Hello friends and family! I will be living in Gangwon-do, South Korea for the next year, working as an English teacher through the EPIK Program.
Currently, I’m learning Korean on my own, which is super easy—haha not really! My goal and hope is that I will be fluent in Korean by the time I come back to America!
If you are interested in keeping up-to-date with what I’m doing, please subscribe to my blog! I’m hoping to do some fun traveling to nearby countries, teaching the American culture to young Koreans, and discovering more of who I am!
Some prayer requests for those that would like to pray for me:
confidence in my Korean language abilities at whatever level I’m at
finding friends at work, in my city, and all around Korea
finding a church in my city
good health since Korea has pretty terrible air pollution (yay)
and just a fun, exciting year!
If you want to stay updated with what I’m up to, please subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
One thing I was really looking forward to while living in Korea was getting to travel to nearby countries during my breaks. That obviously wasn’t applicable during the pandemic, but before it started I was able to visit Japan for the first time! Looking back at my previous blog posts, I realized I had already written a short piece on my Japan travels… You can tell I look back on my posts often heh. Despite this, I hope you all enjoy a longer post about the trip!
I had a friend (J) teaching English over there so my friend in Korea (B) and I planned to visit her during our first winter break. We booked our flight to Japan through I think Kansai International Airport in Osaka and landed there near the end of January 2020. It was a later flight, so the only thing we did that day was eat food at a ramen place nearby.
The next day was pretty chill too as my friend and I were tired from the flight and traveling around Seoul the week before. We stayed at our friend, J’s place while she was working at school. After work, she met up with us and we explored her city of Akashi. We went to this pretty, colorful bridge lit up at night.
Our third day in Japan, the second full day, my friend and I took a train to Himeji Castle while our friend was working. We were able to walk around the castle grounds and follow a pathway throughout the castle itself, which was really cool. There was a shopping area nearby, so we did some clothes shopping (cause boy was it chilly!) and stopped by a Starbucks for Wi-Fi cause neither one of us thought we needed to get a Wi-Fi egg. Note for anyone thinking of traveling to Japan, don’t be like us–get a Wi-Fi egg or something similar! Once our friend was done with work, we met up with her and a few of her English Teacher friends at a vegan restaurant in Himeji.
Himeji CastleInside Himeji Castle
The fourth day in Japan took us to J’s high school as we spent the day going around with her to her different classes and meeting her students. Coming from a classroom of 8-11 year-olds with minimal English proficiency, it was a stark contrast to J’s higher level English speaking students. I was super impressed with their levels of English, as well as the different topics they picked for their debate and English conversation classes. The students seemed all very kind and sweet, and definitely found it exciting to have 2 more American English teachers in their school that day 🙂 For dinner that evening, we went to a local English teacher’s birthday dinner in the Hyogo prefecture, which was a few train stops away from where J lived. It was a different experience seeing just how many native English teachers were in the same area together, compared to the ten in my city back in Korea.
Remember when I mentioned getting that Wi-Fi egg, or something like that so you could have phone service? Well, once we returned from the birthday dinner that night, J’s apartment electricity had been shut off for an unknown reason, so B and I were without any phone service for the night, and hadn’t had any during the whole day while at J’s school. It was a funny (albeit tragic at the time) moment. It’s a little scary not having phone service in a different country, even if you’re there with friends. So again, don’t be like us, please I’m begging! Makes for a good story though, eh?
Our fifth day in Japan was a Saturday and the start to J’s time off from work for a few days. We had a planned trip to Osaka and Kyoto for our last few days, and hopped on the train to go there. After arriving in Osaka, we met up with yet another of J’s native English teacher friends as well as that friend’s two other friends. (Lots of friends, am I right?) We had lunch at this Surf Brunch place and stopped by our capsule hotel to drop our stuff off. It was B’s and my first time staying in a capsule hotel. In this particular one, each “room” has twelve capsule beds split into two smaller “rooms” with a sliding door for more privacy. Since we had 6 people on this trip, we were able to take one of the smaller rooms for ourselves. On the outside of this 12 bed “room” was a door with a keypad for even more privacy. This was a capsule hotel we were staying at, so there was a nice bathroom/shower setup, plus gym and swimming pool access (though this was the end of January, so no swimming for us).
