Substituting, Seoul, and Starbucks

I'm very tired, so this may be a short post... but I've been composing a blog post in my head over the last day or two (I find myself doing that often, isn't that kind of silly?).

So, substitute teaching for elementary students is very fun and very tiring. I had my first day of substituting yesterday and absolutely loved it... then came home and crashed on the couch, completely exhausted. I had a wonderful 3rd grade classroom at Horizon Elementary. The teachers and staff were all so welcoming and friendly toward me. I also lucked out... it was Teacher Appreciation Week, so we got free breakfast (and coffee) and free lunch. It was definitely a lovely day... and kind of confirmed even more in my heart that teaching is what I'm supposed to be doing - at least for the next year or two. I realize that teaching in a very American suburban middle-class elementary school is quite different from teaching English to a bunch of Korean-speaking high school students in a huge city like Seoul. However... I think the experiences I have had up to this point are experiences that God is using to prepare me for teaching in Seoul.

Speaking of Seoul... I had another phone interview on Tuesday night with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE). Note: Usually Seoul does not hire teachers without a TESOL certification or education degree. However, they seem to think that I have enough extracurricular experience to do just fine in the classroom. Once again, I am amazed by the opportunities the Lord has provided to me... even in the past year to prepare me for this! He is so good. On Wednesday night, I received a phone call informing me that the SMOE decided to offer me a contract! So, it is official... and will be really official when I sign the contract, fax it in, and start tackling a long list of paperwork requirements. I'm excited about it though!

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be having an interview at Starbucks for a summer job. I'm excited... I think that job will fit me well for the summer. I'll let you all know how it goes...

By the way, I've been continuing with my running since I've been back in the States (although I've not been quite as faithful as I was in Beijing). I am both shocked and happy to report that I ran for a total of 45 minutes this morning! It was at my slow pace, but towards the end, I was able to push myself a little more, which was good. David Crowder definitely has some good songs that help motivate me...

I really am loving this season of being home with my family... last night my mom, Megs and I went grocery shopping. We were out for almost two hours, but just had a lot of fun. I've had a lot more opportunities to be "domestic" since I've been home, which I've enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Good night.