Hot in Herre

The rainy season in Seoul has ended, and we're now into the hot season. And by hot, I mean stupefyingly hot. Mind-numbing, lifeblood-draining, can't-think-for-even-a-second-about-anything-other-than-how-FREAKING-hot-it-is hot. Apocalyptically hot.

I tried to stay indoors in the air conditioning when I could, spending much of Saturday at the mall where I did some last minute shopping and actually saw the taping of a televised professional video-game battle. I also thought this was a good time to try a traditional Korean drink, a cold rice wine called dongdongju. It comes chilled in a large pitcher with pieces of ice, and you ladle it into a small drinking bowl. Sounds refreshing. Unfortunately, dongdongju is Korean for "thing that tastes like too-thin runny yogurt that's been left in the sun for three days." Yuck. The stuff was absolutely wretched. On the whole, Korean alcohol has been disappointing, if unforgettable.