The Disappearing Act is Over. I Was Sighted in Atlanta

As you most definitely know by now, I traveled to South Korea this past summer and after returning home my writing completely shut down. I apologize. I haven't had many traveling experiences lately as I have been busy with finishing up my time here at Ohio Northern University (finally).

It seems fitting to give a tiny recap of whats going on so you can have a proper lead up to my trip to Atlanta this past weekend.

Currently I am student teaching at Indian Lake High School with my cooperating teacher Mr. Reprogle. I am teaching two World History classes (Sophomores) and one Psychology class (Juniors, Seniors). If you happen to be familiar with some of these previous posts on here, thank you first of all, you may be scratching your head and asking yourself, "Weren't you supposed to student teach in Spain?" Well, yes I was. Unfortunately my fellow classmate and I were denied by the school at just about the last minute after being accepted for the positions last year. It was a disappointment and the following weeks were very stressful and hectic trying to acquire a spot at another school locally. I could not be happier where I am right now. I have a great school with fun and devoted students and a teacher that has valuable experience and lessons that he shares with me everyday.

I have been working on the job search for a while now. I have searched high and low for schools in the south so that hopefully I can escape the grips of a state that decides to have massive snow storms in March. Through this searching I stumbled upon a job fair that was to be held in Atlanta presented by the Georgia Charter School Association. I thought I might as well give it a shot. So i decided to register and low and behold I was accepted to attend the job fair. There was only one problem. I received my confirmation via e-mail on March 6th. The conference was on the 9th at 9 A.M.

I made the very quick decision that it was going to be a road trip. I would not make the trip alone though, my mother would make the journey with me. This would be my first job fair, and it was only a nine hour drive away.

I am basically obsessed with Atlanta. The last and only time that I ever adventured to the city was my Freshman year at Northern. I spent a weekend down there and loved everything! (Especially the red clay) so to say the least I was excited to explore another part of the city.

I will fast forward to the actual job fair to save your eyeballs some reading. If you really are interested in the shenanigans that my mother and I get into while in a confined space for hours at a time you are more than welcome to contact me personally :)

The job fair was much much different than I expected. I did have one promising lead and applied for another vacancy at an Atlanta public school. The job fair that I attended was for charter schools which basically means they have select students and different rules and funding by the state. I ended up standing in line for over two hours for the chance to sit down with an Internet school. Unfortunately, the only thing I got for my time was a business card just like my fellow disgruntled line standers.

After the fair my mother and I dined at a South African restaurant where we sampled prawns, lamb chops, and I ventured to the ostrich medallion entree. Everything was exquisite, down to the complimentary shots they gave us!

This whole process is getting me excited to explore the rest of the country and hopefully settle down somewhere that is warm and friendly. The next step is to find some more fairs to go to in addition to the fair at Northern at the end if this year.

I suppose this really isn't a world traveling entry, but it does outline what I have been up to since I disappeared. Maybe I shall change the description of what this site is meant for. Not really sure how exciting my life is, but as long as people read I shall write it all down for you!

I'm getting ready to send out resumes and such to places such as New York, North and South Carolina, Illinois, Florida, and of course Georgia. Not sure if I will want to stay in the homeland of Ohio, but if that is the case, I'm sure I will still be happy. I just saw some job fair opportunities in Florida in June.

Who wouldn't want to go to Florida in June?


Until then,


Kenneth Trey Jones

Fog in the Morning II

As I stood and waited for the taxi to come down the winding road I stared at the same mountains and the same fog that I spoke of two months ago. Something was distinctly different this morning. Today marked the day that I return back to the States. My stomach decided that it wanted to practice its Olympic gymnastics routines just as the taxi came down the road. I wont lie I was nervous, not with the fear of getting lost, but with the fear that I may never see some of the people I met during the past two months.

It is an eerie feeling standing in the fog by yourself knowing that your new friends have either left already or are catching their last hours of sleep before they embark on the same journey as I. It is nice to know that I will see one good new friend of mine in Dallas at the airport. We just so happened to be landing in Dallas around the same time with similar layovers. We shall share some laughs and drinks as he prepares to head back to San Diego for his brother’s bachelor party. 

