But in case you've found this website, and you're looking for me:
Yes, I'm still alive and well. I no longer live in Korea, but the adventures haven't stopped!
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Tattoo Freeze in England
1 year ago
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Good golly Miss Molly, are those cobwebs on the ceiling? It looks like no one has cleaned here in ages!
...is basically like this
Minus the sweet ride :(
It's been awhile since I've written anything here. I have a lot of things I could write about, positive and negative, but I haven't really been in the mood to share. I'm not exactly in a writing mood right now either, but I have some downtime at school and a story to share, so here goes.
My co-teacher and her family have been very kind to me, so a few weeks ago I offered to invite them out to dinner, my treat. The date was postponed a couple of weeks, but it finally happened this past Saturday.
We started out at a shabu-shabu restaurant, with 5 people: my co-teacher, her husband, her daughter, one of her brothers, and me. We ate some delicious shabu-shabu and drank some soju. It was a pretty good meal, although in a rare display, I was actually have a little bit of trouble with the soju. I think I can blame Friday night for that...
Anyway, the food was good, and afterward we went up to my co-teacher and her husband's apartment. To be honest, in many ways, it really wasn't anything special. We just sat around, ate some more, chatted about random things, and played drinking games. Eventually my co-teacher's other brother showed up. I had met him briefly one time before, but I had a chance to interact with him a bit more this time. Both of her brothers are pretty cool, and they do their best to communicate with me despite limited English ability, which I appreciate.
This continued until pretty late, and I eventually started to feel pretty tired, so they let me go to sleep in one of the side rooms. Then I think the people who were still up played some Wii Sports. Late the next morning, everybody woke up, we had some breakfast, and then I went home with my co-teacher's brothers in a taxi. And that was that.
As I said above, on the surface this experience might not seem like anything special, but it was actually pretty important to me.
Why?
Well, I've been in Korea for about 3 months now, yeah? Especially the past few weeks, I've really been feeling like an outsider here at times. And I suppose that's only natural, because I am an outsider here. And because of my living and working situation, I think I feel it here even more than I did in Japan.
So, to chill with my co-teacher's family for a night, and feel almost like a part of her family for that time was a pretty big deal for me. It reminded me that despite Korea not being my home, it's still possible to feel at home here.
Really, I wouldn't say I'm homesick. If you asked me right now if I'd like to stay here another year, I'd say yes. I've having a good experience overall. But some days are better or worse than others, and that's something that's probably amplified a little bit here. Today I'm feeling a little down, but I'm sure something will come along to cheer me up.
And frankly, despite what I've been feeling recently, I know I've felt like an outsider before even in my home country, probably to an even greater extent than I feel it here now. So, I know I can survive this feeling. The key is to keep moving forward, and that is something that I know I can manage.
I suppose I was never a very prolific blogger to begin with, but I feel like I've really been slacking the past week or so. Perhaps it's time to rededicate myself to the craft.
There are a lot of things to I could write about, but I haven't really felt moved to write about them.
I kind of wonder if I'm falling into a "rut" here. Not a terrible one, but a minor one. I'm still enjoying myself, and I'm not homesick, but I'm just a little bit bored I think. I think I felt that way a little bit when I was in Japan after a few months as well.
However, I was only in Japan for about 4 months, so I never really had time to get out of my "rut". In fact, I think my limited time there made it worse in some ways. Knowing you're only going to be someplace for another month or two changes how you interact with other people, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.
I don't have a harsh time limit like that imposed on me here. I'm interested to see what will happen as I stay here longer. Will I start to feel more "culture shock"? Or is it something I'm already past? I guess we'll see.
And who know, maybe I'll blog about it too! :P
This is a completely random thought I decided I just had to post up, so bear with me!
As many of my fellow English teachers know, when dealing with South Korean students, the following dialogue is fairly common:
Person A: "Hello, how are you today?"
Person B: "I'm fine, and how are you?"
Person A: "I'm fine."
