Waving Goodbye to 2014!

This year is coming to a close, and I can't believe it!

Fun times in Busan!

 For me, 2014 has been full of ups and downs, but I'm still going strong.

So, what's going on with Little Lady? A lot of things in a short period of time! Here are some of the most exciting things that have occurred this year:

Question: Going Back to the U.S. After Ferguson?

Plenty has been happening while I've been on vacation in Spain

I'm a political and news junkie, and most weeknights you would find me on my bed, reading and watching the news. I'm almost always listening to political commentary whenever I get the chance. Even while vacationing in Spain, I'm still finding out what's going on via my cell phone and trusty tablet PC.

For the last week or so, I've heard the news about yet another black man killed by a police officer inappropriately. Since I've been paying attention, I realize that this is something that happens all the time. I see that black Americans are stopped by police, harassed, arrested for malicious reasons and often killed when they really shouldn't have been.  

However, this particular case has been all over the news, it looks like the people of Ferguson are rallying against it, and the happenings have been posted all over my Facebook feed. Political pundits on all sides are commenting on this story.

In light of all the coverage, I ran into a question posted in a Facebook group. Does the current state of affairs concerning police brutality against black people in the United States affect my decision on whether to go back?

I thought this was a good question to ask myself, especially as an expat that has been living in South Korea for almost four years now. I first moved abroad over four years ago, and I recently have thought about moving back.  

My Next Step: Getting My Teaching Certification from Abroad

Back to school again?

Why I'm getting certified

While I started things by tutoring children during undergrad, I began teaching full-time in 2010. In the beginning, it was just something I was experimenting with. At the time, I had recently left my retail management job and was living with my father. I thought the appeal of earning money while living in a new region was great.

Teaching was something that I began to enjoy, and I continuously looked for ways to improve myself as an educator. At the same time, I am working at a 학원 (private after-school academy) in Korea. It's a good entry-level job, but it's not something that's meant for you to do forever. There's a glass ceiling in place. If you're foreign, don't speak Korean and you're not married to a Korean, then the chances of advancing within any Korean language academy are slim to none.

I figured that since I enjoy teaching, then why not make a career out of it? However, I'm not that interested in teaching stateside. I did some research, and learned about teaching at international schools. It seemed like a good career path with chances of upward advancement, along with appealing pay and benefits offered to teachers worldwide.

One of the basic requirements to work in these schools is for me to be certified in my home country, the United States, and for me to have at least two years of experience.

Getting certified is my step #1!

For My Birthday: What Advice Would I Have Given Myself 10 Years Ago?

I came across a question on the internet recently:

Knowing what I know now, what advice would I have given myself ten years ago?

It's an interesting question to answer for my birthday.

Aside from realizing that I'm getting older and there's nothing I can do about it, I thought it was interesting to think about since my life was so different ten years ago. I stopped to think about where I was and what I was doing. It was a turning point in my life.

Posing with family members about 10 years ago

Where was I ten years ago?

Let me see. I was just starting out my senior year in high school. I went to a medium-sized public school in the home state, where I spent my time with a close-knit group of friends and otherwise kept to myself in most aspects. At the same time, I was gaining a new confidence in myself I hadn't had before. I tried my best to stay away from the drama in my high school and was more focused on my future.

So ... What Is Going On with North Korea?

Kim Jong Un and North Korea have kept themselves in the headlines lately

While reading the news, I've noticed that Kim Jong Un and North Korea have been stepping up their ridiculous rhetoric over the past few weeks. As a result, North Korea has been dominating the news, occupying the top story spot for most of the past two weeks.

As a result, people all over the world have been wondering what is going to happen next. After all, I and everyone else would rather have peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

As an expat here in Korea, I've known quite a few folks to be receiving phone calls, e-mails and even facebook messages from worried friends and family members. No one in my family has contacted me personally, but that's because they probably haven't been paying attention (they tend to get their news locally on TV, and my family's not known for following international conflicts).

In related news, I'm staying relatively close to the Osan Air Base.  Just about every morning I hear different planes wizzing over my apartment building.

The truth is that life has been continuing as usual. Locals and expats alike are still going to work and heading home. They still find their way to the bars to get drunk. They still eat out at restaurants, and so on. There isn't any sort of widespread panic or chaos, and on average, expats are more "worried" than the locals, who have been hearing flaming rhetoric from their northern neighbors their entire lives. People are calm because threats of total destruction are normal for the south. So they continue to do what they normally do.

That said, it doesn't mean that nothing will happen. North Korea could still torpedo another ship or shell another island. They could even shoot rockets or invade. However, it appears to be unlikely that a full-scale war will happen, since Kim Jong Un would have nothing to gain and everything to lose after such a move. At the same time, we still have to be alert -- which is what people are. All Koreans know what is going on and are paying close attention. They just don't let it disrupt their lives.

