Back to School

At the end of this month, I'll be resuming my master's studies. This is the last year! I can't believe how quickly it's gone. This final push will be full of challenges, with only two classes left to take for my degree, plus a practicum, and then a final comprehensive exam.

Along with this I'm squashing in Korean classes, plus an extra class in my major because: a) I'm a glutton for punishment, b) the professor of the class is phenomenal, and c) when the opportunity to teach this comes up in my classroom (vocabulary), I'm always excited to help build the lexicon of my students. Without a variety of words, there truly can be no effective communication.

It's been quite the journey. I started off completely terrified, and full of self-doubt. Now that I know the professors and my classmates, I can actually enjoy what I'm learning. Plus, having my own classes to teach gives me a practical playground to test all the theories and methods being crammed into my head.

Until then, it will be me, my cat, the couch, and my XBox controller. Looking forward to slacking off before the deluge.

Today's obsession: Moaning about missing Japan when I meet up with my host family's most recent student, Kelsey. She recently returned to Long Beach after her year with the Takeuchis and is coming over this afternoon for my whirlwind tour of all things Japanese in this 'hood. 日本へ帰りたいの？