New

This is a new school year here in Korea and I must admit I am ready for some changes. I have seen friends come and go and congratulate those who have new additions to their families.

I have been MIA because I wanted to leave the Thailand posts up for a while so everyone who reads my blog was able to get through the multitude of photos. So now that there is a new year here is what has been going on in my world:

• One step closer to getting into Fashion School
• Hung out in Seoul with my Sorority sister to get out of my apt, and make my gas bill lower in the process
• Attened the Kappa's Ladies in Red Semi-Formal (click to see photos)
  
• Reevaluated relationships with everyone it seems
• Gettting back in the teaching mode (as if I ever had one!)

So in my second school I requested to move up a grade with my students and they allowed me to. I have a new co-teacher there and she really encourages the students to speak in English and I am really excited about that. My desk was given away so they gave me a private office and I love it! The were worried I would get lonely but the truth of the matter is I prefer it rather than seeing everyone that doesn't talk to me.

At my first school I have already mentioned that my Main Co-Teacher Eun Young Kim has gone off to have a baby boy 3 days before my b-day (the date of my bestfriend Tanisha's B-day), and there was much question as to who would be my new coteacher if I would have one at all and now I found out I got Mrs. Kang who was in the pic with Eun Young in the School Fesitval Post. She is also the teacher that invited me to her wedding. She is back with a short and sassy haircut that I Love! Now that I have gone natural I am soo into short hairstyles, which is the exact opposite reason I went natural-it was to make my hair grow longer and healthier.

Speaking of which, mainly through the subconscious efforts of my Aunt Sandra, I have decided to make better choices about my health all around. She is such an inspiration when it comes to stuff like that. Physically active, natural eating habits and hair, and Spiritually centered. She is a great role model as to how one should want to live their lives and treat their bodies. And now that I am approaching 25 I am looking at, and being marketed towards, things/products/services that emphasize longevity mostly financially and physically-I am working on both. I have added jump roping to my Pilates routine for some cardio. I am starting to live on Fit and Savvy Sugar websites to get some good tidbits.

Okay that was my tangent on that, back to Korea. Yesterday (3-4-08) was Angelica's birthday and we had a nice get together for that and a group pic will be up later. She has three new coteachers and two of them are young and so much fun. And their English is great which helps. But one thing one said to us that made me think was that if we wanted to date a Korean man we would have to meet the men separately from each other because it would be hard for the men to penetrate our group, (pause), and well...this was the first time I experienced subtlety in Korea. What she was saying was that the other teachers found it hard to become and remain a part of our [accidental] inner circle. I think this may be for a couple of reasons:

1. We are so used to being the only ones, whether it is in school, or at a dinner with teachers that when we get together not only do we catch up but we also migrate to one another
2. We have been here in Gumi for 6 months now and friendships have grown and bonds formed so it is natural for friends to create a circle and especially so if they are normally the outsiders in their work environment.
   
3. Everyday at work we are reminded that we are DIFFERENT but with each other we are DIVERSE, Black, British, White, American; either way we are just us when we are together.

So far those have been my new year adventures. Stay tuned and I will keep you updated. LEAVE COMMENTS! I love getting them. Thanks for reading