41 days and 40 nights

Looking back, I'm sometimes shocked to see how much time has passed. We arrived here in South Korea on August 25th, 2007 but at times, it still feels like yesterday when I was saying goodbye to mine and Dawna's families at Pearson Airport in Toronto. I've recently had the chance to flip through this blog and I've skimmed or read most of the posts dating back to last year and I'm astonished at the ups and downs we've gone through. I've got to say that we've experienced some of the most amazing highs over the last year (learning about the culture, making some cool friends, traveling to other countries, the puppies) and lots of lows as well. I'm especially proud of us for perservering through the last year. Dawna and I will readily admit that this has been the most challenging year of our lives. We've been praised and rewarded or discriminated and shot-down but either way, it's all helped us learn and grow. We were both tested in several different ways and whether or not we walked away from the experience with a good or bad thought about it, we both realize and understand that in whichever shape or form a challenge approached us, we overcame it and became better and stronger people as a result. So I'll pat myself on the back for that.

Where do I stand with 41 days and 40 nights between now and Canada? Well, we have an open kindergarten class coming up at the end of next week. For those who read our blog way back when in September, this is where we put on a kindergarten class with each child's mother (and/or father, sister, brother, grandparents, etc) and our boss sitting in the same room. When it goes well, it's incredible, but there's also many opportunities for the event to be a disaster. We can't really scold or punish the kids (not that we love doing it, but sometimes you have to) in front of their parents as each parent wants their child to look the best in the class. So what do we do if a child becomes disruptive? Well, we sit there, force the fakest smile possible, and in a calm and pleasant manner, ask the child to stop. If he/she doesn't, well then we're screwed. Some kids get nervous in front of their parents and completely forget how to talk... again... a disaster. It can also be nerve-wracking with so many eyes on you. Everyone reviewing, judging and observing the way you teach their child. Then again, I only have four students and they're all very well-behaved and intelligent for their age so I'm not very worried. Dawna, on the other hand, has eight students and from what she says, they're all tyrants... so she might have a little more trouble.

After that, however, we're mostly in the clear! We both look at this open class as our last big project at ECC. We're both trying our best to put on the best class possible and come away from this class with a positive outlook and experience. After that, we're putting on our last testing sessions for our children (which is VERY exciting) as I never have to evaluate another speaking test again. Sitting each child down, one by one, and having to be in charge of evalutating their speaking skills can not only be redundant each month (not my biggest complaint), but challenging as you REALLY have to pay attention to EVERYTHING the child does, and well, it's a lot of responsibility. So I'll be happy when that's said and done with. The day after we issue our last speaking test is our six-day trip to Thailand where Dawna and I plan on staying in a secluded area, away from the noise, and essentially debrief about the last year. Oh, and we also plan on coming back with great tans. This will be a nice and well-earned getaway.

We get back to South Korea on August 4th and that leaves us with 15 days before our flight back to Canada. This Thailand trip couldn't have come at a better time as it puts a 7-week stretch of working 5-days a week to an end and leaves us with barely any time until we come back home. We're very excited to return to Canada and it's not because we're excited to be leaving Korea, but it's that we're just happy to be returning to our country, friends, family and lives. We're very excited to be moving into our apartment in downtown Toronto, find full-time jobs and just get back into the flow of things. With regards to employent, I'm really looking into working for a non-profit/humanitarian organization, either focused around environmentalism, youth, traveling or anything else that sounds appealing. I'd also be willing to work in a media-related job if it interested me. It'd be great if I could find something that combined both areas. I'm setting a goal for myself to apply for a job a day until I come home. Whether or not this goal is realistic is yet to be seen, but it's day two and I just applied for my second job (not to count the 20+ jobs I've applied to over the last two months).

So that's where I stand. A little closer to the time I come back home, I want to put a more in-depth post where I review everything in more detail but that can wait.

So yea, there it is.

- Gilad