So...where's the next place I'll go?!

Trying to find a job sucks!  Trying to find a teaching job...sucks more!! Could a market be any more saturated that that of the teaching industry? like did everyone and their mother go to teacher's college? Those are the days that make me miss teaching in Korea.  I had a job there.  I got to practice.  For now I have to resort to checking a teaching website for the meager jobs they decide to post up there.
But thats ok... i knew that finding a teaching job would take forever I heard the stories and warnings...but I do remember wanting to teach in Egypt after Korea.  Of course with everyone in the mideast deciding to have a revolution pretty much takes that region out of the question.
My dream since i've decided I wanted to be a teacher so long ago was to teach abroad, specifically in Africa.  But I wonder, is that a reasonable hope anymore?  I mean, don't I just want to find a job here and just get on with it?  But then I think, well if I get a job over here, does that mean I can never teach in Africa?  I just want one summer or winter to teach in Africa, but I wonder should I do it anymore?
I know what my parents will think, HELL NO! remember how sick you got in Korea?!

So that dream was pushed to the back, and here I am in sauga, volunteering and tutoring, then Marina tells me about someone she knows who is going to Tanzania to teach for 2 years!  Like can I come with?  She ignited that fire in me again.  I just want to go.  I dont care if I get paid or not I just want to teach in Africa.  But I think about the timeline, definitely not this year with Sandys wedding coming up and so on...but when?
ONE DAY!

Home again

Well i figured I'd update this since so much has happened since I last wrote in this thing.  Lets just say since my last post I got worse, ended up with bronchial Pneumonia and 4 broken ribs; 2 fractured and 2 broken in the front and back.  I spent most of October in the hospital sitting in hospital pjs skyping with my fam while attached to a nebulizer! FUN!! I think it was the most surreal time of my life.  I felt like I was dreaming...the pain was so bad I would get pain killer injections that put me to sleep during the day.  And whats with the hospital hours!

7:30 am the cleaning lady noisily opens the door and slaps the mop around. The light shining brightly.  UGH! kill me!  The breakfast lady would roll in around 8pm with...get this... rice, meat, kimchi, veg.  I CANT EAT THIS IN THE MORNING.  Me being incapacitated couldn't carry my tray back to the lady.  She'd give me a look (apparently she told on me to the nurse and my pharmacist friend Eunju that I wasn't eating) and I'd take a couple of bites of the rice.  BLEkh...wheres the breakfast food.  Soon after I'd get my 5-6 pills and my injection...and somehow id pass out.  I'd wake up after what seemed like a whole day and realize it was now 9:30am.  What else can i do.  Pretty much the whole day consisted of me reading, passing out, avoiding meals, passing out, and so on.  The doctor would take update x-rays and each time he took one he'd find a new broken rib.  I started out with 2 and ended up with 4.  He was shocked that I didn't endure a trauma!! Me Too!
 
Long story short...after about 21 days in the hospital the doc told me I'd need at least a month to heal my bones which meant I shouldn't move so I wouldn't get another complication with the lungs...(MEH!)  I spent 2 sleepless weeks (Not an exaggeration! Now i know why sleep deprivation is a torture method) in a inclined sleep position on my bed before I decided I had to break my contract b/c I just couldn't take any more.  I still had a whole month or more to heal (which I later found took til December to get better) and breaking the contract meant I had to leave the country...so my amazing mom came to Korea with some Tylenol 3 in her purse to help me pack and move back home.  It was a crazy month, but I know I made the right choice since it took me so long to get better. 
I definitely miss Korea!! and the amazing friends I made there!!

