Wednesday, November 30, 2016

LeeSooKyung/Life-History Interview First Draft/Thursday 1-3 pm

Interview with my mom

On a peaceful weekend, I was spending restful time with my family at my home. I suddenly wondered my parents' childhood so they found a small photo album for me. As much time passed, the album also seemed like very old. Its every edges were worn. When I saw the photo album of our family, one picture of skinny girl caught my eyes because I couldn't imagine the girl in that picture grew into my mom! The appearance was totally different.

At the time, I thought it would be the best timing to interview about my mom's childhood and brought a list of prepared questions. She laughed. "When did you prepare these all questions? I'm not a special person as you'd think." Then I said, "Mom, you are special enough for me and please answer about my questions." My mom said, "You might be bored." "Then we should start the interview to know your answer is whether bored or not," I said.

The first question, "How was your childhood?", led her to focus on the interview. My mom was born in 1969, in Uijeongbu, the city of Gyeonggi-do. In her childhood, my mom's nickname was 'Pepero', chocolate covered pretzels. I could easily guess the reason why she called as 'Pepero' and she told me the reason as if she read my mind. She was severely thin and the color of her skin was like dark-chocolate. She said, "There were a variety of food except for our family. Eating greedily was my biggest dream in those long-ago days." She spent a tough childhood because of the poverty. My grandmother gained unsold vegetables from merchants in the market to feed her five children. She couldn't afford to buy some fresh ones. With a sad look, she said, "Your grandfather used to go out every morning so that he sold the basins made of rubber."

My mom showed that the prejudice of 'The longer a person is exposed to poverty at childhood, the worse the achievement levels become' was completely wrong. She looked at me and said, "I had never missed the top of the whole school and it made me to develop a desire to be a teacher." I felt as if her heart swelled with pride. She saw my astonished eyes and continued, "However, I had no choice but to go to the commercial high school rather than an academic high school. All the while, I dreamed of someday becoming a teacher." At that moment, I saw a sense of frustration from her eyes. I understood that feeling of joy and sorrow was mingled in her face at the same time. She said, "There was no time to learn how to dress myself even I had no opportunity for it. Fortunately, I had been offered a job with one of the leading companies in Korea as soon as I graduated from the high school. It was like a turning point in my life!" After listening her answer, I thought it was natural that she could be an employee of that company because she was the most diligent person among the people I know but she thought it was just a reward by god. She continued to tell her story with a pleasant smile. "One of the biggest present I got from here was your dad." It was the first time that I heard how my mom and dad got married so I was so interesting to continue this interview. "One of my superior officers at work introduced your dad to me and I thought your dad could make me happy forever. Well…finally, you could be born!", she grinned wickedly. I asked, "Then, don't you regret what you had to give up for livelihood? Such as your dream of being a teacher." It seemed like she was lost in deep thought for a while. After a pause, she opened her mouth. "I don't think I gave up my dream. I just put my own dreams back. That's the reason why I decided to enter the university and majored the department of early childhood education at a relatively later age." It was true that she challenged to enter the university a few years ago, but I didn't notice her purpose of that challenge. She got a full scholarship for 4 years. She said, "To be frankly speaking, it was too hard for me to be an attentive mom, a thoughtful wife, and a nice student at the same time." She added, "But there's one thing that I really want to tell you. Don't live your life without your dream." She has a great zest for her life and I could feel it.

Now I understand the reason why she has lived her life so hard. It's because she has not given up her dream and she wanted to teach me the value of dream. Maybe she also didn't want that I felt frustrated in my life because of the poverty. Thanks to this interview, I realized her happiness was started from my dad, me, and her dream. 

LeeSooKyung/Life-History Interview First Draft/Thursday 1-3 pm

Interview with my mom

On a peaceful weekend, I was spending restful time with my family at my home. While we with tea, I suddenly wondered my parents' childhood so they found a small photo album for me. As much time passed, the album also seemed like very old. Its every edges were worn. When I saw the photo album of our family, one picture of skinny girl caught my eyes because I couldn't imagine the girl in that picture grew into my mom! The appearance was totally different.

At the time, I thought it would be the best timing to interview about my mom's childhood and brought a list of prepared questions. She laughed. "When did you prepare these all questions? I'm not a special person as you'd think." Then I said, "Mom, you are special enough for me and please answer about my questions." My mom said, "You might be bored." "Then we should start the interview to know your answer is whether bored or not," I said.

The first question, "How was your childhood?", led her to focus on the interview. My mom was born in 1969, in Uijeongbu, the city of Gyeonggi-do. In her childhood, my mom's nickname was 'Pepero', chocolate covered pretzels. I could easily guess the reason why she called as 'Pepero' and she told me the reason as if she read my mind. She was severely thin and the color of her skin was like dark-chocolate. She said, "There were a variety of food except for our family. Eating greedily was my biggest dream in those long-ago days." She spent a tough childhood because of the poverty. My grandmother gained unsold vegetables from merchants in the market to feed her five children. She couldn't afford to buy some fresh ones. With a sad look, she said, "Your grandfather used to go out every morning so that he sold the basins made of rubber."

My mom showed that the prejudice of 'The longer a person is exposed to poverty at childhood, the worse the achievement levels become was completely wrong. She looked at me and said, "I had never missed the top of the whole school and it made me to develop a desire to be a teacher." I felt as if her heart swelled with pride. She saw my astonished eyes and continued, "However, I had no choice but to go to the commercial high school rather than an academic high school. All the while, I dreamed of someday becoming a teacher." At that moment, I saw a sense of frustration from her eyes. I understood that feeling of joy and sorrow was mingled in her face at the same time. She said, "There was no time to learn how to dress myself even I had no opportunity for it. Fortunately, I had been offered a job with one of the leading companies in Korea as soon as I graduated from the high school. It was like a turning point in my life!" After listening her answer, I thought it was natural that she could be an employee of that company because she was the most diligent person among the people I know but she thought it was just a reward by god. She continued to tell her story with a pleasant smile. "One of the biggest present I got from here was your dad." It was the first time that I heard how my mom and dad got married so I was so interesting to continue this interview. "One of my superior officers at work introduced your dad to me and I thought your dad could make me happy forever. Well…finally, you could be born!", she grinned wickedly. I asked, "Then, don't you regret what you had to give up for livelihood? Such as your dream of being a teacher." It seemed like she was lost in deep thought for a while. After a pause, she opened her mouth. "I don't think I gave up my dream, I just put my own dreams back. That's the reason why I decided to enter the university relatively and majored the department of early childhood education at a later age." It was true that she challenged to enter the university a few years ago, but I didn't notice her purpose of that challenge. She got a full scholarship for 4 years. She said, "To be frankly speaking, it was too hard for me to be an attentive mom, a thoughtful wife, and a nice student at the same time." She added, "But there's one thing that I really want to tell you. Don't live your life without your dream." She has a great zest for her life and I could feel it.

