This was originally written in October of 2010 and never published. Here it is now.

So this is it, the afterglow;  what I’ve been thinking about for so long has finally come — total relaxation and a time to really reflect on all those things really missed so much. And what did I miss the most? Not sure anymore — been back over a month now and it’s all the same as it ever was. Snapped right out of it. And whatever that feeling was before coming home, I miss it. Leaving was far more emotional than I ever thought. Looking through some of my previous notes, it seems I really did not enjoy teaching English at ECC. BUT, the overall experience was well worth the aggravation. Well worth it.

The trip home pretty much sucked: 4 hour bus ride to the airport, 2 hour flight to Shanghai which resulted in one fuck show of an International transfer that took us through customs and security (twice), 14 hour flight to New York, quick BLT in Ozone Park,1 hour flight to Boston, and finally… an ice cold Shipyard at my friend’s house where I slept for 16 hours on the couch. When flying around the world, never transfer in China!

There’s something to be said about teaching English in foreign countries as a form of cultural imperialism. Let’s use fashion as an example. For the longest time in Korea, I wanted some clothing designed with Hangul, but all the trendy shops ever had in stock were representations of the West; Coca-Cola jeans, Marlboro tees, Ive League sweatshirts — pretty much any emblem of bootlegged American pop culture one could imagine. You’ve caught me rambling again.