"We-Are-Fam-i-ly"
Saturday night was a big ol' family dinner at a Thai restaurant way out in the middle of Nowhere, Australia. But it was delicious food and a good time. Everyone was there and we order TONS of food, picked off each other's plates, caught up on all the latest stories, made fun of Michael (J's brother) because he's been seeing this girl almost everyday but says they're not dating (right...), talked about our trip, and hung out with Uncle Bob and Greta who live in Thailand and only come home once every few months. Afterwards, we all went to J's grandparent's home for some coffee, tea and dessert. When we left, I was so surprised to realize that J's family is so much like my own sometimes. We all gossiped over cheesecake, poked fun at each other, someone passed out on the couch from too much wine, the boys went out back to look at Uncle Bob's boat, and at the end of the night it was hugs, kisses and goodbyes as we headed out to our next party--we only stayed for about 10 minutes. I guess that's a sign that hanging out with the family can be just as much fun as hanging out with your friends (and just as tiring too!) so we headed home and got some rest. It was a wonderful night out and showed me once again (as if I didn't already know) just how wonderful Jeremy's family really is. I feel at home here and I'm so glad to be here with him.
The slow life...Yesterday was Doug's birthday (that's Jeremy's sister's fiancee) and we took some interesting back roads to get there. It was kinda like adventuring all over again and it felt good to be out of the house. The party was really nice and I finally got to meet some the people Karen talks about a lot. One thing you'll notice about Australians (should you ever visit) is how
relaxed they are. I was shocked when this one dog at the party (not Karen's) peed on TWO hand bags and no one flinched. They just laughed and carried on. Didn't even wash it off. I know this is probably a relaxed extreme (because most people would get upset) but it's still true: Australians are certainly less up-tight than my own people.
Reflecting on my Time in KoreaI've been having some dreams lately about being back in the classroom at Mung Yeoung Girls High School; last night it was about being evaluated by another foreign teacher with a TESOL certificate and my old co-teacher, Shin Eun Jeong. In my dream I felt that I was doing a good job in the classroom but it seemed like I wasn't getting good marks on my evaluation because I kept hearing Shin say, "Well, it's not bad for someone who isn't certified." Of course I know exactly what it means. I've found myself feeling a little guilty lately for not putting more effort into my lessons at school and feeling like sometimes I really just checked out of class all together. Teaching was hard and those last few months it left me a little bitter. I didn't really know what I was doing there and I was so ill-equipped to teach students of another language. I've often said that Koreans really need to change their education system if they want students to succeed in English but I never believe it more than now. They take on too many inexperienced teachers and ask them to teach 24 different classes a week of 40 students each for one hour at a time and expect those test scores to improve. How? How can anyone be successful in such a situation? I don't think I want to teach again. I love the whole "imparting wisdom and knowledge" part but I'm definitely not a fan of lesson planning. Maybe I'm just not that creative. And I'm a person who needs visible results that can be seen a little more often than once every few months.
Work and StuffSo, Tuesday night will be my first night closing by myself. I've got the key and I'm ready. I'm also thinking that after I get paid this week, I might enter myself in the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary volunteer program. It's $60 and lasts for three months but it would give me a chance to hangout with the animals, fill some empty hours around the house, and look into a new career that I never really put much thought into. I'm still planning on grad school for journalism but I must admit, there is a bit of lingering doubt there... Is it really the right path for me? I feel like I'm in a good place to make a career shift so I just want to check out a few other options...
Mother's DayMother's day is coming up and I've been thinking a lot about my mom and how much I miss her. She really is a wonderful mom. She always supports me and helps me out financially when I need it. She always sends me packages when I'm missing things like Butterfingers or Macaroni and Cheese. She always takes time to talk with me when I call. She really is a good momma. I was thinking about her the other day and how when I was in my last year of school I pretty much broke down under the stress of
The Talon Journal and all my writing classes and really just needed someone to cry with me. I bawled, and bawled, and bawled on the phone with her for nearly two hours and she just sat there, crying with me, encouraging me, assuring me that I made the right decision to resign, and giving my assistant editor a few verbal slappings for betraying me (a good momma always defends her young). My mom may not always be capable of giving me the best advice but she always gives the best hugs (even if it's just over the phone).
I love my mom.
This weekend was my mom's 50th birthday on the 19th. Here she is with my grandma.
Uncle Ron inspecting a lighter I presume...
Apparently most of my family was able to meet and enjoy a fun birthday dinner at my grandma's house. Oh how I miss these family dinners! We always eat outside on the picnic table and my grandma always makes the best food! These are my favorite memories from home.
The food is soooo good. My grandpa can get a bit impatient because it's so good! (Just kidding, I actually have no idea what's going on here. My Aunt Debra took the photos--thanks Aunt Deb!)
And here's my uncle Don. He is such a cool guy. I miss his jokes. I have the best memories of him. He always made all of us kids laugh when growing up. I'll never forget him eating a dog biscuit because he was trying to get us kids to eat one too! He was always good at pranks... Or the time we went for a long drive and he helped us sing the diarrhoea song for a good half hour or so. That must be a record, right?
But of course my favorite person at the party was my mom. My mom is wonderful. She is such a kind person. My mom is always sending me gifts and cards because she loves to make me feel loved. She is intelligent, generous, loves animals, makes amazing barbeque chicken, and is the hardest working woman I know. She worked so hard to raise us on her own and though I know she would do a few things different if she had to do them again, I wouldn't want any other mom but her.