Now I understand the reason why she has lived her life so hard. It's because she has not given up her dream and she wanted to teach me the value of dream. Maybe she also didn't want that I felt frustrated in my life because of the poverty. Thanks to this interview, I realized her happiness was started from my dad, me, and her dream. 

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Sangeun Baek/Meaningful Place/Thu 1-3 pm

             When I was in Aberdeen, Scotland, I used to live in a house that had a garden at the front. Technically, it was the "front," but my family always used the back door because it was closer to the street, so it felt more like a big backyard. I have always wanted a two-story house with a garden, so that house was like my dream house. The street I lived in was full of houses like mine. The houses even looked all alike.

             My garden was surrounded by fairly high walls, to divide our house from other houses, and little trees and flowers. There was green grass growing on the soil. A gardener regularly came and cut the grass. Whenever I went to the garden for some air and breathed, I could smell the grass and flowers. I felt the soft soil under my shoes. It was cold in Aberdeen, so I didn't come out to the garden often. I especially liked it in spring and winter. Flowers bloomed in spring. The only bad thing was that there were too many bees. In winter, the garden became completely white when it snowed. The year I moved into that house, it didn't snow often, which was a bad thing for me. I liked watching it quietly snow in the garden. It felt like Christmas.

             Once, when I was walking back home, there was a cat following me. It was small and white overall, with irregularly shaped brown patterns. I didn't know whether it was a street cat or someone was raising it, so I let it follow me and just let it to the garden. From then, sometimes when I looked out the window at the garden, I would see the cat walking gracefully around the garden or on the wall surrounding the garden. I guessed that the cat must be being raised by someone, because its fur was always clean and it had a necklace around its neck.

             Whenever people visited my house, we had a barbecue party in the garden. It was always quiet in the garden, but the party always made everything come to life. We took out the grill from the garage, and we cooked pork and beef and sausages and vegetables. The taste of smoked meat always impressed me. My dad wasn't very good with using the grill at first because of the wind, but eventually he became better. I preferred staying inside, but I liked having people come over and have this party.

             The garden was one of the places that represented my impression of Aberdeen. Quiet, cold air, the smell of grass. I know I won't be able to go back there. I really wish I would be able to live in a house with a garden like it.

Yunji Kim/ Meaningful Place Final Draft/ Thurs 1-3PM

That One Special Tree

             I was always the kind of person who enjoyed hanging out with a small group of friends. In high school, as well, I had four close friends who I ate, talked, laughed and did everything with. We all lived close so we always walked home together after school. It was not a short way home from school, but I remember continuously laughing and giggling all the way.

             On hot summer days, it was almost impossible to walk straight home under the sizzling weather. The burning weather forced us to stop and hide under tree shades. There was a place we always went. It was a bench under a tree, located just about halfway home. Before we dragged ourselves to the shade, we always went to the optician's right next to the bench. They gave out free ice creams for those who had membership cards, and the three of us had the membership. I remember sitting on the bench and sharing the ice creams we grabbed. The tree was big enough to cover all four of us and big enough to cover us from others. It was like our own secret place that could not be seen from the big streets. That's why we took our shoes off and even lied on the bench like it was our room. We chatted on and on under the tree, the content of the chat being laughter and random comments.

             I clearly remember lying down on the bench, frowning a little under the brilliant sunlight peaking through the leaves. My friends and I used to stay there for a long time until we could recharge ourselves to walk into the sizzling sunlight again.

             This place is truly meaningful to me because my best friends and I spent most of our high school time under this tree. These four friends and I are still close friends and we sometimes talk about the fun memories under the tree. Unfortunately, when we stopped by the bench under the tree again few months ago, it was not the same place we remembered. It became a smoking area of a newly-built building, and our place became full of cigarette butts and heavy sighs of smokers. It may not be the same relaxing place in our memories, but the tree still stands there at the same place, as an inseparable part of my teenage life.

 

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Jaeyoung Choi/ Meaningful place/ Thursday 1-3pm

My Home, Forevermore

 

The place I will forever know as my home is in Guatemala. Even though I was born in South Korea, since the age of three, I have lived in Guatemala City and been raised surrounded by its people and culture.  Many people believe it is dangerous because of the many accidents that occur inside the country, but once someone gets to experience and live there, its beauty becomes irresistible. Guatemala is still considered and undeveloped country, but in comparison with other Central American and South American countries it is the most advanced in technology and economy. Like in every other country, there are two kinds of people, the rich and the poor. It can be easily noticed when a neighborhood is wealthy or not, just by taking a look to the architecture and cleanness.

There are small Korean communities that live altogether in the same neighborhood. We own several churches and many textile companies near the area. Flowers and trees surround the streets, it is very clean and quite. I live in a second-floor brick house. We have two gardens, one front yard and one on the backyard. We have a bush-like looking peach tree and red roses surround it. On the first floor, we have the living and dinning room, the kitchen and the laundry room. The stairs are shaped in a zigzag way with a really high roof with a chandelier hanging on the middle. On the second floor there are the three rooms and two bathrooms and the balcony.

My favorite place in the entire house is my room. I always liked the color pink, which is the reason why my blanket sheets and closet are colored pink. The bed is king size and occupies most of the room. The reason I like so much this particular room is because once you enter the room there is no other thing you can do but lay down and fall asleep. The mattress is not so soft but hard either. You lay down, and immediately you can feel the cozy and quite environment. You can hear police and ambulance cars from far away and the bird's singing. The only reason you would wake up would be because of the smell of the delicious Korean food that my mom prepares.  

Now that I live in Korea, every year is the same, after every fall semester I would go home for the winter vacations. I can't wait to go home and sleep. 

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Yunji Kim/ Meaningful Place First Draft/ Thurs. 1-3 PM

I was always the kind of person who enjoyed hanging out with small group of friends. In highschool, I had 4 close friends who I ate, walked, talked and laughed with everyday. We always walked home together after class. It was not a short way home, but remember laughing and giggling all the way.

On hot summer days, it was almost impossible to walk under the sizzling weather. We had to stop and hide under tree shades. We always went the bench under the tree which was located just about halfway home. Before we dragged ourselves to the shade, we always went to the optician's right next to the bench. They gave out free ice creams for those who had membership cards, and the three of us had the membership. I remember sharing the three ice creams we grabbed, under our tree. The tree was big enough to cover all 4 of us and big enough to hide us from others. That's why we always immediately took our shoes off and even lied on the bench like it was our room. We chatted on and on under the tree, 80% of the chat being laughters without reason.

I clearly remember lying down on the bench and frowning a little under brilliant sunlight peaking through the leaves. My friends and I used to stay there for a long time until we recharged ourselves to walk into the sizzling sunlight again.

