Denise

(2009)

I am currently teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) in South Korea. The persons I’ve met here, most of whom are also teaching ESL and experiencing many of the same things that I am, are all really very interesting and intriguing, with excellent life stories to tell.

That being what it is, when we all get together, most of the time we talk about Korea. It can’t be helped. It’s our large, in-your-face, common denominator. And we all need the support and sympathy – this can be aggravating sometimes.

My first interview was with Denise. Denise comes from Canada and lives in Masan, which is about 20 minutes or so away from my city, Changwon. (I hop on the bus and travel there every now and again.) Denise has been a fantastic conversational companion and was at least partially responsible for getting me into the cult classic short-lived sci-fi show, “Firefly.” For 9 months, Denise also survived here as a vegan… which has to be crazy hard. (She has since downgraded/upgraded to vegetarianism for the sake of her sanity.)