Well another long weekend just about over. I just relaxed Saturday and Sunday and on Monday I went hiking for about 7 hours. It was 31 degrees and sunny. It's the first time I've been out in the sun for three weeks!! I really hate the rainy season. This rainy season was the wettest in 33 years. I'm sure glad it's over. Usually August is hot and sunny with only a little rain. I didn't see too much today, but is was nice to get some fresh air. Only two more weeks and I have another long weekend. I can't wait!!! Next one is a four day weekend...

Well I got up this morning and decided to go for a bit of a hike. I headed off to Incheon grand park again. I'm really getting sick of going there, but it's the only bit of forest in the area. I hiked around for about 6 hours and took a few photos. I've been looking to take some pictures of vipers for the last five years, but I've never been able to find any, until today. I was walking along a grassy trail when I happened to look down, there next to my foot was a common viper. As many of you know I have a bit of a fascination with snakes and I'm not scared of them, but seeing that viper made my hair stand on end. I jumped about four feet and turned around to get a photo of it, but it was already heading into the long grass and I wasn't about to grab it. So I still don't have any photos of a viper. I could kick myself in the ass for not being more careful. Most times I have my eye on the ground looking for interesting things, but just when you least expect it something is there. That's the way it goes with nature photography. The only other time a snake gave me a fright, was about 3 years ago. I was climbing over a rock pile and a rat snake over a meter long took a strike at my family jewels. The viper today was small, only a little over a foot. I'm just glad I didn't step on it!! My foot was only 6cm away from it, but it didn't strike. I think their first line of defense is camo. I also noticed that they puff up there body, as a warning. I think you would have to hurt it in order to get it to bit. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Here are a few pics I took a few weeks ago. I'm off for the weekend, but I really don't have any plans. I think I'll just laze around the apartment or go for a walk. Next weekend is another long weekend, so I might go camping, if the weather holds out. There is an island about 70 km off the coast of Incheon that is pretty nice. Its name is Dukjuk island. You can get there in about an hour and a half by high speed ferry. I only have a little over a month left to go at one of my jobs. I'm starting to get pretty excited about that. Also a little sad! The people I work with are great and the students are also very nice. I teach 4 adult classes and those students have become like friends to me. Out of those four class, 2 are free talking classes. We usally pick a topic related to current events in the news at home and abroad. My favorite issue is North Korea. That always gets a good debate going. I make a good devil's advocate. As many of you at home already know. Well I hope you like the pics.

Well this is my first post and I don't have a lot to say. Things are going well here, except for all the rain!! I haven't seen the sun for over a week. Last weekend was a long weekend, but I didn't do much. It rained every day except for a few hours on Sunday. We have had hundreds of mm of rain over the long weekend. There was extensive flooding and landslides in many parts of Korea and 25 people lost there lives in the south. In the north about 100 people died and about 12000 homes were lost. In the south there was also a lot of damage to the infrastructure. Other than that, things are just dandy. I don't live close to any rivers or mountains and I'm 50 meters above sea level. So I think I'm safe? That's if the north doesn't unleash there goods and turn the south into a parking lot. On Sunday I went to Incheon grand park and took a few photos. It was great to go in the rain, for there were few people out. It's a rare thing in South Korea to have a park to yourself. It's more often than not, Packed to the tits.Well here are a few shots I took on Sunday.