8 Seasons in the Land of the Morning Calm

A fall day on Mudeungsan.        

Foliage in our neighborhood park is putting on quite a show.   And one with the photoshop:  

Visiting Master Cheon and the USA Taekwondo team in Ulsan, Gyeongsangnm-Do.   Dusk at the water's edge. Master Cheon and Alex. Drying fish on the beach.  Dusk/Moonrise Stunning moonrise

By the time the award ceremony rolled around at 3:30 in the afternoon, all of us had been up and in uniform for about nine hours. Several kids (7-14 years old) smacked the sleep from their eyes with steaming cups of coffee, and were tearing around the gymnasium floor oblivious to the honors and accolades being carefully bestowed to the days' champions. From our small area of the floor the scene wasn't any different. Students, too tired to sit at attention, leaned awkwardly on one another half awake, some slumped in disappointment, others nervously anticipating results. During the award ceremony my mind wandered through the day which felt stretched cellophane thin. The damn alarm clock taunting us at 5:45 AM after a brief five hours of rest, a shower and bowl of ramyon before our half an hour walk to the school, and the beginning of a long wait. Hour upon unexaggerated hour of waiting. Why so much waiting? In a regional tournament there are 20+ schools with many, many ...

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 ...