The Monsoon

The ominous clouds hanging over one of the local mountains along with a slightly fresher feeling in the air this morning suggested that the promised monsoon season would soon be upon us. Sure enough, in the early evening the heavens opened, quickly turning the road outside into an impromptu river as sheets of rain flew through the air above it. The umbrellas that so many of the local women have taken to using as parasols quickly rediscovered their originally intended use, and men getting home on the bus from work hid using bags where they had them as they sprinted for home.




So we're supposed to have about a month of this before the 'real summer' arrives. Unfortunately, there's no relief inside our apartment where the weather remains extremely hot and stuffy. I noticed the other day that despite the heat outside Korean Mother's apartment on the thirteenth floor was relatively cool - benefiting as it does from the breeze blowing through it from one side of the building to the other. I hope if I find myself here next summer it might be in a place like that, rather than the one-room oven we currently have.