Abundance Buzz: Back to Work

February signals, for mostly public school teachers, that it is back to work time. December and January are usually the time for camp and vacation. As March approaches, February is that in between month before the students graduate. Although there is usually not much to do at work since materials are finished, you find yourself with not much to do. If you are an elementary school teacher you will find that 6th grade is particularly unruly at this time of year. They are pre-teens and so already don't want to listen to adults, but knowing that they will move on to middle school means that grabbing their attention is especially difficult.

In this series,"Abundance Buzz" I am going to highlight how there is a notable buzz out there on the Kblogosphere. The first one in this series shows how several expats are going back to work from their cushy vacations and having to put their teacher brains back on.

The Buzz:

• I Am Saja's Mom: In this case, "Saja" is her cat. She is a veteran here in South Korea having had a few jobs already. This time around she found herself facing the "desk-warming-blues" from coming back to work. She countered this by digging into her treat drawer and watching downloads, in this post. Definitely having tasks to do during those slow times makes the job feel less alienating. However, eating snacks and watching shows is fun let's remember to throw some planning in there as well. ;)
• I'm No Picasso: I have been reading her blog for some time now, and enjoy her honest and very frank posts. In her recent post, "Back and Raring To Go" she talks about the woes of going back to work and returning to Korea after being abroad in an "English speaking country." Definitely check this post out for what it feels like to switch back to work and Korean life.

"...get yourself in a state fit to attend work on Monday morning and you start to feel the way you did sometimes in the first year, where you were a bit lonely and acutely aware of being in a foreign place. "

• Lola O in Seoul: Lola writes in a very descriptive and captivating way on her blog. The post, "Comes and Goes" really highlights the feeling of vacation ending and work beginning. When visiting family for vacation it can be hard to say goodbye all over again, and get back on the plane. As strong as we expats are there are times when homesickness can get the best of us. Lola encapsulates this in her post but also shows her strength, "This is my life right now, for the next year this is my life and I am going to embrace it. I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to live it. As I got to the bus stop by my place my friend came to help me with my luggages." Check it out.
• Jungle Onion's Diary: Isn't that a cute name for a blog? She got back from her vacation, did a little work and then found herself with nothing do. Check it out all here on her post, "February!".

That wraps up this Abundance Buzz topic for today. February, for many also signals the last month at their school or their expat life. Since March is when the new semester starts many teachers will be finding themselves packing up, selling off their stuff and saying goodbye to their friends in Korea. It is also a time when newbies are going to start pouring in and having the whole experience from the start. I am constantly amazed by the thought that expats in Korea are constantly on this cycle of "in" and "out". Perhaps, come March I can find some newbie blogs and we can see what expat life looks like to fresh eyes.