This morning was interesting. In many ways it was the first day of school. I spent more time than usual dressing for work. It seemed as if somehow though I had been teaching some classes last week, today was more important, today I had to look like a teacher—no, I had to look like THE teacher. I woke up around six thirty and had a Skype date with a friend for a little pep talk. My predecessor triple checked her backs then went for a hike/run; she was leaving ...

I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. What light was coming through the windows was very faint if at all existent. I looked at the clock. 3 AM. I stared back up at the ceiling. I couldn't go back to sleep. I was well rested and awake. I considered getting my computer out to check emails and maybe write a bit, but the light from the screen would be like a flashlight in the dark room and I didn't want to wake my fellow teacher up. My bags were still taking up m...

The light from the waning gibbous moon kept darkness at bay in the early hours of the morning as three people finished loading a van with thirty-pound bags. They hurried into the vehicle and as quietly as possible drove away from the house in rural Mississippi, glad of the empty road. No, this is not the beginning of a Faulkner short story. It is the start of my journey to Korea as a teacher of English as a foreign language, and to some extent, my exploratio...