This world falls on me

Yeah, it's true. It's another Indigo Girls song.

"I'm coming home with a stone strapped onto my back
I'm coming home with a burning hope
turning all my blues to black
I'm looking for a sacred hand to carve into my stone
A ghost of comfort, angel's breath,
to keep this life inside my chest
This world falls on me, hopes of immortality
Everywhere I turn all the beauty just keeps shaking me..."
-- from 'world falls'

Today was sunny and lovely. I wandered and I was productive. I was productive both with writing at home, and with errands out in the world. I have also noticed more and more people attentively watching World Cup games in public places, I might add. Furthermore, I found out that you can text message Google info on your cell phone and they'll send you World Cup scores. I love that!

But I digress.

World Falls, World Cup, world world world. What a wonderful world! I was in Harvard Square today. I have been in Harvard Square most of the days that I have been back in Cambridge/Boston. It is just the central point I pass through so often. And since coming back from Korea, I like it even more than I used to. Today I was just running errands there: bank, post office, coffee, CVS...but other days I have gone there to meet a friend for a drink or eat Mexican food. Yes, I have been eating Mexican food at every possible opportunity. It's true.

Today I also wandered into the Globe Corner bookstore, in its new location. It's a travel books and maps store. I like it. I hadn't been to it since it moved. It used to be right across from the Mexican restaurant. Anyway, I found myself looking at the Korean books. I just had to look at them to sort of see what looking at them was like now that I've been there done that. It was strange. I flipped through Culture Shock! Korea and nodded a lot.

They had Simon Winchester's book about Korea, which I had actually meant to buy and bring with me, and which I will still probably read, soon. But I didn't buy it today. I just looked. I liked the quote at the start of Chapter 1, from Hendrick Hamel's 1668 book The Description of the Kingdom of Corea, the first Western account of the 'Hermit Kingdom': "This Kingdom is very dangerous, and difficult for Strangers."

I used to complain about Boston a lot. I didn't mean to complain exactly; more like I just felt its flaws needed to be acknowledged as openly as its attributes. There are so many people here who've never left Massachusetts and whose families have been here for like fourteen generations and they just don't KNOW anything about the West Coast, say, for all their judgment of it...but after Korea, I find I like Boston more and more.

It must seem like I'm a total Korea hater. I'm really not at all. I've just experienced so much in the last nine months, and I can barely wrap my mind around it all. But lovely wandering days like today make it all very nice.

"This world falls on me with dreams of immortality.
Everywhere I turn all the beauty just keeps shaking me
I'm running, to the ends of the earth
I'm swimming, to the edge of the sea
And I'm laughing, I'm under starry skies
This world was meant for me
Don't bury me, carry me!"