Italian 190 Moments that Resonate Memoir

When I was three years old, I lie on my side with my mom lying on her side in front of me. “Umma, your hair is like silk.” I didn’t know what those words meant at the time except that my mom did not think she had soft hair.

“Cue-won ah,” my mom murmured my name, “this is the last time you are going to run your fingers through my hair.” “Okay,” I told her in the dark; I still sneak in a touch to this day.

 

When I was ten-years old, I used to sigh when I saw my hairs fall and disappear into the shower drain. I lost a part of myself with every hair fiber that departed from my head. Sigh.

Now, I just put the strands of hair on the shower wall so it won’t clog the drain but back then, I felt like a hero saving my hair fibers from their watery death.

Waiting in line, standing against the wall before art class in elementary school, another hair fiber fell off. I wrapped it around my finger really tight (and I may or may not have swallowed it.)

If I lose a part of myself, wouldn’t I be able to retain it if I put it back inside myself?

When I lost my friends, I tried to hold them so tight; remember the good ol’ days?

But hair strands are hard to knot.

So I swallowed a part of myself that desired to have close friends. Besides, I have books and studies and ambitions and goals to keep me busy. I swallowed my hurts and hopes in the hope that maybe if I keep it all inside me, those relationships that have already fallen away, the hair follicles fallen off my scalp, would still be real and a part of me.

But

my hair grows.

I no longer mourn over the loss of a hair because I know that my hair grows.

It served its time faithfully and when its time came to depart, it did so fearlessly. I respect that.

I’m not talking about when you forcefully pull hair out and it causes pain… I am talking about the hairs that fall off noiselessly, painlessly, as if no one knew it had even left.

With every fallen hair, a new one grows. With every relationship that came, left, a new one appears, and if you wait long enough, old ones can grow longer and longer too.

 

My hair is my curtain. I tie a ponytail over my eyes to shield from the blinding lights of classroom lights and sunlight alike.

My hair is like a cheetah’s tail going back and forth when I run.

My hair reveals age. I found a single white fiber of hair on Valentine’s Day. I taped it to my music theory notebook and sighed because it camouflaged right into the page.

My hair is the one thing beautiful on a head and disgusting apart from it. (e.g. hair at the bottom of a drain)

My hairs keeps my head warm–a personal hat.

My hair is countless, but reminds me of Someone who knows the exact number of hairs on my head.

 

Dear Hair, thank you.

Sincerely,

Claire Lee

Since childhood, I was everywhere. Our family went to China, Japan, Italy, France, Portugal, and Germany every now and then whenever we had time. Most often visited places were Spain and America, because few members of my family live abroad in Madrid and States for quite awhile, and I always took visit during breaks. Traveling around countries since young helped me to have an open mind, and experience various cultures and languages. Trying out their food, traditions, and visiting markets to test my horrible linguistic skills, I quickly noticed, we are not that different, except for Korea. Korea was always busy, and they have their most famous quote; quicker quicker (bbally bbally 빨리빨리). Taking a break from busy, populated, and restlessness, I just can’t wait for another good long plane flight.

As a type of kid who really enjoys experiencing new things, traveling was and still is one of my hobbies. However, it wasn’t the case for a specific trip. It was a sunny but a cold day. I walked out of my room, looking around the house I have been living for 7 years. Dragging my two huge pieces of luggage out from my house, I felt a weird feeling of sadness that I had no idea where it was coming from. Hopping into the car with my parents and a sister, I started to realize this would be the last time I will see my family in 2018. On a way to the airport, I went through the forest of buildings in Daechi, which was the scenery I used to see every day, and drove along the Han river, seeing a huge stream of water traveling on the same way as myself. As the airport was getting closer and closer, I saw a gigantic Incheon bridge waiting in front of me as if they were trying to say a final goodbye for my departure. By saying goodbye to my family, with a heavy footstep, I pushed myself towards the fusty airbus and sat on my seat. Since then, my 14 hours of flight started, leaving my heart behind in Korea, even though my body was on its way to Atlanta.

Week 3 I went

I am a nomad.

My dad always wanted me to live like a nomad: a person who can go everywhere, a person who does not have limit. As he wished, our family has lived in different cities and different countries. The view outside of my bedroom window has changed from time to time: a lake from Athens, an apartment from Seoul and Daegu, an Ocean from Weihai, and a forest from Johns Creek. This restless movement has expanded my boundaries. I was not a little puppy stay in the cage. Outside the cage, the life was more vibrant and colorful.

.

I went alone. I bought a Greyhound ticket at the local gas station and took the bus that departed at 10 a.m. that same morning. I sat in the back near a window and watched the crisp Pennsylvania farmlands transition to dirty New Jersey suburbs. Then, the city regally emerged. A queen amongst the docks, factories, and train stations that she presides over.

     I grew up with the city. Throughout my childhood, my family would see Broadway shows, tour  art museums, and eat at trendy restaurants. However, this time it was different. I was alone and felt that because of this, I was in some inexplicable way, more mature. The entire bus ride I kept thinking about how Billy Joel the whole thing was of me, to take a Greyhound on the Hudson River line. To ride the subway. To crash at a friend’s apartment. It made me feel like a New Yorker and a New Yorker is cool.

