Well, I just don't know what to do with this blog anymore - seriously, with Facebook and a more hectic life in recent months have given very little desire to write about it.
But, for some reason I itch to keep this up - but wow, three months is a bit too long without an update, yeah?
September - The school year started up again, new students and new teachers. Personally, I love it but I also sorta not love it. While it's exciting to meet new teachers, knowing that some of them are here for only a year brings sadness that a school year is all I've got to enjoy the time I have with them. This year's batch of new teachers are really awesome. A retired Canadian, a dating couple from New York, and a faithful Texan. That faithful Texan has been a gigantic blessing to the work out here in the harvest.
In the kindergarten, much has remained the same. I was supposed to hire an additional English language teacher, but the contract negotiation fell through. The number of kids remain the same, so we really didn't need a new teacher after all. (But I am recruiting! Interested? Let me know!)
And I guess because I need the extra challenge, I took on a primary school class, teaching Language Arts to local kids in grades 4, 5, and 6. This is a whole different arena than teaching kindergarten - I can actually carry a conversation with these pre-teens! So far, it's been a lot of fun, but it is more work than what I've been accustomed to.
October - After six weeks of work, guess what - one week of holidays! Yeah! So I spent the week in Seoul, South Korea. I've always wanted to visit there and I wasn't disappointed. I loved it! Riding the subways was easy, the museums were cool, and the food awesome. The rest of October was the beginning of a new project for me, an Awana type gathering at a family's home for an average of 25 kids. It's been a great blessing sharing stories from the good book to these kids who really want to know him. Best of all, the parents have been extremely supportive. Oh, I ran a half-marathon in Beijing. It was fun, but retrieving my bag after the race was a nightmare. Never again if the race organizers are the same.
November - Around this time, I was getting pretty beat. Not just because of the busyness with teaching, the new weekly gathering with the kids, co-leading a young adult group, and training for later marathons, but emotionally I was worried about home. Hard times have fallen, and let's just say, it doesn't get any easier when the folks get older. Lots to think about concerning the future, and this has certainly been the time about trusting in him that he will provide. The other big development at this time has been about my roommate - he's gone home after being my roommate of two years. I miss him - he was a good conversation buddy and great guy to bounce ideas off of concerning projects. Having a roommate who's like-minded in more ways than one is really rare here.
And as I roll into December, my co-workers keep asking me "So what will you do during the four-day Christmas weekend?" They assume I'll travel somewhere, but really, I'm looking forward to doing just nothing. I need some time to reflect and pray.
Coming up this month: a new roommate! After only four days of solitude, I'll have new company. My school's Christmas production, and I'm going to play Santa - including sleigh and reindeer!
So, my apologies if you had been wondering "hey, where have you been?". Otherwise, thanks for reading my update.
Comments (1)
I've always wondered about visiting Korea too! Can't wait to hear more. Glad to hear you're doing well. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with family. Drop me an email sometime? Life here for me feels about the same... kind of :)