saying goodbye

It's never easy to say good-bye, especially when you know there's a small chance of ever crossing paths again.  I'm sitting here at 1am being super emo kid.  My 3rd graders had their graduation ceremony today.  In a few weeks, they're going to be in high school.  I know I've only been their teacher for 4 months, but saying good-bye to them was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  These girls definitely took me by surprise with their quirky, yet sweet personalities.  It was crazy seeing them all sitting together in the auditorium.  The last time I saw them sitting together like that was the first week of school for the Centennial Ceremony.  I looked into the sea of faces and had absolutely no connection with them.  I didn't know who they were, I didn't know their names, I didn't know what their hobbies were or who they're favorite pop stars were.  Today, I looked at the rows of beaming faces, and knew exactly who they were.  They were all my beautiful students.  I've spent a semester being a part of their lives, teaching them English while they gave me such a fresh and vibrant perspective on life.  I'm really going to miss them.  As a teacher, I wonder if you ever get used to saying good bye to your students. 

 

look out thailand!

You know how in California, you can act out of spontaneity and take an 8 hour drive that will lead you to San Fran?  Well in Seoul, 8 hours will land you many places such as....THAILAND!  

At my school, the students go on winter break from the end of December until the beginning of February.  They come back to school for 1 week to clean the classrooms and prepare for the coming school year.  The 3rd graders also find out which high schools they get placed into.  This momentous event happened today...it was nuts.  My co-teacher came to my desk and told me that they 3rd graders were going to be getting their assignments and that our class would be starting 10 minutes later.  When the bell rang for class, I hung back at my desk trying to find tickets to Thailand.  A few minutes later, I heard shrieking eruptions coming from down the hallways.  My co-teacher ran to my desk and said, "Ok, we can start class now."  When I got into the class my heart sank.  Some of my favorite students had the most miserable looks on their faces.  As I was getting my power point ready, I mouthed to one of the students in the front row, "What's wrong?"  With a dejected look on her cute little face she picked up a little slip of paper and pointed at it; her high school assignment.  I seriously wanted to stop everything and give her a huge hug, but instead I could only smile and say, "It's going to be ok."  She nodded and put her head down on the desk.  I'm really going to miss my 3rd graders.  They graduate this Friday.  It's very weird this feeling.  I was their teacher for a semester, they were my first batch of students, and now I'll never see them again.  It was definitely a tough semester.  Teaching isn't as easy as some may think, but these little girls seriously stole my heart.  

So like I said, graduation is this Friday.  Then, no school until March 2nd; the new school year.  I was originally supposed to come into work during those two weeks, but our teacher's room is getting renovated so no one is coming in.  Can't let two weeks go to waste right?!  After a frantic 24 hours of trying to find cheap flights, my friend Dani and I bought our tickets this afternoon, Bangkok bound!  This is my first real "trip" outside of the US.  I don't think Korea really counts because it's my residence, but other than weekends in Mexico and Canada, this is my first real TRIP!  I'm so freaking excited!  Nothing is set for sure, but we're going to be hitting up Bangkok, Phuket (pronounced poo-get), and Krabi.  Definitely want to do a jungle trek on an elephant, sleep in safari tents in the rainforest, go snorkeling, search out some hidden temples, watch some muay thai (no betting of course because it's illegal), get some massages on the beach, and eat some amazing pad thai!  Paradise here I come!

it happened.

Adjusting is never easy.  It's one of those processes you try to appreciate, but deep down inside you just want to get it over with.  They say it takes about a year to fully get adjusted to a new place.  That's pretty daunting to hear when you've only just nicked the surface of that year.  The first months of living alone in Seoul was a constant dichotomy of love and loathing.  After returning from my month long break in the states, being back felt comforting.  I was reunited with what I missed in Cali, but reminded of what I had in Korea.  When the airport limo bus dropped me off in my hood, I couldn't help but think, "Ahhh, home."  I was actually surprised that I was so happy to be back.  I have a new appreciation for this place and for the life I've started here.  The second half is looking promising.  I love this city!