Hey LJ.
Long time no talk. I usually use my tumblr for updates, but I figure ol' LJ could use some attention, too! What's up, y'all?
Today I went to HomePlus (Korea's answer to Wal-Mart: Supercenters, because Korea doesn't allow Wal-Mart in the country - no joke) and stocked up on home goods to make my apartment feel more like, well... a home. Why?
Because, while it's still very tentative visa-paperwork-wise, my boss asked me to stay another year and I said HELLS YES. Yay!!!!!!!
In short: I love my school. I love the small class sizes, the kids I've gotten to know and love, and the camaraderie we've developed. I love my neighborhood, an upper-middle class section of metropolitan Gwangju near parks and mountains with lots of hiking.
And - why lie? - I love saving the money. My goal right now is to put away $1000 USD a month to help fund a master's degree program in education with a teacher training focus, or a teacher training post-bac. I love teaching, and it makes sense to get more experience doing ESL while making grad school as practical - and debt-free - as possible.
My challenge during the next year is making another social group, because, with English teaching as transient as it is, most of the main members of my social group have returned to the States to start graduate school or jobs back home. And there's still so much of Korea I haven't seen - the old capital at Gyeongju, the DMZ, the beaches of Busan, and thousands of gorgeous temples. So there's still a bunch of exploring left yet!
Here are some other goals I have so I don't forget:
Anyway, my friend Dan and I just got back from a nutso Korean food festival. We saw a cake made to look like a gigantic pirate ship and a marzipan sculpture of a dragon. So.... those pics are going up, soon. LOL
Today I went to HomePlus (Korea's answer to Wal-Mart: Supercenters, because Korea doesn't allow Wal-Mart in the country - no joke) and stocked up on home goods to make my apartment feel more like, well... a home. Why?
Because, while it's still very tentative visa-paperwork-wise, my boss asked me to stay another year and I said HELLS YES. Yay!!!!!!!
In short: I love my school. I love the small class sizes, the kids I've gotten to know and love, and the camaraderie we've developed. I love my neighborhood, an upper-middle class section of metropolitan Gwangju near parks and mountains with lots of hiking.
And - why lie? - I love saving the money. My goal right now is to put away $1000 USD a month to help fund a master's degree program in education with a teacher training focus, or a teacher training post-bac. I love teaching, and it makes sense to get more experience doing ESL while making grad school as practical - and debt-free - as possible.
My challenge during the next year is making another social group, because, with English teaching as transient as it is, most of the main members of my social group have returned to the States to start graduate school or jobs back home. And there's still so much of Korea I haven't seen - the old capital at Gyeongju, the DMZ, the beaches of Busan, and thousands of gorgeous temples. So there's still a bunch of exploring left yet!
Here are some other goals I have so I don't forget:
- Visit Evan Jeshka in Japan next year over Chuseok.
- Fix up some things in my apartment so it feels like more of a home - replace some lights, get my janky old refrigerator looked at.
- Take and pass the beginner Korean proficiency test - sounds nuts, but this could actually help me get Bilingual ed certification back home. And it would definitely help my resume as an ESL teacher. :)
- Plan a longer, two month trip around Southeast Asia before finishing my second contract. I want to see Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia before returning home.
Anyway, my friend Dan and I just got back from a nutso Korean food festival. We saw a cake made to look like a gigantic pirate ship and a marzipan sculpture of a dragon. So.... those pics are going up, soon. LOL