the Morning Calm

Fall has officially arrived. The signs are everywhere. The stores are overflowing with squash, children wear brand new jackets and sweaters, women wander the park in cardigans and wool pants, and the leaves begin wiggling into shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. Reflection of memorial in 5.18 park On my daily walks through the park I enjoy the smells of autumn under a continually clearing sky intermittently cloudy and full of sun. On these walks, I find myself scratching my head . . . "How can they wear sweaters and knit caps when it's 79 degrees outside?!" It is officially autumn by any calendar's standards, but by my estimates, it isn't yet cold. While temperatures at night are dipping into the upper 60's, the days are still bright and warmer-than-cardigan-weather. As I scratch my head, the Koreans likewise scratch their heads about me. "How can she wear a t-shirt in this balmy weather?" You say "po-tay-toe", i

October 2nd. Alex and I will be competing in a regional KumDo tournament as part of our school team. Along with six other students, we will be performing a form exercise. In preparation we have been training 6 days a week, with the bruises to prove it! Last year the students from our school won in the team form division. I hope we can do the same this year. The Weigh-In. For registration, Master Lee had to take our weight. For many in the class this seemed like a judgement (the girls especially growing moody), but I was very curious having not seen a scale in some time. As it turns out, eating smaller portions and exercising does help with weight loss. While Alex didn't actually lose any weight, he did lose inches. We already knew this, though. We are going pants shopping this weekend, because none of the pants he came with fit him anymore. I, on the other hand, have dropped 15 pounds! I do not attribute the loss solely to martial arts. I see more of a benefit comi

    When you want to be out, but also be nowhere in particular, go mart-sitting.  That's what we call it anyway. Mart-sitting can happen wherever you find a little convenience store that supplies tables outside.    It's most commonly used by schoolkids for snacks, for cheap, relaxing beers by us adults, or for a quick meal of ramyon, hardboiled egg, or samgak (seaweed wrapped rice triangles with fillings).     

Here are the long-awaited photos of our living space. . . we cleaned and it was sunny.  Hard to find a better photo-op. The kitchen, living room, and study in one picture A clearer shot of our "study" which consists of a computer desk, fish tank, books, and usually a chair. also included in the photograph, Alex's bike. The other half of the "palace" as seen from the kitchen.  Bathroom's on the left. The bedroom, and our Paul Bunyon size bed.

More photos of the edges of Hurricane Nabi.  Some pics of the interesting cloud formations covered the city for an afternoon.  

Entering September a calm has crept into a2's apartment.  With my return to writing life, our tiny place is starting to look downright homey.  A space this small is easily overwhelmed with laundry, dishes, paper, etc. through July and August, it has seen its worst.  Thankfully, quality of life is on the rise with the addition of houseplants and fish.  It's been difficult to re-establish a writing routine after being away.  These first couple of weeks back in the fold will be devoted to finding a schedule that works.  I'm optimistic, actually envisioning more than one project finding a place in the mess of things.  Thanks for the continued encouragement (especially from Mr. Gladden). As for Korea, the fall is near arrival, foreshadowed by a clearing of the skies and high visibility.  The horizons have been amazing; bright blue days, starry-dark nights. the temperatures are still hovering in the mid-80's, but humidity is down. the evening cool is ushered around the

We are in the shadow of Typhoon Nabi ( Nabi means Butterfly in Korean ). The typhoon made landfall in Kyushu (Japan) this morning where 47,000 homes had to be evacuated. Last night winds were picking up substantially, but Nabi is breaking northeast losing strength as she passes over the cooler waters in the straits between Japan and Korea. The Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) has issued flood/thunderstorm warnings, and we are expected to get quite a bit of rain. Mild compared to the beating Japan is taking right now. To our worried parents . . . don't. The weather is actually downright pleasant, and we've yet to see the rain that has been predicted. Most of the weather is expected within the next 24 hours, and in all actuality, will probably be a lot tamer than predicted. Typhoon Nabi's Edge moving over the city.