Tuesday, September 18, 2007

You're so Naughty (Nari)!!!

Yes, I know that Kyle posted a much better title referring to Typhoon Nari that we experienced this past Sunday... But I don' care... I had to have something... Give me a break.
Ok, so yes... we had a typhoon this past Sunday on our glorious Jeju Island... And as I write this, the weather is perfect: sun shining, wonderful breeze, a few clouds in the sky...
It's funny because that is EXACTLY how the weather was directly after the typhoon rattled our little Island.
I'll spare you much of the detail, since Kyle perfectly described our experience... I must say though that we were in fact, VERY lucky that we were on the 9th floor of our apartment building that was just uphill from a major destruction site. And I want to thank our lovely neighbor Amanda, (who might never read this, but that's ok) who threw an amazing typhoon feast/party... If not for her, I would have gone crazy with boredom while Kyle and the boys went out in the storm... Idiots. J/k.
Even though we've gone on and on about this typhoon and that is was scary and what not... the scariest part about it was the aftermath of it all.... First, you have to understand that Jeju is probably a little bigger than Galveston Island... That being said, it shocked me that reports say 7 people died because of the storm and 10 people are still missing... That's some scary shit.
If that's not bad enough, you can't even imagine the inconveniences a typhoon will cause and it was only a category 2... Ok, maybe you can... Think of Katrina, right? .... Nari was like Katrina's sweet new born baby sister... yeah.
I think the biggest thing I've seen/realized from this ordeal is this: I AM SO LUCKY. It amazes that only when I go to another country, even one that is pretty developed, that my eyes are opened and I realize how fucking good Americans have it. We are granted with such conveniences, such small, yet fantastic luxuries... and they are so incredibly easy to forget and take advantage of.
You wanna know one of the things I miss the most?? .... CVS pharmacies!!! There is no where to go here to pick up a bottle of Tylenol or hand santizer (which I am unfortunately addicted to) at 1 in the morning!! NO WHERE!
It is already hard living here on a normal basis: not understanding what anyone is saying most of the time (thank god for other foreign teachers!!), not having even the smallest conveniences, not having your toilet and shower in separate areas of the bathroom....
So... when you throw a typhoon on top of all that (and much more), it becomes very interesting...
I've never been through any type of prolonged natural disaster, and when I was out there looking at the wreckage that this categroy 2 typhoon caused, I was shocked... It was so surreal. So amazingly surreal.

1 comment:

Nathan said...

Pooooooost. I am curious.