What a year so far! I'll write up a brief summary of events now and maybe write a couple of longer entries separately that might be more interesting. So here's my summer newsletter, of sorts.
April--Mostly a quiet month after election day. Lots of classes and few days off. Went to the Chloris Tea Room, which was a lovely highlight. We had some proper European-style tea. Ended the month with another 5k run, and got my second-best finish time out of the three 5k races I've done. Avengers opened early in Korea, so of course I saw it the day it came out.
May--One co-teacher moved to another school and I got a new co-teacher. Midterms took place around the time of this switch. For the first time in a year and a half, I finally hiked up Sorae mountain with some Siheung neighbors. It took us just a couple of hours all together. I also attended the Icheon Ceramic Festival with a friend from Seoul and purchased some fine handmade ceramics! Also got the news that my grandfather was very ill with advanced cancer.
June--Open class season. I taught the "Bucket List" open class lesson again with my co-teacher with a fairly good outcome, according to the peer evaluation we were given. Hiked another mountain with church friends on Korean Memorial Day. Grandpa took a turn for the worse, and I was summoned home ASAP. My school graciously allowed me to leave the day after I heard the bad news. I was able to say goodbye to my grandfather, and then stay with my family after for a total of 2 weeks.
July--Celebrated the 4th of July in America at my sister's family farm. Came back to Korea after finals and mostly waited out the semester. Went on a great teachers' trip (though the raw fish was much harder to swallow this year, sang at noraebang with my officemates, and concluded the month with summer camp and a rafting trip with church friends. The rafting trip was... eventful. For our guide at least. Film camp didn't go as well this year, but some students still put forth their best efforts. I did go to Bucheon's genre film festival for the second year in a row, and saw 2 movies.
August--I went to the 2012 Expo in Yeosu (used to be called the world fair, famously hosted by St. Louis once) with my manager/handler from work and she and I were both pleasantly surprised that we had such a good time together. :) Highlights for me were the international pavilions and a passport stamp hunt. Next I went to Cheonan to help a second time with proofreading the Gyeonggi-do Korean practice SAT questions. Had/have to bid goodbye to several good friends in August. Most recently, I went to Gyeongju, a historical city and area in Korea, dating back to the Silla kingdom around 1,000-1,500 years ago. They had royal burial mounds, UNESCO world heritage sites, and restored temples. I enjoyed getting to travel again. Those trips away from town are so refreshing!
My 30th birthday was this past weekend, celebrated in many nice little ways. And now I'm back to school, though I won't be teaching again until next Monday, I'm told. Therefore, I finally have the time and opportunity to write a blog post! We'll see how long before the next one.
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