As the year
winds to end it’s tough to not feel at least a little blue. The week from Christmas to New Year’s is
always a special one back home for me, as I’m sure it is for many other English
teachers abroad. I honestly prefer going
to work during this week over here because it keeps my mind focused on something
else besides missing family.
Nevertheless,
as much as I do miss my family back home, I realized today how much I’m going
to miss my school over here. In addition
to being wished Merry Christmas at least one hundred times today, a couple of
students wrote me a nice card, my co-teacher gave me a Christmas present, and a
couple of other students even made personalized macarons for me! Needless to say, I was feeling the love when
I left work today.
Days like
today (which arguably should have been at least a little melancholy) remind me
of how lucky I am to be an English teacher in South Korea. My coworkers and students regularly make me
laugh and treat me as a part of their community so that even thousands of miles
away from family on Christmas, this man-bunned mustached hipster still feels at
home. Indeed, Korea has given me much
more than I can repay through simply teaching English.
Living
abroad is full of rewards and challenges, and today was definitely a little bit
of both!
메리 크리스마스!