This place is truly meaningful to me because I shared most of my highschool memories under this tree. This tree is an inseparable part of my teenage life.

 

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Subin Lee / Meaningful Place First Draft / Thursday 1-3 pm

I enjoy spending time in cafés. Many people like to rest, study or chat with friends in cafés, and I am one of them. Among all the cafés I've visited, there is one specific café in my memory which has a special meaning to me.

 

The café 'Bavis Garden' is a place I spent my time in the winter of 2014. I had plenty of them, since I had just taken the entrance exam and was just waiting for the results. My friends and I used to take exercise classes to lose weight, and whenever the class finishes, we would drag our tired bodies to take a rest in the café. Our bodies, which were freezing cold and tensed from the winter wind from outside, became relieved and melted down immediately as we stepped into the café. It was always warm inside, and the pleasant heat was just about right when we took off our coats. The pleasant, snug ambience made us doze off from time to time.

'Bavis Garden' was a small café, with only 5 tables. However, it was cozier than any other cafés could be. If I were to name a color for the whole atmosphere, I would say 'warm brown'. The songs hummed at a low pitch in languages that I could never understand. The calm and restful music was never too small or too loud; it was just right as peaceful background music when talking, and as a sound that tickles your ears when you close your eyes and take a sip at your coffee.

All the tables and chairs were different from one another. The tables each had different size and shape. Some chairs were hard, wooden ones and others were soft and fluffy. My favorite chair to sit in was a dark red, round fabric one. Whenever I sat on this cushiony chair, I would sink into it so deep that sometimes it made me wonder if it could be similar to how babies feel inside the womb.




*Some parts in the back are missing, due to an error in saving. I'll try to find a way to do something about it soon. Sorry!

Chaeyoung son/ first draft/Thursday 1-3


The banner hangs down between the two columns of main gate is fluttering in the strong wind. It gets too windy at this time of the year. Everyone hides their face in muffler or clothes. I'm also wearing mask so no one can't get a tense look on my face. Yes, today I'll take the CSAT. Lots of people await us at the main gate to cheer for students. Walking through a tremendous crowd, I'm lost touch with reality. It is noisy out there but the school is peaceful and quiet. Not a creature was to be seen in the school playground. A few horizontal bars that seem to have been chipped away are in there. Also there are old baseball courts and goalposts. I twist my head around to look at school buildings. I cannot detect movement of people inside the building. It is like a dream. Completely desolate playground and two somber shade of grey brick buildings, 5 stories high.

I step inside and look around. It is the first time that I observe the interior of another high school. It does not differ much from my school. Stairs, stairs, and a huge number of stairs, corridors, restrooms, classrooms. The air smells powerfully of dry dust as is the way with other public schools. The only difference is that this school is about 30 years old. All that concrete is sort of ugly and dismal. My eyes wander towards some crude paintings and pictures on the concrete wall. One of them is a reproduction of Sunflower by Van Gogh but it had not achieved the intensity of real Sunflowers. To me, chrome yellow color seems to be gray. The corridor echoed from my footsteps.

Seven girls are preparing CSAT in class. One student is writing something down, some are reading and the others are watching their cellphones. I'm finding my desk with sticker which is entered my name and test identification number. All desk are bruised and not hardwood furniture but very clean. Maybe teacher order them to paint out the scribbles for this test. When I sit down, I see four large pieces of paper are on the blackboard. But I can't see the words on the paper clearly.


Chyue / Meaningful Place First Draft / Thursday 1-3pm

Blue Island in Mawlamyaing in My Mind

I would really love to visit Blue Island where my grandparent and aunt live in. The place is far from the bustling city and getting there is already part of the adventure. One can take the tunnel or drive but whichever way you take when one arrives in the island, it's like being transported in time. There is that feeling of de`javu one gets when you see the heart of the island for the first time. Maybe it is because of the old films that featured the lots of pagodas. The place is filled with old buildings, structures and lots of pagodas that remind us of how Myanmar people might have enjoyed the Buddhism.

The place is like a giant traditional ancient place without the technologically advanced tools. It offers pure delight and tons of fun. It is a place where everyone is invited to enjoy the sights and sounds of the place and peaceful of the world.

The whole island is lots of monastery with pagodas and meditation places. The smell of natural bamboo from forest and the sound of triangular brass gong as one walks along the streets in dawn reminds us of simple days when our wants and desires were simpler. The people are friendly and in keeping with the religion works are always ready to make your visit to the island worth remembering. When one strolls around the commercial center, one can do so leisurely without the need to see everything, to make feel relieved everything and taste natural environment in one day, one keeps coming back to Island because it is removed from the hurried, impersonal and rudeness of the city.

In winter, the place is like a giant ice kingdom, where everything is glistening white and silent. During this time, people who are living there do rarely go outside because of cold breezing. Sadly, not many people visit Blue Island these days because of difficult transportation.

Lee Ji Won/ Meaningful Place First Draft/ Thursday 1-3 pm

201502643 Lee Ji Won

 

The air in the study room of Ulsan Foreign Language High school was always quite stuffy. Rather than a relaxed atmosphere, there was a tension in the room, full of 175 senior students who all concentrated on their studies. How could I always endure two hundred minutes every day sitting at a desk for three years? I had feelings of both love and hatred toward the study room. While I was sick to death of studying at that room, it was still the place full of precious high school memories.

 Walking along the slope leading to the study room, I could smell food odors of that day's evening menu since our school cafeteria was next to the slope. While walking up, I could see far in distance that the front gate of the study room was crowded with students waiting for it to be opened. The gate was painted in blue and since the doorknob was quite slippery, we often could hear the door slam if someone miss the doorknob. In front of the door, there were always tons of scrap papers and completed workbooks which showed how fierce we were at studying.

  We each had our own designated desks and chairs. Since the size of the desk was just a little bit larger than our body and every desk was separated by partitions, it was such an optimized atmosphere to concentrate on studies. Most of the students sit properly on their chairs but there were some students who kept studying while standing, not to be drowsy. The study room was filled with the sound of student's writing sound and sometimes we could hear a recurring beep of the timer which somebody set for the end time of a math test.

 I also studied hard. Well, you know in my own way. I used to secretly watch movie or listen to the music after a short 30 minutes studying. Since both of them were not allowed, I put the earphones only in my right ear in order to know if teacher is coming or not by concentrating my left ear to the sound of stilettos on the marble lobby. One of the other thrilling moments was when I secretly ate snacks with my friend who sat right next to me. Both of us loved salty corn-based snacks which was quite hard that we almost should melt it in our mouth not to make eating noises.

