On my phone, when working properly, the first screen tells me what it thinks the weather should be doing. Where I am this often means cloudy with the temperature.
Yesterday, however, was a lovely "thundery storm" day. At a point early in the evening it grew darker than normal. Then flashes of lightning started filling up the sky. Eventually the thunder came and it grew louder each time for about 30 minutes and then was a steady loud for about another 30 more.
I've always loved a thunder storm. I especially like to see bolts of lightning flash across the sky. I probably get this from my father; I remember him going to the garage and opening the door to watch the celestial show. He would often have me go inside where it was safer. Sometimes I wonder if he didn't just want to enjoy it alone. In those cases, I would just go to my bedroom and watch from there.
Keep in mind, I'm not always a huge fan when I have to walk through a thunder storm to get to work.
I guess I have noticed the thunder and lightning a lot more since leaving Korea. For 3 years I don't think I ever heard thunder. There was plenty of rain, to be sure, but nothing by way of a real crack of thunder. I suppose it's one of those things I didn't realize I would miss until I didn't have it anymore.
Here, these storms can be powerful. Even on the 7th floor, occasionally I can feel a weak vibration. I can look out and the sky is a beautiful light show, flashing above all the buildings in the area at different times. To make them all the more real (and at times annoying) the louder bits of thunder will set off all the car alarms and scooter alarms. The hall lights for some buildings will turn on as well, and it is light an echo of the lightning being shown in the buildings across the way. In the evening, this can be a wonderful experience. In the middle of the night when I'm trying to sleep...not so much.
I have enjoyed this aspect of my life here, and I hope to keep that joy and keep it from being placed by annoyance.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
First day of school
Today was the first day of school. Not for me, or my students, as we started a week ago. Today was the first day of school for the elementary street across from my apartment.
What does this mean to me? Let's take a look at the difference a week can make.
A week ago my commute, consisting of a 35 minute walk, began by going in the convenience store, grabbing a juice and a pastry, paying for it and on my way outside the walls of my gated community in about 2 minutes. I walked along a fairly empty sidewalk and crossed the street. Again, maybe 2 minutes depending on how the street lights were treating me that day.
This morning I walked out the front door to see children all around the courtyard, wearing their standard blue for boys and pink for girls. Both, when in full uniform have scarves. Either sex can wear track pants with a white strip down them. I've seen girls wearing black skirts, and boys wearing various shorts so I'm not sure how strict that rule is. Maybe it isn't a rule. Regardless, the pink and blue polo shirts alerted my mental clock, which told me this must be the first day of school. The convenience store with its narrow shelves can be a little difficult to maneuver anyway, but now there were school children and parents to get around. This took 5 minutes. Once outside the door I was greeted with a sea of pink and blue in front of me. Remember that this is a primary school, so parents are outside the gate saying good-bye to their young ones and filming them and taking pictures. Vehicles dropping the children off pack what was a relatively quiet street at the same time one week earlier. Luckily this only delays me a minute or two. Believe me, it can be worse. A professional video camera is filming, possibly to get stock footage for a news report.
On the way home a week ago I came near my apartment building to a moderate flow of foot traffic. The local shops were mostly empty. It was pretty much uneventful.
Today? I felt like a misguided fish swimming against the school. Two blocks from my apartment I was having the students in their myriad uniforms of pink and blue, their parents, and their grandparents dividing and reforming around me. Learning centers of all kinds have taken the opportunity to send employees out with flyers to hand to parents and try to talk to people. This this adds to the congestion on the sidewalk. Small temporary stalls promoting the same learning centers, selling odds and ends, cooking food had arrived and decreased the amount of walkable sidewalk yet again. They would all be gone about ten minutes after the children stopped buying and went home. The tiny stationery shop, normally empty at that time, had a line to get in. Convenience stores suddenly had a new shipment of stationery items that they could not be contained in already existent shelving. On wanting to buy a large bottle of water from the local convenience store, I entered to the crowd of pink and blue. An employee was standing on a chair to monitor the goings on and keep an eye on all the children. I gave up the idea of the water, figuring it would just be easier later. (note: it was)
Was I angry that my world had become so much more complicated and crowded? Not at all. As an educator it feels wonderful to see all those children, and parents, excited for school to start again. As a person I can remember that excitement I felt at the first day of school, and I appreciate the nostalgia seeing the children today brought about.
What does this mean to me? Let's take a look at the difference a week can make.
A week ago my commute, consisting of a 35 minute walk, began by going in the convenience store, grabbing a juice and a pastry, paying for it and on my way outside the walls of my gated community in about 2 minutes. I walked along a fairly empty sidewalk and crossed the street. Again, maybe 2 minutes depending on how the street lights were treating me that day.
This morning I walked out the front door to see children all around the courtyard, wearing their standard blue for boys and pink for girls. Both, when in full uniform have scarves. Either sex can wear track pants with a white strip down them. I've seen girls wearing black skirts, and boys wearing various shorts so I'm not sure how strict that rule is. Maybe it isn't a rule. Regardless, the pink and blue polo shirts alerted my mental clock, which told me this must be the first day of school. The convenience store with its narrow shelves can be a little difficult to maneuver anyway, but now there were school children and parents to get around. This took 5 minutes. Once outside the door I was greeted with a sea of pink and blue in front of me. Remember that this is a primary school, so parents are outside the gate saying good-bye to their young ones and filming them and taking pictures. Vehicles dropping the children off pack what was a relatively quiet street at the same time one week earlier. Luckily this only delays me a minute or two. Believe me, it can be worse. A professional video camera is filming, possibly to get stock footage for a news report.