As for me, I'm ok. All I can do is sit and wait to see what happens next. Let's hope for the best, shall we?

Time to Go!

So, tomorrow I finally fly to Seoul! So, how will the process go? Let me explain:

Still trying to sort out my luggage

1. Pack all my bags -- One suitcase, one mountain backpack, a small carry-on bag and a large purse
2. Book a shared van to the airport ($47! )
3. Get my paperwork in order -- my recent medical treatments, papers for dad to mail/turn in, bring extra documents for the school in Korea, etc.
4. Say my goodbyes
5. Head for the airport early in the morning (leaving around 5:00am!)
6. Board two flights and arrive in Seoul
7. Find a guy holding a sign with my name on it
8. Get a nice ride to a hotel in the city I'm working in
9. Hope I don't get sick again, fail the medical, then get sent home :-)

I hope it's a smooth ride, with no airport hang ups and that I'm able to find the guy at the airport! Fun fact, last time my school also sent a guy holding a sign with my name on it, but I couldn't find him. Instead, the guy stopped the one other black girl who happened to be on the plane. We looked nothing alike, of course. As I was frustrated with the new currency and trying to use the phone, that girl approached me and asked me if I was [my name]. "Mmm.... yeah there's a guy over there looking for you." Funny, but I was relieved.

A Crime Post

While last weekend has been active for me, I've still been sitting around the house for quite a bit. Keep in mind that I don't have access to a car and there isn't much to do around here, so I've been engaging in other activities!

And "other activities" have been mostly watching TV and surfing the internet. I haven't thought about it this way, but sticking around without much to do has had some negative effects on me. I basically been feeling more depressed and afraid than usual.

I have managed to upset myself by reading about depressing subjects on the internet. I was seriously in a state of grief for a couple of days.

On the other hand, I've been watching plenty of TV, and I'm usually not a TV-watcher. We've got lots of channels, but there aren't a lot of options! Daytime and late night TV has been pretty bad. I'm always running into those talk shows about the same subjects ("Who's my baby's daddy???" & "So-and-so has been cheating on me!!"). So, I've been watching mainly the news and scripted shows.

My area has a LOT of crime. Hell, the United States has a lot of crime. Everyone seems to be killing each other.

Winding down to departure

So here I am, with a few weeks left until I go back to Korea again.

You see, I've been in the USA since the end of October, which means that I'll have been in the states for a little less than four months. I just counted now, and I'm personally shocked that I've been here for less than three months. It has felt much longer than that.

I'm currently staying at my father's house, along with his wife and a toddler who is my half-sister. I'm from a small city with very limited public transport and I also haven't had a car here, so that has had its challenges. I generally like to stay active by going to places and doing things and that has been difficult. Having a small child around also has its stresses, and the wife is a stay at home mom. So they are around all the time, kind of like having a room mate that is always there. I don't quite fit nicely into this second family that my dad has, and I have definitely been in their way as well.

Despite all of the time we spend together in close proximity, we haven't really done much together overall. Dad's wife told me once that she wanted to try Korean food, so I thought it was a good idea for all of us to go to a local Korean BBQ place.

The restaurant, also called "Kahl-Bee". I had to explain to dad why the different spellings existed.

It was like a nice version of what you would typically find in Korea -- with MUCH larger portion sizes. We ordered some dishes such as samgyupsal (삼겹살), bulgogi (불고기) and dumpling soup with rice cakes (떡만두국).

Ahh, the first post

Hello everyone! Welcome to my brand-new blog. I can start with a little bit about me.

At the last place I visited, Colombia

1. I'm a gal in my mid-20s and I'm usually single. But don't get too excited because I rarely post about significant others.
2. I chose the blog name because since I move often, people are beginning to tell me that I have "gypsy blood," but I didn't want to use the word "gypsy," since it could be seen as offensive.
3. I really enjoy meeting new people, and cherish friendships. However, since people move on, that can be seen as a downside of being an expat.
4. I'm from the states and I have also lived in Argentina, South Korea and Colombia. I've traveled to a few more places, such as Chile, Bolivia and Thailand. 
5. I'm an expat teacher! Right now I'm teaching EFL, but I'm upgrading my credentials so that I'll be able to teach in international schools abroad.
6. I have an odd and somewhat distant relationship with my parents.
7. I'm the black sheep of my family. I have lots of relatives, but I don't have much in common with them. I still love them very much.
8. The above facts allow me to live away from home for long periods without feeling homesick.
9. I take pride in my work and always adore my students!
10. I like to take pictures, dance to fun music, try new foods, hang out with friends, see new places, read about current events, learn about political issues, watch films and experience different cultures!

See my former students being silly!