Goodbye Cheshika!
And so it goes... And once again we have to say goodbye.
Jessica and I met two years ago, and something clicked. We were both "real" teachers back home (i.e. not in Korea because, you know, like, teaching English is really, like, easy), both sarcastic and boy crazy, both older than 25. Last year, she was in Gwangyang and I was in Suncheon - not far from each other. This year, we were in neighbourhoods close to each other in Mokpo.
Jessica and I laughed at each other's American/Canadian-isms, as she said "aboot" and I tried to use "y'all" correctly. We spoke on msn every single day, talking about everything from teacherly stuff like classroom management, to nutrition, to learning disabilities (her specialty) to whatever the latest gossip was.
And the thing is, our interests were pretty divergent - she was running marathons and rock-climbing (I was not), but Jessica was always the first person that I ran to with my problems or concerns, my annoyances and frustrations. She was the person who could force me to step back from things and approach whatever obstacle with a level-head and a plan of action. We could get mad at each other, and then, a few days later, the msn window would pop up again - and all would be back to normal.
And so, Jessica is gone. Flying out today to get back to her Indiana roots. Hopefully, she'll find herself in a classroom soon, doing what she does best - helping the kids who don't always perform well in a system that isn't necessarily designed with their best interests in mind.
I'll sign off with a few photos...
Halloween 2006
Daewonsa with Melisa, April 2007
Playing with my new camers, January 2008
Posing stupidly at the dak galbi restaurant, August 2008
Quite the trio - Jessica, Alex and I, August 2008
Jessica and I met two years ago, and something clicked. We were both "real" teachers back home (i.e. not in Korea because, you know, like, teaching English is really, like, easy), both sarcastic and boy crazy, both older than 25. Last year, she was in Gwangyang and I was in Suncheon - not far from each other. This year, we were in neighbourhoods close to each other in Mokpo.
Jessica and I laughed at each other's American/Canadian-isms, as she said "aboot" and I tried to use "y'all" correctly. We spoke on msn every single day, talking about everything from teacherly stuff like classroom management, to nutrition, to learning disabilities (her specialty) to whatever the latest gossip was.
And the thing is, our interests were pretty divergent - she was running marathons and rock-climbing (I was not), but Jessica was always the first person that I ran to with my problems or concerns, my annoyances and frustrations. She was the person who could force me to step back from things and approach whatever obstacle with a level-head and a plan of action. We could get mad at each other, and then, a few days later, the msn window would pop up again - and all would be back to normal.
And so, Jessica is gone. Flying out today to get back to her Indiana roots. Hopefully, she'll find herself in a classroom soon, doing what she does best - helping the kids who don't always perform well in a system that isn't necessarily designed with their best interests in mind.
I'll sign off with a few photos...
Halloween 2006
Daewonsa with Melisa, April 2007
Playing with my new camers, January 2008
Posing stupidly at the dak galbi restaurant, August 2008
Quite the trio - Jessica, Alex and I, August 2008posted by Ms Parker at
9:10 AM
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