Thoughts on turning 29

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! That is my first thought. I can't believe I'm 29 already! Where did 28 go? Sorry for the lack of blogs this year- the truth is, I failed at everything I set out to do. I was going to blog more- fail. I was going to make more videos- fail. I was going to study Korean more- fail. So this year I will resolve to not make any resolutions.

Back to being 29- needless to say the last year FLEW by! Last year I was climbing a mountain on my birthday- this year I was dancing in a swanky club in Seoul- and every year my body reminds me that I actually am getting older. This year I actually took a trip to the doctor with some calcific tendinitis. Ouch! But after a week or two of recouping I'll be 26 again.

I definitely don't feel like I'm 29.

Into the Unknown... once again

Today I had to sign a "letter of intent" to say if I want to work at my current position for another year. I nearly killed me to mark "no". I'm not ready for this! I LIKE my life. Mostly I LOVE my life! Why would I change it?! For a moment I had a little bit of panic well up inside. I am once again stepping out into the unknown. I made up my mind about 2 months ago that in February, once my contract is finished, I would move to Seoul. Like I said previous, I love my job. Why would I leave it? People ask, "Why are you moving to Seoul, do you have a job?" My answer- "NO". But I really do believe that this is the next step, the next chapter. I don't know how long this next chapter will be. I don't know where it will lead. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know how I'm going to afford it. BUT- I do feel that this is the direction that I need to go... for now. So, that is my news as of late. My hope and goal is to work with refugees (from the North) in Seoul. And as a fun hobby, I may take up some acting as well. BUT, If you could say a prayer for me, that the Lord would guide me in the direction that I need to go, I would much appreciate it! Thanks!

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Thoughts on being a Teacher

I've always wanted to be a teacher. Well, ever since high school when I decided that becoming a veterinarian was not in my future. I believe that my skills and talents all add to being a "good" teacher as well. And this leads me to my thoughts on teaching (for the day)... As a teacher, I desire for my students to succeed. All of them! I want my students to learn. I want my students to do well in their classes. AND I want my students to succeed. This is why there are two things this year that have made me very angry in my current position. I'm teaching English at a University; Me, and Elementary Education major, teaching University. I have to admit it is quite strange to call myself a "professor", so I don't get too upset when my students just call me "Heidi". One thing I really appreciate about teaching at University is that you don't have to deal with classroom discipline too much. The students (for the most part) understand how the classroom structure and hierarchy work. Sometimes they listen, sometimes they sleep, but because they are now entering into the world of adulthood, its not really my job to make sure that they are perfect students. (though let me tell you, I TRY!) I usually don't have to scold them for talking too much and I haven't yet had any fights break out in my class. No, my biggest problem is not getting them to stop talking, but the opposite... how do I get them to START talking! All of this aside, I really enjoy my job. Many of my students have made a lot of progress in learning English and speaking English. When I look at the final exams and see how far my students have come I feel like I have succeeded and I am very proud of their progress. SO then, the two things that made me angry this year (to the point of tears)- 1) When the country of Korea decided to curve every class that has more than 10 students. 25% A, 30%B, everyone else C,D,F... I had to give students with a 90% in the class a C+... I cried for them. 2) When my Wednesday class of theater students missed out on 5 classes (FIVE! that's out of a total of 15- that's 30%!) because of holidays, festivals, sports days and a demonstration. I cannot believe that my University has so many "mandatory" events for specific majors that causes them to miss their other classes. This seems completely counter intuitive (welcome to Korea) and just plain dumb. So, why am I angry? Because I like these students. They are fun (and funny) kids that I get along well with. And this semester has been a perfect storm for failure for this class. I won't have to worry about the grading curve in this class because MOST of the students will FAIL. This upsets me greatly. What can a person do in order to encourage learning and success when there are so many factors against that outcome? Well, this person got a little bit upset and then enjoyed a bottle of wine. Here is to hoping that next semester avoids these challenges...

Life always becomes "normal"

What to do when you just don't feel like blogging anymore? I've hit a wall. I've seemingly given up on EVERYTHING that I hoped to do. All of my new years ideas- completely out the window! I said I wanted to blog/vlog more... instead I've completely given up! I wanted to study Korean more... haven't done that much either! (though my abilities ARE increasing!) It seems the only thing I've managed to do was lose weight... and that wasn't even on the list! Forgive me for my lack of update. But I have an excuse! There comes a time in everyone's life, that no matter how extravagant or how "different" it may be- you hit a point where life just seems "normal". I've been living in Korea now for 15 months and everything is just normal. My life is comfortable. I wake up, make coffee, get ready, go to school, teach, eat, plan, surf the net, go home, watch TV and sleep. Granted there are a few more eccentricities that happen day to day, but life is just pretty normal. I have a nice apartment. I travel by scooter. I have friends. I have a great job. And this is my life. It has been great having Nicki visit me. Her visit is about half way complete. Its great to get fresh eyes to view things with. I love explaining my life and the things I've noticed about life in South Korea and the culture that I am surrounded by. I was able to do a lot of explaining to a nice Italian man that I met on the Palace tour on Saturday as well. My view of Korea is quite nice and I think I've almost talked him into moving here, as long as he can find a position ;-) I'd like to say that I hope to give updates more often, but lets be honest- it hasn't been my habit. I'm open to any and all questions and check facebook WAY too often! I hope that you are well and enjoying what is you "normal".

Long Time No Blog (again)

Somehow I always end up neglecting my blog... perhaps it just isn't for me?

SOOooooo much has happened in the last two months! I was on vacation/ not working... you would think I would have had MORE time to blog. But as it went, I visited Marie in Hong Kong, then mom visited Korea with me for 4 days, then I had a week before I started Korean classes in Seoul. I took a three week Korean Language course at EWHA University and lived in Seoul for three weeks. It was really nice. I learned a LOT, but oh my goodness it was busy!

I rarely did my homework for the class because I was too busy meeting with friends that live in Seoul. Then on the weekends I went home to CheongJu and had to meet up with friends in CheongJu. The short story is that I value friendships WAY MORE than studying or school. My teacher was perhaps a little disappointed in me, but HEY! I passed! 80% on my Korean exam.

After classes finished I had a week off to play catch up at home and then classes resumed at my University on March 2nd. I have to say that I'm really excited about this next semester. After every semester I feel like I'm getting better and better at teaching and once I've gone through the book once or twice I can continue to fine-tune my lessons and style. Also, I have a lot smaller classes this semester, which is kind of exciting... I feel like more conversation and activities will be possible.

Well, Here's hoping!

Also... I got a cat. Yes, this semester should be very promising. ^^