Never have I had a job where I had to bug my own manager for tax forms. Never have I been uncertain as to whether I would get a pay check for money owed me. Never have I worked with two non-English speaking 15-year-old illegal immigrants from Honduras (who keep on telling me 'Te amo'!) Never have I EVER worked with a registered sex offender in the kitchen!

Get a new job? Well, by the time the deficiencies of the situation dawned on me it was too late, I only had another 6 weeks or so here. I was lulled into a false sense of security by the fashionable decor, the sushi bar, the korean barbecue and the korean style waitresses' uniforms. (I am mildly horrified by the realisation that this state of affairs is fairly standard in an Oriental restaurant.) Besides, it's not all bad. The money, which is principally from tips (it's ONLY from tips if you're working illegally, by the way), is usually ok. I get to practice my Japanese with my fellow waitresses. And whilst it's a bad thing that nobody cares, it's also a good thing - I can get away with a lot more.

In a way, it's been extremely educational. I think that what I'm experiencing here is much more true, much more real reflection of life as it actually is. Rather than the hothouse environment of school that we were brought up in, carefully tended to by our parents and our teachers and every sort of help given the moment we make a mistake, here it's: Eat or Be Eaten. Take care of yourself; no one else will do it for you. It's backbreaking work and relentless poverty and it's given me a whole lot more respect for all my privileges.

I'm not a Korean housewife who's left her husband behind in Korea to bring her kids to the U.S. for a better education. I'm not a sushi chef who works 15 hour days and hasn't had a day off in ten months. I'm not Tibetan refugee, I'm not an illegal immigrant, I'm not frightened, I'm not alone in a hostile country where I don't speak the language and don't understand the culture. This job is shit but it's only for three months: it's not the only thing my future holds for me. And I've never been so grateful.