Happy Chuseok!

It's that time of year again. The suffocating heat and humid has finally retreated, the leaves are just beginning to turn, and the smell of vegetable pancakes is in the air. Chuseok! For those of you not in the know, Chuseok is essentially Korean thanksgiving, or "Harvest Moon Festival" if you will. What does this mean? For Koreans, it means returning to their hometown, bowing to their elders, and eating lots of good food. For foreigners, it means two days off work, with all of the shops closed and buses and trains packed or sold out.

As it were, I'm not doing anything special this weekend. My plans include cleaning my bike, making soup, and doing homework for my teacher certification program. Four days of that. How exciting!

Lately I've been really distracted and anxious about my plans for the upcoming year. The truth is that I don't really have any plans. I'll need to decide in the next month or two if I want to stay in Korea for a fifth year (omg, FIVE years), and if so, if I want to stay in my current job. If not, I'll need to start applying for jobs and getting ready for a big move (both of which scare the crap out of me right now). This decision is further complicated by the fact that I'm one semester into a four semester teaching program, and that the following three semesters will need to be fairly "stable" so that I'm able to pay tuition and complete all the required coursework. It doesn't help that I keep having little moments of self-doubt.

We all have moments of self-doubt, right?

Reviving the blog!

I've always been horrible about keeping in touch with friends and family. Apparently the same rings true for maintaining a blog. With several friends repeatedly asking me "Why don't you have a blog?", I've decided that it's time to revive this one.

My last post was in spring of 2009. Let's see, what has happened since then? Umm, A LOT. And at the same time, my life is pretty similar to what is was like then. Anyhow, let's break down the events with a list! (only because I really, really love lists) . . .

• Summer of 2009 I did my CELTA (http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/celta/index.html) in Krakow, Poland. Spent a month there eating pierogies, drinking good beer, and learning how to be a better teacher before I went on a little travel escapade through the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary.


• Finished out the 2009 school year (the school year in Korea ends in December/January) at Chilbo Elementary School, got hired for the spring semester at Chinju National University of Education, and went on a mini-vacation to Shanghai and Xi'an.


• Moved to Jinju (no, I don't know why the university is spelled with a "Ch" and the town a "J") in March 2010 and started teaching "Everyday English"- a general education requirement for all of the students


• Went home that summer to see my new godson Krish! Also took a little vacation from my vacation and went down to Puerto Rico. Es triste, pero me he olvidado todo de mi espanol.


• Finished out the 2010 school year and renewed my contract- Year 4 in Korea. Did a shoestring trip throughout SE Asia: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar/Burma. Came back to Korea smelling of incense and curry :)


• Spring semester 2011 was mostly uneventful, but I started teaching 3rd year students. 3rd years have to learn English interview techniques as they will have to complete as English interview as part of their teacher certification testing. Teaching an interview course reminds me of all of my failed interviews.


• Summer was hot and humid and exceptionally sticky, accented by a trip to Guangzhou and Hainan Island in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. I loved Macau and Hainan as tourist destinations, and I firmly believe that I could live in Hong Kong someday. Great city.

And now it's fall! The weather is cooling down (or so says the weatherwoman . . . side note- I don't think there are any weathermen in Korea. They are all 20-something, beautiful women.) and my students are schlepping their way to class. I've started a teacher certification program offer via distance from a U.S. university. I still have my reservations, not about being a teacher, but about what capactiy I would like to teach in. For now, I am still working on my content courses (English and History). Going back to school is rough. It makes me appreciate my students here a lot more. I've been really, really fortunate in that I have had the same students for four semesters now. I started teaching them when they were 2nd years and we moved up the grade together. I've seen them grow, improve their English, dye their hair, and swap boyfriends. It gives an aura of nostalgia about college, but also makes me feel like I never left. They are tearing down a lecture hall this week on the other side of campus. I taught a course there last year, and I'm sad to see it go, even if it is from the 1950s and ugly as hell. It just made me realize how connected I am to this university. Almost like I have two alma maters.