Big Decision

So, I've finally made the decision I feel good about.

I'll stay another 6 months.

There are a few reasons, and they all make sense to me.

1. I'll go visit Romania in August.
2. I'll do the PDC another time.
3. I'll go to Canada in March.
4. I'll work here in Korea for 6 more months.
5. The school will pay for my ticket to Romania.
6. I'll fly out at the begining of March to Canada, and then Abby will be skinnier and I won't have to worry about how I'll take her on the plane.
7. There won't be a flight embargo then so, again, I won't have to worry abou taking Abby on the plane.
8. I'll have 5 years of experience instead of 4.5. Many of the jobs I've seen need at least 5 years. :)
9. When I come back to Canada I'll have only 5 months before schools start in the ME and I can get a good job.
10. I'll have enough money saved to not have to worry too much about it for those 5 months.
11. I'll be able to do the TESOL diploma AND the DELTA which will make me eligible for many MANY more and BETTER jobs.
12. I will have time until next February to get all my grade 5 and grade 6 to a level where they can read.
13. I will have time until next February to get my 1st grade middle school students to make full sentences.
14. I will be there at school until the end of the year and have a proper goodby, not in the middle of the school year.
15. I'll be able to use up the compost I made.
16. I'll be able to eat some strawberries from the plants I bought today.
17. When I go back to Canada, I'm going to be able to see my moms Lilac trees bloom.
18. I've started to be more social now and being more active, so I know I'll be happier and able to survive an extra 6 months.

I did all this thinking today on the 5 hour bus ride that was supposed to be only 3 hours to the "Strawberry Festival".

I didn't send my boxes with winter clothes home for a reason.
I didn't pay the deposit for the PDC course for a reason.
I didn't buy my ticket to Romania for September for a reason.

I just hadn't figured it out yet.

Coming Back

Today I got my e-ticket for Canada.

YAY! I'm coming back, for a little while :)

Leaving Korea: August 11th 4:30pm

Arriving in Toronto: August 11th 7:50pm

Flight is AC 64.

My flight will take 16 hours and 20 minutes.

It's gonna be one loooooooooooong freaken ride!!

And from my house to the airport will be another 5 hours.

I've already started training Abby for the long trip.

Every day, I put her in her carrier and I lock her in. I started with 1 minute, next day I did 5 minutes and now I'm at 10 minutes.

I hope I'll get her up to a whole day at some point. Then I'm going to add the vacuum cleaner.

The noise in the airplane will be pretty loud, and she's such a skittish kitty.

I'll have the vacuum on every day and then hopefully, before I leave, I'll be able to leave her in her locked in her carrier with the vacuum on the whole day. My neighbours might not be very happy, but hell, I want my kitty to be ok, and without any heart attacks on the flight.

YAY! I'm starting to pack my winter clothes into boxes and I'll be shipping them back soon.

Soon, soon :)

Shyness vs Guts

If you are shy, you don't experience a lot of things.
You are too scared to make a mistake.
You don't really get to know what you like or dislike, what you believe, what your values are very well.

So, when you get the chance, go crazy.
Leave all the boundaries behind and just allow to be yourself.

Try everything, make mistakes, learn to think for yourself and learn what you like and believe.

Then, and only then, can you be mature and not miss out on things in your life.

You have the guts when the situation is BIG and it's called for.

But the small day to day things need those guts as well.

Be true to yourself and don't hide your thoughts and feelings!!

YEAH!!

Life in a Bubble

I never understood what being shy meant.

I know I'm shy, but I didn't know what that meant either.

Shy is not showing what you think.

Not showing what you believe.

Not saying what you want to say.

When you're shy, you don't have an opinion. You don't create waves. You don't develop your personality freely but in a suppressed kind of way.

I recently met some really great people that allowed me to see how far down the shy-tunnel I've gone. It was incredibly amazing and frightening at the same time.

So many people just say what's on their mind, but I find it so difficult to express anything that might not be the norm.

Slowly I'm getting better, and I have to make a conscious effort to speak my mind.

The life in a bubble is safe, and easy, with little risk but little reward.

New small apt addy

This is the address of my new apartment. If you'd like to send small things, send them here. If you'd like to send big things, then send them to my school address.

HOME:

Daniela Mihalciuc
강원 고성군 거진읍 봉평리
31-1 거진중학교
원어민관사 201호
219-904
South Korea

SCHOOL:

Daniela Mihalciuc

강원 고성군 거진읍 봉평리 

31-1 거진중학교 

219-904

South Korea

Cover Letter

Did I mention I HATE writing cover letters??

Well, I DO!!!!

I'm stuck trying to write this damned cover letter.

