Entry 29: Halfway there

It has been 86 days since I've been in Korea and 76 more days till my departure.

I ask myself the question, "is the second half of the trip going to be better than the first half?", and the answer that I come up with is an interesting one. "Unlikely, but just wait and see, that's the fun of it."

The first half of my trip consisted mostly of orientation. Although it has already passed the point where I have been teaching little kids longer than I have been learning how to teach kids, I still can feel the dread in my body when I saw the ridiculous schedule of the oh-so-infamous Kyung Hee Orientation.

With that being said, I will never forget the people and the interesting adventures that were so easy to embark on such as my trip to 동대문 or even the sheer novelty of my first weekend in Korea.

Even the actual orientation wasn't as bad as I made it sound to be in my previous posts, because it actually did make teaching a bit easier, knowing that what I am doing is pretty much what everyone else is doing. I will remember what it was like, the air a mix of the clean breeze and of cigarette smoke, as we all sat watching the college soccer games as we wait in-between our classes.

I remember what it was like teaching my very first class and the butterflies in my stomach helped me to conjure up a lesson plan on the spot.

I wont soon forget what it was like to be plunged into isolation and eventually becoming comfortable with long periods of time to myself.

But with all this being said, I'm excited for the second half of my trip.

I have 6 weeks of teaching left during the normal school days. and Seven days of winter camp. It should be easy enough to accomplish, and I am content to know that I have taught these kids a lot about the English language.

I also look forward to being reunited with friends from back home, starting sometime in mid-December. It will be nice to be able to hang out with friends that I usually see SUPER STRESSED OUT during finals time, in a very relaxed state of being (LOL, I think I'm talking about June not being at PCL but instead at Red Mango. I swear its going to be like seeing two completely different people).  It will be nice since I have the entire month of January as vacation to just hang out with friends.

I also look forward to spending some quality time with my girlfriend! Eunice is coming to Korea to visit her family (who wants me to join them for the holidays, talk about pressure....) and hopefully the two of us will be able to do all the fun couply things that people do when in Korea. I was talking to a friend and she basically said "everything in Korea is much more fun when you are in a couple. Subway rides no longer are tiresome, bus stops are cozy, coffee shops are little getaways, walking isn't a chore, etc.etc.". That was slightly paraphrased, but you get her point.

Connecting with the point above, Eunice and I booked the same flight back home. January 12th. Which actually worked out really well, since that was the earliest day that my school was going to let me go home, and since it was the day that Eunice decided to book home anyways. Thankfully we called the airlines and made sure to get seats next to each other. Cross your fingers guys, I think the second half of the trip might be even BETTER than the first half.

I'm also looking forward to this friday, Jubilee's Men's Retreat. It should be good. I'll be sure to write a post about it later.




So here I go!