I think to many English teachers, this seems pretty unnatural and a little goofy. More advanced students will say other things other than "I'm fine", but having "I'm fine" as the "standard" answer to the question seems somewhat awkward, because few people say it. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in the US, I think there are other more common answers (such as "I'm alright") that convey the same general meaning.
However, tonight I'm working on a "self-introduction" lesson, and I've come to realize that I also used to abuse the word "fine".
Back when I was in grade school, every day my parents would ask me "How was school?"
And 95% of the time (not an exaggeration...I actually may be underestimating), my response would be "Fine." And I wouldn't go into any more detail. If I responded with something else, it was quite the event.
So, I guess I was just as good at giving out a "standard answer" as all of these Korean students!
Anyway, that's my random thought of the day. Hopefully it wasn't too random.
As many of my fellow English teachers know, when dealing with South Korean students, the following dialogue is fairly common:
Person A: "Hello, how are you today?"
Person B: "I'm fine, and how are you?"
Person A: "I'm fine."
I think to many English teachers, this seems pretty unnatural and a little goofy. More advanced students will say other things other than "I'm fine", but having "I'm fine" as the "standard" answer to the question seems somewhat awkward, because few people say it. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in the US, I think there are other more common answers (such as "I'm alright") that convey the same general meaning.
However, tonight I'm working on a "self-introduction" lesson, and I've come to realize that I also used to abuse the word "fine".
Back when I was in grade school, every day my parents would ask me "How was school?"
And 95% of the time (not an exaggeration...I actually may be underestimating), my response would be "Fine." And I wouldn't go into any more detail. If I responded with something else, it was quite the event.
So, I guess I was just as good at giving out a "standard answer" as all of these Korean students!
Anyway, that's my random thought of the day. Hopefully it wasn't too random.
I Need Sleep
Today was a bit rough.
It goes back to Saturday night, when I didn't do anything in particular, but I could tell my throat was starting to get a bit sore. That's always the first sign that I'm coming down with some sort of cold-ish thing.
Sunday I woke up and felt a little sick. I didn't have anything planned for Sunday, so I decided I'd spend most of my day resting, which meant getting some extra sleep. Which I think actually worked pretty well, because today I think my minor illness is regressing.
But, the side-effect of sleeping so much was that I wasn't tired Sunday night. I couldn't sleep at all. At 2am, I actually ended up watching the Green Bay Packers for a bit on my computer, which was pretty exciting. I probably won't make a habit out of it because it's so late, but I'm glad I figured out how to watch them.
Anyway, I watched until halftime and then decided to try to go to sleep again. Needless to say, it didn't really work, and by the time I woke up, I probably only had 2 hours of sleep under my belt.
As you can imagine, school was a bit of a drag. My voice held up well enough, but I just didn't have any pep. I also had to teach one of my rowdier classes today, which is difficult enough when I'm not dead tired. Although on the positive side, my co-teacher and I discussed ways to keep them in line in the future. She made up a seating chart so they aren't all by their good friends, and we have some punishments in mind too for when they get out of hand. So, I guess some good came out of it.
I made it a point to avoid taking a nap today, so I should get plenty of sleep tonight. If I nap, I tend to just perpetuate the "cycle of tiredness" by staying up late again, so I'm glad I broke it today rather than later this week.
The Two Words That You Can't Escape When Living Abroad
On a related note, today made me start thinking even more about those "dreaded words" that every foreign traveler hears about:
Culture Shock
I've been thinking about what impact culture shock has been having on me (if any). Culture shock is usually described as a phenomenon that happens in stages, the first one being the "Honeymoon Phase", where everything about the new country you're in seems amazing. To be honest, I don't feel like I've experienced this very strongly, both in Japan and now in Korea. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of cool things here and I've had lots of good times, but I don't think I've had many "highs" that have been significantly higher than doing my favorite things back home.
Anyway, after the honeymoon comes some other stage that I can't remember the name of right now. But it basically involves becoming upset with lots of things about the culture that you're surrounded by.
