“At least you have grass to cut, I have to look at rocks when I’m in my backyard.” I said in a humorous tone. Frank sat back down and said, “I guess I do take things for granted a little bit. It could be worse. Remember back in Korea when they’d lift up the sidewalks and the sewage drains were right there?”

“How could I forget the smell?” It was the most retched, disgusting smell you could possibly imagine. “Seems like only yesterday.” I said.

There was a stain-glass window with a silhouette of the Virgin Mary at the op

posite end of my bed. At night it was only a window, but in the morning, the sun would explode through the glass and it was almost too bright to stare at. I’d lie in my bed for a few minutes, dreading the fact that I’d have to take a shower. The apartment that we lived in was only about half a mile from the military base where my dad worked. We lived on the second story and the hot water never wanted to work. The pipes in that place were old and never wanted to cooperate. The shower was about the size of a normal room. It was humongous. The drain was in the middle and the showerhead was extendable so you could carry it around with you. My sister and I would get into our bathing suits and we’d grab the cooler that my Mom kept in the kitchen. It was an old blue Coleman about the size of one of those min-refrigerators. The hot water would only come on for about twenty seconds, and then it would go back to being freezing for about forty-five. We’d fill up the cooler when the water was hot, then we’d wait and let the water get warm again. Once the cooler was full, we’d take turns getting in it and washing up. Once my sister and I were clean, we’d get dressed and eat breakfast. Usually it was some crazy, generic Korean cereal. I liked it because it was always really sugary and sweet. I’d usually stare at the box for a few minutes and try and decipher the weird letters on the box. They were always colorful and had little characters with big heads but small arms and legs. After breakfast, my mom, sister, and I would

Some topics in this essay:
Virgin Mary, Kim Chee, South Korea, Japan I’ve, Remember Korea, Living Korea, lift sidewalks, spit feet, water mom, hot water,