A Day at the Park with Oskar: A Story in Pictures

Korea in the summer is awful. To anyone who has never been here, I cannot begin to explain the weather. Now, I'm from Indiana; I know heat and humidity. But I have never experienced anything like a summer in South Korea. In any other place, a relative humidity level of 100% would mean its raining. . . or, at least, getting ready to rain. Not here. 100% relative humidity is normal, day-to-day thing here. Summer is monsoon season here, and you'd think the rain would be refreshing. I mean, at home, when it storms, it tends to cool things off, at least for a little bit. Not here. If possible, the rain makes things MORE humid because the rain seems to evaporate into the air almost immediately. The air is so thick you can't breathe, and you can literally feel the sun baking your skin. When I got here, I often wondered why Koreans would walk around with umbrellas when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Now I understand. That sun is brutal. I don't know if the hole in the ozone is directly above Osan, South Korea, but I would bet money on it.

That being said, Oskar still needs to go for walks and still begs to go play at the park. However, it's so hot that its literally the same story every day. I thought I would share our normal afternoons with you by way of pictures. Enjoy. :)

We normally go to the park around the same time every day, so Oskar can tell when its almost time to go. This is his "Mommy--I think it's time to go to the park" look.

Waiting ever so patiently for the elevator door to open. Going from the 7th floor to the 1st takes FOREVER when it's time to go to the park!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're off! As soon as those doors open, Oskar pulls me the entire way. Down the stairs. . .

. . . through Mustang Valley ("Come on, Mommy! I'll show you where it is, in case you forgot!")

. . . and straight into the park. ("Mommy. . . are you coming in?")

"First things first. . . I must sniff and see if any other dogs have been in my park. Better pee everywhere just so everyone knows this place is mine."

"Then, I must bark and run in circles, scaring away any birds lingering on the fences. They may not be dogs, but they still have to understand that this park is mine."

"What? You have a tennis ball?!"

"Mine! Mine! Mine!"

This is what pure joy looks like. :)

"I found it!"

"You're throwing it again?! This is the best day EVER!"

After two or three more throws. . . "I'm starting to get kinda hot. . . "

And after two or three more. . . "Mommy, seriously. . . I'm hot."

"Are you ready to go yet? I'm dying out here."

The walk back up to Seoraksan Tower is completely different from the walk to the park. This time, its me pulling Oskar.

"Home is all the way up there?! I can't do it, Mommy."

"I don't know about you, but I've found a shady spot, and I'm not moving another inch." At this point, Oskar will invariably sit down and refuse to move. So, if I want to go home, I have to carry him the rest of the way.

"Sweet, sweet air conditioning and my favorite spot on the couch. . . this is more like it."

And there he will remain for the rest of the afternoon. I think its safe to say that he's ready for fall almost as much as I am. ;)