A Month Already, Wow...

So I've been back for more than a month now, coming up on six weeks I guess, and I both (a) can't believe how quickly time has gone, and (b) can't believe it's only been a month. At the end of each month of school we have monthly tests for our kids, so it got me thinking about how the past month has been, and what I'm looking forward to in the near future (including my first real payday!). Here are a few of my feelings about the past few weeks and what's ahead...

I am happy happy happy happy happy to be back, and so glad I decided to make the trip. Though it's certainly different this trip than either of the other 2, I'm really happy most days that I'm here. And really, the days that I'm not are days that I wouldn't be happy being wherever in the world I might be at the time - I get over it!

I am sick of being sick, as I think I've had about 5 days of free-from-sickness since I arrived. I do remember being sick often in Korea, but not THIS much - heading back to the doctor AGAIN later this morning - and I promise it's not just another procrastination technique!! I'm also sick of letting myself get carried away with watching movies (thanks to my coworkers I have discovered torrents, and it's so much faster than limewire - I had 25 new movies (new as in 'still in theatres) downloaded in 2 hours!) and have hidden the folder on my desktop!

I am excited about my upcoming vacation time, even though it is months away. Our school has the first week of August off, so I am scouring my map (yes, still scouring!) and stickin' post-its all over the place trying to decide where-to-go-when, and which place will be best for my 9-day holiday. I waffle back and forth between going somewhere I've already been but seeing a new part of it, or going somewhere entirely new. Still don't know, but I have lots of time to plan. On the list for consideration so far are Laos and Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, Northern Thailand, and Shanghai...

I am disappointed that I can't join some friends on a trip to Nepal over vacation time, but our days don't line up so it's 'no dice' for that plan. It might have been fun to go with a group of people and see somewhere new - I'd like to see Nepal! Oh well, I hope they have fun anyway, and I'll keep looking at the map!

I am looking forward to some upcoming local trips and travel, and even to getting out to a baseball game in Seoul soon! Early April I'm going to do a bicycle tour of Gyeongju  - I hope it'll be fun and that I won't die of exhaustion (we'll see!). The trip sounds incredible, I'm looking forward to it! In Mid-April when all of my projects and exams and all that crap are done I'm heading out to the countryside to stay at a buddhist temple. I've always wanted to do it, but never made time! We'll stay in the temple, participate in prayer, chores, and meditation with the monks, I'm really looking forward to it - and it's great timing!!  On the long weekend of Buddha's Birthday in May I'm going to JeollaNamDo... I'll get to visit a couple of temples, go to a green tea plantation, a celadon pottery house, stay in a folk village, visit an ecological reserve and a bamboo forest park with big sequoias, tour an island by boat, stay in a condo on the beach... I can't wait for all of it, can't can't wait! I know that's not everyone cuppa tea, but I am so excited to get out and see some new stuff! I'm also going to Miss Saigon here in April sometime (all in Korean), we'll see what it's like to watch a musical when I can't really understand the words!!
 

I am incredibly glad that it's been pretty easy to keep in touch with home this time around. With the combination of Skype, email, and Blogger it's really felt sometimes like I never even left! I get to chat with mom all the time (almost more than when we lived a couple hours apart!), and now that my besty got herself a camera I'll get to talk with her and her babies sometimes too! Yaaaayy for technology!!

I am proud of myself for making a couple of Korean friends! Living in Korea it's really easy to live a completely English/Korea-free life (save for the shopping experience that is) if you want to. And I really and honestly DON'T want to, but it's just so easy!! We kinda flock together, all us ex-pats, so it's easy to just hang out in your home neighbourhood and go to pubs or recreate locally without getting out to do much else. I work with some people who rarely do anything but go to bars in Seoul on weekends and stay home Iweekday evenings - and that's mostly their experience of living in a foreign country... sad I think, but i can understand how it happens.

Last week in the staff office I asked a couple of the Korean teachers if they knew a little bit of English (of course I know they do, but they never ever really speak to us - they don't think they speak well enough to have a conversation so they just don't). I asked a couple of the Korean teachers that I like if they might want to go out for coffee, or go see a movie, or go out to eat together sometime, and I thought their heads were going to explode! It was really funny... one of them broke into a huge smile, squeezed her eyes shut and actually clenched her fists to her chests all excited-like while hopping around in a circle saying 'yes, I'd like to I'd like to I really like it!' I giggled through the rest of my next class thinking about it, lol... I'm still giggling. We'll muddle through the language thing somehow!

I am grateful that I ended up at such a great school (mental note: email thank you note to recruiter - keep forgetting!). My school is well-stocked, very prepared, and the kids really love it. There's a good system for teaching (I don't have to really do much preparation (save for testing at month-end) and the schedule is very routinized so the methods of instruction are often the same day-to-day. I work with 7 other foreigners that I enjoy being around, and I laugh a lot at work (even in exam week). I miss my old work, the people particularly (always) and the job itself (some days!), but all in all this was definitely a good trade!

I am annoyed with myself that I still haven't started an exercise plan. I have come up with lots of great excuses and still haven't made the time. Running has been hurting my knees (thank you athletic therapist for reminding me about why I must have started running with the wrong muscles in the first place!). I'd like to get back into yoga but it really isn't easy to follow it in class in Korean (even with that small class size) and that takes much of the 'relaxing' part out of doing yoga to reduce stress!

I am hopeful that once I'm on a bit of a break from school I'll be able to relax a bit and sort myself out with an exercise and relaxation (that doesn't involve my laptop!) plan. Monthly massage and accupuncture to promote health and relaxation - yes please!

I am thinking about the upcoming trip mom and I are going to make to Hawaii in September - we've never travelled anywhere together as adults really, so I'm excited about it! I'm still waiting on word for when my time off will be... our 'actual' calendar holiday-time falls on a Tue/Wed/Thu so if boss doesn't decide to give up Mon or Fri off I guess I'll be planning to call in sick for one of those days! I though it was a longer holiday, but that will still be wonderful. Mom hasn't done much travelling, especially to anywhere tropical, so I'm really looking forward to it for both of us!

I am in love with my kids, and I actually mean all of them - not just my kindy kids! They are so eager and excited and amazing, and they give me new dose of energy and excitement every day - even after the first month's honeymoon together is over! They work hard, they giggle a lot, they (mostly) listen during my classes, and (thankfully!) they're easily entertained by my teacher antics. Love, love, love 'em... and teaching??! There's no better job in the world...

Well, that's it for now, and as good a place as any to sign off for the time being, wouldn't you agree? I'm off to the grocery store for some more yuja-tea (a honey lemon jin citron tea that makes me feel better when I'm feeling sick n' sucky!) and to see the Dr... have a wonderful day wherever you may be, until next time!