Friday, December 10, 2010

How Do You Measure a Year??

I love rent. in cause anyone got that blog title.

Five days from today will be my one year anniversary in Korea!! Just in time for me to go home again...

I'm so extremely satisfied with how this first year in Korea has gone. Of course, there were some challenges, (um, hi...I'm a kindergarten teacher...I've never been a teacher before, and yet here I am!) That was me a year ago...but now I feel like a seasoned pro.

Seeing these little kids, who started last January with not much more than "Hi, my name is...", as tiny, little, English speaking people makes me so happy and proud. It was definitely a challenge at times, but also, I had some of the most fun of my life up there in front of those kids, singing, dancing, sometimes yelling, and teaching. I was the first foreign person that many of them had ever seen, and I hope that they will remember me for a long, long time.

Of course, I will still see most of them when I return. But, they won't be "my" babies anymore, they'll be someone else's! My replacement came Tuesday, and she seems like she'll do a great job with them. But I'll still feel a little envy when they go to hug her before me ...

Anyways, this year has passed so quickly, and yet it seems like I've been here forever!! Korea is home to me right now, and I'm happy with it that way. I hope that I feel the same way when I'm getting ready to board the plane to come back in January!!

But for now, I'll pack my bags, clean my apartment, and get ready for the Holidays at home with family and friends. And my beautiful baby niece! I'm super excited for our cruise too, it will be so nice to have our immediate family together for a week. It's been a loooong time since that happened!

I'm happy to have the next year or so laid out for me. My time in Korea is not complete yet, who knows if it will be by this time next year or not, but for now I'm so happy to be here for another year. I have some thoughts for the future, South America, possibly Europe again...who knows. I'm not gonna lay out any plans just yet...but I know that I won't be done traveling this huge, amazing, beautiful world we live in for a very, VERY long time!

Thanks to all of your for all your support in my many adventures...you have no idea how good it is to have people that believe I'm doing what's right for me right now...when all it seems like people my age are doing is getting married and having babies!!! I want that all some day....but my time will come, right mom??

I hope to see many of you over the holidays, but if not, keep in touch!!