Back in Korea Update

I've been ordered to blog.  Apparently, I've been slacking.  My apologies.

In chronological order....

1.  I had the most amazing trip home.  Words cannot even begin to describe it.  I've never been so at peace in St Louis in my 30 years of life.  It was simply perfect. I had two weeks with family there and of course, that still didn't seem like enough.  I could have happily stayed a month.  Other than celebrating Christmas a few weeks early and meeting my nephew for the first time, nothing really of merit happened.  I was just able to enjoy the relaxed company of family, slept, and ate (a lot).  It was bliss.  I love my family.

I Can Breathe Again! And Other Revelations

I know longer feel like death.  That's a bonus.  The last two weeks were pretty rough.  I'm not a sick person but the last two weeks were probably about the worst sick that I've ever been. Minus that whole ruptured appendicitis thing a few years back.

Things here are getting much nicer though the weather is getting much colder.  I had a revelation last week.  A pretty major one actually.  So, homesickness (and boredom) has hit pretty intensely the last few months.  I figured out why. We used to do really cool stuff all.the.time.  Shark diving. Eric Clapton. Run around town begging random Koreans to say "Merry Christmas" for a camera.  Hiking. and Festivals.  Then I quit doing stuff.  The last major thing I did was ziplining on my birthday-which goes down as my favorite experience in Korea, by the way.  I very clearly remember after that weekend expressing how completely exhausted I was from being so busy every weekend of the last 8 months and I was calling it quits.  4 months later, I still haven't done anything exciting.  And I haven't left Daejeon since my birthday.

I’m A Whiz At Excel

I know this because today one of our new Korean teachers asked me to help him with excel so he could reformat some documents.  We took about an hour and I showed him how to change all the formatting, margins, page breaks, and just overall how to make it look pretty and printer-friendly. He picked it up really well so I was happy. My internship at the Disney Learning Center teaching century old cast members how to use a computer wasn’t in vain after all.  Oh yeah, and the program was in Korean.  Absolutely no English.  I dare you to try it.

In unrelated news, I’m protesting winter. I think I’ve been quite cooperative the last month and a half and frankly, I don’t want to do it anymore. I have decided that I am officially quitting winter. I left most of my summer clothes in Lakeland, but I have been wearing the few cute warm weather tops I did bring.  Under a jacket.  Under a coat.  With a scarf.  It makes me feel better.  It’s like when you wear a cute new bra.  No one else knows about it, but just wearing it will make you smile a little more that day.

This Is What Handsome Looks Like

Just in case you’ve forgotten…

Time Machines and (Re)Potty Training

Me:     “If you could go anywhere in a time machine, where would you go?”

Student:   “Mom.” and she points to her belly.

Me:      “What?”

Student:    “Mom.”  Then makes a pregnant belly shape with her hands.

Me:      “In your mom’s stomach? When she was pregnant?”

Student    “Yes.”

Me:      “Why?”

Student:    “Daddy,” she says with a smile.

Me:       “Not how. Whhhhhyyyyyy?”  As I am barely able to hold myself up from laughing so hard.

Student:    “Oh. It’s warm there.”

Two Months Down…

Has it really been two months already?  That’s seems unbelievable but it’s what the calendar says so I must be true.  I honestly forget on a daily basis that I am living in South Korea.  That’s how normal it is here.  It feels more like Christmas this year than it has for me the last 7 years in Orlando.  The lights decorating store windows, the music playing in  the coffee shops, the snow… It’s Christmas time in SoKo.

On a side note, I think I’m losing my marbles.  Maybe it’s all the snow and Christmas music. Maybe it’s because my class schedule had a complete overhaul this week and my students have been bouncing off the walls. Maybe it’s starting to occur to me just how fast a year abroad can really fly by.  Or maybe just too many English Breakfast tea lattes.  I’m way above my average coffee intake.  Whatever the cause, a few of my classes have come this week expecting me to deliver on promises that I have absolutely no memory of making.