Melanie's Mostly Writing

Published by

Melanie Lewicka

on

I unpacked my big trunk a few days ago only to find something precious missing. I had bought, a long time ago, a collectible Soviet era bronze medal featuring Sergei Korolev, father of space flight. It was special to me because I had worked at the West Freugh Satellite Ground Station, years ago, tracking satellites and Korolev was the director behind Sputnik, the first satellite in space. I almost gave it to my dad to keep, but at the last minute I packed the medal in my trunk.

We flew through Communist China to get home, but it never occured to me that customs might confiscate the medal. It seems Soviet era artefacts are regarded as cultural heritage, and they possibly thought I should not have transported it. I bought it on ebay, and it was quite valuable, but perhaps they take a dim view of Westerners collecting up Soviet items. It seems I have unwittingly committed a crime, even though I owned the medal. I think they have seized it from me, but not even informed me officially.  I didn’t take a picture as proof of ownership or packing so I have no comeback. I can’t believe I was so stupid and trusting.

Leave a comment

Recent posts

  • Songpyeon for Chuseok

  • Of Sweetness and Superposition

    A few weeks ago, before the previous teachers left, we went to Outback Steakhouse for lunch together. I ordered chicken salad. The seasoning was off as the chicken was too salty. The thing that I couldn’t get over though was how sweet the cheese soup was. The bread and butter were sweet too. I have…

  • Of Retro and Remembering

    Today we had Retro Day at the school. I didn’t have any clothes from the past but I found a worn baseball cap, from San Francisco, that looked vintage. The kids dressed up. There was a photo zone and fashion parade. We made dalgona candy and ddakji, which people may know of now, due to…

  • Of Sharing and Savouring

    Yesterday, I shared a post about mental health challenges and how they impact my creativity and writing. After rereading it, I deleted it as I didn’t feel comfortable sharing such personal information. It’s very difficult, in today’s online-all-the-time culture, to know what to share and what to keep to yourself. I’m currently reading two things.…

  • Red bean ice cream

  • Of Classes and Compliments

    I got a new class yesterday. Just three students, but I really like them. They were so polite and did their work no problem. They were a breath of fresh air. As a teacher, I know students are human and have feelings and will act up sometimes, but it makes a huge difference when you…