New Beginnings
Every evening when I walk the mile from my school to my apartment, I write paragraphs in my head; long diatribes about all of the smells and noises and the soft lilt of my students' English. But by the time I walk the one flight up to my studio apartment, punch my code into the key pad, toss my shoes on the shelf by the door, light some incense to cover the smell of sewage that seeps up through the drains, and finally sit down, I'm exhausted. Physically. Mentally. So my stories have remained in my head, but tonight I've vowed to put at least a few of them into words. I finished working at SLP Bundang on a Friday, hit up the Norae Bang, woke up the next morning, moved to Uijeongbu, and started work Monday morning. That Wednesday, I flew to Japan for one night to get my new visa. I was in Japan less than 24 hours and the entire trip was spent waiting in line. That Saturday, I spent the day dressing and undressing preschoolers for their graduation performances. The following w...