Osaka Aquarium
Once our travel bags were left behind in lockers (yet again, more security), we set out on our trip for the remainder of the day. Our first stop was a hedgehog cafe. Gotta admit, hedgehogs are cute, but bitey creatures. The one I was sharing with J’s teacher friend bit her and nearly bit me at one point :’). After that we tried to find dinner, but J’s friend had something particular she wanted, so we passed by all these nice places while she tried to figure out what she wanted. Safe to say, that dinner was not tasty. Before heading out of that particular section of Osaka, my friend and I stopped by another Starbucks (hello Wi-Fi & bathrooms). Then, the gang went to the Osaka Aquarium, which was SO. COOL. First of all, this aquarium was huge. There was this massive whale lit up at the front entrance, and the entire surrounding area had similar marine life lights shining at night. Second, you had to take an escalator down to the entrance of the aquarium. Third, you kept going down. The aquarium setup was designed so that you basically circle downwards in these big loops as you take in all the marine life the place had to offer. There were different sections that branched off, but everything eventually wound back together, so you never had to double back. It was awesome; definitely the highlight of Osaka.
Sixth day in Japan, Osaka Day 2. Our first stop was the castle in Osaka. You could pay to enter the grounds, but since B and I had already done that in Himeji, we weren’t really invested in paying to see other similar castle. Next door, there was a history museum, which was free, so we did go through that. Part of the museum had miniature figures of historic Japan. I had my first fried sweet potato as we were wandering around the outside area after the museum. It was perfect for a cool day and tasted so good! You just peel the skins off and eat it just like that. I don’t remember what we did after that, but I know J’s friend was leaving early that day so after they said their goodbyes, the remainder of the group went to a grilling place for dinner then the capsule hotel for bed.
The next day, day seven, J’s teacher friend’s friends were also taking off, so we said goodbye to them, checked out of our capsule hotel, then hopped on another train to Kyoto. I think Kyoto is my favorite city in Japan. We went to the area near the Fushimi Inari Shrine for food and shopping. There was this really cool tatami Starbucks (yes, yes, I know another Starbucks) where you could sit on tatami mats inside the store, and it was a very old-fashioned designed place. Looking through my phone pictures, I couldn’t believe I didn’t take any pictures of the place! So please, search for “Kyoto Starbucks Tatami” and look at the pictures of it, cause it’s so cool! The next stop in the shopping area was a Studio Ghibli store, since all three of us were huge anime fans. I bought this cute little forest spirit plush while there. I wanted to buy the whole store, but thought that might be a little excessive. After the coffee and shopping, we went to the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is surrounded by lots of little shops (mostly selling touristy things). The shrine itself was honestly quite magnificent to see, even if it was super busy. According to Google, you can hike 2-3 hours to the summit of the mountain and back if you so choose, or just walk along the shrine’s trails as far as you want. There were lots of spots that branched off to new trails, so you could definitely spend a long while just wandering around the area. It was nearing nighttime when we took the train back to J’s place. Sadly her electricity was still shut off, so we had to use our phone’s flashlight to pack our bags for our flight the next day. It was chilly at night, but thankfully J had plenty of blankets to keep us warm while we slept.
After landing back in Korea, my friend and I were so happy to be able to read signs and kind of understand things! And to have phone service! Korean is so much easier to read! Japanese is a beautiful language, but Kanji is so so hard to read. Despite a few things, it was a nice trip to Japan! There were two things I wish we had done differently, though. One, Wi-Fi egg. Sounds silly, but it would have made things so much easier having phone service to at least look for things to do nearby, or literally just use maps to find our way around. Two, eat better food. I wasn’t super impressed with the food we did eat in Japan. The ramen place that first night and a curry spot on I think our day in Kyoto were the best meals we had. A lot of convenience store food (“konbini” in Japanese). I’m not a seafood person, so all that was out right away. But I would have loved to try some other things while there.
