Certified!

Well, I survived and passed the class! I am now certified to teach English! It truly is a great feeling. I couldn't be happier that I came here and did this. I'm a little bit proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something for me. I do have to thank Kiley for introducing me to this program. And even though I'm glad I ended up doing this alone, since it was a growing experience for me, I do wish she had still been here because we would have had a blast! But of course I understand. ;)

Sooo...I have flights booked. ROME and then HOME. Kally and I are going to take on Rome on Monday. We are so excited!!! Italy was always my dream destination, so I'm thrilled the dream will be real in a couple of days! Then Thursday, yes, I am headed back to the states. A couple weeks into the course, I had a feeling I would be headed home after. But back then, I thought the reason would be due to the fact that I didn't want to be an English teacher. Now that the class is over, I have different reasons for going home. Not even just a money issue..because I could have figured that out if I really needed to. I could have gotten a job somewhere. My reason for coming home is that I am now fairly certain I want to teach in Korea! The application/visa process is a million times easier to do when you're in the states. Plus January or February will be a better time for jobs anyway. Once I have a job and sent back a signed contract, they will pay for my flight..which is veryyy nice. Housing will also be paid for. So I will finally be able to start saving money! Again, though, the money is just a bonus. The main thing is that I have the travelling bug! I want to see the world while I can! while I'm young and don't have much that I'm tied down to. I won't hide the fact that I also want to be home with my family and friends for the holidays. I kept thinking, "I'm 25 years old, I will be ok on my own." But then I thought, wait what's wrong with wanting to be with the people I love during the holidays? Nothing. It's not about the fact that I would be fine, I would have met people and done stuff. But since I'm not tied down to anything or anyone really, my life is about ME. I should be able to do what I want to do.

That being said, I do still feel really weird about coming home. Lame, for lack of a better word. I actually tried not to make a big deal about things when I left, since I really didn't know how long I would be gone. But I still moved out of a house that I loved and lived in for over 2 years. And put all my stuff in storage, so it ended up being a big deal. I just feel weird since I had a huge going away party and everything. But again! This is all about ME. I'm making decisions based on what I want, which hasn't always been the case. So in a way, I feel a lot more independent and free. So even though I might feel a little weird, I still feel happy. And that's all that matters. Right? Right.

I also feel really weird about my whole time in Prague. This is seriously the strangest feeling ever. I feel like I just got here. I can't believe that 4 weeks came and went. We've all had a feeling like this, where time just flies by. But this is just insane to me. I even feel a little sad that it went by so fast. I had an amazing experience though, so that's good. I'm sad to leave the girls :( Yeah, we were kind of forced to be friends by spending so much time together in class. But we also chose to spend a  lot of time together outside of class. Each has made an impression on me, and I'm so thankful to have met them. And I'm hoping that we will reunite in Asia! Since we all might end up there!

Well, I suppose I should get back to packing and cleaning so I can enjoy my last weekend in Prague. :(

Nashledanou.