On the way home a week ago I came near my apartment building to a moderate flow of foot traffic. The local shops were mostly empty. It was pretty much uneventful.
Today? I felt like a misguided fish swimming against the school. Two blocks from my apartment I was having the students in their myriad uniforms of pink and blue, their parents, and their grandparents dividing and reforming around me. Learning centers of all kinds have taken the opportunity to send employees out with flyers to hand to parents and try to talk to people. This this adds to the congestion on the sidewalk. Small temporary stalls promoting the same learning centers, selling odds and ends, cooking food had arrived and decreased the amount of walkable sidewalk yet again. They would all be gone about ten minutes after the children stopped buying and went home. The tiny stationery shop, normally empty at that time, had a line to get in. Convenience stores suddenly had a new shipment of stationery items that they could not be contained in already existent shelving. On wanting to buy a large bottle of water from the local convenience store, I entered to the crowd of pink and blue. An employee was standing on a chair to monitor the goings on and keep an eye on all the children. I gave up the idea of the water, figuring it would just be easier later. (note: it was)
Was I angry that my world had become so much more complicated and crowded? Not at all. As an educator it feels wonderful to see all those children, and parents, excited for school to start again. As a person I can remember that excitement I felt at the first day of school, and I appreciate the nostalgia seeing the children today brought about.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Sorry for the delay...
Yes, sorry for the delay. I seem to, for the moment, have things back in hand. It has been a long ride of technical issues, but here I am writing to you again. Technically, this site doesn't exist where I live. It took the leap of faith to ask online, the kindness of a random stranger, and the extreme patience and kindness of a good friend to get this going again. On top of that, I think my poor 6 year-old laptop has hit the point where it just can't quite cope anymore. That's caused more headaches and heartaches as this blog is concerned than should be. (sadly, or perhaps happily, expect a blog about looking for a new computer in the future)
Either way, things appear to running semi-smoothly at the moment, so expect updates a bit more frequently than the bi-monthly standard thus far. =)
Either way, things appear to running semi-smoothly at the moment, so expect updates a bit more frequently than the bi-monthly standard thus far. =)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Getting Ready to Go
I am on my way to live in China. As always, for me, leaving a place is a mad rush of things to do. Usually, as is the case now, about 90% of those things should have been done already (or at least could have). Starting this blog is one of those things. I have been thinking about this for a while. As with many things, though, unless something feels real to me I have very little motivation. My visa is on the way and the plane ticket has been bought. Now it feels real.
That means the rush of packing. Realizing I've packed too much. Repacking. Giving stuff away. Getting rid of other stuff. Saying good-bye...again, but this time for real. Cleaning. Finding something I forgot I needed to pack. Choosing between what I really need to take with me, what I want to take with me, and what will be left behind. Getting things done on my list of items that should be handled before leaving, with its many additions as I think of something else. Continually checking email, Facebook (which I won't be able to soon), rechecking them despite the fact that there are a ton of things to. Wondering how I could have acquired so many things, wondering how I will start a new life without them. Things not thought of previously interrupting whatever I happen to be doing, as those things need to be done during business hours. Staring at my room, wondering how I will get it all done in time. Thinking over and over that whatever I happen to be doing could have been done before. Feeling excited, trying to hold on to that feeling as the apartment that has been my home for 3 years becomes more empty and its comforts disappear.
Going to a new place to live is frustrating as I will have to buy all those simple things like pans and sheets all over again. It is hectic, partly my fault (read above) and partly my situation, which I will be writing about later. There are extra expenses, extra inconveniences, and a destruction of any sort of comfort zone and certainty that I will know what I am doing each day.
With all of those things will come the excitement of being in a new place. I will get to experience the joys, and disappointments, of new foods. I will make new friends, see new things, and learn about a new culture. I will have photos and stories to share. These are the things that make this lifestyle worth living.
That means the rush of packing. Realizing I've packed too much. Repacking. Giving stuff away. Getting rid of other stuff. Saying good-bye...again, but this time for real. Cleaning. Finding something I forgot I needed to pack. Choosing between what I really need to take with me, what I want to take with me, and what will be left behind. Getting things done on my list of items that should be handled before leaving, with its many additions as I think of something else. Continually checking email, Facebook (which I won't be able to soon), rechecking them despite the fact that there are a ton of things to. Wondering how I could have acquired so many things, wondering how I will start a new life without them. Things not thought of previously interrupting whatever I happen to be doing, as those things need to be done during business hours. Staring at my room, wondering how I will get it all done in time. Thinking over and over that whatever I happen to be doing could have been done before. Feeling excited, trying to hold on to that feeling as the apartment that has been my home for 3 years becomes more empty and its comforts disappear.
Going to a new place to live is frustrating as I will have to buy all those simple things like pans and sheets all over again. It is hectic, partly my fault (read above) and partly my situation, which I will be writing about later. There are extra expenses, extra inconveniences, and a destruction of any sort of comfort zone and certainty that I will know what I am doing each day.
With all of those things will come the excitement of being in a new place. I will get to experience the joys, and disappointments, of new foods. I will make new friends, see new things, and learn about a new culture. I will have photos and stories to share. These are the things that make this lifestyle worth living.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)