It’s been nearly three years since I’ve been to Japan. It was an interesting experience that first time; definitely not what I had expected, but still a fun time. I’m hoping to get to go to Japan in the next couple of years, so if any of you have suggestions on what to do, where to go, what to eat, please let me know! Stay tuned for my next blog: Busan Part 2. Oh, and happy new year!
Donghae is on the east coast of South Korea and is one of the medium-sized cities in the Gangwon province. It’s not too rural, but not as big as cities like Wonju and Chuncheon. A super cool detail about my city is I was a 10-minute walk away from the beach! Did I fully take advantage of said beach? No! But it was close! At the end of my time there, I began to take more walks in that area because there were so many walking trails! Donghae is called the “East Sea” in English and its flag has a picture of the sun rising. For my first New Years there (2020), my friends and I got to the beach at like 5:00AM to watch the sun rise on the new year, along with many other locals.
Gangwon-do is known for its mountains and natural resources. Donghae, specifically, has many hiking areas and outdoor places to explore. I lived just up the road from the Cheonggok Cave, which I did go to during the first couple months of living there. They gave you helmets to wear because some spots on the cave walk required you to bend down or duck to avoid hitting your head on the rocks. I was glad for the helmet because I did hit my head a couple times against the cave walls heh.
For privacy reasons, I won’t name my schools, but I taught at 3 over the course of my two years there. My main school was about a 15-minute bus ride from where I lived in the downtown area of Donghae. My first travel school, which I taught at from September 2019 to December 2020 was a 35-minute bus ride southwest of me. My second travel school which I only taught at for one semester, was a 10-minute bus ride from me and a 20-minute walk from my main school! I taught at my travel school on Fridays, and once I was switched to that second travel school, I realized I could just walk to my main school and save a little on the bus fare (super cheap btw). After my travel school classes, I was technically student-free, so I began to walk from my travel school to main school. I would stop by the cafe right next to my school for a drink. I could see the cafe from my classroom window even! I would always get an iced americano with some sweetener and then add my soy milk in that I kept in my classroom. The baristas soon began to recognize me and knew my order by heart. They even gave me some free treats every now and then, so sweet! Unfortunately my Korean was very limited so I could never really have proper conversations with them, but they were always so nice and welcoming.
That is one big thing I regret, is not learning the language better. Once I was getting ready to leave, my city finally offered an online Korean language course for our area, but by then it was too late 😦 I tried my best to self-study, but when you’re not allowed to use it in the classroom and the only person who would talk to me would speak in English, it was hard to motivate myself to learn. I knew enough to get by, but I still wish I had learned more.
I gotta say, Korean food is one of my favorite things of all time. After a while it did get a little boring to only have one type of cuisine around me, but after being in the US for over a year now, I sure do miss authentic Korean food! Some of my favorite restaurants in Donghae were: Pianos, Dukki, Kimbap Nara, Cafe Mellow, and Hometown.
Piano RestaurantDukkiHometown Cafe
Piano was one of the few non-Korean cuisine in my city. It was Italian food, with a super nice view to boot! Pianos was located in the Mangling area, right along the beach. It was a somewhat classy place and I enjoyed every time I went with friends!
Dukki is an all-you-can eat Korean place located downtown in my city. In the middle of each table is a grill/heater that you can put your choice of broth, noodles/rice, veggies, dumplings, rice cakes, and more! There was also plenty of fried foods to munch on too. Whenever we went there, you’d bet we’d be plenty full by the time we left!
Kimbap Nara is a more street-food style place. They made some of the best ramen hehe. Also the son of the owners spoke English and was super kind to us! It was sad when he left to do his required military duty.
Cafe Mellow was by-far my favorite cafe located just down the street from my apartment. The owner was super sweet and made delicious caramel macchiatos! I dream of having a nice cafe/bakery/bookstore on the corner of a quiet street.
Hometown I think was honestly my favorite food place in Donghae. It was a brunch place, the food was scrumptious, the owner super nice & learned English from one of our Korean friends (also super nice), and the aesthetic was too die for! At one point, the owner was even offering delivery! When I was doing my dreaded desk warming near the end of my time in Korea, I ordered from there a couple times and it was just as good!