This leaves me with a question: Is the way I'm feeling today a result of culture shock, or am I just having a crummy day?
The answer? Probably a little of both, but I'm inclined to believe it's mostly the latter. Maybe I'm lying to myself, but I think I'm still holding up alright in this new culture. I've been reading some other blog from people who recently came to Korea, and many of them seem to have a lot more to complain about than me. I'd like to think I'm a bit more open to just going with the flow, so to speak.
(Of course, it's possible I'm just repressing all of my feelings of discontent so they can all come out in one HUGE outburst!)
Okay, I honestly think that's unlikely, but the fact that I'm even writing about this suggests there's probably a little something going on in my head. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it.
So, in closing, don't worry! I think I'm just a bit tired, and overall I'd say things are still going well.
Peace out!
P.S. For those who haven't heard, The party's in DAEJEOONNNNN!
Today was a bit rough.
It goes back to Saturday night, when I didn't do anything in particular, but I could tell my throat was starting to get a bit sore. That's always the first sign that I'm coming down with some sort of cold-ish thing.
Sunday I woke up and felt a little sick. I didn't have anything planned for Sunday, so I decided I'd spend most of my day resting, which meant getting some extra sleep. Which I think actually worked pretty well, because today I think my minor illness is regressing.
But, the side-effect of sleeping so much was that I wasn't tired Sunday night. I couldn't sleep at all. At 2am, I actually ended up watching the Green Bay Packers for a bit on my computer, which was pretty exciting. I probably won't make a habit out of it because it's so late, but I'm glad I figured out how to watch them.
Anyway, I watched until halftime and then decided to try to go to sleep again. Needless to say, it didn't really work, and by the time I woke up, I probably only had 2 hours of sleep under my belt.
As you can imagine, school was a bit of a drag. My voice held up well enough, but I just didn't have any pep. I also had to teach one of my rowdier classes today, which is difficult enough when I'm not dead tired. Although on the positive side, my co-teacher and I discussed ways to keep them in line in the future. She made up a seating chart so they aren't all by their good friends, and we have some punishments in mind too for when they get out of hand. So, I guess some good came out of it.
I made it a point to avoid taking a nap today, so I should get plenty of sleep tonight. If I nap, I tend to just perpetuate the "cycle of tiredness" by staying up late again, so I'm glad I broke it today rather than later this week.
The Two Words That You Can't Escape When Living Abroad
On a related note, today made me start thinking even more about those "dreaded words" that every foreign traveler hears about:
Culture Shock
I've been thinking about what impact culture shock has been having on me (if any). Culture shock is usually described as a phenomenon that happens in stages, the first one being the "Honeymoon Phase", where everything about the new country you're in seems amazing. To be honest, I don't feel like I've experienced this very strongly, both in Japan and now in Korea. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of cool things here and I've had lots of good times, but I don't think I've had many "highs" that have been significantly higher than doing my favorite things back home.
Anyway, after the honeymoon comes some other stage that I can't remember the name of right now. But it basically involves becoming upset with lots of things about the culture that you're surrounded by.
This leaves me with a question: Is the way I'm feeling today a result of culture shock, or am I just having a crummy day?
The answer? Probably a little of both, but I'm inclined to believe it's mostly the latter. Maybe I'm lying to myself, but I think I'm still holding up alright in this new culture. I've been reading some other blog from people who recently came to Korea, and many of them seem to have a lot more to complain about than me. I'd like to think I'm a bit more open to just going with the flow, so to speak.
(Of course, it's possible I'm just repressing all of my feelings of discontent so they can all come out in one HUGE outburst!)
Okay, I honestly think that's unlikely, but the fact that I'm even writing about this suggests there's probably a little something going on in my head. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it.
So, in closing, don't worry! I think I'm just a bit tired, and overall I'd say things are still going well.
Peace out!
P.S. For those who haven't heard, The party's in DAEJEOONNNNN!
I became a multi-millionaire this weekend.
I bought an AM/FM/Cassette Radio.