 When the bell sounded for 20 minutes break time, students ran excitedly outside to use a vending machine. It was like I was in the middle of an earthquake hearing the footsteps of almost five hundred students all together. I loved that short 20 minutes when I put my head down on the desk to sleep for a while, wrapping myself in a fluffy blanket. Although the chair was very stiff, it didn't matter since I was sitting on such a soft sitting cushion. Then my eyelids grew heavy with sleep slowly. A babble of voices stopped all of a sudden and the study room became as silent as death with a sound of bell informing the start of second period. These same routines were repeated every day in our study room. Although I was sometimes tired of these monotonously repetitive routine, it obviously was and is a precious place that shows our passion toward studying and our friendship.  

 

Seung-Hui Jeong / Meaningful Place / Thursday 1-3PM

Mom first told me about this bookstore that she had seen during one of her many walks. It was almost three months later when I finally visited this bookstore mom so raved about. The paved streets and the pedestrian overpass were gray with old cement. It had rained that morning and there were still murky rainwater puddles here and there. Swinging my umbrella in one hand, I padded through the street with a slight grimace until I saw a shiny blue shop right in between many gray ones. It wasn't shiny, in fact it looked rather old in faded graying blue. But to me, it seemed like Christmas. As I pushed open the door I heard the sound of gentle bells as breathed in the smell of coffee. On the right of the entrance were small tables and cushy chairs where a few people were drinking coffee out of mix-matched mugs and eating tiny sandwiches while they read. As I looked around with wide eyes, I slowly came to the realization that this wasn't any regular bookstore, it was a secondhand one. It was my first time in a secondhand store of anything and I could feel the excitement creeping in as I forced myself to calm down. A skinny old man with a scruffy beard in a flannel shirt and faded jeans greeted me with a smile. There were shelves of weathered books lining every inch of the walls. At the back of the shop there was a staircase that led towards a second floor. There were stacks of children's books on every step and I could smell wood and the staleness of books when I arrived on the second floor. It wasn't big - the entire bookstore wasn't, but books were stacked from floor to ceiling and towers of stacked books that had nowhere to go were on the floor. I was careful as I toed my way to the back on the creaking wood floors to not topple over any of them. There was a huge circular window that was hidden behind a shelf. The sunlight was shining through the shelves and created a patch of bright warmth onto the dark wooden floors and the shelves. In the sunlight, I could see dust floating through the air. Time seemed to have stopped and I felt strangely at ease as my heart bubbled up with contentment.

It was at this bookstore that I bought volumes one and two of much battered Anna Karenina and a browning Les Misérables that was slightly torn at the edges. It quickly became my favorite bookstore and I bought brand new books only if this secondhand store didn't have them in stock.

Jung Aa Ahn / Meaningful Place First Draft / Thursday 1-3pm

It's Okay to Be Adventurous

     If those that know me today met me as a child, they would not be able to recognize me. When I was a child, I hated trying out new things. I loathed the idea of a change in the environment that I knew so well. Considering how much I love traveling today, I have no idea why that was the case. For instance, when I grew old enough to go to kindergarten, I refused wholeheartedly. I hid in the dark, wood-smelling closet, cried and screeched that I would not go, and winced at the idea of a new place even when I was sleeping. It took my parents months of persuading to get the idea of elementary school into my head. I eventually did not have a choice but to go. There, I adjusted. Nevertheless, I still did not enjoy surprises.
     Swimming was not an exception. When I first entered elementary school, my sister was in fifth grade. She went to Hyang Gun Hwae Gwan once a week to participate in the musical production that she was a part of. I often went with my mother to wait for her practices to end. It typically took hours, and I had nothing to do but to sit in the car with my mom until I dozed off to sleep. My mom eventually decided that I had to spend my time more productively. That was when the building started feeling like a devil's house. I had to try out something new.
     It all started out with my mom coaxing me to try out the "pretty new swimming suit." It was actually not pretty at all. It was black, sleek, and extremely tight fitting. It bit into my shoulders as well as other parts of the body. The lady that sold it to us claimed that it would stretch itself out in the water. I did not feel comfortable in it at all. It was not an ordinary swimming suit, like the yellow one that I used to wear as a baby. The swimming suit was the kind that professional swimmers would wear, although mom and I both did not know at the time.
     Then she tied my hair up into a tight ponytail, higher up than usual, and put the white rubber swimming cap on.

     "Mom, this feels weird," I complained.
     "I know honey. But don't you want to see how pretty you'll look in the new outfit? And let's just take a look at the swimming pool. You don't have to swim- just take a look!"
     
     I still don't understand, to this day, how I managed not to question her. My mom, constantly assuring me that everything was going to be okay, slowly walked me through the hollow locker room, across the humid washing area, down to the gigantic hall of swimming pools. There, a strange man dressed in a single black triangle swimming suit and a white swimming cap was waiting for us. My mom told me to be nice, and to say hello. The moment I took a step away from my mom to be polite as my mother told me to be, she ran off.

     "He's going to be your teacher for the next few hours! Have fun dear!"

     I could not believe what was happening to me. I was left alone with this strange man in an underwear. The swimming pool was a very big place for me back then, with seven 25-meter pools that seemed like lanes from hell, as well as a mini pool for little kids which seemed like a bathtub for devils. The entire hall stunk of chlorine, and my ears rang from the shock and the whistle and screeches that other people made. I felt betrayed.
     The strange man - my teacher - led me to the side of the pool to choose a piece of Styrofoam that was supposed to keep me from sinking. Still dazed, I chose a blue one, my favorite color at the time, and kept glancing back at the glass door that my mom disappeared into. The board was not yet wet with the stinky chlorine water yet, and felt smooth and dry in my hands. As I felt the board, tightly clutched into my arms, I told myself that I was going to keep it this way - nice and dry, unlike everything else in this hall of pools. 
     The teacher then walked me towards the mini pool. He gently - he seemed like a kidnapper to me at the time - asked me if I wanted to try myself. I asked whether he knew where my mother was. He pointed to the window, placed on one wall near the ceiling of the swimming pool. I found her at once, sitting among the other ladies waiting for their children. When my mother met my eyes, she gave me an awkward smile and waved. As I walked into the lukewarm pool, still clutching the dry foam board with one hand and holding onto the cold metal bar of the pool with the other, I burst into tears.
     It was a long time ago - fourteen years, maybe? I don't remember the details, but I still remember how I cried myself out throughout the next two hours of lesson. I managed to do everything that my teacher told me to do since I did not want to be rude to him. That did not keep me from crying, however. I cried so much that I had to stop every once in a while to wash the tears out of my goggles. My entire body, submerged in the pool, smelled like chlorine. I could not tell the smell apart anymore. My eyes felt hot from crying, and cool from the water of the pool at the same time. The swimming suit still bit into my shoulders - the sales lady was a liar. The swimming cap squeezed onto my head and kept me from feeling my forehead. I did not forget to throw resentful glares at my mother once in a while.
     The swimming pool was a place that reminded me of that day for a while. I can still almost smell the chlorine whenever I hear the song that my mother always played in the car on our way to the lesson. I still feel the remnants of those first memories. This was a meaningful place, however, because I actually did end up liking swimming after all. I was actually very good at it. I won first place in the school swimming competitions, and was asked if I wanted to become a professional. The teacher that was in charge of the professional kids' swimming team tried to coax me with the "pretty blue professional team swimming suits," but of course I did not fall for it. I enjoyed swimming for itself, and I had become friends with my teacher already. Looking back, that was the experience that helped me become more adventurous. With that as a start, I started enjoying trying out new things.

