Guess Who's Back

Nope, not the Backstreet Boys, although they did try to have a few comebacks in recent years didn't they? 

It's me, yet again giving Korea another go.  I landed just over a week ago and am already so busy throwing myself into new projects it feels, once again, like I never left.  My first day was hard, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to pack up and go home the minute I walked through the arrivals door, but I'll blame that all on extreme exhaustion.  I arrived in Korea on an overnight flight from Budapest where I didn't sleep a wink, after 3 other restless nights and one sleepless overnight bus.  I had hoped to go straight to bed (after my 4 hours bus to Daegu), but no Korea had other plans for me.  I met my recruiter, dropped my bag at the airBnB I'd booked and jumped in a taxi to Mama's English School.  I had an interview with the school and was fully expecting to start on the 1st of October, but my recruiter had options for me, this school being only one of them.  Since my arrival I will say my feelings have done a 180 degree turn and I'm so happy to be back.  In one week I've made new friends, settled into a new town, explored outlets for teaching yoga and private English lessons and am currently trying to help a friend start his own business.  Damn, I'm exhausted just thinking about it, but the busyness does keep my mind off other less exciting things *cough* broke up with my boyfriend *cough*  but that's all I'm going to post about on that note...

So yeah, per normal my first week in Korea has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride.  I've had some of the highest highs, fun meeting new people and getting new projects off the ground, but also some pretty deep lows, tears included.  Honesty, I wouldn't have expected anything less, from both myself and this country.  I've never denied that I'm an indecisive person, and recent days have been no different.  I can see myself staying here long term, pursuing personal business ideas, teaching yoga, getting my masters, etc. etc.  But at the same time, I can see going back to the States, studying there and exploring a more "solid' career.  I don't think I'm alone in this though, I think a big factor to my indecision is the technologically driven world we live in, opportunities are endless and constantly at your finger tips, all you have to do is open up Google.  

Back to the point, Korea has been awesome.  In my first week I was able to connect with old friends and co-workers who welcomed my return with open arms. Honestly, after coming and going so many times I always worry that my friends will reach a breaking point, losing interest in me and going on with their own lives. I've been lucky though, the friends I made in my first year here are the very ones that I can't wait to see every time I return.  Like it or not, Gumi is my hometown in Korea and I couldn't be happier for it.   I've also met some new friends here in Daegu, one through a language exchange and another that I met at a TESOL conference last week.  Again, proud of myself for trying new things, and really think KOTESOL will be a beneficial addition to not only my resume, but my time here in Korea. 

For now I'm focusing my efforts on a new start in Daegu, of course with old friend thrown in, and we'll see where it takes me.  I decided not to sign with the aformentioned "Mama's English School" and instead opted for a Hagwon which gives me Wednesdays off because who doesn't love a little mid-week break?  I won't be startin until December though which gives me some time to play with.  As I've said it's so far been filled with meeting friends, old and new, and exploring different ways to keep myself busy.  Being in a larger city with more expats means there are definitely more opportunities to get involved.  Aside from TESOL I'm also hoping to start teaching yoga a few days per week, both as additional income but also a way to meet more people.  My ex-principal has asked me to teach him English so I've also thought about starting an English class at my friends cafe in Gumi as it's not too far to travel once a week, and seeing Joonwoo always brings a smile to my day.  Finally, I have a friend starting his own business and I'm on the sidelines of that as well.  There are definitely numerous opportunities on the horizon and plenty of reasons for me to stick around for a while so who knows how this round could turn out.  Of course there's the ever pressing question from all of my Korean friends, "Do you have a Boyfriend?"  but that one will just have to sort itself out over time...