Finally, some deep thoughts

The last few weeks have been rather hectic on the outside, but on the inside I've been mulling over thoughts and feelings about my time in Korea.

I realize now that I idealized my experiences in Korea from 2002-2003, even though it certainly wasn't all happy and sunshiny. There were some really difficult times, and I was reminded of this during my 3-week trip this summer. The feeling of absolute frustration when I couldn't communicate a simple request, or a lack of understanding on my part when a Korean would do something inexplicable to my Western mind. The fact that it was 100 degrees every day didn't help - adding heat onto an already exasperating situation usually doesn't. Perhaps the heat wave was providence as far as my film goes. Ratcheting up the stress is the best way to bring out what you REALLY feel. I'm always telling my screenwriting students that characters reveal themselves through stressful situations and the characters' reactions to conflict. This is the same in life, I firmly believe.

Uncovering the unhappy memories is, well, unpleasant. Yet at the same time, it's very healing because I now have a more holistic picture in my head of that year. It was a year of unprecedented growth for me, on a personal and emotional level. At least in some part, that growth came as a result of facing difficult circumstances and working my way through them. Viscerally feeling, remembering, coming in close contact to the place I was in at that time was a little frightening, in some ways. Coming back to a place that whipped you into shape elicits mixed feelings, as I've discovered.

I think this notion of revisiting and memory will have to be a cornerstone for my script.