It’s that time of year again when we say goodbye to the friends we’ve made in Korea and welcome the new intake of teachers, and in about 3 weeks it’ll be time for me to depart as well. It’s crazy how fast two years abroad can go, especially when I think back to how overwhelmed I was when I first came here. Just the sheer thought of making it through one week of teaching was enough to set me into a panic back then.
Nevertheless, I made it through relatively unscathed (except for my chin #shredgnar), and I’m quite satisfied with my time spent here. I reached a conversational level in Korean, went on plenty of hikes, discovered a love of ultimate frisbee, and met some truly stellar people.
Indeed, my time in Korea has taught me many things. So, in an effort to distill some of those down and store them for future use, I’ve compiled a little list of lessons learned. Without further ado, here they are:
1. Utilize Your Time
I’ve come to the realization that having loads of free time can either be a blessing or a curse, depending on what you do with it. Spend it on mindless consumption and you’ll feel a sense of purposelessness. Dedicate it to acquiring some kind of skill and you’ll feel fantastic. If you defined yourself based solely on what you do during your free time, would you be satisfied with that person?
I know I’ve touched on this point before in a previous post or two, but it’s something that really helped me get through some of the tougher stretches in Korea, especially on lonely weeknights. Spending my after-school time on productive activities really helped me stay positive.
2. Explore Your own Backyard
It’s funny when I meet people abroad who’ve traveled to the U.S. Oftentimes they’ve visited more places than I have. On the other hand I’ve probably hiked more mountains in Korea than a lot of Koreans I’ve met. When it’s your own home getting out and exploring just seems to have much less appeal, but there’s a certain joy to be had in being a tourist in your own neighborhood. Because of it’s easy access to mountains, beaches and bike trails, going for a ride into a previously unknown area of Ulsan quickly became one of my favorite weekend activities.
3. Community is Everything
As I’ve mentioned in my ultimate frisbee post, the community your surround yourself has such an impact on your experience, whatever it is that you’re doing. I was quite fortunate in finding such a solid group of people through ultimate, without whom my Korea experience likely would have been drastically different. Positive people beget positive people.
4. Stay Curious
Living abroad is exciting! Everything is unique and new! ...for a little while. When moving someplace new you’ll eventually reach a point where you’re more or less settled. You know how to get around, where to shop, what to do on the weekends, who your friends are, etc. I feel like I hit that point around the 6-month mark here. After that point life here can become less of an adventure and more of just another job. I also think this is why the second or third year abroad can become a low point for some EFL teachers abroad.
If you stay curious, though your new home can still remain unique and ever-changing. For me, this meant joining a higher level frisbee league and doubling down on my Korean study during my second year, as well as hiking some further out mountains. There’s far too much out there to ever stop learning or trying new things.
So there you have it, my time here distilled down to 4 little lessons. Of course there’s more, but some things remain hard to put into writing. I know I’ll always be grateful for the time spent here and the many life lessons that came with it.
I remember my professor from my Hospitality Management capstone class explaining his early post-college years to us. He mentioned how he changed his location about every two years for a while because it just seemed to be the right amount of time spent in one place.
It’s been a spectacular two years, Korea. Thanks.
작년과 재작년 너무 좋아서 감사합니다, 한국. 훗날에 다시 만나야 지!
-라이언
