This isn’t about literature, per se, or any literary work in particular, though it begins at Barnes & Noble, last Sunday morning.

I was at the bookstore, within walking distance from my apartment, when a book in the discount section caught my eye - Sunlight Print Photography Kit, by Kate Marlowe. It seemed like a fun book to buy for my kids, to give them an opportunity to try something different in a medium they’ve taken up the last couple of years.

I've never been considered morenita since I was a little girl. The last time I was truly morenita was when I was 5 years old. Since then, I've always tried getting that dark sultry tan each summer...that is once I got to high school not since the time I turned six. Each summer and on vacations con las chicas I have not been successful in achieving that tan I've always wanted. Mis amigas siempre se ponen morenas. I got tanned, but in comparison to them I was not morena. Pero aqui en Korea, I am for the first time ever in a long, long while morena. And guess what?! I don't particularly want to be so anymore.
I had to move to another country to obtain the tan I wanted and now I don't care much for it. If I were back in Chicago with this tan, I feel I would appreciate it much more. Here in Korea, I am la morena among my Western coworkers and among my Korean coworkers. Korea is big on whiteness. There are creams to make your skin white. Korean standards of beauty are for women to be fair-skinned. Therefore, women here wear foundation a number of shades lighter than their skin-tone and personally, it looks ridiculous. This is the first time my skin color has ever been pointed out to me constantly and although it's not in a negative way (mostly I'm complimented for being able to tan), I find that it bothers me a bit now.
Almost everyday on my morning cab ride to school I am asked by that day's cab driver if I am Filipina, Indonesian, Arab, or Indian. I'm never asked if I'm Latina or American. I'm used to this though because even back home I am asked if I'm Middle Eastern or Latina. When I say Latina, I am asked if I'm from Columbia, Puerto Rico, or some other Latina American country, but hardly ever am I asked if I'm Mexicana. Today my newest Western coworker said, "You're Indian, right?". When I said no I'm Hispanic, her response was, "I was pretty sure you were Indian." Usually being mistaken to be another ethnicity doesn't bother me, but today it did. Maybe it was the way she said it or maybe it was because I've just been mistaken to be another Ethnicity a bit too much lately. I usually do like that I am like a chameleon; I can blend into many different cultures when I visit different countries.
This coming week is my summer vacation and I will be en la China. Aver como me va! My sister is coming too. She's meeting up with me in China and then coming to Korea for a bit to stay with me and experience it for herself. This will be my first time abroad with my sister. We've both been abroad before pero nunca juntas. Bueno, at least we'll be able to pass as Middle Eastern or be ourselves, Latinas, pero not American when we go to the market ;)  They always hike up the prices on Americans.

She had a retro look: Sunglasses too big for her face, a gray dress with the back mid-section cut out, lacey leggings, Billy Idol hair cut. It was like she had taken a ride in the DeLorean, you know that car… (if I have to explain it, you don’t get it.)

This past weekend I got down and dirty, literally. I part-took in Korea's infamous festival known as Mudfest. It's hosted in Boryeong, where the mud is known for its rich minerals. The festival takes place right on the beach where it's convenient to wash off and go for a swim.
The weekend started at 9:30 p.m. on Friday as the girls gathered to hang out. We met at one of our friend's boyfriend's place (so nice of him to let us have a girls night at his place). He lives in one of the buildings in the city known to have nice apartments. Well, let me just tell you that the size of his kitchen is the size of my tiny studio apartment. It was nice to have girl time after a hard work week and just do something chill. Our plans were to call it an early night, therefore, we headed home at 2 a.m. to be ready to meet up at 5 a.m. to catch our cab ride to Busan. Once in Busan, we got on the coach bus to head out on our 5-hour journey to Boryeong.
The weather was not spectacular on Saturday. It was overcast and rainy and by the time we arrived to Mudfest, I honestly was not in the mood to partake in the mud festivities. But once I got some food in me, I was good to go. It was actually nice that it was overcast. I didn't have to worry about getting sunburned. My first mud experience at the fest was being thrown into the mud pool and then being tackled as I tried to get up. Needless to say, I ate mud! I managed to get out after three tackles and then lined up for this cool blown-up obstacle course. I came out with scraped knees and elbows! I shared my "ouchies" with my students on Monday lol.
The next day the weather was beautiful. It was sunny and warm, therefore, we decided to make it a beach day. By the time we got to the beach the sun had gone in and it was cloudy. We felt a bit bummed and I thought i didn't have to put on much sunblock. Big mistake! The sun came out after my dip in the ocean and I had forgotten to reapply. We all forgot to do so :/ ¡Asi que estamos quemadas! Never again will we forget to reapply sunblock!

It was so hot out in Union Park that one of the crew members had to tell people to take care of each other. "This is your festival," he said. "We're here for you. If you see someone going down help them out. Prices of water bottles went down to one dollar, and we'll be giving out free water here."