Weather Update
It's back over 50 degrees and sunny: not an ounce of snow to be seen anywhere. You'd think those pictures we took were a joke. In Gunsan, on the sea, this is apparently how it goes: cold air will blow through, followed by warm air, etc., and though it snows a lot here (apparently more than anywhere else in Korea), the locals say it usually melts within a day.
More weather
In Chungju it was below freezing yesterday, but today was fairly warm. I knew that this was so the minute I looked out my window in the morning because there was nothing there. The fog was so thick that I had difficulty crossing streets because I couldn't see the walk light; when I arrived at work, the blankness beyond the windows suggested that Chungju Middle School had been transported to an empty dimension and that I and the other teachers were the only humans left in the universe.
And then at around 9:00 the sun made it up over the mountains and all the fog vanished in less than ten minutes.
(The locals tell me that it was never foggy here before the dam created Chungju Lake, so strangely enough the phenomenon I witnessed was man-made.)
do they have skiing in Korea?
So, do they have skiing anywhere (or is it virtual, like golf)?
I've decided I must post every time Matthew does, to make an impression and to keep up. Which will be hard - who can keep pace with Matthew?
And Matthew (oh, no, you might answer, and then I will need to post again), do you wear long sleeves and long pants in Korea? Is that for the image (Koreans don't wear shorts & short sleeves all winter?) or because you have changed?
Shorts and Skiing
Alas, Koreans do not wear shorts at all. When I hinted to one of my co-teachers that next summer (when it's 90 degrees and the humidity is at 100%) I might wear some nice shorts in public, she reacted as if I'd informed her I was going to go about in nothing but my underwear. So I've just been wearing my shorts in my room, and long pants elsewhere. As for shirts, I've got a mix of long- and short-sleeved dress shirts, and right now it's cold enough that I'm comfortable in my long-sleeved shirts. The Koreans, of course, are bundled up in huge fur-lined jackets in the classroom and keep on telling me that I must be cold.
As for skiing, I'm right next to a skii area! It's dirt cheap (like most things here) and one of my Chungju acquaintances goes there every weekend in the winter, so I'm looking forward to the beginning of the season.
admirable cultural adaptation
Well, Matthew, I have to hand it to you for your excellent cultural adaptation, for after all, what would people think if you were going around in just your underwear (figuratively or literally)?
I hope you (and Jordan & Marisa) get to ski this winter. When's skiing season? We may need to try to plan our (hoped for) visit around that. :-)