I don't know what to write, how to make it sound nice...

Even though I've looked online at examples and such, I just haven't found the inspiration.

AAAAAAAAARGH!!

How about...

I just looked online to get an idea what farm land prices are across Canada.

Saskatchewan has REALLY good prices!!! LIKE AMAZING!!!

160 acres of good land for $50,000. That's incredible.

Manitoba has similar prices.

Would it be better to go there? Hm... I don't want to be so isolated though... I'm not sure how much of a community there would be. Most of those properties are not with houses, but just pastures or grain fields.

There wouldn't be neighbours, there wouldn't be a local place to sell my produce...

Hm...

I must investigate more.

Farming and Bushcraft courses

A facebook friend posted a video about some organic farming technique, so I went and checked it out.

It was on youTube and along many other videos, there was a series of videos about some OFC (Organic Farming Certificate).

I was intrigued.

So after looking through the videos for a while, I went to search for the website where they originated from.

I found this amazing place. It's called Everdale Farm, and they have a 32 week (8 month) farming internship.

It's AMAZING!!!!

Not only is it in Guelph, but it's for a whole 8 months of living and working on the farm, and learning how to farm in the major farming seasons. It's not expensive, $4000 for the whole 8 months, including food and accommodation!!! I can learn so much!! And at the end I'll get an Organic Farming Certification. It's not really all that important, but it's a bonus.

WOW!

So now, there are 2 big year long internships I want/need to do.

Everdale Farm Organic Farming Certification:

for 2011, the course date is April 12 - November 19. It's 32 weeks (8 months) long, in and around Guelph, Ontario. Price ~$4000 (Canadian dollars)

Everdale Farm Farmers Growing Farmers - Farm Planning:

for 2011, there are two courses, the Introduction and the Advanced. Together, the price is $1600 (CAD) and it's also in Guelph (YAY!!).
These are the dates of either Farm tours or workshops or lectures:


Oct. 24, 2010
Oct. 31, 2010
Nov. 7, 2010
Nov. 14, 2010
Nov. 21, 2010
Dec. 5, 2010
Dec. 19, 2010
Jan. 9, 2011
Jan. 23, 2011
Feb. 6, 2011
Feb. 20, 2011
Mar. 6, 2011


Jack Mountain Yearlong Wilderness Bushcraft Immersion Program:

for 2011, the course has 3 sections:
    Fall: Aug 21 - Oct 21 (9 weeks) ($6850)
    Winter: Jan 8 - Jan 21 (2 weeks) ($1900)
    Spring: May 7 - June 2 (4 weeks) ($3350)
This course is in Mesardis, Maine (USA, just to the left of New Brunswick and just south of Quebec).
Price for all 3 sections together ~$10,000 (USD), you get a discount if you do all of them.

I can do both of these!! When I finish with the English teaching and return to Canada, I'll be able to do these 2 things!! I'm so excited!!

I've wanted to do the bushcraft course for a while now, so hopefully in a few years I'll be able to take part in that experience.

YAY! :)

Exciting Plans :)

So, this weekend I'll be making my composting bin. FINALLY!!!

I borrowed an electric drill from work.
I found a big bag of shredded paper that will help with the moisture control.
I found a veggie shop that will give me some greens so I can add to my collection of kitchen waste.
I have a perfect bin that will go on my balcony.

I can't wait to finally start this :).

Also, I'm going to make a bird feeder out of a plastic bottle. Feed some birds and at the same time give Abby something to look at while she's at home.

Also, I found some really good courses online to upgrade my teaching credentials.

They are all reasonably priced.

One is at Greystone College in Toronto. It's a 3 month TESOL Diploma that I can start in October.
It's $4050 and I might just have the money for it.

Also, something online and a bit more respectable is to get another bachelors degree.
I found at Brock University, I can do 5 online courses, $1050 each course, starting Sept 9th 2011 until April 8th 2013 (unfortunately I can do only one course per semester) and then in the end I'd get a Bachelor of Education in Adult Education.

WHOA!!!

I know, I get excited easily, but it's things that will make me much more valuable in the ESL job market.

Wonderful Day

I had a wonderful day today.

Everything was great.

I was very productive, in my own way.

In the end I went out for dinner...

I drank a lot of soju (Korean liquor).

I'm drunk right now.

I need to write this.

University was a difficult time for me.
A time where I was misguided, a time where I was searching for myself, a time where I found what others thought about me, a time where I succumbed to expectations.

I don't think about that time very much.

Maybe that's why I don't drink like I used to in uni anymore.

I've come a long way since then.

People accepted me then. People thought they understood me then.

I suppose that was one step in my growing up.