And a broom.
Don't worry mom! That new house you've always been dreaming of will be coming soon!
Oh, did I mention that my millions are in South Korean won? Presently, 1 US dollar is worth ~1184 won. So a million won is actually worth less than $1000.
Uh...on second thought, that house might be a while mom! Sorry!
Actually, on a somewhat related note, I showed my 5th and 6th graders some pictures of my parent's house this week. It's a fairly standard sized two-story house. It's quite old (think early 20th century), but it's well built and I do think it's a fine house. But by Korean standards, it's VERY big. So all of my students think I'm rich now...
If only they knew the truth...
I bought an AM/FM/Cassette Radio.
And a broom.
Don't worry mom! That new house you've always been dreaming of will be coming soon!
Oh, did I mention that my millions are in South Korean won? Presently, 1 US dollar is worth ~1184 won. So a million won is actually worth less than $1000.
Uh...on second thought, that house might be a while mom! Sorry!
Actually, on a somewhat related note, I showed my 5th and 6th graders some pictures of my parent's house this week. It's a fairly standard sized two-story house. It's quite old (think early 20th century), but it's well built and I do think it's a fine house. But by Korean standards, it's VERY big. So all of my students think I'm rich now...
If only they knew the truth...
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-"The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost (Full poem here)
I'm really not that big into poetry. Not because I think it's bad, but we only have time in indulge ourselves in so many hobbies and poetry isn't one I ever really got into. Music is much more my thing (as you can see here).
Anyway, this particular bit of poetry is special to me for two reasons. In fact, I had it up as my Facebook quote for a long, long time. First of all, I think that it describes my life at least somewhat. Secondly, I had to memorize it for Miss Hess's drama class during my senior year of high school, which was quite the endeavor.
First point
As cliched as it may sound, I'd like to think that my path in life so far has been "the one less traveled by". For example, while I'm sure that I'm not unique, I have yet to meet another person who majored in Japanese and Math. Doing both was a huge struggle, especially during my final year in college when I had returned from Japan and my interest level in mathematics was approximately zero. But somehow I finished it. Seeing that I'm currently teaching English in Korea, I don't know what good (if any) my majors will do me yet, but it'll be interesting to find out.
I also have a more concrete example, that I realized after I read this poem in high school. On the outskirts of my hometown, there was a bluff where I could look down and see the two roads that entered the village from the east. There was Highway 14, not a "major highway" by any means, but the main artery to the village. And then there was County Road KP, which was the secondary road that had far less traffic. Anyway, one night while I was sitting up on the bluff, I looked down at the car lights passing on the roads. A fair number of lights on 14, yet very, very few on KP. Visualizing this was really striking to me, and I realized that even though I always had the option of taking Highway 14, I'd almost always take KP. To me, it just felt like the thing to do, and it think it's a concrete example of how I like to lead my life.
(Okay, to be honest I probably only drove on KP because there weren't any cops to pull me over for speeding...but it made a good story! Right? Right?!!)
Second Point
So, like I said, I had quite the endeavour memorizing this poem in high school. Our drama gave us an assignment: pick a poem, memorize it and recite it. I think she recommended this one to my friend Alicia, but I decided I liked it and chose it. Anyway, I tried hard to memorize it, I really did! But when it came time to recite the poems in class, my brain just wouldn't do it! I completely butchered it, and Miss Hess told me to try again the next day.
I was soooo frustrated, so I decided to try a different approach. Putting my frustration to good use, I went to our family's piano and recorded a couple of minutes of me playing some scales and chords in C minor and decided to use this as background music for my poetry read. It was a reasonable short poem, but I had a couple minutes of music, so I ended up spacing out the lines so that there were pauses between them, which I figured would make things more "dramatic".
I went to class the next day, and read the poem as I had prepared it. I think having the music added helped me remember it, because I had absolutely no trouble the second time. Furthermore, to my surprise Miss Hess liked my reading so much that she made me read it again for her drama class the next period. She told me that when she first heard me pausing between lines, she thought maybe I was struggling to remember the next line, but she then realized what I was doing with my timing and really liked the approach aesthetically. So, despite the failure and frustration of my first try, things ended up working out really well!