Lee Soo Kyung/Meaningful Place First Draft/Thursday 1-3pm

Every time I was disturbed in mind or had something to worry about, I used to visit the cafe near my house. A star-shaped signboard always welcomes me. From outside to inside, whole cafe was painted with a color of strawberry-flavored milk. Thanks to a pink covered the cafe, which is my favorite color, I was fascinated to its appearance. When I entered to the cafe, the antique clock grabbed my attention at the entrance. Because it was hanged on the wall I could see in a straight direction from the entrance, it became my habit to check the time through it as soon as I set my foot. It was not very huge in size, but it had enough place to take my own time without any disturbing. The warm atmosphere and sunshine coming through the big semitransparent glass windows helped me to set my mind at rest.

Many different types of chairs, stools, high-back chairs, sofa and corner chairs, made me hard to choose where to sit. The favorite one, however, was a very soft and comfortable sofa. With closing my eyes and relaxing on the sofa, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted my nose. I simply forgot everything complicated at that moment. The peaceful classic music and noisy of roasting coffee was borne on the smell of chocolate cookies. I felt the warmth through the cup filled with cappuccino and it was bitter-sweet to the taste. 

Hong Chae-ryoung/Meaningful Place Essay First Draft/Thursday 1-3pm

The Lessons Learnt at the Airport

 

            It may sound obvious that airport is a place to feel the excitement; it definitely is a place to be thrilled and start each one's travel. I surely do understand that the fact of being in the airport excites many people although the whole journey has not yet started. However, I tend to learn lessons of patience within me and the love and preciousness of my family when I go to the Incheon international airport.

            I have been to the airport quite several times since the beginning of last year, and it was since then I first started to fly abroad by myself. However, there is a special reason for this- my family lives abroad. As I started my new school life in HUFS, I started to live apart from my parents and my little brother, and I became the one who flies over whenever I had breaks off from school. Consequently, it naturally led me to have some different feelings at the airport, compared to the feelings I used to have before, not being on my own when checking in, going through the securities, waiting for my flight to board and actually getting on the plane.

            Now all the process I go through at the airport comes differently to me; I became very familiar and somewhat comfortable at the same time. As soon as the number of the check-in counter I need to get to is checked on the screen with full of flight numbers and departing times, I head to the counter straight away, trying to be faster than any other people. Waiting in line is always the worst part of the airport, but always the unavoidable part; almost everyone stares into their smartphones while in line or talk to their fellows from time to time. Each customer is called from the counter one by one and flight attendants sorting out the long line can be easily seen in the counters where the flight's boarding time is not too far away. Every now and then, echoing of announcements filling up the airport can be heard, airlines trying to find their customers who have not boarded yet. However, the announcement is never heard clearly because there are just too many people talking in the area and such high ceiling of the airport makes it worse. As I check in my bags and get my seat confirmed, I am then informed of the gate number and boarding time that I have to remember to get on the plane from the check-in counter.

            The next thing I rush for is the security line that I cannot avoid, where I get my carry-on bags checked. Another series of lines have to be confronted and most people, definitely including myself, get exhausted of waiting in lines by that time. A long endless line of people once again has their head down to their smartphones trying to overcome the boredom of waiting, feeling like the line never gets short. There are always a team or two with some people saying their last minute goodbyes in the line and repeating to tell the ones leaving to call when they get to the destination. Finally getting through the security check makes me sigh of relief, feeling glad to be out in the duty free area just on time.

            Once I step out of the glass doors of security check area, I see bright endless duty free shops that are stretched out from one far end to the other far end. People are all jumbled up in the duty free area, making their own ways to get to their gates while peeking into some shops on the way. I usually have things to pick up that I order from online duty free shops, so I head straight upstairs to the pick-up area and wait in line, yet again. That is when I learn another lesson of patience getting into a new line after waiting in endlessly stretched lines in the past hour.

            Airport is a place that requires a lot of walking as well, as there are so many gates in Incheon international airport. That is probably why there are always people on every moving walk on the way to gates. There are some coffee shops and some stores that sell snacks; doughnut places are always the most pleasure to pass by, with the smell of sugary savory doughnuts tickling my nose. I can never pass doughnut places not buying one and it is the best snack that I could have to treat myself from all the patience I gained in such long lines.

            As I get towards gates and the busy chaos of duty free shops full of people are slowly drifted away, I then hear announcements of other flights being called for boarding. Once I find my gate, I would then find a chair to sit down and relax for a while for the first time since I had arrived at the airport. I call my mom and let her know that I have finally got to the gate after such chaotic reckless lines that I had to wait in.

            Nevertheless, of all the patience I gain in the airport, it is important for me because it is the last place I feel lonely to be alone in the country. Airport really allows me to anticipate for meeting my family again, and really take some time to long for them as I spend so much time standing in line having not much to do. I imagine myself over and over sitting down at the dinner table eating delicious home food that my mom made, and it is one of the best scenes that I can picture in my head, forgetting about all the stress that I would get from other things in my everyday life.

Su Yeon Kim 201500568/ Place with meaning essay/ Thurs 1-3pm

   The house back in Fiji where I had spent 13 years of my life probably holds most meaning for me. I remember every nook and cranny of the house as though I am still living in it. Coming up to the long cement driveway there is a large, rusty red, metal mesh gate. The driveway itself was somewhat rough and patchy in color but it was still really spacious. The gate was a locked from the inside so it was so difficult to open the gate from outside. We had to insert our hands through a small gap in the gate and fiddle with the lock for a minute or so to open it. It would be a horrible place to live during a zombie apocalypse. Beyond the gate was the two story house I had come to love so much. The house had a red roof which was slightly sloped downwards due to frequent rain. The rest of the house was a cream color with the first floor being a wide open garage. We had two doors to the house one on the west side and one on the front so we had two stairways leading to either doors. Also our house had huge windows and my brother and I would often prefer to climb out the windows rather than doors.
 
