Saying Goodbye

Wow, can you believe it’s time to go home already? These last 14 months have just flown by! I can’t believe it!

When I came to Korea I had a detailed strategy of what I wanted to gain from my experience. Every expectation I had was fulfilled, but I’m so glad I didn’t limit myself to my preconceived notions because I got so much more than I could have ever imagined. And as great as it’s been, I’m definitely looking forward to going home. Well, not the actual day of travelling, but the other parts of course.

For the last few days, and really weeks, I’ve been preparing for my eventual departure. Part of this included mailing copious amounts of crap I don’t really need by snail-mail, and when I say snail-mail that’s exactly what I mean, delivery takes 4-6 weeks. Hopefully I will be reunited with my stuff in 2 weeks time, but it’s uncertain as no one at the post office spoke English. So here’s to hoping my belongings are headed in the general direction of ‘thataway.’ Only time will tell.

This is my pharmasist friend, Myung. She spoke perfect English, and you won't believe where she studied! At WESTMINSTER COLLEGE! Talk about a small world! She lived in Salt Lake for 11 years, and after completely her language requirements at Westminie she went to the U for her undergrad. After graduating from pharmacy school, she returned to Korea and opened her own business, and it's a good thing for me because I was dying without my sleeping pills! (She translated my prescription for me.) Seriously, from Salt Lake, which isn't so small, to Andong, which is definitely small! I probably met the only other person in this city who lived in Utah, which only solidified that whole 'six-degrees-of-separation' for me.

I didn’t tell my kids I was leaving until last week. Mainly, I didn’t want to loose control of the classroom, but they were all very cute and drew me pictures and wrote me messages, and aside from that bloody Harry Potter kid I’ve grown to despise, I’ll miss all my student. And maybe I’ll even miss him... but I doubt it.

This weekend I started packing and carefully weighing my suitcases with each new item added, because WOW the price gouge is staggering when travelling from Asia to the U.S. 1 pound over or an extra piece of luggage costs $200! I know, right? And my cousin Jello, he just moved from London to the states and he only paid $35 per extra bag. So I’ve been rather obsessive with my packing.

Today Mr. Shin picked me up for lunch, and my co-worker Steven joined us. I had mentioned how much I love duck, so for lunch we went to a restaurant that served some delicious barbeque duck. It was a really nice gesture of Mr. Shin and definitely helped put a positive note on my experience with teaching in Korea, and at Sky Academy. Over all, I have enjoyed working with Mr. Shin. He’s always been fair and values my opinion, and he’s never bothered with micromanaging me, which I didn’t realize was so unusual until I spoke to other teachers at private institutions.

My last day of teaching was pretty relaxed. I met my replacement, Hollie, and she sat in a few of my classes. She was very impressed with my color-coded organization, and let’s face it, everyone should be! My organizational skills are legendary! During our break I showed her ‘my’ apartment, which she’ll be living in as soon I leave, and various other helpful information, like how to use the heating system, what television channels have English programming and the grocery stores I prefer. She was very appreciative, which always makes it exciting to show someone the little ins-and-outs of my life.

Actually, when I got here, there was no foreign teacher to show me these niceties, so things like operating the buses and shopping were some what of an ordeal, though made for some entertaining blogs. And teaching without any knowledge of where my classes where prior was a real struggle, so I tried to keep that in mind as I made a mental list of things to tell her.

This guy opened a convenience store about halfway between my apartment and work, which was quite convenient for me! In addition to carrying VitaminWater, he spoke little English but was always friendly, and I frequented his store more often than I'd care to admit. Goodbye awkward convenience store guy! Thanks for everything!

And that brings us to now. I’m as packed as I can be considering I’m (obviously) using my computer, and in about 8 hours I’ll begin the tedious journey home. It’s gonna be a long day!

• 3.5 hour bus ride to Seoul
• 1.5 hour bus ride to the airport
• 4 hour wait at the airport
• 13 hour flight to Detroit
• 1.5 hour layover
• 4 hour flight to Salt Lake City

And among the things I’m looking forward to the most upon my arrival:

• taking a bath (no bath tubs in Korea)
• eating an enchilada (maybe in the bathtub)
• playing with my nephews, Bennett and Gabe
• playing with my godparent’s Great-Danes, Zekie and Zoey
• watching the new Harry Potter movie (it comes out here in a few days)
• some home-cooking (I miss me some Greek food)
• speaking to native English speakers
• meeting my therapist for the first time (we started phone-conversations after I moved here)
• sleeping in my own bed and hearing my dad snoring
• not checking what time it is half-way across the world before I make an ambien induced phone call
• playing Nintendo
• putting my clothes in the dryer
• watching the movie ‘The Road’ (I just read the book and WOW, talk about powerful!)
• eating rubbish American food

And countless other activities that are easy to take for granted.

For all of you who supported me, whether I knew it or not, thank you. My experience simply would not have been the same without your comments, emails and well wishes.

Lots of love,

Alexis

P.S. My friend Todd made this little animation about teaching in Korea, and even though my experience wasn't (entirely) like this, I definitely met a few hundred teachers who could attest to the truth of this video. Enjoy!