As I peered into what seemed like an endless grey mass of mist this morning I reflected on what this experience had really meant to me. I was terrified when I walked away from my mother and aunt after going through the security gates in Cleveland but now I have a feeling that nothing can stop me. This was the test trip to see how I would survive living abroad before I live in Spain for three months. I would say I passed. I successfully taught English, achieved high marks in both of my classes and had a damn great time while doing it. The nights clubbing that turned a regular Sunday into an hibernation period seemed like a mistake at the time, but looking back those very nights gave me the best memories. Getting back at seven in the morning beats sleeping in every time. 

I learned that my life goals of teaching abroad are very attainable and if I continue to work hard more unbelievable experiences will come my way. My love for teaching has been even more cemented after this trip. My students will now be my life long friends and I could not be any happier.

The most important thing I learned throughout my time abroad is that you should never be afraid to try something new or learn something you otherwise would have never known. Being timid is not and never will be in my vocabulary.

I’m certainly happy to be on the way home but will be counting the days until the next adventure.

Until then,

Trey

Winding Down

It is completely unfathomable that I only have three days left here in Korea. It really does feel like I just got here yesterday. It wasn't that long ago that I was saying "I've only been here for two weeks but it feels like months". Now that my two months are up here I would have figured out a way to slow down time.

Only two exams tomorrow stand in my way of having one last night out with my fellow teachers/students and the long lonely flights home. But one thing I do know is that I won't be lonely for long. Soon enough I will be back home in my bed and then it is back to school in good ol' Ada. Truthfully I'm excited to go home. I need to see my friends one more time before we all part ways for the summer again. 

I'm not exactly sure what is going to happen with this site. I know that it will be back in full swing once I go to Spain for student teaching during the spring semester. I really don't want to let the site go dormant, so I will try to keep you guys in the loop with information that is going on with my life from time to time. I don't think that traveling Ohio is considered world travel but who knows someone out there might be interested in corn fields and Ohio State football. 

Until the time to go live in the Mediterranean comes along, I suppose Ohio will have to do. :P

I will post some pictures from my field trip to the Korean national prison which was operational during the Japanese colonial period. Most likely tomorrow since I need to keep studying. It is quite difficult to concentrate when you are thinking about home so much. It's time to buckle down.

Until later,

Trey

Fishies and Such!

Here are some pictures from the aquarium I visited this weekend.

Bungee Flop, Better Plans Ahead

Hello everyone!

I survived the crazy week and now it is the weekend. We attempted to go bungee jumping but the establishment has an interesting policy where it is first come first serve and they only let 50 people jump per day. So by the time that we arrived they were already sold out. So instead we went to an aquarium which was really fun! (pictures to come).  Today we are venturing to the college student haven in Seoul to enjoy the new Batman movie and visit the local dancing parlors.

Today signifies that I only have seven days left here in this wonderful country and I would like to go out with a bang! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. No bungee jumping aside, this weekend is looking up.

Until later,

Trey

The Whirlwind Week Continues!

This particular week has been rather stressful for me. Usually when you are winding down in classes things go relatively smooth, but unfortunately this is not the case in my situation. This week I have three presentations on three consecutive days. The presentation subjects are comfort women, the US-Japanese relationship and Japanese colonialism. Very interesting topics, but it does not help that I have been in a fuzz for the past few days from multiple cold medicines. 

There is one beam of light being emitted from this pile of assignments though. I already have one presentation done and I am feeling much better everyday. There was a sickness bug going around the dorms last week and I surmise that my advanced procrastination skills helped me in not getting it until after everyone else was better. All this aside, I must feel better so I can enjoy the last weeks that I have with the new friends that I have made during this amazing experience. I really can't believe that there are only 12 days left before I fly back home.

It seems like yesterday that I was writing to you counting down the days until my departure. Crazy. To combat the sad feelings of having to leave I believe that I will be going bungee jumping on Friday. This should be a thrill ride because it combines my two greatest fears, heights and falling to my death. Am I insane? I don't think so. Just a young man who wants to do it all before he can't anymore. 

Until later,

Trey

Picture time!

Hello everyone! Its official, Im sick. I just woke up from a nap and am not feeling the greatest so I will make this short and sweet. Above are some pictures from water rafting and the soccer game. There aren't any pictures of me actually rafting since my camera is not waterproof. I wish I could talk more but I'm going back to sleep.

Until later,

Trey