Chamonix

Hey, two blog posts in one week...I'm doing well!! This weekend I went with three coworkers to Chamonix, France, which is considered to be one of the best ski resorts in the world. After this weekend I would say that it is one of the most beautiful ski resorts in the world, but for the skiing I can't really comment too well...the snow conditions were not that great. But it's easy to imagine if there is good snow, then there will be amazing skiing. Despite the conditions, we had fun skiing, and it excites me to return later in the season. It seems like many of the ski resorts are suffering from a lack of snow, and it seems like my previous two homes are not (Korea and Missouri).

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=107013&id=1393045053&l=64e925bb70

Looking Back

This evening I had dorm supervision duty, which means that for 4 hours I sit at a desk or wander the dorm and make sure students stay relatively on task. Out of boredom while sitting at my desk I thought it would be kind of fun to look back at my blog. My first entry was some time back in June/July of 2008. I laughed a lot about some of the things I wrote. Two years ago seems like such a long time ago. Lately I've lacked the motivation to write much, but I'm going to try again. This semester should be full of opportunities to take pictures, ski and travel, so hopefully I'll get some of those pics and stories up on here.

This past weekend I went to Gstaad, Switzerland, which is about an hour from here. Normally it has great skiing, but lately the weather has been quite warm and all the ski resorts at lower elevations suck (including Leysin). So we went a bit higher for a little better conditions. A friend from Asia was in town for work with her marketing team. Since she does some work with school counselors, I was written off as a business expense...which means my hotel, lift tickets, and meals were taken care of. A great, unexpected gift! Despite the poor ski conditions it was a fun weekend with a group of people outside of work. I'm waiting on pictures from the people I was with...if I get some, then I'll post them.

This weekend I am supposed to be on duty, but got it switched so that I can go to Chamonix, France with 3 coworkers to ski. I have high expectations for the skiing there, but if the snow is not good, at least the scenery will be. I will take my camera with me.

There's a lot going on in my mind right now about the future. I came here with the intention of staying 3 to 5 years, but as you've read in previous posts I'm not to keen on my school, so I will hopefully be leaving after my initial 2 year contract is up. There are some positives about being here, namely the travel opportunities, riding my bike, skiing, and having worked in a Swiss boarding school, believe it or not, is a huge C/V booster. Part of me would like to stay in Europe, but another part of me would like to go back to Asia...I'm thinking Japan. There are several jobs that I'm interested in that are posted for the next school year, but I will have to hope that some jobs that I'm interested in will be available for the year after (starting Fall 2012). If I stay in Europe I will need to be in a city. Despite my love for the outdoors, I need more than that...I need people, culture, energy, etc. But I need to focus on now, and make the most of my current situation, which really is quite good.

That's enough for now. Pictures to come in the near future...

Korea Revisited

Much to my surprise and many others, I opted to return to Korea for my Christmas vacation. I had originally planned on traveling Europe during the holiday, but after an exhausting semester I just wanted to see some friends and escape from what was, at times, a sterile life in Switzerland. Rather than returning home for the holidays where the goodbyes never seem to get easier, I came to Korea instead.

After arriving in Switzerland I began doubting my decision to leave Korea. I worked at a great school and had great friends, but my view of Korea was jaded by things in my control as well as things out of my control. In Korea I struggled with living a healthy life - physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. - and that was my number one reason for leaving. I had a love/hate relationship with Korea. My life is the classic case of the grass always being greener on the other side. Anyways, I was second guessing my decision to leave and was even considering a return back to Korea for work.

This trip has brought some closure for me, even though the temptation to return still lurks around the corner. Korea is a fun place. There is an energy that exists there that I haven't experienced anyplace else. But I want to live a healthy life and I want a healthy relationship and I don't foresee myself having/doing either if I returned to Korea. So my three weeks here have confirmed my decision to leave and my thoughts about my life here...but who knows what will happen in the future...I'm known to make decisions that don't make much sense.

It's been great to see friends and to see people who I thought I would probably never see again. When I arrived at the Incheon airport it felt like I never left. I'm comfortable here in Korea and I know how things work here. I know more Korean than I do French (I know zero French), so it's pretty easy for me to get around. I stayed at my friend's apartment, so I had a free place to crash. I spent my first night here throwing up...not because I drank too much, but because I either caught the 24 hour flu or ate something bad on the plane...I think it was the 24 hour flu. Thankfully the school nurse was able to get me to the doctor the next day. It's been bitter cold here in Korea, much colder than in Switzerland. After the stomach issue left, I then caught a cold, which I've had for the duration of my trip. I went to the doctor two times here, and then the other day a filling popped out, so I will go to the dentist before I leave. But despite all this, I've had a good time here, and I'm leaving excited to return to Switzerland.

The start of the semester will be busy, but I'm rewarded with skiing during the school day and then some weekend trips to different ski resorts around Switzerland and France. My friends Peter and Leslie are visiting at the end of January/beginning of February. They will spend a couple of days in my town, and then we're headed to Chamonix, France for a few days of skiing there. I welcome any visitors. Living overseas and not being able to share my life with people close to me gets kind of old, so I'm excited to have some visitors!

Well, there's a brief update of my life...if anyone is still reading this..hah.