So...what?
I imagine you're wondering what this has to do with teaching English in South Korea. When it comes down to it, I'm not really sure myself. Reading some quotes on another friend's blog made me think of this quote, so I decided I'd go ahead and write about it. So maybe it has nothing to do with what I have going on here.
At the same time, perhaps this quote and it's place in my life have everything to do with being here in South Korea. First of all, despite being a more popular choice than it used to be, teaching abroad isn't exactly a "typical" career move. And thus we see a clear tie between my first point and what I'm doing here.
I think the second point is probably more important though, both because it's more personal, and because it has an important lesson in it that I need to try to remember while I'm here. And that lesson is that if I fail, I need to take a step back, reconsider, and try again. Being in a new country is a challenge, and while things have been going pretty well so far, there are definitely going to be "failures", both big and small, so I'm going to need to do my best to roll with them, learn from them, and get up and try again. And the experience of failing to memorize this quote, only to end up reciting it very well is probably an anecdote I should try to keep in mind as I deal with my new surroundings. I know I'll be able to overcome the challenges I encounter here, even if it might take me awhile.
Closing
Alright, I'd like to think that turned out fairly well. I'm writing in a PCbang and it's about 3am here, so please forgive any mental lapses in my grammar! Anyway, now it's back to reading about my Green Bay Packers...I think they're gonna finish 19-0 this year, for sure!
Til next time, cheers!
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-"The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost (Full poem here)
I'm really not that big into poetry. Not because I think it's bad, but we only have time in indulge ourselves in so many hobbies and poetry isn't one I ever really got into. Music is much more my thing (as you can see here).
Anyway, this particular bit of poetry is special to me for two reasons. In fact, I had it up as my Facebook quote for a long, long time. First of all, I think that it describes my life at least somewhat. Secondly, I had to memorize it for Miss Hess's drama class during my senior year of high school, which was quite the endeavor.
First point
As cliched as it may sound, I'd like to think that my path in life so far has been "the one less traveled by". For example, while I'm sure that I'm not unique, I have yet to meet another person who majored in Japanese and Math. Doing both was a huge struggle, especially during my final year in college when I had returned from Japan and my interest level in mathematics was approximately zero. But somehow I finished it. Seeing that I'm currently teaching English in Korea, I don't know what good (if any) my majors will do me yet, but it'll be interesting to find out.
I also have a more concrete example, that I realized after I read this poem in high school. On the outskirts of my hometown, there was a bluff where I could look down and see the two roads that entered the village from the east. There was Highway 14, not a "major highway" by any means, but the main artery to the village. And then there was County Road KP, which was the secondary road that had far less traffic. Anyway, one night while I was sitting up on the bluff, I looked down at the car lights passing on the roads. A fair number of lights on 14, yet very, very few on KP. Visualizing this was really striking to me, and I realized that even though I always had the option of taking Highway 14, I'd almost always take KP. To me, it just felt like the thing to do, and it think it's a concrete example of how I like to lead my life.
(Okay, to be honest I probably only drove on KP because there weren't any cops to pull me over for speeding...but it made a good story! Right? Right?!!)
Second Point
So, like I said, I had quite the endeavour memorizing this poem in high school. Our drama gave us an assignment: pick a poem, memorize it and recite it. I think she recommended this one to my friend Alicia, but I decided I liked it and chose it. Anyway, I tried hard to memorize it, I really did! But when it came time to recite the poems in class, my brain just wouldn't do it! I completely butchered it, and Miss Hess told me to try again the next day.
I was soooo frustrated, so I decided to try a different approach. Putting my frustration to good use, I went to our family's piano and recorded a couple of minutes of me playing some scales and chords in C minor and decided to use this as background music for my poetry read. It was a reasonable short poem, but I had a couple minutes of music, so I ended up spacing out the lines so that there were pauses between them, which I figured would make things more "dramatic".
