The leaves have just begun to change here in Daegu.  The weather has been chilly and cool for weeks.  The air-con has long been turned off, replaced by open windows and an extra blanket.  Long gone are the skirts which I wore every day this summer; jeans and leggings have once again returned.  There is excited talk among foreigners planning their Halloween costumes.  Newbies and veterans are looking at plane tickets for winter vacation.  

It is autumn, my favorite time of year.   

It recently hit me as I was in the shower the other night:  I only have 5 more months left in Korea.  It was not a new revelation — it’s been an inevitable countdown. However, it was the first time that the sadness really hit me and took over.  

Korea has definitely had its ups and downs.  While most of my friends and family probably suspect that my 2 years in Korea has been a vacation of sorts, those of us here know this is not true.

It’s the first time where I’ve held a stead 9-5 job with monthly paychecks, pension payments, electricity bills, and responsibilities.  I have managed to establish myself as a pretty good teacher— my co-workers and students like me and enjoy my classes.  The biggest compliments have come from my other Korean co-teachers:  ”I love being in your class!”,  ”I actually learn new stuff in your class!”, “Can I borrow your Powerpoints to use in the future?”  (While I can’t take credit for all the PPTs (haha thanks waygook.org), there is a ton of material that I personally make from scratch.)  

It’s also been a blessing to have the amount of friends that I do.  Coming with EPIK provided an immediate group of friends to hang with, party with, and commiserate with.  There has hardly been a single dull weekend in the past 19 months…. and there is definitely not a single dull weekend left this year. I love you guys, you are my new family.   

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So enough with the sentimental crap.  The next few months will be the busiest months of my life.  Now just preparing to leave Korea, but I am involved in a number of theatrical productions in the Daegu community.  After I hurt my back and had to quit dance, I threw myself into theater.  It started innocently enough last spring with the 24 Theater Project.  It has continued with:
a supporting role in the full-length “Streetcar Named Desire” (September)
a lead role in a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater (October)
a solo and choral numbers in the Daegu Musical Revue (November)
a reprisal of “Streetcar” in Seoul (December) 
another 24 Theater Project (December) 

So the next few months will be super busy!  I officially leave Korea on March 1st, with a one-way ticket to New Delhi, India.  Then begins a year-long adventure of traveling and working and living…. At the moment, my plans are to return to Korea for another year in February 2013.  But we’ll see where the next year takes me….