A bag full of cash

Just before we left for Japan, I had to pay the rent. In Korea, the custom is to pay the entire year's rent in advance. The landlord invests the money for the whole year and returns the borrowed money to the tenant at the end of the year. For the Americans whose rent is paid by the U.S. government, they are willing to alter the system slightly. We still pay the year's rent in advance, but at the end, they just keep it. Landlords like renting to American federal employees.

My rent came to almost $20,000 for the year. On the 24th of December, I went up to the Bank of America branch in Daegu and had them put a a whole pile of money into a paper bag. I got used to carrying several thousand dollars around when I was a tour guide, but I think this was my personal record for the amount of cash in my pocket.

After paying the landlord, and visiting the very expensive Japan, my pockets are empty again.