Post #100
Days left in Korea: 2
My year in Korea is over. It's hard to believe. A year seems like so long ago. At the same time, these past 6 months seemed to have slipped away from me more quickly than I had anticipated.
Honestly, my life here has not always been easy. Sure I have managed to fill my blog with fun and exciting adventures: trips snowboarding, white water rafting, hiking and shopping. But in between all that excitement was the reality of living in a foreign country. And let's be real here, it's not always an easy task. Life in Korea can be wonderful because the people are so warm and friendly; they go out of their way to help you in any way possible. But the language barrier was a constant stress in my life. Although people around me say that my Korean is fine, I know that I didn't learn as much as I would have liked. There were countless times that I broke down crying in public. Sometimes it was because I couldn't express myself and get what I needed (problems with my cell phone come to mind on this one), sometimes it was because I was lost (it took me a long time to find the right bus one night in Gangnam), and other times life was just all too overwhelming.
Through it all though, I found strength in myself that I didn't know I had. I'm proud of myself. I am thankful for the friends, teachers, and students who have made my experience here in Korea a life-changing and wonderful experience. I wholeheartedly appreciate my time here. If it wasn't for those bad times, the good would never seem so sweet. A special thanks to Jennifer and Matt, my best friends, and to Helen, my co-teacher/friend.
I think I will always look back on my time here in Korea with fondness. I'm nostalgic and I haven't even left yet.
~Some pictures from my goodbye party~
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| Eating dinner in Gangnam |
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| Keith, Helen, and Sarah |
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| Jennifer and my replacement teacher, Yvette |
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| Sarah and Mali |
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| Mercedes and Matt at the bar Woodstock |
just read most of your blog. it gave some really good insight into living and teaching in Korea, something i'm currently planning to start doing soon. thank you.
ReplyDeletedid you ever return to Korea? do you still teach TEFL or are you back in the US?
all the best,
Jim
Hi Jim,
DeleteThanks for reading my blog! I'm glad you found it useful.
No, I haven't yet returned to Korea, but I would still like to one day. Most of my friends who I pictured in this post are still teaching/traveling. One is teaching ESL in Costa Rica, one might take a university lecturer position in China, one in Malaysia, and another is still in Korea.
No, I don't teach TEFL/ESL. I currently work at a college and coordinate the volunteer and service-learning program. I've been working this position since I returned to the US in 2010.
If you have any other questions, please let me know and I'll do my best to help you out!
Sarah
Hardships are blessing in disguise ;-)
ReplyDeleteAmadeus On The Catwalk
Wow! I'm waiting for my leave date to move to Yeongtong! I don't know how many times I've googled the area for sheer wistfulness and just found your blog! It was wonderful, thank you!
ReplyDelete~Robyn