What to Do?!

Hello! Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. My weekend was pretty relaxing. Saturday - dentist, lunch with a coworker, did a little bit of shopping, got some work done at a cafe, gym, picked up dry cleaning, and McDonalds dinner (haven't had fries in about five months?!) and a whole bunch of Unstoppable High Kick episodes with Yuri. Love that show! Sunday - lunch and church with Susan, and volleyball and dinner with Justin.

Well, a lot of things have been on my mind lately. As my one year contract at POLY is coming to an end, I need to decide what to do. There are a lot of things I want to do. Some of the top things on my list include going to grad school and saving money.

First off, grad school. Believe it or not, I really really want to go back to school! But the problem is... as of now, I have no idea exactly what I want to go back to school for or where I want to go to school. I know I want to work with kids, that much has been long decided. I love teaching Kindergarten in Korea, but not so much in the states, so I'm not sure whether I would want to get a teaching certificate. If I attend school in the states, SF State has a MA in Concentration in Early Childhood Education that looks interesting. I might even possibly consider going back to grad school to study Developmental Psychology (but honestly, I'm not that interested in research).

Because I love being in Asia, I have also considered going to grad school abroad, either in Hong Kong or Korea. In Hong Kong, there are also some Master's programs in Teaching English as an International Language, a Postgraduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education, or a Postgrad Certificate in Psychology. Similarly, in Korea, there are programs for Early Childhood Education or English Language Education. But another thing I would consider is studying Social Psychology in Korea (along the lines of relationship dynamics and especially the role that culture plays). This topic has really interested me ever since I came to Korea; I wouldn't even mind doing research on it.

In addition to not knowing what to study, here's where another conflict comes in. If I do decide to go back to school in the states, I would have to apply now! It's not too late, but I do have to ask professors for letters of recommendations and look into taking some tests (i.e. CBEST if I want to get a teaching certificate). The deadline for state is in the beginning of May. But it's also a little difficult to apply while I'm in Korea. Fall semester grad school in Korea and HK starts in the beginning of Sept and the application deadline is in April. If so, I would just go back for the summer and come back in September (if accepted, that is).

Some other issues... of course, I miss my family so much! I feel like I'm missing out on seeing my younger cousins and cousins' kids grow up. I want to spend the holidays with my family, like Christmas (rather than on a date =_=). I want to eat tons of food on Chinese New Year (and get red envelopes!). I miss my grandparents and wish I could be there to drive them around and take them out to eat dimsum. That being said, I could go back to the states after my contract is over, but I didn't get to save as much money as I hoped. Honestly, it is a lot easier to save money here in Korea, and minus being away from family, I really like it here. I want to learn more Korean and if I stay in Korea longer, I could save more money (that would go towards grad school and traveling - I really want to travel while I'm still young, haha). But then how much longer would I stay in Korea?!

Sorry I'm just babbling, this is more of a personal post; there's just been a lot on my mind and you guys are all so far away... I know it's my decision, but any suggestions or advice?!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010 to everyone!~

Only half a month into the new year, and it's been a busy year thus far. I came back from a relaxing time in Hong Kong, (here are the pictures: Hong Kong 2009) and was greeted by one the biggest snowfalls that Korea has seen in about one hundred years! That's what I heard, is it really true?! All I know is that there was so much snow, the most snow I've ever seen (besides snowboarding) in my lifetime, that's for sure! Check out some pictures:

Right outside my apartment

All white!!!

And then it gets muddy...
and now it's all icy.

Do you think I could dunk now?!

Well, now the snow has turned to ice and it's so slippery everywhere, but luckily I have not slipped... yet. The temperature just keeps getting colder. It was below zero Faranheit this morning when I walked to the gym. Madness... but I get by. It takes three times as long to get my clothes on since it's all about the layers! I wear leggings and then pants, at least three long sleeves, my heavy jacket, and my UGGs. Then it's not so bad! Haha... I can't wait til spring.

Why don't people hibernate?!