So I have now been in Korea for a little over a week,
although it seems like a lot longer for some reason. Crazy to think that a few
months ago, coming to Asia to teach English was not even on my radar. If you
had told me in February that in a few short months I would be drinking soju and
singing Bon Jovi at a noraebang with near strangers across the world, I wouldn’t
have believed you.
The process happened extremely quickly which is probably a
good thing because it doesn’t give you a lot of time to worry or think about
backing out. I was job hunting one day on the U of T recent grads website,
happened to stumble across a listing for a third party recruiter who matches
recent grads with Hagwons (private English schools) in Korea. I applied just
for fun, was never really seriously considering it, and then the next day I got
a call and the process was started. The two months leading up to my departure
were a blur of paperwork, phone calls, research and preparation.
I only had one interview, which was with the school that I
am now working at. I just decided that if I got the job, I had to go. How could
I turn down the chance to travel and experience another culture all while
working and saving money? It was a no-brainer. Of course I thought about how
hard it would be to leave home, to leave my friends and family behind, but when
these opportunities come up you have to jump. I know that a year will fly by.
I survived my first week of teaching- They basically just
throw you in with no formal training. I am usually at the school by 9:30-10 to
do my lesson planning. I have 7 or 8 classes per day back to back so I have to
plan for all of them in the morning. I start teaching at 11:40 and don’t finish
until 8. My coworkers-both foreign and Korean, are all very nice and extremely
helpful. I have already met interesting people from all over the world. I am really
looking forward to getting to know my way around and becoming comfortable with
taking the subway alone so that I can explore different cities.
Here are my first impressions or things that I’ve noticed
since I’ve arrived…
The Good
·
Noraebang:
Seriously….how did I survive without these before? It’s karaoke but you go
with a group of people and you get your own singing room. SO much fun. People
think that Korea is very conservative….and in certain ways it is. But they
really know how to have a good time.
·
Friendly
friendly people: Everybody is so welcoming and nice. Especially if you make
the effort to learn a few words and communicate in Korean. People are very
respectful and keep to themselves. They
might stare out of curiosity when you’re walking in the street or at the
grocery store but very rarely will you get approached by strangers. (this is
only based on my total of one week that I’ve been here, but I have heard other
people remark about this as well.)
·
Safety:
I feel perfectly safe walking around
here at any time, night or day. I don’t worry about anyone snatching my purse
or cellphone or being assaulted in any way. My biggest worry is that I still
don’t know my way around very well or what my street address is. So taking
taxis or trying to ask for directions on my own can’t happen yet. But in terms
of crime, I’m sure the crime rate here is very low, almost non-existent.
·
Transportation:
Amazing subway and train system. You can pretty much get ANYWHERE, and it’s
very inexpensive. I can’t wait to learn how to use the subway.
·
Communication:
You would be completely surprised how easy it is to get by with just a few
key words and plenty of hand gestures. With that being said, I would still like
to take some Korean classes and I will devote a weekend trying to learn the
alphabet.
·
Lots to
do and see: Hiking is like a national sport here….there are whole
sections of department stores devoted to matching neon his and hers hiking
outfits. They remind me of the snowsuits from the early 90’s. I cannot wait to
partake in hiking and rafting weekends.
·
Cafes:
Before I got here, I was under the impression that coffee was going to be
hard to find, and very expensive. This idea was due to other blogs and things
that I had read. I was terrified of this
prospect as coffee is my raison
d'être. I will admit that I get excited to wake up in the morning just
to have coffee and read the paper. Old lady tendencies. In preparation, I took
up precious space in my luggage with my French press and a bag of coffee that
would hold me over until I could hunt down some form of caffeine. Anyways,
whoever said coffee was a scarce commodity here probably lives in a remote
village. There are cute cafes on every corner. This will make my year here much
more pleasant and livable.
The Bad
·
Humidity:
I was seriously
unprepared for how hot and humid it would be. Last Sunday I went to Seoul and found
walking around was actually unpleasant. I think I will wait until it cools down
a bit before I do any long walks/hikes. I am really looking forward to Fall for
that reason.
·
Cleanliness: Garbage here is left on street corners. Anytime.
It’s not a one day a week deal. It’s anytime. Sometimes people don’t even
bother to put it in bags, they just dump trash on the corner. As a result of
the heat and the garbage, it is quite smelly and unpleasant.
·
Smoking: It has been a very long time since smoking was
banned inside public spaces in North America. For a culture that is pretty
health conscious, I would say a lot of Koreans, men especially, are heavy
smokers. I don’t like to breath in smoke, and I find it really unpleasant for
my clothes to smell like it or to walk into my building and have it smell like
smoke. I guess it’s just something I’ll have to adjust to.
I will try to post
weekly updates!! Feel free to contact me on Facebook or by e-mail, It is nice
to stay connected J
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