Finally, My Very Own Blog: Japan

Got my tickets for Japan today! I was shocked at how much it cost to fly to a place so close - almost $500. Apparently it's cheaper to fly from Japan to Korea, which is likely another reason Koreans can list to hate the Japanese.

Anyway, I'm flying into Osaka, staying there for a few days, then heading to Kyoto. I may squeeze in one more city depending on how things go. This will be my first time in Japan, so I'm pretty thrilled....I've got Japan on the brain right now. It's always been at the top of my places to visit list, and I'm just dying to get out of here for a bit, more for a change of pace than anything. Its also a bit of a test run, since I'm considering doing the JET program in the future.

I'll be back in Korea on the 30th.

Only two more days of the brutal all day schedule! After the break, we get off at 6:30, meaning I can sort of live a real life outside of work again. August will be my wind down month, where I have to start thinking about packing and the L word (that's LEAVING, which I've been banned from saying in the presence of certain people.)

5 weeks of 11 hour days has been tough, but not as bad as I expected. The saving grace was the fact that my morning class has always been Level 7 -- which means older, advanced students. No discipline, no craziness, I can teach writing instead of grammar, and they are actually more tired than I am in the morning. I have LOVED my morning students for the past 5 weeks. Loved every one of them. They are awesome -- sweet, engaged, smart, and hard working. We have read Animal Farm, Johnney Tremain, and now we are reading Where the Red Fern Grows, which, by the way, is one of the BEST young adult novels in existence. It was one of my faves when I was growing up, and I'm totally enjoying reading it as an adult. And it still makes me cry :-)

Sigh. That is the word that captures how I feel at the moment.

Here are a few random photos I thought were worth sharing.

Stuffed animals lined up in hopes of adoption.