Moving along

Take a look at that datestamp. That says June 1st. When I saw June written on the whiteboard in my classroom it reminded me very much of July. I once had July written on my whiteboard, and that was a year ago. Okay, eleven months. Eleven months!!!

In one month to the day I will be leaving Korea, probably never to return though I can't guarantee that. I have big travel plans that I'm itching to get to.

Today at school I felt like quitting. My kids really drove me nuts doing everything they know is wrong to do. I can't tell you how happy I'll be outside of the classroom forever. Sure, kids are cute and fun to play with once in a while, but teaching them? And controlling the ones who live to screw with you? I'll pass.

June will likely speed by. We have enough things we want to do in the country to keep us busy every weekend but have decided to take this weekend easy and stay home. I'm really glad I went to Seoraksan, Gyeongju, and Ganghwa of late because now I feel like I have a good idea of what Korea's countryside is like and can say that I've seen more than just Seoul. I've actually seen quite a bit of the country, what with my Fall trips to Jeju and Busan, my two mountain retreats, and the trips I just mentioned from the last month.

In my opinion the country is beautiful. There are mountains everywhere and the land is lush and green. The disappointing thing is how ugly the cities and towns are. Everything looks very much the same; towering apartment buildings, crumbling little buildings with blue or orange roofs, construction everywhere that doesn't seem to improve anything, half-dry creeks that smell like sewage, Paris Baguettes, Dunkin Donuts, and KFC's on every block... If people never touched the land it would be beautiful.

Anyway, as for June there are a few things to look forward to. Two of my kids have birthday parties which is always exciting. Next Tuesday is another holiday (you can't go wrong with holidays) and I have no particular plans. Then I will be very busy counting down the weeks, and then days until I leave. No more of these crazy months to count.

I'm also looking forward to school in the fall and wonder about who I'll meet in my program and out of it. I hope there will be some people to connect with after a year of little variety. A year! I can't get over it. I haven't been able to get over it all this time. Each month goes by and still I can't get over it.

I wonder if I can go until June 15th without talking about how excited I am to be moving along.