It's Late

It's thursday. It's late. I'm sitting around in my apartment with just the light from my small desk lamp and the glow from my laptop illuminating the surroundings. All of my windows are open still, holding on to that last shot at warm weather before fall is completely underway and winter starts knocking. From outside I can hear people talking as they walk down the street. I hear scooters and motorcycles, their engines piercing the still of the night. I look out the window and see the eerie glow of red crosses dotting the shyline. I can see the bold neon signs of some of the taller buildings in town. The cool blue neon to the left of the small hotel with a traditional sauna. I can see the bright flashing red and white neon of a billiards hall on the other end of the city. I can see the strange bright solid red sign of a business just one street over and down the hill. It's nights like this, when the television is off, and all is quiet, that I can appreciate Korea the most. Only at night does the strange and foreign quality of the city just melt away. All that I'm left with is the dark and the quiet, like an old friend. It reminds me of quiet nights back home in the U.S. Sitting on the back deck, waiting for my dog to stop exploring the yard so I can get to bed. Those cool summer nights just sitting out and enjoying the quiet. That time of night when no one else is awake and the world belongs only to you.

So, to my friends in the states. You're all getting up and just starting your day. My day is over and I'm enjoying the quiet and the solitude. Spare a thought for me during your hectic morning routine, won't you?