If the title didn't already give it away, let me just say, it is raining today. For the second day in a row! One of the many downsides of this is that I ride a bicycle to and from school each day. This morning, I figured that if I can ride a bike while holding a head of lettuce and a two-liter bottle of water, I should be able to ride a bike while holding an umbrella. I soon discovered that while I can ride a bike and hold an umbrella at the same time, I cannot do so when the bike gets a flat tire. Drat!
Luckily, I work for very nice people. Cate had her husband, Mark, fix my tire for me while I was teaching kindergarten. Since bad things usually happen in twos or threes, I was actually prepared for my first class to act up. They did not disappoint. The girls were good, but I spent the entire hour pulling Jay off the table and putting him back in his chair. I also had to convince Harry to stop pulling his pants down. I have a feeling I may have a future Korean Hefner on my hands!
After I finished my morning classes, I faced the wet ride home. Since the wind had picked up, I very soon found it impossible to accomplish the triple goal of (a) riding the bicycle, (b) holding the umbrella, and (c) not getting hit by a car. After a near miss with a black sedan, I knew I had to try something different if I was going to make it home with my body intact (and preferably not soaked). Those who know me well will be the first to say that I am a rather creative person. I came up with the ingenious idea of sticking the handle of the umbrella down my sweater. This kept the umbrella over my head, while leaving both hands free and giving me better visibility. I flirted with the idea of making use of my bra to more securely hold the umbrella in place, but decided there was no way to accomplish the feat without flashing all oncoming traffic. As it was, I got plenty of smiles and laughs as I pedaled to my apartment. I may have looked like an idiot, but at least I was an idiot with dry hair! My pants, sadly, got soaked.
For lunch, I decided to forgo my usual cereal and have hot soup and a tasty salad. I bought a fantastic new salad dressing yesterday, which ranks among the best I have ever tried. It's kiwi flavored. There were several other unusual flavors at the store, including green tea (I think everything comes in green tea flavor here). I really hope my next teaching job is in a country with food as good as Korea's!
Last night I worked on my plans for when my contract ends. I have decided to switch my TEFL course to April 2009 instead of May. The weather would be nicer in May, but flying from home and back would be a ridiculous added expense. It makes much more sense just to travel until it's time for my course. I started looking into tours I could take in March (my contract here ends at the end of February), and I found one that is a dream come true. For nine years I have longed to visit Morocco, and I found a 21-day tour of Morocco that is well within my price range.
So, the plan now is to spend nine or ten days traveling in Korea after my contract ends, then have Cate fly me to Casablanca instead of home (as per my contract, she has agreed to pay for my return flight). I'll have one or two days to relax alone in Casablanca. Then I'll join the tour group and spend 21 glorious days exploring the entire country of Morocco. Following that adventure, I'll fly to Athens and spend ten days backpacking around Greece and the vicinity before heading to Ios, where I will live for one month doing my TEFL certification course. After that, since airfare from Athens to Chicago is outrageous, I will take the train to Italy, and spend one week in Italy. Then, sometime around May 9, I'll fly from Rome to Chicago, where my parents can pick me up. I'm planning on spending one or two months back in the US before heading out for my next teaching job. Of course, if I find something amazing I'll have to leave sooner. I'm still not sure whether it'll be back to Asia or on to Europe for the next job, but there's plenty of time to figure that out later.
I figure that this is the only time in my life when I will have the youthful vigor and stamina, as well as the time and lack of responsibilities needed for this kind of travel. When my time on earth ends, I plan to die completely exhausted and satisfied, knowing that I have wrung the very last drop of adventure out of life.
1 comment:
Hi Stephanie, just a quick question, have Kate agreed to fly you there instead of home for your return flight? All of the jobs I've encountered in the past that come with return flight only offer it to the point of origin, so just make sure of that! Your plans sounds so scrumptious, enjoy your planning!
cynthia
Post a Comment