So I am officially on my 4th month
in Korea. It is amazing at how time flies here and yet at the same time I
feel like I have been here far longer than 4 months. I am really loving
my job, I love teaching these kids and it is amazing how much I learn from them
in return. I have no idea how to be a mother and am no way near that
point in my life however, I find that it’s so easy to love these kids ( I can
only imagine what it would be like with my own). Their gentleness and desire to excel while
also being fun spirited in their youth is such an encouragement (they can be
naughty and irritating sometimes too but the good far outweighs the bad).
I find that teaching is a job where you learn so much about yourself
regardless of whether you are good at your job or not (I hope I am good at
mine). Coming into school every morning and being able to focus on them
all day is such a blessing because I don’t feel as if I am in Korea or away
from many of my friends and family. When I am at work it’s a completely
different setting where it seems my life is on pause until I walk onto the
elevator down 8 floors to the exit of my little school bubble.
Most people say that in Korea once you hit your 3rd month,
life will be peachy keen and you will love everything about your new Korean
life. For me that didn’t happen, however I felt more peace than I had in
a while. It is by the 4th month where all the feelings
people were talking about has begun to happen for me. I think about my
next 8 months in Korea and I look forward to what they have to offer me.
It is amazing at how quickly things can change here which also adds another
element to the whole comfort thing.
Working in a place where people are constantly coming in
and out is hard on the students but also hard on the teachers. At my
school we have 3 foreign teachers and the one who basically trained me and was
my first friend in Korea moved back to America and it was surprisingly REALLY
hard. I missed her, I missed seeing her at school and feeling comfortable
to ask her anything I was unsure of. Imagine that happening over and over
again, that is the life of being here and although it can be hard I have
decided to change my mind set to think about how many more opportunities I now
have to meet more people and make more friends. We got a new teacher and
now it seems I am taking on that role of introducing her to the area and the
whole teaching thing. How quickly roles change!
Along with the change of roles I find that I am feeling
more and more like an adult. I am so used to being a student and being
viewed more as a child than as an independent woman, however being in Korea is
teaching me how to grow up. Being alone in a foreign place is a great way
to teach anyone independence! There have
been a few times this week when I am sitting in cafes writing report cards and
sipping a latte that I stop to think about where I was at this time last year…stressing
over whether or not I would pass an exam while venting to my mother and sister
about how over whelmed I was, oh life how much you change!
Moving on from the whole working experience, life has been
pretty great! This past weekend was super awesome and I had a lot of fun.
It all started with a haircut gone wrong which is actually growing on me
(see picture for reference..this is my after work exhausted and not sure what
is going on face). After that event occurred, I found myself getting lost
attempting to visit a friend. Who knew that “Kyoungi” and “Kyounghee” were
different places? I found that out as I was lost on a large University campus
late at night feeling completely unable to help myself. Thanks to an
amazingly kind Korean student, he was able to get me a taxi and walk with me an
hour to get to the right place I needed to be (yay for his English skills,
super awesomness and studying abroad).
As a side note it is pretty interesting to me that wherever
I travel in Korea I find that people try their best to meet my needs through
speaking the little English they know to assist me. Never when I am in my
own country and people are trying to communicate with me from another place do
I whip out a language to try and better help them. Although I am “the
other” in Korea I feel like I get taken care of and looked out for VERY
well. I want to be able to be more culturally aware when I come
home.
Ok back on track, once I got to my friends place she warmly
welcomed me and her apartment was about 4 times the size of mine and best of
all, SHE HAD A COUCH! I cannot tell you enough how badly I have wanted to just
curl up on a couch and watch a movie or talk with friends. Since most of
my fellow English teachers and I have such small places (not complaining just
speaking based on the reality of the situation) we have room for our bed and
that’s about it. So sitting on her couch as she made popcorn was
GLORIOUS!! It really is the little things that make a huge difference. In
the morning we made carrot-cinnamon pancakes and had a glorious breakfast and I
felt like I was back home. Later that night a friend of mine and I went
to a midnight market (peak hours of shopping there are 12am-5am). It was
SUCH a cool experience with AMAZING deals that I will most certainly visit
again in the near future!
Oh I also got a rockstar deal on contacts!! I got a
year supply of contacts for 100$ AND they came with a large amount of contact
solution followed by the coolest little case thing of life (see picture).
Korea is pretty legit!!
Then Sunday we woke up early to head to a park for a games
service where we would eat together (LOADS OF FOOD) while also playing games
split into teams. I haven’t been able to be that loud and obnoxious in A
LONG time but being with my fellow foreigners, we cheered on team and
participated with much spirit. I got a sunburn HOWEVER it was such a
great day and I was able to meet some really great people!
Korea is becoming more and more my home as time
unfolds and I am slowly getting into routines of things I love to do and things
that regularly occur. Bring on the next
8 months :)!
