'Hey mate,' Geoff swung his arm into a handshake. 'Good to see you.'

Summer was beginning in Salisbury. Whole days lazed in the heat, and evenings lingered with a breezy possibility.

'Happy Birthday,' I said, handing him a beer and opening one myself.

Burgers lay burnt beneath the sun, and a drift of smoke made me blink. People were laid out on the grass, a frisbee circle floating nearby.

Steve and Nicole waved through the haze, and I felt a surge of homely happiness.So I sat down, drank in the sun, and talked about South Korea.

Ever since coming back from Thailand, I'd been unable to settle in Salisbury. Culture shock spun my mind across continents. Sitting in an office I was swirling through Phnom Penh, being bitten by mosquitoes in hospital, meeting Kitty, again and again and again.

But I was skint. I couldn't go back, I couldn't go anywhere.Apart from South Korea.

Geoff nodded when I told him about the free flights, accommodation and pay offered in exchange for teaching English.Paul sat with us and we talked about leaving school. Drinking cider and burning blazers behind the Church.

Our friendships stretched back into time, and memories made the present glow. But my mind was moving forwards, to my next venture, and the experiences it would bring.
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25/05/08
by Joe
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