Study study study...

So once again I find myself in student mode. For those that don't know one of my main reasons for returning home was to get accepted into graduate school for my masters in English education. Well I had finished my application before I got back in the country and had my interview a few days after my return. The interview went great and I should know by the end of the week whether or not I got in to my first choice university. The only thing standing in my way is the MAT....

This test is less about math and more about figuring out relationships between a set of items. It is actually a bit similar to when I taught test prep which helps. Unfortunately I'm still stuck at getting between 60-65% correct. I don't think I will realistically improve drastically by tomorrow but one can always hope...

Back home...

So I am back home in Nashville, TN after a loooong 21hr flight. Unfortunately there are no straight flights to Tennessee. I went from Seoul--->Tokyo--->SLC Utah--->Nashville. All this was done with my 6mnth old puppy Bella. But surprisingly she was a gem and kept quite the whole time. I had a 4hr layover in Utah so I had time to go walk her outside. I got into BNA around 9pm and met my mom and Leon there. After that we collected all my bags and drove home. After going back out for a quick bite to eat at IHOP I came back home and went straight to bed.

I've been out and about visiting family members, mostly my grandmothers and getting things together for my next move. I had a meeting with the admissions director at Lipscomb Uni. for my graduate school application. I had my interview and turned everything in except for my last recommendation from my undergrad professor. Hopefully if all goes well I will begin my graduate work October 1.

Although I'm no longer in Korea I still have more pictures and posts to do once I can sit down longer than 5mins. I've decided to keep this blog up and who knows, I might write more on it. I'm not ruling out returning to Korea again in my lifetime. My mother and I are thinking of going back in Spring for a vacation...keep your eyes open for my return=^^=

Fun with photos...

Just some fun pictures my friend Dawn and I took today in Gangnam at the Apple Store=^^=

And so it ends...

I have been not so strangely absent again, mostly because I have begun my preparations to return home to the states. I leave this Saturday morning on a long ass flight with my dog back to my...homeland. I've been hanging out with many people, visiting what I can, taking so many pictures that my camera dies at least twice a day. And I promis there will still be more posts for me to put up once I have more time.

I'd have to say that overall I have enjoyed my time here in Kimchi-land. And depending on what happens when I return home maybe Korea will be in my future again. There are many things that I would change if it were up to me but it isn't....and that is probably for the best. I met so many great people here and had many many great experiences that I can share with family and friends back home. I am hoping to return for a week or so in the Spring for a dear friend's wedding so I will be seeing some of you when I return=^^=

Busan

So I am officially done with my contract! YAAAAAAAAY....sort of. Yes I'm a bit sad. I'll miss my students a lot and my coworkers as well. But time to move on, move up and who knows, maybe move back....yeah...

So to celebrate my impending return I have decided to visit one new place everyday so I can take pictures. Last week I went to Busan with some friends. Unfortunately while we were on the beach I forgot my camera but my friends brought theirs so I can still show you some pics courtesy of facebook.

So I started out at 6am to catch the train at Seoul Station.

...yeah way too early in the morning for me to actually try to look good in a picture....anyhoo, I caught the KTX and it was about a 3hr train ride down to Busan. It was actually a very beautiful ride but alas I fell asleep instead of taking pictures....sue me...

As soon as I stepped off the train I could smell the ocean. It smelled amazing. It was the first time I had seen the beach in so long thanks to living in a landlocked state.

Went through several tunnels to get to Songjeong beach where I was meeting my friends. After I met up with them we headed to Haeundae Beach where we got a hotel room...

On the way got stalked by a Chungdahm bus....why won't work just LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!

Our hotel room was of course a bit sketch with the 'mood lights' and free condoms, but overall it was actually pretty nice...and no the thing in the middle of the bed is not a vibrator...it's the tv/light remote...promise...

After that we swam a little, took some fun photo booth pics and grabbed lunch at TGIFridays that overlooked Haeundae beach. It was such a nice day. The weather really made me feel much more relaxed and happy. It was easy to look back at my experience here in Korea and smile at all the great people I had met...

I have about two more posts backlogged. Actually on the way home from Busan I started feeling sick and have been pretty much stuck at home since with the flu and have just now been able to really get out and about. More next time=^^=

Heehee....

So I am back again after another long break. Well in reality I didn't feel like blogging. But now I do.

My time here in Korea is quickly winding down. I purchased my plane ticket and am scheduled to leave good ol' kimchi-land September 12. I'm equal parts sad and excited. Sad because I have many good friends here whom I will miss dearly, but excited because I feel itchy and ready to return to school. I've found that I really do enjoy teaching. I don't know if I enjoy teaching just English or teaching in general. So that will be a chore of mine to figure out. I've begun applying to grad schools back home and will hopefully be back in school October 1 of this year...as in a few weeks AFTER I get back into the U.S. Things will be very busy for me in the next two months. I'm not ruling out coming back to Korea though, so we will see. If certain things(job, school, personal, etc.) all work out then I will be staying in the U.S. But I am planning to save enough money to visit Korea and Japan in the Spring od 2010.

So what has been going on with me lately? Well my title as Head Instructor has been winding down. It really does make me sad which no one really seems to get, but hey. It's first and foremost a business.

I'm planning a weekend beach trip with some friends to a coworker's hometown on the east coast which should be awesome. I haven't been to the beach in years and I am really excited to get out of Seoul/Gyeonggi finally. It only took me....13months, lol. I'm planning on doing more sightseeing in general expecially now that I finally got my camera battery. So I can begin taking pictures....and posting regularly.

I have a few backlogged posts to publish so those will be coming up soon. I promise!!!

Thank you...

...to those of you who offered advice rather than judgements. I don't know what I will do. I don't believe I am ready for anything at this point...regardless how strong I try to be. This is the last time I will mention anything like this on here. Hopefully once I get my new camera battery I can resume posting about any sights I may see or fun activities I do.

Good luck everyone