   My father is a minimalist when it came to furnishing so our house was very spacious except for a few large furniture we had such as the beds and wardrobes. There were three rooms, a kitchen, a living room and two bathrooms. I always thought it was the perfect size for a family of four. The windows were excellent during hot days as the breeze would drift through the whole house. The sea was not exactly nearby but there was always a brine smell coming off of the cool breeze. Additionally, we had various types of plants in our front and backyard of which was a flower tree native to Fiji called frangi-pani. It was a milk white, five petal flower with a yellow center much like an egg. This particular flower had a very strong floral fragrance and we would often pick a few to place around the house. The scent would waft through the house and every time I smelled it I would think of the kiss of the early morning sun on the face. The interior of the house was white so the house was always bright looking especially when the rising and setting sun would reflect off of it.
 
   I loved spending time at home more than going out because it had everything I needed for a productive day. I would wake up to the sound of my neighbor's rooster only to fall asleep again. Sometimes I would wake up to my dogs barking at passing people. At other times, I would wake up to the sound of our family gardener mowing the lawn early in the morning. The first I did when I woke up was go downstairs to feed my two dogs and they would greet me as if they hadn't seen my in years. Their soft hair, excitement and wet tongues always made me giggle. Then I would take a walk around my house and noticed the green surrounding my house glistened under the morning light giving off a fresh feeling. The front and backyard was a wide open area big enough to play practically any type of sports so my brother and I would spend days on end just running around and playing in the backyard.
 
   Being away from my house made me realize how amazing it was. Back then I didn't think much of the atmosphere because that was how I lived my everyday routine but now I see how peaceful it was. I can still feel the dewy morning air when I stepped out onto the balcony to greet the day. At night the stars would light up the skies and I would watch them from the balcony. There were times I would fall asleep watching the stars so my father would wrap his hands around me to carry me to my bed. The cool night breeze would brush against my face as I fell into slumber once more. There's no other way to describe my home except that it was epitome of peaceful.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Hyelin Hwang/Task 4.2 & 4.4/Thursday 1-3pm

Task 4.2

Gathered Information : sounds from tv, someone is moving, closed door, shower, sounds of cooking, stuttering, tasty smells

 It was almost dinner time. I seated on the dining table chair. At first, I noticed that such an uptempo dance music was being flowed from the television on the left side. It continued constantly in small sound. On the right side, I sensed my mothers' presence. She was taking something out from the refrigerator. The door closed heavily and there was silence for a moment. I wondered what was happening so I focused on the senses moreover. Suddenly I could hear a shower of water. I imagined she washes something. The spray just stopped and a kitchen knife pounded cutting board, through the solid subject. And then something was stuttered. Maybe she turned on the gas stove. In a few minutes, the entire house was full of delicious smells. It was little bit salty and savory. Something was sizzling and another was bubbling. My mouth was watering. I could not take it anymore and opened my eyes.

 

 

Task 4.4

Sight : Crowded people, Fanlights, Lasers, Flames, Confetti
Sound : Huge sound, Beats, Screams, Shouting,
Smell : smoky, air conditioner, sweat
Touch : high temperature, sticky, sweat, heart beating faster, Beats echoed my whole body

 When I entered, people more than ten thousands were already inside and kept their seats. Advertisements were constantly replayed on the big screen. It was at the end of the summer and the indoor gymnasium was too hot.
Everyone was drenched with sweat and fan themselves by hand or handy electric fan. A light breeze rarely comes from air conditioner was a ray of hope. Everything was sticky when I touched with such as others skin and seats. Soon, commercials were cut off. Instead a video played, which announces the watching etiquettes and emergency exits. It meant the show would be started in a minute. Shortly the lights went down and some of the boy groups' low tempo songs were echoed in the entire stadium. Audiences turned on their fan lights and started to sing along the songs. The atmosphere of anticipation was expanded. At least, even the song was stopped. All the lights were turned off. The hall became a night sky with glittering star lights. My heart beat harder and harder, faster and faster.

 An LED screen on the main stage split in half. A truss from the top moved down and the boy group stood there. They came down with a huge thunderous screams which resounded the entire gym. They performed their big hit song at the opening. The song was based on grand electric guitar riff, grounded and roared magnificently and sent a shiver up my spine. Beats echoed my whole body. Laser beams and flames heated up the show. During three and half hours the boy group sung and danced passionately, fans chanted to the rhythm enthusiastically. Singing an encore, the show ended with silvery confetti. I was completely burned out.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Chaeyoung Son/Task 4.2 & 4.4/Thursday 1-3pm

4.2

I haven't slept for several days, I felt heavy when closed my eyes. The blare of car horns and a cackle of laughter came from between the chattering teeth were mixed then reached my ears. But I couldn't say who exactly said what because I dozed off. It was the weekday morning, so middle-age women's voices flooded the café. I didn't hear the voice of children or teenagers. A sound of coffee machine was faintly heard. The aroma of coffee greeted my nose suddenly. The coffee was on my desk, in front of me, but I was not sure the smell was from mine. Maybe a smell of coffee filled the whole café. The cushion on my sofa was covered with silk. It could be velvet or different types of fabrics but felt like silk. But it wasn't soft and fluffy. Impulsively I reached out and took the coffee cup on my desk. It was already lukewarm. I had a quick swill of Americano. Its taste was stronger than brewed coffee so my forehead knotted in a frown. It had a burn and pucker taste.

 

I went to the outdoor cafe near my house. After reading my writing, I noticed my writing is very unkind. It is a fragmentary report of an event. I need to describe a sensation more abundantly like using metaphor.

 

4.4

classroom

Empty, wall, desks, picture drawn in chalk on the blackboard

sound of footsteps, breathing,

smell of dust

dry, windy

The classroom was empty but for me and the boy. We were just watching each other without saying a word. I was sitting in silence, it felt really awkward. The classroom was so quiet that not even a breath was heard. To break the ice, I looked away and watched the interior of classroom. The white curtains fluttered in the breeze and it looked like a ghost. All the curtains in class are floating was spectacular scenery. A pleasant breeze brushed past my face and my hair played on shoulders. Someone was walking over my grave. I flashed him a glance then shifted gaze towards to the foreground. A blackboard was covered with a mass of scribbles and notices. Like "Chaemin has to return books in two days" or "I want to eat some mangooooooooooooo L!". It was probably a week since someone last cleaned the blackboard. And also the bullentin board. It covered all over with the massive amount of paper and colourful memo pads. Suddenly, there were sounds of shoes. We quickly pressed ourselves against the wall to the corridor. The wall that I stood with back was freezing cold. And I stretched out my hand, it touched a rough wall. My mouth felt completely dry and my palms were soaked in sweat. Then the window above us was opened.

Yunji Kim/Task 4.3 & 4.4/ Thurs 1-3 PM

4.2

 

Bus stop at midnight:

Cars swishing by, giggling sound, someone shouting, smell gasoline and rotten food, painful freezing wind, skidding noise of cars, honking, police siren, someone bursting music in their car, announcement of bus arrivals.

