Jangma = Rainy Season

Rainy season, also called tsahng-ma or jangma (장마 ), started last week. Wow - I haven't seen lots of rain like this ever except for when it flooded in Alexandria, VA! But it's not raining now thank goodness.

Apparently I need to learn how to store food in such weather. I also discovered yesterday morning, Friday school day morning, that I was NOT well-equipped to walk in the river of a street to school. I had on my outdoor shoes and cutsey socks (which are plentiful here) and of course got soaking wet feet because there wasn't any way to avoid it.

I laughed at myself as I watched the two jnr or high school kids ahead of me, in uniform, carrying their outdoor tennis shoes in their hands, and wearing rubber sandals on their feet. Ah - so that's how some do it here! As I passed the corner barbershop, the man there looked at my feet and looked up with a slight smile/laugh on his face. I don't blame him for laughing! I say 'slight' because Koreans don't show lots of expression on their faces. (Maybe this is partly why they don't get as many laughter and wrinkle lines on their faces?)

So I stopped at the cornerstore on my way to school and bought some rubber sandals for $2 (that say "made in Korea") on them, and asked for a plastic bag in which I carefully placed my soaking wet outdoor shoes and drenched socks. The owner chuckled with me about my situation. He of course was already wearing his rubber sandals. He'd been putting out the recycling when I arrived. 

As for my outdoor shoes, they are still wet.

I bought the pink "hippo" boxes. (They have hippos on them. Picture soon.) They're used to cut down on humidity inside. I'll use them when I go on vacation (in two weeks!) so that my apartment doesn't get crazy moldy while I'm gone...

Now to read this:

Humidity and Mould: How to Survive the Korean Rainy Season

A first: Dinner at Korean family's house

A few weekends ago was a first! One of my co-teachers and I were invited to dinner at a Koeran family's house. We had a home-cooked Korean meal at a Korean family's apartment - it was delicious! Their apt was surprisingly American-like. It had a big screen tv, a family/living room with big couch, ottoman, and shelves around the TV with pictures on it, a rack of CDs, and even two piggy banks- one for each child. There were curtains in the windows, and the bathroom had a bath tub like ones in the U.S. 

The student's bedroom had a bed like most American kids wants (kind of like a loft with wooden edge), and lots of books in her room, and a few stuffed animal toys. The parents' bedroom was also very "normal" to what one expects in the U.S. at first glance. (I didn't want to extend my stay in their bedroom to make note of what is different...) 

We dined at a normal dining table in the dining room, just off of the kitchen, in which there was a regular fridge and freezer. One major difference though was the "kimchi" fridge out on the veranda. Kimchi is so strong-smelling that they keep it in a separate fridge!

All for now.  :)