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Showing posts from November, 2023

Dangerous Dong Hwa: How I Was Bewitched

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  Visiting Dong Hwa is dangerous. If you do, you may want to stay indefinitely, or worse, become a student.   Growing up in a suburban, sparsely populated area in South America, I knew early on that living in big cities would mean m y death. I knew I wanted to see green stuff, except on my plate, and animals and streams and mountains every day. So it was hardly shocking when, after just one trip, I settled for Dong Hwa. My fate had been sealed from the start.    The first place that caused a deep impression in me was, surprise, surprise, the lake. A lake on a college campus! It was unthinkable to me, coming from a place where most schools are dull buildings with worn-out paint. After resisting the urge to take a swim (though I would have kept my clothes on, I was told it was forbidden), I gazed at the colorful fish coming and going under the bridge. And oh, those fish! Which, I wonder, should I have for lunch?     (Note: I was also told that you may feed the fish, but not feed on them.