Cicadas. The trees on the way to work are full of them and they are loud. SO loud. They chirp/screech at the most horrible frequency and Brian and I can't even hear each other over the cacophony. But it got me thinking...how do they know when to start and when to stop? There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of them and all of a sudden the singing (and I use that term loosely) will just cease. It's a little eerie. It's like applause I suppose (bear with me here). You are at a performance and it ends, everyone starts clapping. Who claps first? How do you know how long to clap? It can't always be directly proportional to your appreciation, because surely not everyone will enjoy a performance to the same degree. Who claps last? Who is the brave soul who determines, that's enough. This clapping should end now. Who notices and then decides that he/she should also stop clapping because that guy did? Who is the last to clap and why? Makes you wonder doesn't it?

My Dad will be happy to know that I think of him every time I see a Hyundai Santa Fe (for those of you who don't know, Ed owns one and loves it. He even calls it by it's full name, "I'm going to go and wash the Hyundai Santa Fe.") and I am thinking about him a lot. They are every where. The manufacturing plant is in Ulsan, on the South East coast, and it is apparently very prolific. They are ubiquitous. Maybe if North and South Korea ever reunify they will put the Santa Fe on the new flag. "The New Korea. Rugged, stylish and oh so spiffy."

Brian is sick as a dog today. He has a bad cold and just needs to get lots of rest and drink fluids...you know the deal. The Koreans apparently don't look at things the same way we do. They wanted him to go to the hospital! Last week I had a stomach bug and they wanted me to go to the hospital and take medicine. What kind of medicine you ask? That's not the point...you just need to take some kind of medicine. They have tonics and pills for everything, it's unbelievable. I finally explained to the Korean teachers that Brian would not be going to the hospital. They said he is very strong and brave. Yeesh. It's very difficult for Brian and I to handle since we are both skeptics and fully aware of the dangers of overprescribing antibiotics etc. Reiki, reflexology, you name it. It drives me bonkers and this country eats it up. This place is a skeptics nightmare.