meeting a real American. Dustin seemed so exotic, and I was
fascinated by the stories of his people. He told me how one of his
parents worked in an oval office, and the other worked in a pentagon.
Americans seem to really love oddly shaped working environments and
that was fine by me. Dustin had never been to London before, and
this was the first time he had left America. It made me feel more at
home, because although I hadn’t lived in London before either,
compared to Dustin I was practically a native. I promised to show him
all that British culture had to offer, and over the weeks and months that
followed we became close friends, often meeting for a game of chess
outside the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, before retiring to one of
the many tabernas for tapas.
Anytime Dustin and I had intensive conversations about our cultures,
Muncho and Rex came out to listen, and often Muncho would provide
more insight on the topics, and make me look even smarter when I
presented them to Dustin.
“You know your stuff, Josh,” he would say. “You have
experienced both the English and Chinese way of life. That’s really
cool. And you are going to experience Korean culture too when you
get there to study. I think you should add America as your next stop
after Korea. You would love it there. Promise me that one day you’ll
go on a big road trip across the states in a ridiculously short amount of
time, and video it for some reason.” I solemnly promised I would.
And so, as I lay in my little turret and gazed at the ceiling, things
were looking up. I looked forward to a great year of learning more about
Korea and meeting the people of SOAS. Classes started the following
week, and little did I know that it would be a week that changed my life
in the most wonderful way.