Nearing the End

I'm arriving at the end of the tunnel and I can pretty clearly see the light. For months now I've been feeling really good about work and Korea but the last few weeks have really been rough. I've received some really great news about what I'll be doing after my time in Korea. On the other hand I'm finding it hard to enjoy, or even appreciate, much of Korea and it's culture.

I'll start with the negative stuff first so that I can get it out of the way. Just this week I spent an hour after work talking with one of my Korean coteachers. I don't think it would be appropriate to post what we discussed on my blog as it has to do with her personal life. Let me just say that the cultural tradition in Korea of not questioning anything anyone older than you says (especially your boss) has left one of my coworkers feeling awful about her family life and guilty about wanting to leave here job. She wants the best for her family but cannot provide that solely because it would go against the desires (read: demands) of our boss. I am so frustrated with this situation because she is an amazing, intelligent person but my boss is making her feel like she is being a jerk. She is not. I want bad things to happen to that man.

Anyway, there's more frustrating things I could talk about but I'd rather talk about the great news I received last week. I GOT INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL! I'll be completing a Master's degree at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. The title of my degree is Master of Arts, Master's International in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. It will consist of one year of course work at Gonzaga then two years in the Peace Corps teaching in a developing country. I don't know where I'll be exactly and won't know for some time but I'm just so excited to know that I'll be spending two full years living and working in another country. Once I'm done with my degree I hope to get a job perhaps in the Middle East or at a University in Asia. This will allow me to pay of my loans quickly while also working towards my life goal of living on every continent. So far I've lived in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. So I have Africa and Australia (and maybe Antartica) to go.

I'm lucky enough to have an amazing Aunt and Uncle who have offered to let me stay at their place while I'm studying. I'm very excited to get to be closer to them since we've always lived quite far from each other and have only seen each other every few years since I was a child. Thanks Nancy and Dale!

I'm so excited for the next chapters of my life. It is making it hard to focus while I'm here in Korea but luckily I only have 76 days left until my visa expires! (Not that I'm counting) I'm also hoping to write more this year--it's one of my resolutions.

I hope everyone is doing well!
Talk soon! See you soon if you're in Minnesota or Washington/Oregon!