Officially hit my 3 month mark!!

Did Someone Say CHEER?

I have officially been in Korea for THREE MONTHS!! Woah! Let's just take a minute and soak that in...90 days (approx). It is amazing at how fast time flies by.  It's very exciting for me to finally hit this mark in my journey because this is the point that most people have said a person either decides to love Korea or hate it.  I have decided to love it and can now feel the drastic changes in my experience.  It's now my home, a place where I am learning about and meeting new friends (I finally met more CANADIANS, even one girl who knew my mother...weird right?).  I have officially lived through 3 typhoons, sang karaoke multiple times throughout the week, got new glasses, had Korean bbq on the roof patio of my school after work while drinking wine in the presence of all my coworkers and went to my first Korean baseball game.  I must address the baseball game...it is an incredible experience where cheering with your fellow fans seems to have more importance than the actual game (cheering is my forte, even in Korean aka I was in my ELEMENT).  I am having some really great opportunities and starting to get the hang of my new job and lifestyle.  It is now something that has become my life and no longer something that I can distance or separate myself from, this is my new reality and I am really enjoying it!

My Homeroom Kinder Class

This week has been fantastic and emotional for a variety of reasons but through it all it has allowed me to realize how much I really am enjoying my life here.  Through the turmoil, struggles and emotionally exhausting periods of the past 3 months, I have now come out of the storm and feel even stronger and better prepared for what the next 9 months have in store.  I wake up every morning looking forward  to going to school and seeing what my little munchkins will do today.  This past week the kids made me laugh hard every day and I am able to see how young they begin to develop huge personalities.  Watching the kids dance, communicate with each other and how thoughtful they are with one another warms my heart. 

My co-foreign teachers <3 Bye bye Jenn Teacher!

This past week was amazing but also emotional because this was one of my coworkers last weeks before moving back to the States after 14 months living in Korea.  It is amazing how after 3 months she has become one of my close friends and having her leave so soon after I have gotten here has been a challenge.  She was the teacher who trained me and my first real friend in Korea.  A group of people and myself went out with her last night and sang some rockstar songs, eating chicken and beer as we talked about how we would miss her.  Watching her say bye to the kids and my other coworkers was tough and emphasized a few things for me;

1) How amazing this opportunity is

2) The amount of influence I will have on some of these people and children

Baseball field <3

3) How quick a year flies by

4) How deep and real the friendships are here

5) How to make the best of every opportunity

The new foreign teacher came in this week and I was asked to show her the ropes, which was a new experience for me that has made me realize how fast things have gone by.  Sometimes I feel like I just got off the plane but in reality that was 3 months ago...wow.  I am looking forward to no longer being the new one and instead being able to test my abilities by helping teach the new teacher some things. 

One my favourite little ones :)

Next week is the last week of school before Chusok (Korean Thanksgiving) and I am super excited to have 5 days of chill time.  I am excited to spend some time with a cousin of mine who is passing through Seoul with her family as well as getting some time to sleep in, watch Disney movies with friends and explore areas of Korea...I am thinking I should climb a mountain next week or maybe go to a temple stay, possibilities are endless.  I feel that people from home have been so encouraging this past little while and I want to thank everyone for their support, emails, kakao messages and so on. 

I miss you all at home and cannot wait to see you again...after I have grown and developed into a better person in many areas of my life.