I went

Waking up to the sound of the church bells, I slowly open my eyes and listen, listen to this unknown melody that fills my heart with joy. Here I am, far away from home but I feel neither sadness nor sorrow, I am happy, the city in which I have just set foot awaits me…

As I walk for the first time across these streets and avenues, I stop to observe the people interacting around me; a man seated at a café reads his newspaper, another eats an enormous maritozzo con pana, children run to school… I hear the chatter, the beauty of all these voices expressing themselves in language I do not yet understand. As I make my way through the walls of the Vatican, I see the sun rising in the distance and admire for a minute the piazza San Pietro suddenly filled with light, simply dazzling.

Rome, marvelous city, city of my dream, where were you all this time ? I remember my fear when I first came to you, fear of loneliness… But how can one be lonely once welcomed into your midst ? Your houses, your palazzi, your food, even your river talk to me, they attract me, they bewitch me; do you recall the hours I spent, seated on yours bridges, your bench, the steps of your churches? Nothing mattered more to me than watch you and your wonders. City of my heart, you saw me as I fell in love for the first time in the villa medici, coming slowly to know myself as I was discovering you. More than a place, you appeared as a goddess, a mystical being helping me on my journey, this beautiful adventure that we call life.

They say that all roads lead to Rome, well mine surely did.

I went to the bottom,

Sweeping my brush across the canvas,

Filling every nook and cranny

With shades of brown and green.

 

I went to the top,

Capturing the midnight sky,

Creating my own galaxies

And the stars that live within it.

 

I went inside my mind,

Questioning the look in their eyes

As they gaze upon my creation.

Promises of bright ideas

Shine before me like

A beacon of hope.

 

I went to the corner,

Signing my name and

Leaving my legacy for

Years and years

To come.

Since I was young, my family often went on vacation trips whenever we had time for it, and those really made my childhood memorable. The most memorable one out of all the trips that we’ve gone to is our most recent trip to Quebec, Canada. My cousin came over to my house from Korea over winter break, and my family decided to visit Quebec. Some of the reasons why we chose Quebec were because the city is known for having beautiful winter decorations, is close to where we live, and it’s also known as the area where the Kdrama Goblin was filmed. Both my family and my cousin enjoyed that drama, and we’ve always wanted to visit the city one day. When I actually went to Quebec, it was a lot colder than I thought. On most days, the weather was less than 5 degrees Fahrenheit, so it made our trip a little bit difficult. However, we still got to visit all the famous places, stay at the most famous hotel in Quebec, and even play at North’s America’s largest winter park. Because we went over the holiday break, we got to see New Year’s count down as well. Out of all the things we did, I thought the winter park was the most memorable one. It had about 30 sledding slopes, including ones that are really steep and ones where you can go down the slope with 10+ people. I’ve been on multiple vacation trips, but our recent Quebec trip was by far one of the most enjoyable ones.

Every year, I go on a family vacation to different destinations. We usually travel abroad twice a year and explore the best of the country’s food and culture. Last summer, I went to Italy and spent fabulous two weeks with my family. Traveling across Italy from Rome to Pisa to Venice to Capri, I was amazed by the different feel and vibes each of these cities have. Being the first city I visited, for instance, Rome was imposing and unforgettable. I was amazed by its rich archaeological and architectural heritage, such as the Spanish Steps, Fontana di Trevi, Roman Forum, Pantheon, and Colosseo, and how such historical sites are still so well-preserved. The strong sense of history I felt around the sites even made me forget how crowded and hot Rome was. Capri, on the other hand, was a perfect place for me to retreat myself with full of great restaurants and spectacular views but with fewer tourist spots. The Marina Piccola beach, in particular, was an unforgettable site, as I was able to swim in the emerald water and have a relaxing time with my family on the shaded cushions. Riding a boat on a hot summer day was another exciting experience I had in Capri; I spent a day on a boat, touring the coast and enjoying the gorgeous clear water that surrounds the island. Although it has been a long time since I went on a family vacation, I vividly remember the different vibes of different cities and truly miss the bright summer days of Italy.

 

Ever since I was young, my family went to various places around the world. We traveled to Japan, Europe, Thailand, Canada, and many more countries together. However, going to a place and traveling to a place is different. For me, there are four places where I can call home: Canada, China, Korea, and the US. These countries, I went and made home at. I was a 4th grader when I first lived outside of Korea. Together with my twin brother and my mom, we went to Canada, leaving my dad Korea because of his job. At first, it was hard to fit in as it was my first time living out of my home country, and compared to Korea, so many things were different. But if someone asks when the most memorable moment in my life is, I am confident that I will choose the time we lived in Canada, as this experience has taught me many valuable lessons. I learned to be open-minded and learned to accept someone as he/she are without judging them by their outlooks or nationality. With this lesson learned in my, I am looking forward to many more places that I will go.