six months have come and gone.

I never thought that I would find myself sitting in a coffee shop on a rainy December evening. The fact that it is raining on a December's eve is, in and of itself, a travesty. Having not seen snow in over two years, I long to trudge through (or ski or snowboard on) white powder.

Notice how I did not say that I long to DRIVE through, or put UP with, white powder for an extended period of time.

Six months have elapsed since my last journal entry, a cynical and fed-up rant of a second year expatriate but two weeks away from returning home from Seoul, South Korea. True, there were times when the experience was a pain in the ass, what with the racism and odd food.

The experience was a pain in the ass, and believe it or not there are times when I miss it. I do in fact miss the freedom of staying up until three in the morning playing video games, watching the odd Korean flick, and often hitting the subway to go into Seoul for (at times) an entire weekend.

Even though the experience was quite difficult at times, I have learned volumes about patience and educative approaches. I don't think that I will soon forget the faces or experiences that I had there.

Six months have elapsed since my return from Korea, and I anticipate being out on my own once again...But this time, not on the other side of the planet. Recently, I was offered the opportunity to teach ESL (thats English as a Second Language) at a school in Nevada. I anticipate a great deal of difficulty...And work, as I will have to take a lot of courses and pass many tests to complete the cert requirements for stateside teaching. But it will be quite exciting to stay in the states, as opposed to traveling around the world for a third time in order to make ends meet.

I will receive the contract during the first half of January. I look forward to signing it. I look forward to growing even more.