Christmas

Hi all,

Well, we're building up to Christmas time again. I'm looking forward to the vacation from work, short as it is, and to seeing my family for the first time in two years.

The short vacation comes from the nature of the ESL business--we never really close, and often end up working year-round with minimal vacation time. However, that said, I understand the reasoning: people who come from all over the world to study English here in Canada expect to still be able to attend school, even in what for Canadians would be holiday season.

It just means I'll be driving to Virginia on Christmas Eve. We're turning it into an adventure: we're going to stop in as often as we can at coffee shops to get Hot Chocolate, and I suspect that, by the end of the trip, my brain will no longer be able to handle any more Christmas Carols.

I'm almost done with my first round of units at the schools I work for, meaning I should be able to start recycling old material soon. Knowing me, I'll still be creating new stuff for use in the class, if only to avoid it getting stale/becoming boring for me and the students, but it's nice to know that there's an end in sight for this.

I still miss Korea--it was, as Jen puts it, a break from reality here. I begin to understand why some call it just that. In Korea, one didn't have to worry so much about bills or constant lesson prep. On the one hand, I miss how easy that was.

On the other hand, I'm glad to be doing what I do--I think it'll serve me in good stead for Teacher's College, down the line, and I am really enjoying some of my classes.

All the best to you and yours this Holiday Season.

Chris