In awe of grace
Sometimes I think teaching has literally made me insane. Or perhaps I was simply insane to decide to teach in the first place. Sometimes my students are great. Everyone comes on time with their books prepared and pencils sharpened, having gone to the bathroom and drunk a satisfactory amount of water. Whatever candy or toys […]
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Today a white woman got on the bus, and I was struck by her confidence. I live in Korea, so she was the only fully white person on board, but she just calmly smacked her gum and found a seat. My first thought was that this was the attractiveness of the “older” (no longer in […]
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I have been melting the past few weeks. It is SO HOT this summer! It’s like the world has turned into one giant sauna! Anyway, we all know that not only does heat make everyone grumpy and tired, but some of us are champion sweat producers. And that’s not a skill we really want to show off. So here are some tips for beating the heat in Korea. Feel free to adapt them to your locale…
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Today is Day 4 living without running water. (Why? It froze. In some pipes under a bunch of cement.) Needless to say, it’s been interesting. I never appreciated water so much. While flushing the toilet manually has been fun and all, the most interesting experience by far has been going to the public bathhouse down the street to shower. Here […]
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It struck me upon this particular return to Korea that I’ve grown surprisingly comfortable here. I’ve gotten used to the decreased eye contact and increased physical contact. To the abrupt but convenient public transportation and the way everyone buries their faces in their smart phones. To getting a free pass on explaining myself in certain situations because […]
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Last night I texted my mom: Guess what, the most amazing thing just happened!! She responded right away: What. She probably thought something actually amazing had happened, as opposed to what really had. I was watching the latest episode of 연애의 발견 (a Korean drama) and the subtitles cut out in the middle, but I still understood almost […]
Read More I went running this morning and almost died. It felt great in the moment, because although the sun was a little hot, there was nice breeze coming off the ocean and the running path was much less crowded than usual. I could also tell my endurance had improved, which made me happy. But after I […]
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This is my first time being home for Christmas in three years. It’s rather nice. Listening to my little siblings read Advent excerpts, watching the packages from Amazon pile up by the front door, driving by houses sparkling with lights, feeling the anticipation in the air. I used to resist the Christmas hype fiercely and […]
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