Record Snowfall in Uljin!!

As a midwest American girl, I can handle some snow. I even enjoy an occasional storm where we get five or six inches or more. I mean, it's kind of fun to get out and have a good snowball fight or build a snowman. This week, however, I saw more snow than I have EVER seen in one storm! This quaint, little, seaside town got almost a meter of snow in less that 24 hours! (That is about 3 feet for us American folk) The newspapers report this is the largest snowfall since 1911!! Yes! One hundred years ago was the last time they had snow like this! Global warming?? HA! So nice of them to include me in this historic event! By the way, that is a car under all that snow and it's not a snowdrift...

The interesting thing was how the Korean people of this little town handled all this snow. At approximately 9 a.m. Saturday morning, after we had accumulated about a meter of snow, the ladies of the apartment building knocked on the door and went on and on in Korean and pointed outside. This was translated by us English folk as, "Hey, there is lots of snow. Come shovel with us. Now!" For the next two hours or so the shoveling took place clearing a narrow path so people could get from the road to the building. Now, shoveling in Korea does not neccesarily mean with shovels. People used brooms, dust pans, plastic bowls, and even sleds. Yes, if it could move the snow, it could be used! Cars were completely buried with no hope of moving and there was no hope of me returning to the other side of town to my own place. The sidewalks and roads were not passable and, guess what? It was starting to snow...again!

The snow went on and off all day Saturday while our little group of foreign teachers gathered at one apartment for movies, pizza, card games, and chess. There was little else we could do! Sunday came bright and sunny, so move shoveling ensued. The Korean Army was even deployed to Uljin to help people dig out and remove the snow. We did finally uncover the mystery of where all the snow goes. They load it on to giant trucks and dump it in the river! What a great idea! Of course, where else could they possibly put it?

Monday morning came with, you guessed it, more snow! My boss apparently did not realize just how bad the snow was, so he actually opened school. I walked there in a blizzard ready to pull my hair out the whole way, only to find a mere five students had bothered to show up for class. He finally gave in to Mother Nature after two hours of no students and sent us home. I had to walk. In the snow. Uphill. Barefoot. (ok, so my boot developed a slight hole...) At least I discovered umbrellas have more than just one use and was able to keep the snow from blowing onto my face ;-)

Finally, Tuesday came with promises of sunshine and clear skies. The walk was much better today, though it seemed as though I was sloshing through mashed potatoes most of the time! At least it had stopped snowing...finally!

Today is Wednesday and we were blessed with another day of sunshine! I managed to dig out my scooter and move it into the sun for the ice to melt. I could not believe it started right up after being buried like this!! Ahhh,...love my hunk o' junk! Hey, it gets me where I want to go! Rumor has it we are getting rain on Thursday. I'm sure that will be just lovely.

I'd like to thank Korea for allowing me to be a part of an historic winter with record low temps (lowest in 96 years) and record snowfall (most in 100 years). Now, can we just get on with the Spring thaw already?!?!?