So a small insight into my cultural marriage as of late. This afternoon my husband asked me if I would cut some fresh kimchi for him and put it in the fridge. I groaned and looked across the room at him in disdain. "You do it." I griped. "I HATE cutting kimchi! It stains my hands and makes me smell." He looks over in surprise and frustration and says...and I quote, " You are my wife. You are going to be cutting kimchi for the rest of your life." That effectively shut down my argument. Hello Kimchi. Welcome to the rest of my life...apparently.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
You may call me Master Kim
So I graduated today. For the second time. It meant more this time because it felt more final. Last time I jumped straight from undergrad into grad school. This time real life is waiting for me. I have a job teaching ESL at a local high school and I couldn't be more excited. I have so many plans for the future year that I can't wait to get started! It was really great to have all my family down in Cleveland today as well. I loved being able to celebrate getting my Master's degree with them. I wouldn't have made it this far without them, that is for sure. I think that the best part about all of this is that I love being in a stage of transition, especially the days right before the big change. I love the anticipation and anxiety. Moving on and going to the next step thrills me. Also having a steady income and work schedule thrills me as well. haha.
I am going to love having a bit more time on my hands. Korean study is going to be taking more of a focus in my life now that I actually have time for it. I actually used some of my Korean today in Target. It was really random and fun. I was there with my family and we had just sat down in the Starbucks. A cute little Asian mom with her two young children went past us and sat down two tables away. I could hear them speaking and recognized their language as Korean and I thought they were adorable. My dad encouraged me to go over to them and talk to them in Korean but I was really unsure because it seemed super awkward to do that. Well, my dad wasn't going to leave until I spoke to them so I waited until they were about to leave and I smiled at the little girl as she went past. I waved my hand and whispered, Annyeong!, which means goodbye in Korean. They stopped and talked to me, surprised that I spoke and understood Korean. I was glad my dad kinda forced me to do that. I think the biggest reward was the little girl and boy saying back to me as they left, Unnie, Annyeong! "Unnie" is the Korean equivalent of "big sister". I loved it. It definitely revitalized the motivation for learning Korean as quickly as possible! (^^)
Besides learning Korean and teaching ESL, I am starting to investigate different Ph.D programs in the States as well as in Korea. I know that I want to take 1-2 years off of school to gain experience in the classroom, but eventually I want to go back to grad school to get a doctorate in TESOL or Linguistics. If there was one thing that my Master's program taught me, it was that I want to be a Lifelong Learner. I never want to stop, either as a student or a teacher. The ability to constantly learn is something that fascinates and inspires me to make the most out of my life to help impact my student's lives. Anyways, the roundabout thesis of this long overdue blog post was that you will be hearing a lot more from me now. Expect more thoughts and ideas and daily happenings!
I am going to love having a bit more time on my hands. Korean study is going to be taking more of a focus in my life now that I actually have time for it. I actually used some of my Korean today in Target. It was really random and fun. I was there with my family and we had just sat down in the Starbucks. A cute little Asian mom with her two young children went past us and sat down two tables away. I could hear them speaking and recognized their language as Korean and I thought they were adorable. My dad encouraged me to go over to them and talk to them in Korean but I was really unsure because it seemed super awkward to do that. Well, my dad wasn't going to leave until I spoke to them so I waited until they were about to leave and I smiled at the little girl as she went past. I waved my hand and whispered, Annyeong!, which means goodbye in Korean. They stopped and talked to me, surprised that I spoke and understood Korean. I was glad my dad kinda forced me to do that. I think the biggest reward was the little girl and boy saying back to me as they left, Unnie, Annyeong! "Unnie" is the Korean equivalent of "big sister". I loved it. It definitely revitalized the motivation for learning Korean as quickly as possible! (^^)
Besides learning Korean and teaching ESL, I am starting to investigate different Ph.D programs in the States as well as in Korea. I know that I want to take 1-2 years off of school to gain experience in the classroom, but eventually I want to go back to grad school to get a doctorate in TESOL or Linguistics. If there was one thing that my Master's program taught me, it was that I want to be a Lifelong Learner. I never want to stop, either as a student or a teacher. The ability to constantly learn is something that fascinates and inspires me to make the most out of my life to help impact my student's lives. Anyways, the roundabout thesis of this long overdue blog post was that you will be hearing a lot more from me now. Expect more thoughts and ideas and daily happenings!
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