I’m Headin’ On Home

I’m leaving Wonderland at the end of November.
My supervisor, C, asked if I would consider riding it out with her until March, which is when the kindergarten kids graduate. I was seriously considering it–but my family wants me to spend Christmas with them. And when I say “spend,” I mean more than the five vacation [...]

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Birthday Cake

On Thursday my coworkers bought me cake.
We were decorating the school for the monthly activity event, so we didn’t get to celebrate that night. We had five minutes to pose for pictures and sing.
The lights went out, and I was left staring into the candles.
“You blew the candles fast,” C told me after I began [...]

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Bow To The Emperor!

A belated thanks to Kevin, aka EmperorCharon, for buying me a Flickr Pro account for my birthday! This is definitely one of my favorite presents by far.
You can check out Kevin’s own Flickr account here. His online comic is also a must-see.
Now I can upload all my Japan pictures without worrying about a limit!
Again, Kevin, thank you [...]

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Flowers, Soaps and Birthdays

You don’t have to go all the way to Seoul or hike in the mountains to get giddy with your camera.
While I was taking a walk one hot Saturday morning, I came upon a sign for a Buddhist temple. Although I’m keen on learning more about this religion, I had never visited any shrines or [...]

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Love on the Fingertips

While I was visiting an orchard on a field trip, a mother of one of my students collected these flower petals and leaves for me.
The Koreans believe that if you dye your fingernails with these petals, you will receive your true love when the snow first hits the ground.
Because of the language barrier, I don’t [...]

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Dreams (and a call by one of God’s Chosen People)

I’ve subscribed to a few artists’ sites, but after seeing the latest art on Dex Mission’s blog, I feel like I’d be doing you guys a great disservice by not sending you in his direction.
Reminds me of when I lived in the motherland. I know my parents and Jo will especially like Dex’s writing that accompanies this particular piece.
***
Also had [...]

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M Is For Mature

After a brief scolding from my mother, I’ve decided to add a new category to my posts: M is for Mature.
Sorry if I’ve offended or embarrassed my loving, patient and understanding relatives and friends. I considered setting up another (PG rated) site, entirely dedicated to my travels, but I spend enough time on WordPress and Flickr.
I’ve been [...]

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I Dance Too, Baby

One day after meeting my supervisor’s friends, and one has already sent me six text messages and an email.
I tell myself that giving him a chance might be good for me. I can’t do this lovelorn shit anymore.
So I pined and mooned and it didn’t work out. Whatever. The Instructor doesn’t speak English and I don’t know [...]

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Tying the Knot

“Do you want to be in my wedding party?” she asks me on Friday night.
My supervisor, C, sits down with me on the curb, clutching her drink with both hands. I’d exited the beer house after my eyes had dried out from the smoke.
It’s a hot night in the capital and I’m lightheaded from soju. I [...]

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How to recover from . . .

. . . a doomed infatuation, without depressing the few-but-questionably-devoted readers of your blog:
1) Drink.
2) Shop.
3) Eat.
I plan on doing all three, because you know you’re starting to look a tad bit sad when you blurt the whole sordid affair to your boss (of all people!). Who, by the way, felt moved enough to invite [...]

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