Culture Shocked

Well, I've been home for almost four months now and it has been a very good experience so far. I have to say that I am very proud for having acclimated back into the culture so quickly (although I wasn't gone a very long time). My plan landed on August 30th in Tampa after a delay at LAX, where I got a nice airplane voucher and a stay at the Crowne Plaza. Eleven days and three car trips later I had a teaching position and five days later a new apartment.




I've made friends pretty quickly and explored many areas around the city. I'm also only an hour away from college friends if I ever miss them. I've come a long way from my post-college days when it took me almost a year to acclimate to Jacksonville (only an hour and a half away from my college town). I think that my mind set this time around has helped a lot, not to mention the experience of packing an moving that living abroad in South Korea have given me.

I work at a great school, with great colleagues and staff. My students are very different from the students that I taught in South Korea, (I teach Reading to mainly ESOL students), so I have to use more class management techniques. Some days are very long but it feels good to be able to talk with my students about different things, not just how many exams they have or which university in Seoul are they going to get into once they graduate. I also very much appreciate the culture and humor that my students bring into the classroom, I've really missed that.


                                               

It's not all bliss though, after almost three and a half years abroad I felt that it was time for me to leave since there was nothing else in R.O.K. keeping me there. And I probably would have stayed there longer if I were a bit younger. I have days when I miss Korea like crazy. The worst are the weekends, when I sometimes wish that I could just hop onto a bus and be in Seoul. Going to West Palm Beach, Tampa, or Orlando it's just not the same.

I've been committing the cardinal sins of reverse culture shock of keeping in touch with friends abroad and with friends who has also lived abroad. I don't really have time to travel around the state because I have to take classes for my ESOL endorsement which happen every Saturday from November until April.

                               

You're also advised to cook Korean foods, there are two restaurants near by and since I always let my significant other cook for me, there is not a lot of cooking that I get done.

Another big change from teaching in Korea is regular teaching hours and benchmarks, lots of them, along with Common Core, and data, LOTS of data. Although, I've gotten pretty good at the data part so far :)

My day usually starts at 5 A.M., I get school around 6:41 and most days don't leave until 4 P.M. Because I always get my grading done the same day (good habit to have).

So, life is good being back home, there is snow or deathly lethal ice to walk on :/. Most days are good, but I still get down once in a while. Good thing I got my Ben and Jerry's ice cream to dip into while I reminisce of times past.