Memoir (Assignment 1)

This piece is the second draft of an in-class assignment I wrote before. The prompt was to write "anything," but start every sentence with "I remember." After the first class, the rule was slightly lifted for the second draft, but I was quite fond of my original text, so I didn't change a lot.

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I remember waiting the elevator with a suitcase in each hand, staring at the beige apartment door I will never see again. I remember the taxi ride to Incheon, and the farewells I had to make with my friends and family. I remember getting off a different taxi, this time on an unfamiliar night street in Paris, and how awed yet dreadful I felt about my surroundings and future. I remember the desperate feeling of being rescued when we were warmly welcomed by a fellow Korean lady in our temporary guest house. I remember being horrified by the littered pigeon and dog feces on the streets the next day; the countless beggars, the supermarkets that seemed impossible to access compared to the 24-hour convenience stores in Korea. I remember dreading the 3 years I had to spend in the alien land, and the number of times I whined to my parents about wanting to go home.
Then I remember starting school and making friends. I remember their faces and the conversations we had: Fraser Cowie, from Scotland, and our common interest in Star Wars and legos; Rintaro Oi, from Japan, who seemed to like everything I liked; Kiwhan Youn, a fellow Korean who I am still closest friends with. I remember the times I spent with this group, digging holes and looking for insects in break time, acing every math and science class, sometimes getting scolded for running around with big stones in the school forest.

I remember the journeys I had with my family all around Europe during the very long vacations of French schools; the amazing chateaus that I used to think were useless piles of rubble, the beautiful buildings of Gaudi under the glaring Spanish sun, the famous German food that everyone loves but me, the Gondola rides and glass ornaments of Venice, the ferry trip along the Nile in Egypt where I spent half the time sick in the bathroom, and possibly my favorite: the glorious glaciers and waterfalls of Iceland, the wild whales we encountered and all the other natural wonders I thought I were the only one who knew the existence of.

I remember the kind French neighbors, my private French teacher who came every Thursdays, and the baker downstairs I always met to buy a fresh baguette for my family's breakfast every Saturday at 10 in the morning. I remember how beautiful the Seine and the Eiffel Tower looked whenever I was on my way to the Louvre for art lessons.

I remember all the other things I forgot. I remember how much I had grown fond of the alien land, the dog poop, and the beggars by the time I had to leave. I remember my 3 years in Paris, and how I'd do anything to revisit.

I remember the happiest days of my life.

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