The Weather Effect

I once had a friend tell me that November was the most depressing month of the year. The weather is going downhill and Christmas is still too far away to bring any cheer. I think that the same principal applies halfway around the world. Not that I'm super depressed, but everything does appear to be a bit more...dreary. I'm concerned that the Christmas spirit will not be nearly as potent here. It's true that there is a large Christian representation here, but the Christmas tradition is newer here and could not have been translated perfectly.

Fall is gentle here and the temperature usually fluctuates between 5 and 20 degrees Celsius. This is just dandy, but for the greyness. The sun has not been brightening any faces lately, or waking up the overworked city folk with warm rays through their window. Nope, the sun is exhausted from its hard summer work and is keeping a dull distance. I sense the effect everywhere. There are less people bustling down the street, less people on the bus in the early morning, less people on time for class.

Probably the worst thing yet is that my prediction about Korean weather reactions was accurate. Just as I escaped the wet sauna of Korean summers, virtually all public places (buses, subways, coffee shops, offices) CRANKED their heat. How I loathe standing on the buses as my shirt slowly begins to dampen. So it seems that my fate is to be forever hot in this country.