Well.... I survived my first week on the CELTA course..... just!! It is pretty intensive and long days. Typically in the morning we have an input session and learn about lesson planning, phonetics, concept questions etc. Then in the afternoon we teach. There was no grace period. I started on Monday and on Tuesday I was teaching. It's tough. Even though I have lots of experience, when you have a room full of students, 6 other trainees and an assessor watching you, making sure you include everything you learnt the day before in you lesson I tend to turn in to a quivering teacher like mess!!! Some of the feedback I have received is that I am not aggressive enough and come across as very nervous. Anyone who knows me knows this is not me!!! Yet I am petrified when I know I have to teach. This week I did 2 30 minute lessons and 1 60 minute lesson. I thought they all went pretty badly but apparently I am improving and can't be that bad as one of the students asked why I wasn't teaching a lesson that day!

I worked on my lesson plan and assignment for 8 hours yesterday and had a well earned break and went out in Huddersfield - the first time in about a year and half! Yet I still saw people I knew. I definitely feel like I have regressed to be a student again, moving back to my old house from when I was a student and having lots of studying to do!

Three more weeks, 5 more observed lessons and 3 more assignments to go!!!

So I have been sort of back in the UK for 3 weeks now.

It was strange to come back and be able to understand everything, order food and know exactly what was coming, be able to get on buses and trains and know it was the right train.

It also felt like Korea didn't really happen, that is was some sort of dream or hazy memory. Everything here is pretty much the same, I am in the same situation I was a year ago, jobless and back with my parents, so nothing had changed.

After a week in the UK, I went over to Denmark for a long weekend to see a friend I met while volunteering in Ghana. It was so good to see her after nearly a year and half and Copenhagen is beautiful but expensive city.

Last weekend I headed to Stevenage to see an old uni friend, Cambridge to see an old Helsby friend and London to see an old NY colleague. Then back to Helsby for a few days and today I move up to Huddersfield for a month to do a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults.

It is a super intensive course that requires me to do observed teaching, assignments, lessons plans and all kinds of hard work! Most jobs in Europe require a CELTA and I think it will be good to get some proper official training!

So I am going to be M.I.A for the next month!!