Well it has been just over 3 years and despite some 'minor' traveling (Cayo Coco, Cuba for a wedding Feb 2009, Victoria in June 2009 and June 2010 for workshops, New York 2010 for a conference and Newfoundland 2010 for a wedding) I am just now starting to prepare my next extended adventure.
Well I should back up a bit first (or rather come back to the present)..... It is now Wednesday December 8th 2010 and in less than a week I will be defending my M.A. thesis. Nervous is a little bit of an understatement at this point. However, I received some excellent advice from a friend this evening...her advice "give up shame for life" (in my mind shame/embarrassment (or rather the fear of) are intrinsically linked to nervousness...therefore advice = good and relevant to thesis defence!). My friend came about this way of thinking when she decided to "give up shame for lent" (absolutely brilliant idea if you ask me! Way better than giving up chocolate or liquor or in the case of Josh Hartnet in 40 days and 40 nights SEX *!#@)...this has developed into a life mantra for my friend and from the sounds of it, things are starting to pay off. So from here on out, I intend to give up shame for life (at least to the best of my abilities [however, I do see that a modicum of "shame" is probably ethically and morally necessary...meh....let's give it a whirl] ). So Defence here I come! I defy you to make me nervous! (that's taking it too far isn't it?)
Aside from the defence (and yes it is spelled with a 'c' when referring to a thesis defence), I am looking ahead to August 2011 with great excitement. I have decided to take a little break from my never-ending studies and teach overseas for a year. The next question is where to teach? The original plan was to go to South Korea, however recent tensions have been weighing on my conscious (travel advisories have been posted by the Canadian government for South Korea "Tensions have increased significantly on the Korean peninsula since a multinational investigation team concluded in May 2010 that the North Korea was responsible for the recent sinking of a South Korean warship that resulted 46 fatalities. The shelling of a South Korean island by North Korea in November 2010 is likely to cause even greater inter-Korean tensions, which could escalate into other forms of confrontation at any time." http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=153000).
My travel partner and I are not yet ruling out South Korea, however, we are keeping a close eye on the current political situation. The other location we are considering is Dubai. We have heard some excellent reviews from friends of friends who have worked in Dubai, so it is now officially on the very very short list! Also, rumor has it the pay is marvelous and since the goal of this mission is, not only to see another part of the world, but also to start paying down some of those pesky student loans, Dubai sounds great!
I should mention that before I even get to Dubai I have to (or rather I should) finish all of my PhD course work....This is very doable, as long as I bend the system as much as I can!
So here is to the start of the countdown to my next little adventure! August is just around the corner! First things first BRING ON THE DEFENCE!
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