14: The gills are coming in nicely, despite the itch

Since we last met, it's been raining. Not an occasional drizzle, but four straight days of downpour. Today the sun came out. That only made the moisture worse. Heavy humidity is never a pleasant thing. The river is suddenly running very high and very muddy. I was told the rainy season was coming. I didn't put much stock in it. I was told the same thing in Mexico, but it only really rained once (it was torrential, to be sure, but still only one night). I'm told it's supposed to rain fairly heavily for approximately a month. I know I can handle it, that's no problem. I do make Vancouver my home, after all. The rain here doesn't cool things off at all though. It remains very warm, and becomes very wet. It's uncomfortable. As well, it appears that the roof leaks in a few spots, most notably over what looks to be a fuse box. That's a little scary. Nothing bad has happened as yet and all people are aware that should be aware.

Related to the rain are the mosquitoes. No travel log would be complete without some mention of the local mosquitoes. Those here are not large. They're not that plentiful, either. But their bites result in bumps the size of a quarter, or bigger, which stand out from the skin a good half centimeter and itch something terrible. I recommend avoiding the mosquitoes here.

In other recent news, teaching is still plodding along. Friday was no fun. A kid cried again in my class (the same one as last time). He was throwing other kids pencil cases out the window and I made him stop. I don't like making kids cry. Sometimes, teaching is no fun.

Went on a quick hike up a mountain during a break in the rain on Saturday morning. I got some pictures, hopefully they'll turn out and I can get them onto this for you all to see. After that, I went out for dinner with Edward. We were joined by very nice lady by the name of Ivy. The food was a tasty seafood soup. Korea appears to be a seafood lovers dream come true as it is plentiful and cheap. They brought out the soju during the meal. I was far better prepared this time, which only means that I knew what was coming, not that I could avoid it.

I learned during conversations during the meal that in Korea, I would be considered 31 years old. I'm not completely sure how that works, but they assured me it's true. Since I was born in 1974, I'm 31, not 29 like I thought. I left Canada as 29 year old Guy. I'll return as 31 (or maybe even 32 by then) year old Steave. I knew coming to a different country was going to require some adjustments on my part, but I didn't think I'd end up 2 years older with a different name. Who knows, I may even look different when I get back.

Until next time,

Steave