Lost in transit

Children?

Today was Children's Day here in Korea. Thursday is Buddha's Birthday, another national holiday, which makes this a more-than-normally beery week for me.

/me rejoices a bit.

They have a lot of these sorts of holidays here - Grandparents' Day and Teachers' Day and Wounded Chinese Food Motorcyle Delivery Guys' Day. The university where I teach honors each and every one of them. I love my university.

By a happy coincidence today was also one of those rare days when the blanket of Seoul smog parted long enough to show some deep blue, and I celebrated by dragging a chair up onto the roof of my low-rise and basking. Women occasionally emerged onto the roofs of nearby buildings, did double takes, dropped whatever they were carrying and scurried back indoors, but I'm used to the shock-and-gawk reaction even when I'm fully clothed, so this was nothing particularly new, for me at least.

What was strange though, was the complete absence of children, today, on, you know, Children's Day. Any other day, the alleys ring with the shrieks and shouts of the little bastards sweethearts, all day and late late into the night.

Today - nothing. I don't know where they've been shipped off to, but I'm hoping this is permanent.

Man, it's quiet. Too quiet.

/me rejoices, nervously.

Posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at May 5, 2003 10:54 AM