Grace/Seoul

Grace said she spent most of her time in Korea. I asked her a simple question of,

“Oh, what reminds you of Seoul?”

I honestly didn’t expect a long answer, but this is what Grace said to me,

“Seoul is my home. It is the place I remember when I listen to Korean ballad music; when I stare at the sizzling Korean bbq right in front of me; when I drown my sorrow in soju; when I sing my heart out at a Korean karaoke place in K-town; when I meet a Korean dude to drink soju with; when I watch Korean game shows that are just so, amazingly atrociously funny; when I smell city trees after a heavy rain; when I experience humid summers; when I encounter rather greasy and typical middle aged Korean business men; when I smoke cigarettes while walking on a cold, cold winter day; when I drink fish cake soup; when I see the growing wrinkles next to my mother’s eyes; when I see the gold teeth in my grandma’s mouth, when I see my grandfather’s denture, when I see a foil wrapped soap in the bathtub, when I find a kimchee bucket in the bathroom, when I unexpectedly find still photographs from of my childhood while packing to move, when I look at my Korean calligraphy trophy….And when I’m lonely at 3am in Boston surfing the web with tears in my eyes…”