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Climate Change

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For several weeks after our arrival in Korea in July, the weather was quite consistently steamy and hot, changing little.  Whether rain or shine, the humidity was unrelenting. 
But on September 1st, it seemed to shift, with cooler and dryer evenings, and a different feel to the air.  The crickets and cicadas changed tune as well.  By now it is downright chilly at dawn, and wonderful warm weather at mid-day.  I suppose autumn and winter are coming -- this has been a clear change, something different from the New York back-and-forth up-and-down temperature swings.

Our weekend at the staff retreat, at Taejeon Beach Association cabins, was just in time.  We caught the warm sun and warm water, for a truly restful weekend.   I swam at two quite different beaches-- one open to the mild waves, a very public beach with lifeguards and snack shacks and rental boats; the other, just around the point, in a sheltered bay with no waves, few people.    Unfortunately we had to depart early, in order to get back to Seoul to receive our shipment of boxes from Saudi.  We walked in to the beach town, took a taxi to Taejeon train station, and bought standing-room tickets (it was Sunday afternoon, after all!) on the 2-hour train back to Yongsan Station.  As it turned out, we sat for the first 30 minutes and last 10 minutes of the ride; everything was quite calm and civil, despite the crowds.  We appreciate the calm and civility.

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