That is the question I am asked the most only second to "Are you going to stay a second year in Korea?" If I haven't expressed it before, I am doing it now... I hate both of these questions. I have been in Korea now for 3 months, so I honestly have no idea if I am going to stay or go home at the end of my contract. The thought doesn't really cross my mind unless someone asks me. Right now i am still enjoying being in Korea and a new culture. I still learn new things all the time and right now I am fine with this. I am working on getting the hang of the alphabet, so hopefully I will be able to read if I need to. Not that I am going to understand what I am reading...
Going back to the original question... I honestly have no idea what I am going to do when I am done in Korea. Looking at the people around me, I have a friend looking into the PeaceCorps, others who are going to be starting graduate school, others who are looking into graduate schools and other who have no idea, just like me, what they are going to do after their time in Korea. While I know I have only been here for 3 months and I have plenty of time to figure things out, I don't want to suddenly realize down the road that I have run out of tie and have no plan at the end of my contract.
Some people come to Korea because they want the adventure and chance to travel. Others come because they aren't sure what they want to do post college. So they come to Korea to grow, think about what they want out of life and to figure out exactly what they want to do with their life. That was/is my plan. Korea is giving me time to gain some experience in a new culture, get a chance to do some traveling and give me time to figure out what to do next. This is definitely not someplace I want to stay forever. While this is an awesome opportunity that I have been given I don't see it as a life-long job for me. I want something more.
I was looking at my teaching certificate the other day and I realized I have until my birthday of 2012 to take at least 3 semester hours of classes towards my Master's degree in order to keep my license in the State of Oregon. Reading this I starting freaking out. So I emailed Mike Charles at Pacific. I was then sent around and finally ended up getting an email from someone in the Education department who has answered most of my questions. While Pacific was find for my undergrad and with a few minor bumps in the road (awful 6th grade mentor teacher) I was able to get my degree and teaching credentials; I don't really see myself going back there to get my Master's degree. Which brings up the question... where am I going to go to get my Master's. I'm going to have to figure something out. Looks like I need to start doing my research. Oh joy.... if anyone has any ideas, feel free to share them with me. The more the better.
In other news... my baby sister is graduating from high school on Saturday!! When did she get to be old enough for that?! This makes me feel incredibly old.
2 comments:
I'm doing my masters right now in education. An online program out of Ashford Uni in Iowa. It's pretty easy actually and occasionally practical (for an ESL teacher who's not going to teach back in the US, but instead will be in NZ).
So, here's my advice. It's probably crap, but here it is anyway. Pick a couple of things, like 2 or 3, that you want to do, apply for them, and use what time you have to more carefully think about what you actually want to do. But at least this way you have options/a backup plan. On the other hand, it could just drive you nuts trying to make a decision...
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