Spring Is Here!

Date: Late March-Early April

Here is a saying in Korea. I actually don't know the actual phrase, because I threw away the paper that I a Korean teacher write it down on.  But I know the translation:  "Winter is jealous of spring."  It means exactly that.  The winter is jealous of spring SO it won't let all the pretty spring flowers come into bloom.

The past couple of weeks we have had glimpses of the beauty of Spring.  It is coming.  But hten the evil clutches of winter creep back into the sky and it rains or is bleak and weary for two days in a row.  I have been wanting to put my winter jackets and such away for about 3 weeks now--but every time I get motivated (well, every time I schedule to put my clothes away tomorrow) the next day is grey and dreary.  So I keep my fleeces out one more day--which happens to be bright, sunny, warm, and beautiful.  Grumble grumble grumble.

Anyway, I wanted to show some pictures because, honestly, I love flowers.  I am a girl and I love flowers.  Not the silly cut kind, that are all human manipulated.  But the flowers outside, still on the trees and in the bushes.  So here are some of my kind of flowers.

tulips at school

rose bush at school.  NOT JUST ANY ROSE BUSH: BUT A ALICE IN WONDERLAND ROSE BUSH!  too bad they are pink--not red.  But I'm buying any paint.

pretty flower

little purple flowers

Yellow Flowers.

And the yellow flowers lead me to a story! Story time boys and girls!

I get a ride from my co-teacher/landlord to school every day.  It is pretty awesome.  Sometimes I give him a mini English lesson (usually I just say some phrase that he doesn't understand--like "I'd take sun over rain anyday--we had a good five minute conversation as I clumsily tried to explain "Take sun OVER rain") while other days he tries valiantly to teach me a little bit about Korea.  The Yellow Flowers Story is one such occasion.

We are driving to school and we past this cluster of flowers that line the sidewalk/apartment building.  Mr Kim points to the flowers: 

Mr Kim: "Do you know the name of the flowers?" 

Me:  I shake my head.

Mr Kim: "What would you call those flowers?"

Me: "Ehh, yellow flowers?"

He, for some reason that I don't entirely understand, finds this hilarious.  He can't stop laughing.  After about five minutes--or two stop lights--he calms down enough to tell me the Korean name of the flower (I don't remember, because seriously, they are just yellow flowers) and say that people know Spring is coming when these YELLOW FLOWERS bloom because they are the first flowers to bloom in spring.  

So, sorry winter, but spring is here.  The YELLOW FLOWERS have bloomed.  Its time for you to go away.  No more 30 cms of snow in Gwangju provience, and sorry, but can you give me the sun back?  Thanks!