황사

The title means 'Hwang-sa' or Yellow Dust. That's right, bitches, I'm learning 한글 (hangul - that's Korean for all you waygouk). Anyway, I wouldn't say I'm 'learning' in the sense that I'm going to a class, listening to lesson tapes, or some shit like that. I just mean that when I'm bored at school during my planning time I look stuff up in the dictionary and try to make sense of the alphabet. It's actually not that hard once you get a decent grip on what the alphabet means and how it works.

Anyway, about the yellow dust...here's a wikipedia article about what it is. We had a bad storm on Saturday, and we were supposed to have one yesterday, though I didn't really see it. But I've been feeling it. A few weeks ago we had one that lasted a few days, and I was sick for a fortnight... This latest attack has got me feeling bad again. Basically when you breathe in that much crap something bad is going to happen, and I've got the beginnings of what could be another bad cold. To make things worse I've been into Seoul three days straight and the pollution is worse there than it is in Incheon, so that didn't help. And besides, the air is so fricking dry here I wake up every morning with a nose full of boogers so hard they could probably be the cornerstones of these flimsy Korean apartment buildings that go up so fast... That doesn't help things.

I've been going in and out of Seoul, not because I've spontaneously developed a demanding social life, but because I've been trying to round up some books that I want. I joined a book club here, and the next thing we're reading is something called Quarantine, by Jim Crace. It looks interesting. I wanted that and Lonely Planet's guidebook to Korea. Well, long story short, the really cool used-book store in Seoul (http://www.whatthebook.com) keeps small town hours (it closes at 8 - maybe b/c it's on the upslope of Hooker Hill in Itaewon and going up there at night can be a bit trying...unless you want to get laid easily and have 100,000 won to spare) -found that out on Monday-, the enormous Kyobo bookstore in downtown Seoul didn't have what I wanted -found that out yesterday-, but tonight I high-tailed it outta work when the whistle blew and made it to Itaewon by 7:30. I dunno if I really kept that short...

Work continues. Young Hyun burst into tears 2 hours into class today. He was doing fine this morning, but then his mom showed up and he caught a glimpse of her and when we returned to class it was more than he could take. I found out later she was there to talk with Joanne (my Korean co-teacher) and to pick up YH to take him to a 'mental hospital,' to use the parlance of our setting. That's what Joanne said...I think she meant psychiatrist. Anyway, seriously, this is good news. The boy needs help. Not being sarcastic at all...he needs help.

I met his mom briefly. She had a painted face and a plastic smile. It explained a lot. Later in the afternoon a nice bouquet of flowers was delivered to Joanne, from YH's mom. Maybe it was meant for me, too, but I doubt it...at least she knows what a pain her son is.

Not much more to say, so I'll leave you with a picture of a yellow dust cloud hovering near the 63 building in Seoul.