I went to class the next day, and read the poem as I had prepared it. I think having the music added helped me remember it, because I had absolutely no trouble the second time. Furthermore, to my surprise Miss Hess liked my reading so much that she made me read it again for her drama class the next period. She told me that when she first heard me pausing between lines, she thought maybe I was struggling to remember the next line, but she then realized what I was doing with my timing and really liked the approach aesthetically. So, despite the failure and frustration of my first try, things ended up working out really well!
So...what?
I imagine you're wondering what this has to do with teaching English in South Korea. When it comes down to it, I'm not really sure myself. Reading some quotes on another friend's blog made me think of this quote, so I decided I'd go ahead and write about it. So maybe it has nothing to do with what I have going on here.
At the same time, perhaps this quote and it's place in my life have everything to do with being here in South Korea. First of all, despite being a more popular choice than it used to be, teaching abroad isn't exactly a "typical" career move. And thus we see a clear tie between my first point and what I'm doing here.
I think the second point is probably more important though, both because it's more personal, and because it has an important lesson in it that I need to try to remember while I'm here. And that lesson is that if I fail, I need to take a step back, reconsider, and try again. Being in a new country is a challenge, and while things have been going pretty well so far, there are definitely going to be "failures", both big and small, so I'm going to need to do my best to roll with them, learn from them, and get up and try again. And the experience of failing to memorize this quote, only to end up reciting it very well is probably an anecdote I should try to keep in mind as I deal with my new surroundings. I know I'll be able to overcome the challenges I encounter here, even if it might take me awhile.
Closing
Alright, I'd like to think that turned out fairly well. I'm writing in a PCbang and it's about 3am here, so please forgive any mental lapses in my grammar! Anyway, now it's back to reading about my Green Bay Packers...I think they're gonna finish 19-0 this year, for sure!
Til next time, cheers!
Short post today.
Yesterday one of my friends asked me if it's sunk in that I'll be in Korea in a few days.
And the answer is a definitive no.
I really don't expect it to hit me until the plane starts flying over to land in Incheon. I had the same experience when I landed in Narita, Japan last year. It wasn't until the plane was landing that I started thinking "Oh crap, I'm gonna be in Japan for half a year".
It's not that I haven't been thinking about it; I've definitely been doing that. It's just that it doesn't feel "real" right now, and emotionally speaking that's how I'm acting. If you talked to me right now, you'd have no idea that I'm leaving the country for a year or more in 3 days.
I think the biggest difference in my mental preparation for this adventure compared to Japan is my expectations. Before I went to Japan, I had the idea that it was some kind of magical wonderland that would fulfill all of my hopes and dreams. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I had basically listened to all of the good things my friends told me and combined them into one glorious picture. Japan was good, but there pretty much no way it could've lived up to my expectations.
And thus, my expectations for Korea are positive, but probably much closer to where they should be. Also, this time around I have a better idea of what to expect as a foreigner dealing with a new environment. Whether that helps me adapt or not remains to be seen.
Oh, and I still haven't packed! I'm going to be busy most of tomorrow with a wedding, so packing may be put off mostly until Sunday...I guess it's just how I do things. Everything seems to work out somehow or another.
That's all, peace out!
Yesterday one of my friends asked me if it's sunk in that I'll be in Korea in a few days.
And the answer is a definitive no.
I really don't expect it to hit me until the plane starts flying over to land in Incheon. I had the same experience when I landed in Narita, Japan last year. It wasn't until the plane was landing that I started thinking "Oh crap, I'm gonna be in Japan for half a year".
It's not that I haven't been thinking about it; I've definitely been doing that. It's just that it doesn't feel "real" right now, and emotionally speaking that's how I'm acting. If you talked to me right now, you'd have no idea that I'm leaving the country for a year or more in 3 days.
