Arrival

I have arrived to the land of eternal summer.

I will be in America for the next month, dodging COVID and getting chubby, while I take my teaching exams and catch up on holidays with the family.

Time is slow and languid like molassess here.

The streets are wide but empty, the neighborhood is sunny but devoid of human life during the weekdays. The air is clear, the sky is wide and blue, and there’s not a coffee shop for literal miles.

Koreans would be confused: “are you talking about the countryside?”

No, just the strange in-between that is suburbia.

I love the green and I’m thankful that the mild “winter” weather has erased my memories of the oppressive summers. As the snow birds will tell you, this is the best season of Florida.

My face has seen more sunlight in the last week than the entire year; there’s no need to wear a mask in a neighborhood with no people, though I bring one along for solidarity.

I don’t have many plans. My eyes are simply open wide to absorb as much as I can before departing once more.