Palmtree Contemplations

One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”  -Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God- Bronchitis is, strictly speaking, a nasty disease. No matter how you look at it, the whole fact of nasty mucus coating your throat, lungs, and nose cannot be avoided. Days spent in bed, which should be happy times of required rest, are not happy at all, just dreadful and exhausting. After all, how are you supposed to sleep when you're coughing every twenty minutes? Along with bronchitis, another cold and cough have settled in, or perhaps they are just cousins visiting the bronchitis and will soon have to leave. Regardless, I am a bit worn out from all their familial merrymaking. As a result of said bronchitis, I have now officially taught kindergarten and elementary students with no voice. It was a bit like practicing silence, though in this case it was under the duress of teaching 10 hours a day, not during one of those weekends at college when we al

First and foremost, my Lyme is acting up, which means that the entire bus trip and subway ride to Hongdae are both discomfiting. Lyme comes in waves sometimes, and it makes me wants to stay in bed nursing my aching body into some sort of equilibrium. The hair appointment has been made, though, and I can't stand to cancel and keep looking like the same me for another week. It's a funny thing. With everything around me and inside me maintaining a state of flux, it follows that something physical and semi permanent needs to change, too. Hence, the hair appointment and the 50 minute subway ride to Hongdae. When I arrive, I cannot find the hair salon. I walk up one side of the street, then cross and walk up the  otherside. No luck, even with directions a friend gave me. A clown on stilts smiles down at me, holding out an orange balloon flower. I smile back, take the flower, and proceed to get directions. The Hair and Joy salon is full of other expats, which is a good sign. My ha