I think the biggest difference in my mental preparation for this adventure compared to Japan is my expectations. Before I went to Japan, I had the idea that it was some kind of magical wonderland that would fulfill all of my hopes and dreams. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I had basically listened to all of the good things my friends told me and combined them into one glorious picture. Japan was good, but there pretty much no way it could've lived up to my expectations.
And thus, my expectations for Korea are positive, but probably much closer to where they should be. Also, this time around I have a better idea of what to expect as a foreigner dealing with a new environment. Whether that helps me adapt or not remains to be seen.
Oh, and I still haven't packed! I'm going to be busy most of tomorrow with a wedding, so packing may be put off mostly until Sunday...I guess it's just how I do things. Everything seems to work out somehow or another.
That's all, peace out!
I'm not too sure who my audience is at this point (or if I even have one), but this post is probably of more interest to people who know me.
I know this is supposed to be a blog about Daejeon, but it's also a blog about me. And hey, I'm not in Daejeon yet, so why not write a bit about college and Minneapolis! I just moved back to my parents house this past week, and after 5 years in Minneapolis, I think it's worthy of some attention.
For those of you who don't know, I graduated this spring from the University of Minnesota with a BA, double majoring in Asian Languages and Literatures (Japanese) and Mathematics. The homestretch was pretty rough in regards to my math classes, but I survived somehow.
Anyway, don't get me wrong, there were definitely some enjoyable classes and professors at school, especially within the Japanese department. But with that said, I think the thing that really made my college experience special was all the different people that I met. Without you, college would have been pretty lame. Unfortunately, if I tried to call out everybody here in list form, I think it would get pretty long. So, I'm just going to have to give everybody a blanket thank you very much.
However, there is one thing I'd like to address. As you may or may not know (and most of you probably don't, I didn't talk about it much), I was pretty down on myself for a couple of months this past winter. Anyway, in light of that, I made it my New Years Resolution to make my final college semester better and happier than the one that preceded it. (I even wrote a Facebook note about it, if you feel inclined to read it.) And through this spring and summer, I feel confident in saying that I succeeded in my goal. I have all of the awesome people that I hung out with to thank for that. So, if you spent any time with me this past semester or during summer, thanks for making me laugh, smile, or just keeping me company. I needed it, I really appreciated it, and I feel a lot better now than I did during the winter.
Mmm...yeah, that was a bit sappy, but whatever. I hope somebody reads this and it brightens up their day a bit.
Again, thanks! Til next time...
I know this is supposed to be a blog about Daejeon, but it's also a blog about me. And hey, I'm not in Daejeon yet, so why not write a bit about college and Minneapolis! I just moved back to my parents house this past week, and after 5 years in Minneapolis, I think it's worthy of some attention.
For those of you who don't know, I graduated this spring from the University of Minnesota with a BA, double majoring in Asian Languages and Literatures (Japanese) and Mathematics. The homestretch was pretty rough in regards to my math classes, but I survived somehow.
Anyway, don't get me wrong, there were definitely some enjoyable classes and professors at school, especially within the Japanese department. But with that said, I think the thing that really made my college experience special was all the different people that I met. Without you, college would have been pretty lame. Unfortunately, if I tried to call out everybody here in list form, I think it would get pretty long. So, I'm just going to have to give everybody a blanket thank you very much.
However, there is one thing I'd like to address. As you may or may not know (and most of you probably don't, I didn't talk about it much), I was pretty down on myself for a couple of months this past winter. Anyway, in light of that, I made it my New Years Resolution to make my final college semester better and happier than the one that preceded it. (I even wrote a Facebook note about it, if you feel inclined to read it.) And through this spring and summer, I feel confident in saying that I succeeded in my goal. I have all of the awesome people that I hung out with to thank for that. So, if you spent any time with me this past semester or during summer, thanks for making me laugh, smile, or just keeping me company. I needed it, I really appreciated it, and I feel a lot better now than I did during the winter.
Mmm...yeah, that was a bit sappy, but whatever. I hope somebody reads this and it brightens up their day a bit.
Again, thanks! Til next time...
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