There was also a McDonald’s and a Starbucks just right down the road from my apartment. I admit I did eat an unhealthy amount of McDonald’s while in Korea, but it just tasted better! (And I might have also missed Western food). But what’s funny is since being back, I have not touched McDonald’s once except for a single ice cream cone with my folks.
Donghae was a home away from home. While it wasn’t the biggest city, I found comfort in it after coming back from a big city like Seoul. However, once the pandemic hit and we were forced to stay indoors and not travel outside our city, Donghae did become a little heavy on me. But alas, I still miss that place. If you’re not an outdoorsy person, you might have a hard time finding things to do in Donghae, besides shopping and eating. One of the greatest things about my city was the endless walking/hiking trails in the area. In the city, I could walk down the street for about ten minutes or so and come upon a fork in the road for either the beach, or a trail that dipped in and out of beach territory. In the last 4-5 months before leaving, I found myself taking those nearby trails more often for some exercise. It was also really nice to just walk around and enjoy the quieter parts of the city. On a few occasions, I would walk to this cafe called Holly’s along that stretch of beach trail and stop for a coffee before heading back. I was usually pretty sweaty and wary of being around people for too long, so I would take my coffee outside and sit down for a while. I even got to video chat with my family on some of those walks and show them parts of Korea.
Mureung Valley
A 40-minute bus ride would take you to a place called Mureung Valley up in the western part of Donghae. I actually taught out at the elementary school closest to there. To get to Mureung, I believe there was only one bus route that would take you there and it didn’t come as often, so if you wanted to go, you had to plan ahead! But once you get to Mureung, they have a small line of shops, cafes, and eateries to enjoy after your hike. To get into the hiking/walking area, you had to either prove you lived in Donghae, or pay a small fee of $2. The first time my friends and I went to Mureung was in the first week or so of arriving in Donghae. I went there at least 5-6 more times (thanks pandemic) and each time I was amazed by the scenery. There were a couple trails to choose from, one was less intense and took only an hour or so to complete. The other was more intense, involved a LOT of stairs, but ultimately ended in an incredible view of the surrounding mountains and a fabulous photo spot. Seriously, I got elbowed once by this guy that was trying to take a picture of his wife even after she cut in line! Before the actual trail, there was a temple area that I think you could actually go into (but at some point they began construction, so that never happened).
Hanseom beach in Donghae was another nice place to go. There was also a trail you could take along the beach and rocks! Over the course of my time in Donghae, they added some nice amenities to the beach area. For one, a super nice bathroom area. Two, a really cool board walkway that split out into a large sitting area. Three, two nice swings with shade. And four, this sculpture that lit up different colors at night for another cool photo spot. One interesting about the beach is that no matter the weather, you’d always find at least three older Korean men trying to catch fish. They’d stick their fishing poles into this sturdy rod in the ground, and just wait for something to bite. I don’t think anyone ever caught anything though haha. In my last few months there, I started taking advantage of the beach with my friends. We had a couple picnics, dug some holes in the sand, went on a hike, (tried to) watch the Pink Moon at night, and just had fun hanging out together.
Twosome Cafe
One thing about Korea is that they love coffee and they love cafes. On almost every corner, you’d find at least one caffeine-addiction place! I didn’t get to try all the cafes in my city by the time I left (again, thanks pandemic) but I did knock several out. There was a lot of cake involved too, despite it not being high on my list of sweets. My favorite was of course, Cafe Mellow. The girl working the store was always so kind and had the cutest aesthetic inside. I also tried this cafe called Angry Bear. One called Foresta Cafe. That last one turned out to be an embarrassing moment for me, but looking back, it was funny. I would pass by the cafe on the way to and from school and one day I decided to get off the bus stop before it and try it out. Well, there was one door that looked to be closed, so I tried the other. The other led to a curtain store? That was confusing and the gentleman manning the store tried so hard to sell me some curtains. We went back and forth on the translation app Papago for a good ten minutes trying to figure out how I could get into the cafe next door. After centuries of embarrassment, I finally typed the right thing onto the app and he took me next door, made me a coffee, I paid, and soon left because there were weird old men watching me and I was dying from embarrassment. The curtain man was extremely kind and patient (and probably incredibly confused by me). I vowed to never go there again. But it did make for a good story!
