The Rainy Season

It's the rainy season.

That's what our Korean friends and students have been telling us since early June. Multiple sources informed us that the rainy season was precisely between the last week of June and the second week of July. Well, after waiting patiently, and quite disappointedly, it finally rained...about ten days ago. That was sometime around July 10th, which, if you think about it, that was almost at the end of the rainy season.


Once it rained and we believed all the talk about "the rainy season", it came with a bang. Actually, with a splash. Since we've been in Korea, it has only rained and/or snowed about a dozen times, which isn't much for 8 months. That was until the rainy season. Now, when it rains, it rains for an entire day. And sometimes through the night, too. When it's windy, the umbrellas decide to invert and collect rain, rather than shelter us from it. Suprisingly, only one has broken so far. We've even been soaked a couple of times just waiting for a taxi so we don't get soaked walking to work.

Everyone has an umbrella during the rainy season. Don't be fooled, though, and think that people carry them around simply for the sake of being prepared for the torrential rainy season rain. Most women, particularly those over 40, are often seen carrying what I like to call a sunbrella, which is used to keep the sun off the face, and, occasionally--if the holder is not wearing long sleeves--off of the arms. These are quite different from the traditional umbrella, usually lacy, flowery, and dainty looking. Of course, the one picture I snuck of a sunbrella in use happens to look just like your typical, rainy day umbrella, black and practical. Except, it just isn't.

So, what the rainy season means for us is a lot of reading, soggy pant legs, and even more appreciation for the sunny days at the park. Without an umbrella.