 

4.4

Sight: My mom's painting, dresser with a huge mirror, bathroom door,

Sound: TV noises, whispering, car noise

Smell: mom's cosmetics, shampoo

Touch: fluffy blanket, soft bed, soft pillow

 

I used to sleep with my mom and my dad until I was 6 years old. For some reason, I remember our room clearly although I was pretty young at that time. I can still see myself sleeping in my own pink bed right next to my parents'. My bed was like baby's bed. It was really high, I could barely climb up my bed. It had pink pillow, pink blanket and pink teddy bear. The teddy bear was all worn out. Its' ears were almost falling apart. Right next to my bed was my mom's dresser. She kept all her cosmetics and perfumes there so the room always smelled like make up. Sometimes the room was full of rose and sometimes was full of lilac.

Whenever I closed my eyes to sleep, I could hear the TV sound from the living room, and gentle whispers of my family. They talked quietly to not wake me up. I could also hear cars honking through the big window above the head of my bed.

There was a restroom inside our room. My parents always kept the door closed but I could still smell shampoo and soap. I could smell fresh smells of toothpaste also. Right next to the bathroom door was my mom's painting. Her painting room was across the living room. She loved to hang her work on the wall. I remember staring at her abstract painting until I gently fell into sleep.

 

 

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Jaeyoung Choi/ Task 4.2 & 4.4/ Thursday 1-3pm

4.2

 

I was home sitting in front of my desk. I close my eyes and the only thought that runs my mind is the comfortableness that surrounds me. I can hear the buzzing sound of the refrigerator and the dripping sound of the dishwasher. There are people passing by my house, I could hear them talking and laughing. It sounded as if they were having lots of fun. Before closing my eyes, I had done the laundry so the smell of the clean clothes is all over my house. The smell reminds me of my house back in Guatemala. Also, there is some preheated kimchi stew on the stove, and the smell mixed with the clothing smell that it has caused the environment to become even more like home. The taste of the stew is salty and in a way creamy because of the pork that has been dissolving its grease to the soup. It is delicious. I can't believe that the stew is so good that tastes as if my mother herself prepared it to my brother and I. My feet are warning because of the heating floor, but I still can feel a small breeze of cold air hitting my legs because of the open window. It is very comfortable. It is very quite and peaceful. Now I can refer to this place as my second home.

 

4.4

 

·      Sight: Glamping restaurant in Itaewon. Cozy but fancy environment at the same time.

·      Sound: Sizzling sound of the meat and boiling pasta noodles and steam of the crab. Walkie-Talkies of the workers communicating about the places of the reservations for each guest.

·      Smell: Meat and Seafood. The burning carbon smell is very strong and fills the outside of the restaurant.

·      Touch: A very soft pillow to seat.

·      Taste: Delicious salty meat and steamed seafood. The pasta and risotto is cooked to perfection, not so salty and not undercooked.

 

It was all a new experience to me. My best friend had planned her birthday dinner reunion at this place called Glamping. I guess the meaning of the name is glamorous but with a camping environment. The place had a very cozy environment because as we got into the restaurant we could feel the barbeque smell surrounding us. It was very warm inside the restaurant. We were seated on big pillows on the floor. As soon as we sat, because a yellow light is pointing direct to us, we grab our phones and start taking selfies. We chat and fool around by making funny faces and remembering the old times back in Guatemala. The food takes a long time to cook. I think we waited like twenty minutes for them to bring us the food. It was worth waiting. The food was delicious. I remember that as soon as we try the risotto all of us fall in love with it. We ate so fast that when the rest of the food came, our table was quite because of all of the chewing. After eating, we take some more pictures and later on we decide that this place would be our place for every upcoming birthday. It was a very pleasant experience. 

Calvin Bun Lee / Task 3.3 & 3.4 / Thursday 1-3pm

Tasks 3.3

First of all, I have to say it's an interesting story. The rainy day arouses someone's unconscious feeling of someone.

 

I do want to believe that the writer was in love with this man. For example, as she stated, "… the rain reminds me of him, but I can't help it." It definitely showed that she can't escape to think of this man. Also, in the 2 paragraph, "The rain plays a music that has a quiet harmony; he have a voice just like that." It showed that the voice of the man makes her comfortable and also…… memorable.

 

I don't know the exact answer of "He is the brother of the rain". Maybe the writer want to show the strong inter-relationship between the man and the rain. Maybe she thought that the rain was taught by the man and the rain teach the writer to keep remembering the man.

Sometimes, love is a complicated matter, right? I would say it is a kind of long lasting missing as she had stated, "But now, this rain, which reminds me of him, talks all day long and I am listening to it." She implied that she can't stop missing him if the rain doesn't stop.

 

Task 3.4

 

My boss is an ass hole.

My mother is a full moon.

My father is a big hill.

My teacher is soil.

My girlfriend is a tiger.

 

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Seung-Hui Jeong / Tast 4.2, 4.4 / Thursday 1-3PM

Task 4.2

             The smell of chlorine hits my nose first. I pad towards the source of the smell bare footed, with the rough floor digging into my feet. I could hear the sounds of water splashing, whistle blowing, and people yelling and laughing. I could hear someone heave out of the water by the sound of a rather large amount of water spilling onto the edges of the pool. My first dip into the pool feels cool on my toes as the rest of my body warms up from the sun. I carefully climb into the water so as not to scare my nerves from the sudden change in temperature and I gasp gratefully as I finally sink myself in the cool water to get the last remaining heat out of my body. I can taste the chemical of the unpleasant cleanliness of the water as I dunk my head under water and out again. My feet graze the tiled floors of the swimming pool and as I glide over to the shallow side of the pool, I have to kneel down in order to still have my upper body underwater and my knees grate the tiles in the process. I could feel the water pressure tighten around my chest but it doesn't feel bad. I feel my face beginning to absorb heat and I dunk my head in the water quickly for the coolness. The contrast between the heat of the sun and the coolness of the water is such that it feels invigorating to go back and forth between them. I drown out my teacher's voice into a distance hum as I dunk my head underwater again.

 

Task 4.4

Sight: shelves of children's books, children in uniform, circular hanging chairs dangling from the ceiling, green, red

Sound: sound of children giggling, librarians hushing children, my friend humming

Smell: cleanliness, fresh laundry

Touch: cushiness

 

My old school had all the grades from kindergarten to high school all in one place. It was divided according to buildings, but my then high school self could walk into for instance, the elementary area quite easily. Which was what I did often with a friend. No one else in my high school did this, unless they had a sibling to pick up after school. But my friend and I always hated the lack of privacy in the high school section, which was how we ended up in the elementary section. It was by pure coincidence when we stumbled into the elementary sector that we realized how much better it was. It was a place where all our childhood rested and it seemed very much like an ongoing childhood memory. Always there, as though that particular section of the school was an everlasting piece of the past. We were both nostalgic for the past and longed for pieces of our childhood and made this place our very own sanctuary. It may have seemed rather odd since not only did we stand out like giants among the children, our uniform shirts were navy whereas the elementary had red shirts. We stood out like two dark towers amongst the perky bright bouncy children.

