Emigration

I guess this is a long-overdue farewell to Seoul. I finished my last day of work on September 3rd and flew out of Incheon International on the morning of the 5th, starting my great journey homeward (to be chronicled in another blog: http://www.oostburgbound.blogspot.com/). All things considered, South Korea was pretty good to me for a solid twelve months. My last night was particularly enjoyable, and hopefully a good omen for my further travels: I played "aquatints" across two triple-word score tiles in Scrabble, getting the 7-letter bonus as well.

Over the course of the 2009-2010 school year I met some wonderful people, ate some amazing food (and discovered one of my top ten favorite flavor combinations: sesame oil, egg yolk and black coffee), and taught some astonishing kids. The honors students were a constant pleasure, and even the snottiest brats had their moments.

The IA gang, clockwise from top L: Sean, LC, Rebecca, Danger, Grace, Grace(y), Bobby, Inwoo. Not pictured: Jane, Susan, Grace(y) Ben(jamin), Zoe, Kim, Claire, Lauren, Jin, Verity, Chris, Robert, Irene, Christine.

The honors students: Chan, Hyun, Anders, Izzy, Jinny. The Sox cap is Anders's.

3.2A: Sean, Andy, Ashley, Sarah, Kevin

3.2B: Sarah, James, Alex, Jenny, Hannah

The first graders, from the back: Jeffrey, Stella, Harry, Alice, John, Brian

I didn't bring my camera for the last Tuesday/Thursday classes, which had dwindled considerably by the end of the semester (3.1 had one student, Angela, 4.1 was a whole new crop of kids with whom I hadn't really bonded by quitting time, except for Mary, easily the most vociferous student of my entire yearlong contract).

I hope I can manage to keep in touch with the students and coworkers I made friends with over my IA days, and as many of them plan to come or return to the states someday, that might not be such a tall order. Hell, if I can't find any work, I might even go back for another year.

I won't hold my breath, though; I met a trio of Argentines on a bus in Laos who said that they had found work in New Zealand easily, and that it was a wonderful experience. I've never been to New Zealand...