Taking major time off.....

Without going into great details, I wasn't able to work out a suitable schedule that will allow me to continue to work from South Korea. As a result, after a few sleepless nights thining, I have decided to take a Leave of Absence (LOA) from work and return in January 2010. Hence, I officially go on my LOA staring July 1.

I think this is the right decision for a number of reasons. First, I've been feeling really burnt out from everything. My physical and mental health have taken a nose-drive ever since I started my part-time MBA 2 years ago. Juggling between work, school, and keeping a modest social life will take a toll on you. This LOA will really recharge clear my mind to help me take my next step both professionally and personally.

Second, Namika and I are in a unique position to live abroad, which is what I always wanted, in a beautiful city like Busan. Given that I don't have any fixed constraints (mortgage payments, family, kids, etc.), this is probably the last chance in my life that I can take time off to explore.

Third, I've been contemplating on 'augmenting' my career and it has been difficult to get a perspective on things between all the daily grind. I'm going to take this time to what I really want without the pressure of achieving a 95% billable utilization and A's in my classes. I've been seriously thinking about taking the CFA (Charted Financial Analyst) Level 1 exam lately. I find the curriculum interesting and is a lot more in depth than what I'm exposed to in the MBA. I think with the CFA, I can carve a niche in a Consulting/Finance role. The goal is to write Level 1 in December.... we'll see how that goes. *fingers crossed*

There are a number of concerns with taking the LOA. Of course, money is the single biggest issue. I will be without income for the next 6 months and it will be very difficult to find a decent part-time job while in Korea. I'm looking into getting a teaching gig in town. I think it would help me develop skills that I'm lacking and make enough spare change to get by. In addition to the money issue, I was also worried about putting my career on hold for 6 months. I've worked really hard the past 6 years and the results are just showing.... but sometimes you gotta take a step back to go forward again.... hopefully at a faster pace. Overall, I have this really empowering and liberating feeling knowing that I'm actually willing to sacrifice a significant amount of money to do what I want to do. I recommend it.... if done responsibly. :)

Now my question for you is what would YOU if you had 6 months off to do anything you want?

Living in Busan

It has been exactly 2 months since I left India and arrived in Busan. I have grown to really enjoy and love this city. Busan is like a hybrid of San Diego and New York with its laid back beach-like atmosphere mixed with a surge of energy from its residence. We live by this beach called Gwangali, a stretch of beach about one kilometer long with lots of hofs (bars/pubs), restaurants, coffee shops, and hotels on the boardwalk. The strip even has an amusement park on one end! (I hope to check it out this weekend). A typical week night would be playing Shithead (This really fun card game) and Gin on the beach with light ocean breezes. Not only does Busan has natrual beauty (oceans and mountains), it also has pockets of lively neighborhoods like Seomyeong with its norebongs (kareoke) and street eats. We usually hang out at these places with other foreign English teachers on the weekend.

One major challenge I'm facing is the language barrier with the locals. Koreans, at least in Busan, for the large part still don't speak English. This is very debilitating as normal social interactions we take for granted become extremely difficult. I've had to endure a similar situation when I immigrated from Taiwan to Canada almost 20 years ago. The only difference this time is that my brain has less capacity to absorb another language... boo :( However, I'm trying, perhaps not hard enough, to learn Korean. I can read basic Korean and understand simple phrases like "hello" and "thank you" (I know, it's not very much). Also, some Korean words resemble Chinese words so sometimes I try to comprehend that way too.

I forsee a couple of road blocks in my continuing stay in Korea and it will take some creativity and maybe sacrifices to keep this going but I will try my best. I will keep you posted as I find out more.