A sweet smelling aroma permeated the air. It was coming from a freshly baked cake. The occasion was unknown to me but naturally I was excited. My father carefully pulled out a knife and sliced me a giant chunk of the cake. As I reached for the cake I could feel saliva gathering in my mouth. The chocolate began to drip and my mouth continued to water. I smoothly cut a piece of the cake and slid it in my mouth. I savored the taste of the warm chocolate. At this point I knew that nothing could possibly go wrong. Nothing could ruin this moment.
Nothing - except the taste of a sweet cake going bitter.
I remember the day as if it were yesterday. The day that I felt my dreams had been shattered forever. The day I realized that my life, from then on, would never be the same.
Urban combat in Seoul, 1950, as US Marines fight N...
Map of Korea 대한민국전도 大韓民國全圖
ソウル地域の地図This day was the life-changing moment in which my father had told me that my family was moving to Seoul, Korea.
I was only eight years old at the time, and the reality of losing my beloved friends to a factor as menial as distance frightened me. It took me many long hours to digest the information I had been given. I tried to be optimistic at first, but found that the only idea that might better the situation was to think of how I would get to experience my mother's Korean culture firsthand. Even optimism could not save me. To think of having to go to a new land which, at this time I ignorantly thought of as a third world country, was severe. I was not yet ready to start my life anew. To me, the commute to Korea was like being thrown out of an...