2009 Reflection and 2010 Outlook

Yes this is about 21 days late, but I'd like to reflect on things that went well and not so well in 2009 and also look forward to what 2010 may bring.

So...2009...
I spent the first 8 months of it in Korea
Teaching, traveling, making friends, eating DELICIOUS food and growing.
I rang in the New Year in downtown Seoul with presumably millions of Koreans.
China in May, climbed the Great Wall, ate sticky strawberries and haggled.
Marked a year in Korea in July and celebrated a month later in Thailand,
The most beautiful place I've ever visited.
Flew home to my family and fought jet lag for about a month.
Started my master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language,
Quickly started teaching again, adjusted to America and made new friends.
Lost my grandfather...I'm lucky to have had 24 of his 85 years.
Met a wonderful man and am planning on spending the rest of my life with him.
Had Thanksgiving dinner with my family...ahhhh, turkey, cranberries, lefse!
Finished the semester with a decent GPA and a research paper I'm proud of.
Celebrated Christmas with my family and enjoyed every moment.
Racked up eight 5Ks and a few PRs...best decision I've ever made...running is FUN!

And...2010...
Rang in the New Year with an amazing man.
Started a second semester of graduate work and
Decided for now that I will forgo my teaching license.
For the first time in a long time, I am incredibly happy.
May be headed overseas to teach...UAE, Saudi Arabia, Korea again...
May stay state side and pursue a Ph.D.
Hopefully and probably getting hitched to that amazing man.
Training for a half-marathon (a full will have to wait, I think, until 2011)
And keeping up with the 5Ks and eventually, 10Ks (soon!!!).
And whatever else may find me in 2010, I am ready for it...good or bad.

Finally, An Update

While I never updated about Thailand, I can tell you it rocked. Pictures are available through Facebook and the links below:

Bangkok

Phuket

Phi Phi Island

And now for an update on life in St. Cloud, Minnesota. First of all, it has been a bit crazy the past 6 weeks (I can't believe I've only been home 6 weeks!). When I first got home I whisked my mother away to Manitowoc, Wisconsin where we stayed at a beautiful bed & breakfast (The Westport) and enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Courthouse Pub. Days later, my family (minus my sister, whom I still haven't seen!) packed up our cars and headed to St. Cloud. We took in a few Twins v. Indians games in the process and got moved into my apartment. The day after I was all settled, I began training at St. Cloud State University (from here on out, SCSU). I was lucky enough to receive a graduate assistantship in the College ESL program. I currently teach ESL 201: Listening & Speaking for Academic Purposes. I have 11 awesome students and I'm the sole teacher of the class, I'm not a TA which is a pretty cool and rather unique experience. Life at SCSU has been made easier by having a great advisor, "boss," co-workers and some great new friends (and some old ones...yay for Cottey girls all over the world!). The first few weeks of teaching went well and I have high hopes for the remainder of the semester. The classes I'm taking are good and of course I like some more than others. I'd have to say my favorite class is Phonetics & Phonology. It's hard, but my professor is great and I seriously learn something new everyday.

In other news, I have registered for my first ever 5K!!! I'll be running in SCSU's homecoming 5K on October 10th. Thanks to Joanna, I have a running plan that I have been sticking to and I just added some swimming and weight lifting to my daily routine. In addition to crossing one of my goals off that Life Aspirations list, I'll be getting into and STAYING in shape.

In addition to Thankful Thursday posts, I hope to update more frequently as I'm finally settled and have a routine (which of course, I love). Keep an eye out for updates and hopefully I'll still be living an exciting life outside the confines of Korea (and yes, I do miss Korea. Less and less everyday, but I miss the heck out of my kids, my friends and daily adventures.)

Life Update

I realized that my blog has tapered off in the past few months, but as my time in Korea comes to end I have found it difficult to squeeze in blog updating time. I have been in Korea for almost 11 months and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It's incredible to think of all the things I've done, the things I've accomplished and the people I've met. However, I will not delve into those things now as I still have eight weeks left and don't plan on writing a "farewell" blog for quite sometime. The purpose of this entry is to update everyone on what I will be doing after Korea. I had thought about spending another year here, but I after much thought and consideration, I decided to apply to graduate school and try to get not only my master's, but also my teaching license. About three weeks ago, I was accepted to St. Cloud State University's MA in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) program. I chose to apply to this particular program because a) it's close to home b) it's rather inexpensive c) I can get an MA and a teaching license at the same time and d) I could apply and be admitted without a GRE score. I wasn't too concerned about being accepted as I did pretty well in undergrad and I have a bit of experience with the field already. What I was concerned about was the possibility of a Graduate Assistantship. The GA position is quite the jackpot. Not only would I get paid for 20 hours of work a week, but I would also have 8 of my graduate credits paid for. I received a year long position as a TA for college ESL classes and as long as my grades are good and I do a good job the first year, I can hopefully be awarded the same position next year. I have to be in St. Cloud by August 21st for orientation and classes start August 24th. It will be a whirlwind of activity before then as I settle back into the states and get adjusted to life as a college student once again.

My last day of work is July 24th and on the 25th I leave for Thailand. I will be spending 9 days between Bangkok and Phuket (with a side trip to Phi Phi Island) with my two favorite people in Korea. I'll be home August 4th and as much as I'd love to spend time with everyone I know, I will be spending time with my family and I am looking forward to every moment of it.