Another outdoors activity was at the Sports Center up the hill from my apartment. There was a large track that went around the center and it was open to the public all day long. My friends and I would meet up and just walk around the track and chat. One of my friends tried to roller-skate but unfortunately that didn’t work out very well for her. It was nice to just have that time talking with them and not being stuck inside. I was always surprised to see so many people just hanging out in the area, either playing basketball, roller-skating, walking, or going to classes inside.
There’s so much more I can say about Donghae and Korea in general, so please look forward to more posts of just that. Til next time!
Like most things in life, I had a plan for this first blog return post to publish on the day I arrived back in America last year (August 26th). However, I ended up getting sick with whatever was going around my work and just tried to take it easy the last week. Anywhooo, it’s been over a year since I left Korea and returned to the US. And in turn, over a full year since I last posted on this blog. I was planning to retire it once I finished my adventures in Korea, but then missed the deadline to cancel my WordPress renewal and here I am, with another year of subscription lol. So I thought, “Why not write more about my time in Korea, even if I’m no longer there?” As such, please expect more posts in the following year that I have this domain name. I will try my best to write about my experiences in Korea.
To be honest, I was very bitter when I left Korea. I had all these plans for my time there and then the pandemic hit. While I’m glad Korea took the pandemic seriously, it also seriously put a damper on my fun plans in the country. I held on to that bitterness when I got back and anytime someone asked me how my time was in Korea, I would always say something like, “It was great… until the pandemic hit!” And while that’s mostly true due to the larger freedom to travel around the country, it’s also not the complete truth.
October 2019
I did enjoy Korea. It might feel like I’m trying to convince you (or even myself), but I did have fun there. It was an incredible experience and one that I will treasure until I die. I got to experience a new culture, ate incredible food, and made friends that I will not be forgetting anytime soon. I think if I hadn’t gone when I did, I would continue thinking of Korea through rose-colored glasses. In reality, Korea is like any other country. It has amazing, wonderful people who will leave an impression on you forever and it has incredibly horrible, nasty people that really should just never go out in society. It was good for me to have that “fantasy” broken down, because it’s really not healthy to view other countries as “utopians” when they’re anything but. It was also a good experience being a minority there. I will, of course, never understand the scope as to which minorities feel around the world, especially in America, but I honestly think everyone should experience what it’s like being a minority outside of their home country.
Before I get too off-track, I will start with a brief summary of my time in Korea and what led me to going over there. During my senior year of college, (and honestly before that) I realized I didn’t enjoy my major as much as I thought I would. The admins weren’t very helpful in showing me options other than med school and research, so I felt like there was nothing for me out there. I knew I needed a break from school, which also turns out is super scary suddenly not being a student. Like what do you mean I have to be an adult ALL the time?? I also knew if I was not continuing my education, I needed to work. I wanted to travel. And I wanted to experience something new. I had a brief encounter studying abroad the summer before my junior year and I thought it might be interesting to do something like that again. And eventually I came across a blog about a girl teaching English in Japan and becoming so good at Japanese that she was translating a solely-Japanese manga (Japanese comic book) into English. I thought “That is soooo cool! I wanna do that!” And thus began my interest in teaching English abroad.
My roommate and I were both in the same boat—graduates with no interest in our majors, and both interested in anime and K-pop. So we began exploring our options and as we took our TESOL summer course, we got acceptance invitations to both Japan and Korea. After a hefty pro-con list, we settled on Korea. Took the week-long orientation course somewhere in Seoul. Got our city placements. Started teaching in Korea.
For 2 years, I was teaching English at an elementary school in Donghae, Gangwon, South Korea. In my next post, I’ll go into more detail about the city itself. For those still reading, I hope you enjoy hearing more of my adventures!
