Vacation Wrap-up

It is impossible to encapsulate all of the details and nuances that made my two month (paid) vacation from teaching so memorable. At school, in my first lesson of the new year, I showed my 2nd year students a brief slideshow with pictures from my experiences and travels. My mind flooded with the memories from home and reuniting with friends and family alike. My thoughts returned to the tranquil depths of the ocean at Cebu and the beaches of Boracay as I reflected on a true paradise on earth. My goals for the remainder of my time in Korea began to take clearer shape as I thought about what I have left to accomplish. Before getting back to business, I want to immortalize some of these memories in writing for myself and any readers, loyal or not, I might have in cyberspace.

At a time when I was especially homesick, I was thankful to have friends with whom I could share the holidays with. For one reason or another, a large chunk of Fulbright ETAs spent Christmas in Korea and spending time together in Seoul (and organizing a very bootleg Yankee Swap) was the perfect way to prepare me for the holiday season I was about to be thrown back into upon my return to America.

Spending time at home during Christmas and the start of the new year was a welcome escape from the daily pressures and obligations that surround me in Korea.

One thing I couldn't have prepared for was the amount of snow I was about to encounter. I've grown up around snowy winters my entire life, but after spending time in a country whose infrastructure would collapse with 1/4 the amount of this white, powdery goodness falling from the sky, it took some extra adjustments to reacquaint myself with the New England winter.

Nothing truly could have prepared me for what it was like to see my friends again. After six months away, in a transition time when people's lives are changing dramatically by the day, I was worried about how I was going to factor into everyone's new schedules and routines. For those closest to me, I always knew that we would be able to fall back into old habits like no time had passed.

Upon my return to Korea, I was relieved and anxious to learn that I had been set up with a new homestay for the second half of my grant year. Already, this family has exceeded my expectations and made a concerted effort to include me while understanding that I come from a different culture and set of norms. I feel more comfortable with them than I did during the entirety of the summer and fall.