Stephanie in Suwon

Too many shadows in my room Too many hours in this midnight Too many corners in my mind So much to do to set my heart right Oh it's taking so long I could be wrong, I could be ready Oh but if I take my heart's advice I should assume it's still unsteady I am in repair, I am in repair Stood on the corner for a while To wait for the wind to blow down on me Hoping it takes with it my old ways And brings some brand new luck upon me Oh it's taking so long I could be wrong, I could be ready Oh but if I take my heart's advice I should assume it's still unsteady I am in repair, I am in repair And now I'm walking in the park All of the birds they dance below me Maybe when things turn green again It will be good to say you know me Oh it's taking so long i could be wrong, I could be ready Oh but if I take my heart's advice I should assume it's still unsteady Oh I'm never really ready, yeah, oh, I'm never really ready I'm in repair, I'm not to...

The air has become a thick wet blanket that lays over the city. The heat and humidity wrap around you as soon as you step outside and the smells that normally circulate the streets have become magnified and soupy. Rainy season is here. Went out for Mexican last night with some friends, and found myself sipping beer on the streets at 1am, smoking a cigarette and reminicing about Nirvana, Mos Def, Pearl Jam and MJ. The mosquitoes here are not normal mosquitoes. They are mutants sent from the planet Insect Revenge to wreak havoc on us poor unsuspecting expats, who foolishly did not stock up on OFF! prior to leaving their countries of origin. My students actually laughed at me and my swollen arms and ankles and two of them suggested rubbing kimchi on the bites themselves to help them disappear faster. I told them I was going to rub kimchi on their faces if they actually thought I would fall for that. The next day one of the girls brought me a bottle of lotion to help “not have red and puff...

Alright I’ll make this brief; Pro’s: -I’m getting paid hourly, which means if they make me teach longer hours, I will be compensated appropriately. -I’m teaching with some really excellent people this summer, cream of the crop as far as intellectuals go; Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, I think you get the idea. I was intimidated at first, but have since realized that the combination of public speaking and being forced to interact with teenagers, brings us all down to the same playing field. Personally, I find teenagers more relatable to than a 7 year old, generally speaking. They might be assholes…but I can at least understand where they’re coming from. -Living in the heart of Seoul. D-A-MN. Hells yeah. -When I teach, I feel capable and confident. No longer am I waxing poetic about the fucking harp by the fucking river, or trying to explain what the word “almost” means. I’m speaking to my class about Mark Twain and Maya Angelou and being asked what the word “assiduous” means. (Look i...

I’m keeping myself above water…barely. I know it will get better once the first month is over, that first push and as long as they don’t switch my classes on me…well one class really….it’ll be busy but manageable. Right now though, I’m still pulling 10, sometimes 12 hour days and with my living situation going the way it seems to be, I’m curious to see how much longer I’ll be able to simply breathe and smile. Signing a 3-month contract to work in one of the richest areas in Southeast Asia is not conducive to living on ones own apparently. And with entire families living together in studios being something of the norm here, I’m wondering just how small a space I’m going to be asked to share with another human being. Sigh. 10 more weeks baby. I can do this. It truly is amazing though….this sense of unlimited possibility. Walking through Gangnam on Saturday night with a new crew, full of Korean food and half-cut from the soju...I felt like I’d been dropped into organized chaos and was som...