I don't know if it is that more people use umbrellas here, or if the sidewalks are so packed that it just seems that there the umbrellas are winning the arms race, but as soon as it rains my only view is of umbrellas.

Since I am taller than the average Korean (though I have been surprised at how tall many people are) these umbrellas are all bobbing along right at my eye height. It is quite a trick not to have one of this little spines just grab ahold of my eyeball and flick it out. It is something I have spent some time thinking about.

Especially when, like a moron, I am trying to push my bike through the packed streets. Added to the fact that buses and cars don't seem to stop for crosswalks when it is raining (and motorcycles never stop and taxis only arbitrarily) it does make the rain an eventful time to get around.

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