Yesterday morning I left Jeju Island, South Korea, my home for the last two years. I sat in a vinyl airport seat with a notebook on my lap. The mountain rose to my back, unseen, and the ocean spread at my front, unseen. I sat wrapped in the love that …
This Tuesday, I packed up my seashells. I sat in bed at 2 pm with a gentle fever, popping bubble wrap and catching up on John Oliver. In the far corner of the room sat two open boxes, like the dead bug in an old still-life painting. The memento mori of my time left on Jeju Island, …
Let’s just start this post with the truth: I don’t generally like music. I love good lyrics. I love to dance. I love to sing. If you start humming a bar of anything in my presence, I will keep on singing that song, or something that vaguely approximates it, for …
Two weeks ago, my weekend began when my scooter took a nap. Then my phone died. Then I wandered off of the bus in search of barbecue, carrying in both arms the tent and sleeping bag that the rain had rendered pointless, as the night moved from coffee shop to barbecue to …
As I mentioned in my most recent post, my sixth-grade students spent their last lesson thanking people in different countries who make the world a better place. In this lesson I gave each class a choice of who they wanted to thank: Malala Yousafzai, or the Uruguayan president Jose Mujica. Many chose Malala, and …
For their final lesson, I wanted my 6th grade students from Jeju Island, South Korea, to learn firsthand about the most important words you can say to another person: Thank you. With that in mind, I set out to find people in the world who are worth thanking. Of all the …
I sat down yesterday to write an awesome post about swimming to an untouched island, and the texture of light, and banners of squid drying alongside the fields, and three giant awesome sea caves, all full of tasty details so that you could find all these places yourself. This is not that post. Instead …
This Sunday was exquisite. I woke up at a decent hour, cleaned my apartment, then rode my scooter with a friend down to Uncle Tony’s on the Hagwi-Gwatchi coastal road. We had fish and chips. The perfect pitcher of sangria. All in the sun. Then we headed down the coast …
I would like to introduce you to a very important person in my life: He rocks a bow tie, but still keeps it casual. He’s quite the conversationalist. He carries my stuff without being condescending. He is guaranteed to be there for any adventure. He is Wally, my scooter, and …
Muljil means “water-work.” On Jeju Island, South Korea, this word refers to the work of the haenyeo, the elderly diving women who live as the real-life mermaids of Jeju’s volcanic coast. Or so muljil means on Jeju, at least. Dropping the phrase 물질 (muljil) into google translate, I get the word “substance.” The same …