So you’ve decided you want to return home after teaching abroad for two years? What are the steps to get home with minimal damage? Can you go one hour without crying about something? If you’re confused on what to do, this is the blog for you!
It’s quite a simple process.
Step 1: Decide you’re going home
Step 2: Sell literally everything you own so you only have to travel with one bag.
Step 3: Cry.
Just kidding.
The process of getting home is much more complicated! You’re gonna be crying at every step so just pretend it’s written with each step.
A furry baby in a harness
First things first. Decide you’re going home.
Tell your school you’re not renewing with them. Feel incredibly awkward when your co-teacher seems upset because now she must do more work.
Start selling/donating/trashing items you don’t want to bring back. Also start to question how in the world you obtained so many things…
Question everything.
Little by little, transfer money to your home bank. Did I really only make this much in my two years? Do I have a spending problem?
Did you buy your plane ticket yet? Did you spend over 8 hours waiting to speak with an actual human to get your cat on the flight with you too? Did you cry over the phone bill even though it was promised to be a “toll-free” number?
Cry.
Thanks to COVID, set up your testing appointment at the airport the day of your flight. “It only takes an hour!”
Within a month of leaving, get your pension.
Did you get rid of everything you own yet?
Book a hotel to stay at the night before your flight. Is it pet-friendly? Is it close enough to the airport? How can you get to the airport from your small city in the middle of nowhere?
Now buy a train ticket to get to Seoul. Then hop onto the airport train because COVID ruins everything and there’s no direct trains from your city to the airport anymore. *side-eyes COVID*
Clean your filthy apartment before the next human resident comes. This is quite tricky because you’re living in that apartment until your last day of the contract. And then the next day that new human is taking over… oh and the landlord wants to change the wallpaper four days before you leave.
Pack up everything else into your two suitcases and carry-on. Wonder why you still have so much stuff.
The day has finally come, leave your apartment with the grumpy furry baby and go to your hotel.
Be incredibly tense the next 48 hours until you finally arrive in the homeland.
Cry again.
Congratulations, you did it! You made it home! Now enjoy days of jet lag, but be able to understand everything that’s going on! Oh yeah, and get your second vaccination 😉
It’s been a while since I last updated. Spring has hit Korea and things are slowly starting to warm up. I’m not looking forward to the humid summer, nor the bugs that come with it. Already had some unwanted visitors, and of course, my cat was useless for getting rid of them. Pray for me ㅠㅠ
Seven months ago I posted about World Suicide Prevention Day. That post came together rather quickly as it but I spent the next 6.5 months trying to write and just failing. I wanted to post about my cool travels around Korea, but COVID just has to hang around, so not much has happened on that front. I did travel just for a few days back in early February during my winter break. Looking back, I should’ve taken the opportunity to travel more. There’s not another long break until August. Hopefully I can find some fun things to do to break up the mundane day-to-day working.
This won’t be a long post because as I’ve said before, I haven’t really done anything exciting in the last year, which is super depressing to think about. And I really don’t wanna get too depressing in this post; there’s enough disappointment in the world today.
I hope you all are doing well. If you’re not, that’s okay too. As much as I would like to say I’m doing well—I’m not—but I’m realizing it’s totally okay to feel this way, especially after a year of this damn pandemic. If you’ve gotten vaccinated, please continue wearing your masks and maintaining distance! Let’s overcome this virus together!
Quite refreshing after a walk
One thing I’ve started doing is walking from my travel school to my main school on Fridays. My travel school changed to one much closer, so instead of wasting money on a short bus ride, I’ve been walking and it’s really nice! Soon, I think it might be too hot and humid, but hopefully not for a while. The cherry blossoms were also blooming during a few of my walks, so I snapped some pictures. Also after my walks, I usually have about twenty-ish minutes before I’m supposed to be back on campus, so I use that time to grab myself an iced americano from the cafe next door. They have definitely memorized my face, and I think even the day and time I come in! They’re always such sweet ladies when I come in, so it’s a nice break before going back to school.
BTS has another online concert marathon this weekend, which I’m pumped for! Gotta find little things to make myself happy.