We would go to the elementary library, which in my memory felt like Willa Wonka's for books. There weren't any smelly high school boys, everything was petite and clean, with giant cushions and carpeted stairs for kids to lounge around freely. But what grabbed our attention and made us moan with jealousy were the hanging chairs dangling from the ceiling. They resembled giant clear orbs and was open on one side for people to get in. They dangled two feet off the ground with red plushy cushions inside them. As we hopped in, the plushy cushions engulfed us and made us instantly unable to get out. I sank deeper into the cushion and into the smell of fresh laundry. My feet dangling off the floor, I immediately had a desire to kick my shoes off and snuggle deeper into the chair. As the chair twirled around from the chain it hung from, I was forced to take a look outside. I could hear rain thudding against the windows and the library suddenly seemed a lot cozier. I saw one kid smuggle a cookie out from his bag, broke off a small piece and pushed it sneakily into his mouth with his two eyes never leaving the page of the colorful book he was reading. A few kids who just came in tossed their bags randomly in a corner and went directly for the shelves, leaving a light muddy path of footprints in the carpet. One kid had a finger in her mouth, which was gently open as she skimmed the shelves, pondering carefully over which book to read. As it became time to leave, we regretfully heaved our bodies out from the orbs, and slouched our way to the entrance. As soon as I smelled the rain outside, it made me long for the warmth inside the library. 

Jung Aa Ahn/ Task 4.2&4.4 / Thursday 1-3 pm

4.2

     Hwikyung Girl's Middle School is the middle school in front of my house, which I have attended for six months after returning from the States.I sit in the teacher's office as I wait for my teacher to come.
     When I closed my eyes, the first thing I hear is the busy opening and closing of the sliding door as the excited students ran in and out, doing their after school duties. A student runs in, throws the door open with a loud bang. The noise is immediately followed by the annoyed comment of a teacher, probably the oldest in the office - "Are you trying to break our poor old door? Have some respect! That thing is probably older than you!"
    "Sorry!" the student yells as they sprint off elsewhere. She must be excited to go home, or she must be very lightweight. Her footstep sounds very light. A faint tap tap tap trails her out the hallway.
     I chose the visible part of the seat in the small talking area in the corner of the office on purpose, but I feel the young eyes, as well as wise, old ones, piercing me. I open my eyes for a brief moment to make myself invisible behind the flimsy screen. It feels weird to acknowledge that it has been more than six years since I have graduated. I still feel like a middle school student, yet I am already 21.
     The office has always smelled faintly of chalk, although it has been a while since they stopped using chalks. The dry scent of the chalk blends in with the odor of the new whiteboard markers. The office is the only place in the entire school which uses whiteboard markers. All the classes have a blackboard, which is written on with a liquid chalk. One can also taste the remnant of the coffee from the morning in the air, almost aired out from the countless open and close of the office doors. The smell brings back memories. It smells just like it used to when I attended school six years ago.
     The chair that I am sitting in is generally for the teachers only. I have never dreamed that I would be able to sit in this chair as a guest back then. When I last sat in it, I was a new student in school - the strange girl from California who has decided to transfer in the middle of the last school year. The chair is made of leather. The typically is icy cold when one first sits on it. The cold almost feels uncomfortable in the new, abrupt winter that has been brought upon us. I remember it feeling better during the summer, when it is sticky and boiling hot outside and in the classrooms. I shift side to side in the uncomfortable skirt I have picked out specially for this occasion in an attempt to warm the seat up. The attempt did not go to waste. The leather seat slowly warmed up to match my temperature.
     "Who are you?" a low voice with a tang of dialect - I am still not familiar enough with the different areas of Korea to tell which - breaks into my meditation and demands. It is the voice that I can still recognize after all the years. It is my teacher that I have been waiting for. I cannot stop the smile lightening up my entire face in recognition. I open my eyes to greet him.
     "Don't you remember me?



4.4

Sight: Red and green ribbons, white Christmas lights, green and lively plants

Sound: Carols, jazz, excited squeals of little children, chatters of my friends, all slightly blurred out.

Smell: Cinnamon, nutmeg, Abrocrombie and Fitch perfume, clay, kiln, fire, forest, woods, faint popcorn smell

Touch: Stinging cold air, wind


I spent the most of my puberty in California. The part that I lived in, Rancho Palos Verdes, a small town in the peninsula of the southern outskirts of the Golden State, is somewhat like the stereotypical image of California. It is generally warm, and the town is generally dry from the desert weather. It iss different in the sense that it often gets fogged up. My town is literally the peninsula itself. The fog from the ocean often creeps up and covers the peninsula in thick white folds of fog.

Unlike what people imagine about my town, the winter in Rancho Palos Verdes is chilly in its own way. Girls shudder in short shorts and UGG boots, and boys run around to fight the cold in their surfer pants. Regardless, many gladly welcome the chilly weather. It marks the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year.

The mall that I visited the most often, named the Promenade, is an outdoor mall. It has a fountain in the center of the mall in which children giggle and run around in during the summer. In the winter, a 6-meter tall Christmas tree takes its place. The Christmas tree is green with the festive gold ribbons twirled around its gigantic body. Gold ball ornaments, covered in thick sparkles, are hanged up in an orderly fashion. An ornament is almost as big as a baby's head to match the huge body of the tree. The tree is also thickly covered in wires of lights. During the night, the tree is lighted up with a golden glow that lights up the entire central grounds. The shops also start setting up Christmas decorations in their show windows. Some managers often get excited enough to make their mannequins wear Santa hats.

One of the best parts of the season in California is that you can still see live plants for it is not cold enough for them to go into hibernation. Green plants with the festive season may sound a little off, but that is what I love and miss the most. 

The speakers placed in different parts of the mall play carol, typically jazz, to celebrate the season. It is just enough to make the mall a little more festive. It is never too loud, and does not disturb the shoppers from enjoying their walk around the mall. The shoppers are not loud accordingly. Their chats only echo a bit until it gets lost in the merry music. Some whistle to the familiar tunes, some sing to themselves. When it really becomes the season, the people carry around big shopper bags, red and gold in celebration, in preparation for the big day.

The air, once it gets near even Thanksgiving, starts smelling of cinnamon and nutmeg. The delicious smell blends with the nutty smell of coffee from Starbucks to create the atmosphere. The smell has the magic of transforming even the strong, tangy perfume of Abercrombie&Fitch into something festive. The aroma transforms the typical everyday smell of the mall - the earthy smell of clay from the art class, warm tang from the kiln, faint popcorn, evergreens - to magically make the mall a more beautiful place.