The Year 2014

A few days early this one, but with the exception of a small New Years Party Yens old roommates are having, nothing big should happen this week, so with a warm cup of Indonesian coffee I felt I could sum it up now.

I am not sure how I feel about 2014. I said in my 2013 year end write up that 2013-2014 were the years that get me ready for 2015 and beyond. That is really how it has turned out. No big trips outside of Korea after a 2012 and 2013 chocked full of them. No major changes with work. Will leaving Sangin for Vietnam was the only major change in friends lives out here. It was probably my blandest year in Korea. The fact that I went from over 100 posts here in 2013 to just over 50 in 2014 may be an indication of how the year has been.

That being said it had its moments.

-Yen went from being here 4-5 nights a week to just living here.
-Jinju lantern festival, Busan May trip, a couple more trips to Seoul.
-School and KOTESOL presentation

-Yen and I are a real couple. Not legally husband and wife of course, but sometimes we act it. I am sure that in 2015 I will be doing some paperwork with her to ensure that she will be able to accompany me wherever work takes me. That doesn't mean marriage, I mean we haven't really met each others families yet, but there are options for civil unions etc. which would allow me to claim her as a dependant and get her a working visa in the next destination. We are already talking about Vancouver for a few weeks after Korea, so once that is done, well who knows. I certainly know that having her here has made 2014 my best year despite the fact that it has also been my blandest since 2010.

-I did get out a lot in Korea. I had a great weekend in Busan in May. The Jinju lantern festival was also amazing. At this point I know what I like and will miss about Korea and so am enjoying that while I can. It has made for some great weekends.

-School has been okay. I have met a few good people through it, though I will certainly not say it is everything that I had hoped. I feel that a great deal of success and failure in the programme is based on luck rather than skill. Papers I went in to with the attitude of "lets get this over with" have been met with A's, while papers that I've put a great deal of effort in to (and were far better papers) have been met with a B. If you have a good tutor (which thankfully I do) and your grader shares your opinions you will do well. If your tutor is disengaged and your grader dwells in the ivory tower you will not be rewarded for your efforts. It also means that my A papers were luck too, which really makes it hard to take any pride in them. Still I hope that between this and the CELTA I will have learned a lot. In fact, if I take out admin and just focus on what I have learned, I have learned a great deal of very useful information. I hope to be able to apply this next year, and at the end of the day, big picture, this degree is very worthwhile. Also, in Canadian terms I am carrying a 3.2 GPA. Not exactly like I am failing I guess, just not as amazing as it would be if I had scratched a third liberty bell instead of that damned cherry a couple more times. I also managed my first professional presentation. A huge accomplishment that was a success and for which I really can take pride.




It has not been a bad year by any stretch. In fact in some ways I am happier now than at any time in Korea. That being said I have been writing here since 2012 that I am ready for the next step. The decision to do grad school here has kept me here years longer than I had ever planned. So I think this is how I will remember 2014: A very happy, if quiet and uneventful year of my life. However, to say that I have been waiting for 2015 since about 2012 would be very accurate. I said way back in May 2012 that school and finances would dictate how much longer I am in Korea, and certainly as a cram school instructor. That was essentially correct. The simple fact is that I love Korea, but I have been ready to think about it nostalgically for over a year now.

So with that in mind I am very ready for 2015 and all the changes and adventures (and uncertainties) it brings. It will be the end of my life in Korea. It will be the year of my dissertation (which despite what I said above I plan to make the most of, and get what I need out of it if nothing else). It will be a year with Yen that will probably shape my future. It will be a year of many hellos and goodbyes, as many other people besides myself move on from their lives in Korea, as Jarrod, Bobby, Matt, Nathan and Mike will all call it quits between now and the end of the year (and stretch that to spring 2016 and I may not have a friend here who isn't Korean or married to a Korean). It will be a year of travel and adventure. It will be a year to reconnect with family and friends in Vancouver and elsewhere outside of Korea. In short, without any kind of unforeseen tragedy, it may be one of the best years of my life. The work of 2014 made that possible.

I guess when you can say that the old year was good, but the new year looks to be great, you are on the right track. When I talk about 2015 the word I always seem to use is excited. Here's hoping for an exciting year.