Cup Half Full

9-12-2010
Day 189 of 365: In the immortal words of Jon Bon Jovi, "Whooooaaaa-Oh! We're half-way there!" (Yes, that just happened). This week marks 6 months for me in South Korea, with 6 more to go before I'm back in the good ol' US of A. I am slightly giddy right now, and with good reason. I have a good feeling about this second half. The first half of my time in SK had more ups and downs than the American stock exchange (which I keep track of these days, thanks to the fluctuating value of the Korean Won). Though it was a good semester overall, I know the second semester will be even better. So, in a move inspired by fellow blogger Meppers, here is a Top 10 list of reasons why these next 6 months are going to rock harder than the one-armed drummer from Def Leppard:

10. Japan. In 6 days I'll be hopping on a 2 hour flight over to Tokyo, Japan to spend 6 days touring the largest city in the world in the land of the rising sun. While there, I hope to see Mt. Fuji, Godzilla, giant fighting robots, and ninjas.

9. School is cool. After a rough first semester of teaching, this semester has started off spectacularly. My relationship with my co-teachers is good, I feel much more comfortable in the classroom, and I'm not afraid to lay the smack down anymore if some kids get out of line (especially the 6th boys).

8. Getting buff. Not really. However, I did finally join a gym a few weeks ago. Having had a dirt cheap gym membership for the last 5 years or so back in Austin, it was hard for me to pony up roughly $70 or $80 a month for one of the "fitness centers" here in Ansan. I finally found a hole in the wall that is only $35 per month (a bargain by Korean standards), and it feels good to not be able to fully extend my arms or walk up stairs again.

7. Soccer. Yes, I still have some residual fever for the world sport. Enough so that I actually joined an existing team of foreigners who play league matches every Saturday in Seoul. I almost backed out due to my lack of soccer skills, but then I saw the uniforms and they looked pretty sweet, so I put in my money. I can play defense. Leave the scoring to somebody else.

6. Goodbye old friends; hello noobs. After a mass exodus of friends I'd made in the first semester who's teaching contracts finished this month, I was temporarily left with very few people that I liked enough to actually hang out with. However, a new batch of foreign English teachers have recently arrived in the area to begin the new semester, and some of them aren't that bad. It's been my turn, as a "veteran" English teacher in these parts, to break in the new blood and show them the ropes, just how it was done for me when I first arrived. It's a great experience.

5. Winter Vaca. When the 2 month winter break comes at the end of December, I'll have the unique experience of spending several weeks at school...in my office...alone. It's called, "desk warming", and it's how the school system justifies paying us English teachers during the off months. You might wonder, "Why is this cool?". Well, many teachers find this time boring, lonely, isolated, miserable, not to mention freezing in some cases, but I think it all comes down to preparation. If you know you're going to be alone at school for roughly 1 whole month after subtracting winter English camps and personal vacation, bring something, or lots of things, to do. Me? I may just have to set up a little something on our English classroom's 60 inch LCD flat panel tv. I'm not worried.

4. More traveling in SK. For all the places I've been, there are still many left on the to-do list. Plans are already in the works for a trip to the DMZ, another one of Korea's beautiful islands (Jeju was a summer highlight), at least one theme park, and another trek down to Busan. This is in addition to continuing to explore Seoul, the 5th largest city in the world. I've got a lot to keep me busy on the weekends.

3. Thailand. It's not official that I'm going yet, but this seems to be a popular destination among foreign English teachers in South Korea. Because of it's year round tropical climate and relative proximity, Thailand makes an ideal spot to use a week of vacation time and escape Korea's brutal winters. Other possibilities for traveling abroad during winter vaca are China, Taiwan, or heck, Japan again if I don't get enough next week.

2. Pals. It was great having my sister and a handful of amigos come to visit during the summer, but I hope to see more this semester. In Tokyo I'll meet up with some friends that I knew from the states, and I'm also chatting with a few others who might come in January or February. My dad even said he'd come (along with my mom of course) if I extended my contract for another year. That's a topic for another day, though.

1. Finally fall, which means: Football. My favorite season, accompanied by my favorite sport. I can't say that watching a live stream of the Longhorns or Cowboys on my laptop at 5am is the same as watching the games at home in HD in the mid-afternoon with BBQ, family and friends, but I'll take it. Just being able to watch football makes me feel normal again. Now if I can just find some guys to play with here....

PS: Thanks to mums and pops, D Rizzle, and the Mintos for the recent care packages. You guys are keeping me afloat with Texan goodness. Love y'all!