Life. Is. Goooood.

Back in Korea!

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about coming back after being away in paradise for two months (i.e., wandering around jobless and free under the sunshine!), but I actually feel great being back here!

Leaving India was sad; I literally teared up with emotion on the bus to the airport in Bangalore last Friday. All I wanted was a Keralan parotha and cashew-filled curry and a chai while I spent 14 hours in the Kuala Lumpur airport (despite the diarrhea that day that India left me with as a going away present). When I closed my eyes in the sauna my first night back in Korea (in the airport's 24-hour jimjilbang), all I could picture and feel were the warm Arabian Sea's waves surrounding me and bobbing me up and down instead of the hot bubbling water of the sauna. India was definitely on the mind...

BUT, Korea continues to treat me well. I spent Sunday, my first day back, up in Seoul doing a little shopping for work clothes (for the new job!) and soaking it in that I was back "home" for another year. It was comforting hearing Korean spoken all around me and seeing Korean faces pass by. Right after I got into the airport and got through immigration, the first thing I did before going to the sauna was get a samgak kimbap (triangle of tuna-filled rice wrapped in seaweed). I indulged in a hoddeok (cinnamon and sugar filled pancake of sorts) from the streets of Seoul the next day. I found myself enjoying the luxury and convenience of a 'developed' nation--no more dirt and rubbish all over the streets (at least far less), far less chaos, no people coming up to for my money, no more dodgy street food... But, all that aside, I would return to India in a heart beat if it were feasible...

I moved into my new place Monday morning. Working at the university, I live in the English dorms on campus. The foreign teachers have their own floor (male/female segregated) so there are four rooms on my floor occupied by two female foreign teachers each. So yes, this means I have a roommate! It's a lovely space, however. We share a little kitchen, common area with dining table, couch, chair and television, have a spare bedroom for storage and our own rooms that are much larger than my last living space. The bedrooms all have a huge--and I mean MASSIVE--king-sized bed that takes up likely a quarter of the space in the room. This is a far cry from my bed the past two years in Korea--a child-sized twin bed. I could sleep four on this bed comfortably! I've also got an assortment of furniture (between my room and the spare) to play around with, so I'm pretty set up and enjoying my new living space immensely.

Work begins on Monday. I'll most likely be teaching Level One, which will be the basics. Though, I'm not sure just how basic it will be, or what these students' levels will actually be like. I'll teach from 6:30-9:30pm five nights a week. That means three classes per night, the first and last being textbook with my--MY!-class, and the second period rotation between writing and "situational English" with other classes. I get to have my own room and my own class, who I'll spend ten hours a week with and presumably get to know quite well... SO excited.

Being in the dorms, having a roommate and five other females who live across the hall from me, my social situation will likely change a little (not to mention my sleep schedule with the new hours). I wasn't sure how I'd fare having a roommate again and giving up having exclusively my own space, but I'm quite enjoying it and we get along very well (I've known her since I moved to Jinju two years ago anyway). But the GNU crowd (GNU=Gyeongsang National University) is a pretty tight-knit crowd of some very lovely people who will often grab dinner or a drink after work during the week, so I'm looking forward to the change (though, staying up late is something I'll have to get myself used to after two years of a 10pm bedtime).

OH! And, I absolutely have to mention two of the most exciting things about my new life here at the university: there are TWO dryers in the laundry room of the building (I've not used a dryer once in the past two years) AND I can eat all three meals for FREE in the cafeteria that is next door to my dorm. FREE FOOD. I imagine it'll be easy to get sick of the food quickly, but at least there's the option of a free meal as often as I'd like!

What will I do with all of my new found free time, you ask? I'm not entirely sure just yet... It's possible to get extra work, so when something comes up that sounds fitting to me I'll jump on that. Otherwise, I'll continue to climb a few times a week in the indoor gym, carry on with the reading habits I re-established in India... And who knows what. Life. Is. Gooooood.

And, lastly, as is par for the course, I will continue to update my India/Wanderer blog over the next month or so. SO, if you feel inclined, please check back there when you think about it for more updates and photos on my AMAZING trip through India!