One Month FAQ

How are you feeling??
I have officially been in Seoul for one month now. I can hardly believe it!

First of all. I miss you all like crazy! Some days, especially when I've had a difficult day at work, I would kill for a comfortable movie night back home with a pizza and a hug as a bonus. I miss soft beds. I miss showering without getting my toilet wet. I miss TV. I miss couches. I miss driving to the grocery store. I miss big, long aisles of food. I miss my oven. I miss lasagna, shepherds pie, freshly baked cookies and muffins, and roast chicken. I miss being able to just drop by a mall. I miss my dryer. I miss toogood pond. I miss being comfortable.

On the other hand, I am having the biggest adventure of my life thus far. I am meeting people from all over the world and befriending people I could barely communicate with. i have coworkers who buy me snacks and offer to go out of the way to drive me home. I have a favourite restaurant, a favourite sandwich, a favourite grocery store. My life is SO FULL here. It's never a dull moment. Between family friends, new English teacher friends, and coworkers, my schedule is always completely packed. I have to schedule in rest days just to recuperate (or clean my apartment). In Korea, I have an ID card, a bank account, a cellphone, an apartment, a job, and friends. It's hard to believe that I actually live here. Just 2 short months ago, I was sitting in good ol' richmond hill.

I'm not going to lie. I'm starting to get nervous. One month is easy. Everything is still new and exciting. Everything is still an adventure. Then 2 months, 3 months is going to hit and i'm afraid that when the excitement is over, all that's left would be me missing all of you. I've never been the type to feel homesick. But i think it just gets tiring having to work so hard to do the smallest task everyday.

My next mission: to buy garbage bags at the convenient store. Should be an easy task right? Not true! You have to pick the type (there are 2 or 3 types) and the size (about 4-5 sizes). And you have to do this in Korean. Usually it's okay if they let me regurgitate whatever I have memorized from google translate. But the problem comes when they ask you a qusetion. *Blank Stare..............................*Now a smart person would have just saved a garbage bag to wave in their face so they know what i want. But I made the dire mistake of using my last one. oopsies.


How's teaching?
Like any teaching job, it has been a rollercoaster. Some days I come home and think "this is freaking awesome! I'm going to stay here for another year for sure!". Some days I come home and just crawl into a corner of my bed. Like any school there have been some disagreements regarding the way i want to teach and what i actually have to do. (These disagreements usually just occur inside my head because I can't communicate with most of my coworkers). I feel that the textbook can be completely irrelevant sometimes (e.g. In the chapter: I like cats, there is a random colour section that does not require the use of any english skills). I am also required to teach some English phrases that are semi-ridiculous and never used in real life (e.g. Wow! That's a surprise!, MmmmMm, that's so yummy!). That said, I am expected to teach straight out of the textbook for the most part. No ifs ands or buts.

It has also been extremely difficult to teach because of the language barrier. Most of the time, I feel that my students understand the key expressions and target language that they are learning. It is MORE difficult, however, to deal with the everyday classroom stuff. I cannot say "can I have one volunteer", or "That was unacceptable", or "please help me hand this out" or "please work with a partner" or "Can you please repeat the instructions".  Classroom management is REALLY hard when students do not understand you.

How's Korea?
Korea is wonderful! The food is SOOO good. After one month, there are still lots of new foods and places to try. I am not sick of Korean food yet. It isn't as cheap as people say it is though. Food is juuuust a little bit cheaper than Canada usually. There are REALLY cheap options available though if you dont want to spend money.
People are VERY nice and polite here. THey will go out of their way to make you more comfortable. Problem is, you can never tell if they really mean it cuz they are always way too nice.
I can only speak for my area because I haven't ventured out too far yet. But Korea never sleeps. There is always something to do, something to eat, something to buy. But just a 10 minute bus ride away are temples, hiking trails, mountains and palaces.

Are you enjoying your time in Korea?
Yes! Despite my rambling, I am 100% sure that this was the right decision to make. I am learning so much and having a ton of fun and I'm getting paid to do it. My father thinks that this is the best decision I have ever made for myself.  IF you are thinking about going or teaching abroad, don't think so much. JUST DO IT!