walking the 720K path

My new supervisor (yup—we got a new supervisor at the office while I was out on my walk) had an interesting suggestion for me: since my contract is up in 2021, and that would most likely be the year I decide to do another big walk, why not do the walk between contracts?

This assumes that I plan to renew my contract with the Golden Goose, and right now, there's no guarantee that I'll be doing that. If anything, I've been pondering a move back to the States once my contract is up: I'll have saved plenty of money—enough to buy a house somewhere that property values are fairly cheap—and I might have enough money left over to get comfortable in my new abode and tide me over until I'm settled in a new line of work, whatever that might be.

But let's assume I don't leave Korea and elect to hang on for one more year at the Golden Goose. If that's the path I take, then doing the big walk between contracts is a plausible option. My company would love for me to do that because it wouldn't be a paid vacation: I'd be doing the walk entirely on my own dime, and the Golden Goose would pay nothing during my hiatus. Employees at my company have done such a thing before; there are some popular teachers and staffers who have re-signed with the company after enjoying a "gap" between contracts. I don't know how beloved I am; I tend not to stay for the entirety of long meetings, and some higher-ups have noticed. I've also been fairly vocal about not feeling any particular loyalty to a company I find rather dysfunctional, and I'm sure that word of my attitude has reached all the wrong ears. So: if I were to propose a two-month gap between contracts, would the proposal be accepted? I have no clue. My supervisor seems to think it wouldn't be a problem, but we'll see. At the very least, I can ask the HR department about my options.

In any event, it's definite that, once this current contract ends in 2021, I'll be hiking the 720-kilometer seaside bike trail—yet another of several Gukto Jongju crossing South Korea. 720 kilometers is about 90 kilometers longer than the path I've now walked twice. I'd have to study up on the new route, but that's not a problem: I have nearly two whole years to prepare. Whether I end up leaving Korea or not, I've got another wonderful walk to look forward to, even as I edge deeper into old-fart status: I'll be 52 in 2021.