The Rain is Upon Us

The rainy season supposedly started a few weeks ago here in Korea, but had hardly anything to show for itself--until yesterday. For the first time in a while, I decided to stay in Jinju for the weekend for a little R&R. I woke up early Saturday to sounds of thunder and torrential sounding rain outside, the latter of which didn't let up until sometime in the middle of Saturday night. Now, Sunday morning, though overcast, the skies are bright and the streets are drying. Yet, the forecast still calls for rain and thunderstorms...

I couldn't think of a better way to spend a dark, rainy day than in a new little cafe with some friends and a few puzzles before browsing the local bookstore? It's strange--I never realized that I missed the rain (and never would have expected it), but there was something comforting about the darkness that overtook the day, getting wet and sticky, and, of course, the sound of heavy raindrops falling all day long. Perhaps it is the Oregonian in me ;)

The cafe, Kitchen Suomi, owned by a young woman, was playing music by Mediaevil Baebes, an all-female group who create beautiful medieval sounding music and sing in over fifteen languages. It may sound odd, but their music is beautiful; I haven't stopped listening to it the entire weekend... Check it out on youtube if you feel so inclined.

On an unrelated note, I have been neglectful to my writing. As usual, no surprises there. It's been a busy spring over here in the Pearl City. I've taken on things this year that I didn't last year, spending some weeks taking Korean classes in the evenings and doing some one-on-one tutoring in my free time, among other things. Life has always felt busy in Korea, but this spring it reached a whole new level of busy. Things should settle down after summer vacation, though. Then again, my next plan is to spend my evenings taking Taekwando classes until I leave Korea, so maybe not...

I shall try to be more attentive for the duration of my five months in Korea... :)