In sickness and in health

Being sick sucks!  Being sick overseas sucks even more!!  I knew that when I was in Korea, I might (might) get sick...but I thought I could get away with it for a whole year.  But here I am for the past two days coughing up a lung and nursing a fever.  And this is when I wish I was at home...sleeping in my nice queen sized bed in London Mist court under my nice Ikea duvet waiting for my mom to bring me up a bowl of Liptons Chicken noodle soup and some Orange juice. 
I don't know how many more episodes or Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs I can watch without laughing and crying my eyes out.  Its those days when I wish I could just go home...b/c frankly being sick here by myself sucks sooo much. 
And to top it all off I have to go to orientation tomorrow for three days...and im hoping my fever goes away...but so far...meh...still here.  Can somebody help me apparate back home? lol...
But I understand I came here in Korea for a year...and there's gonna be times where I'll be sick and depressed but I can't really do anything about it.  So I'll just snuggle in my Emart-uh blanket keep watching Grey's anatomy and holding back tears...not for home...but for 007.  God I forgot how sad that ep was.
200 days left til my homecoming!

Still here

So...wow...haven't written in a while... Can't believe I've been here for 5 months. There are days were it feels like they went slowly and times when it feels like it went by so fast!! yep... so not much has changed in the work front... kids are still the same...English hassn't changed... Abouna came from Sydney, Australia to conduct a mass here in Seoul for all whopping 5 of us.  A few guys from Egypt and me.  That was August 6th or so.  He is due to come back in October...so I might pay the Greek church another visit...only problem is the mass is only in Greek and Korean.  Summer vacation (the whole 2 weeks of it) was great -- Ann and Karen flew ALLLLLL the way from Canada to meet me in Bangkok, Thailand where I enjoyed the best 10 days of this year!! We ended up hanging out in Bangkok for like 3 days, Phuket for 4 and 3 days in Koh Samui.  We did a day trip while in Phuket to Koh Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Monkey Beach.  Trips like this and Kenya remind me that I love nature.

I got soooo burnt and when I came back my students said: Teacher, your face - you are from Africa!

yes kids...i got a tan...get over it... 

Other than that...i've taught myself to crochet...and finished a cat (japanese cute kinda cat) for Lill's baby Noah and I plan on crocheting little dolls for all my cou-nieces and cou-nephews.  I also started Korean lessons - I figure I'm here might as well communicate right!?  Next week we have Cheosuk which is the Korean Thanksgiving which is kinda a big deal so we get the whole week off! Yippee!  I wish I could afford to go to Japan...but I can't so looks like I'm hanging out in Seoul...maybe go shopping (eek!) and to the aquarium (yay!).  I do want to shop shop shop! And ...just found out that gap, old navy and banana republic now deliver to Korea!! Im sooooo happy!! but im sure my bank account will take a hit...

Just hanging out

The weekends are what sometimes make these weeks enjoyable... Knowing that there'll be something fun today on Saturday or Sunday...and so far there hasn't been a shortage of that...maybe a shortage of money in the near future...but nothing so drastic...
This week was one of my friends bday and we hung out in Anseong - had delicious food from the green side egg restaurant (we give the restaurants names b/c we can't read Korean) and then watched some awesome soccer on the streets with some nice cold beer! We tried looking for some bars that had room for us...no can do. So of course in true Korean innovative style, they set up shop in the streets of downtown Anseong.  Of course Argentina beat Korea so it was a good nite for me and my one friend cheering for Argentina...quietly

This weekend my friends and I went to Songtan - which has a military base - I mean if you want to feel like you're in America...thats where you go...it's kinda overwhelming.  As an American friend told me - these people here act like they're in frats! It made me miss Itaewan (Seoul) which also has a military base but a whole other lot of wonderfully ethnic people from everywhere else... it dilutes the Americans :)
Anyways in Songtan as a continuation of my friends bday party we got our manipedis on and then we went to a Mexican restaurant...and being a Canadian hanging out with non Canadians it was funny to see how much Americans really really love Mexican food - me ...don't see what the big deal is...I eat foul for Siam all the time. It was a good time had by all!!

Around Anseong and Seoul

South African for a day!

And what a day!  On Saturday I went to a South African Braai which is a bbq.  It was amazing... seeing all these people uniting from all over Korea to celebrate South Africa and the World cup!! It was sooooo much fun!! Lots of music, food and drinks!  The weather was amazing and hanging out with friends just made me want this day to last a week!  It was at Nanji Camping site on the river...which was really nice... Here are a few pics...the rest are on my facebook...enjoy!