What’s one small thing that’s made you happy recently?
Take care everyone!
While you’re still here, please check in with your Asian American friends, support local Asian businesses, donate to organizations against anti-Asian hate, and most importantly, DO something when you see racist shit going down. There are many Anti-Asian Violence Resources to check out, so please take some time to read through them and support. Let’s #StopAsianHate #StopAAPIHate
“You, I, and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”
Disclaimer: This post is a little on the heavier side. If you’re not in a good space mentally for reading this, please consider saving it for another time. Take care of yourself. Also, I am doing okay, please don’t worry about me.
I was a bit nervous to make such a serious, personal post. I’m not one to really share my emotions and inner thoughts with others. It’s uncomfortable and scary to be vulnerable. But as C.S. Lewis quotes “To love at all is to be vulnerable.” So here I am. Plus, this topic is really special to me, so I hope to share my thoughts on it in an effort to shed light on such an important issue, as well as provide some comfort for those struggling just like me. Let’s get started.
To be completely honest, I thought there wasn’t much worth living for with all that’s been going on. For instance, I’m living in a country where I don’t speak the language, away from my parents and close friends. I’m stuck inside this 9-5 work cycle everyday with very little time for fun things, let alone coming home to a lonely home (a little less lonely now with a kitty). Even when there is time for fun things, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, so I can’t actually do fun things. When I saw the message for this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), I was skeptical. Is there anything worth living for? Is there an end to this pandemic, to the long distance between my loved ones and me, to the sometimes crushing loneliness I feel? It was hard to feel anything for this important day.
But then I think of how selfish I must seem. I have a steady-paying job, which includes pretty decent health insurance. I have relatively close friends whom I can rely on while being away from my parents. I have a roof over my head, a bed, clothes, food, water, and enough money to live. My loved ones are all healthy. BTS is out there doing cool things, which I get to enjoy. So maybe there are some things worth living for. However, if I know anything about my own mental health is that it’s hard to see the light when the darkness is smothering everything. That saying “without darkness, there is no light” really comes to mind during these trying times. I have a good life. I really do. I am incredibly blessed to have the things I have and to be loved by the people I love. But how I wish it were that easy to just focus on the good things.
My point with writing this blog isn’t to make anyone feel sad or worried for me (apologies if I’ve already done so!), but to ironically, shed light on this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day. The non-profit To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) has been an incredibly dear organization to me for the past seven years. I’ve found comfort in their blog posts and the messages of hope they proclaim. Despite how much darkness exists in this world, it’s comforting to know I’m not alone in my pain.
And despite the difficulties I’m facing right now with my own mental health, I am incredibly thankful to be alive at this moment. While I struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes, I know it’s there. I know if I keep moving forward, I will reach it one day. There are things worth living for right now, at this very moment. I encourage you to think of what’s worth living for to you. Share your thoughts with those close to you. Let them know you love them, and you’re thankful they’re alive today. If you’re able, please consider donating to TWLOHA as well for their WSPD. Now more than ever, people need help. They need to know that there’s light even in the midst of the darkness. And that while the light might be small—just like how tiny stars look from Earth—those same stars shine brighter than we thought possible. I’d like to think that we’re capable of shining brighter than we thought possible.
Here are some things I find worth living for:
For that day I finally get to hug my parents in person again
Seeing BTS in concert again–literally anything BTS does is worth living for
Cooler days and the changing colors of leaves
Wearing sweaters and boots again (can you tell I like the fall?)
Exploring more of Korea once it’s safe
Trying new food places with new friends
Long walks along quieter city streets
An iced caramel macchiato while watching the rain come down
To wrap it up, if you’re like me, the thought of “worth living for” may seem rather tough to think positively about. And that’s okay. I know I personally won’t be jumping about and smiling non-stop just because there’s things to live for. Healing takes time. It takes time to feel like yourself again, and sometimes you think you’re doing good, but you fall right back into the pain and the hopelessness. And that’s okay too. There’s no correct timeline of healing. It may prove difficult, but surround yourself with people who can encourage you, who love you, and want the best for you. Be there for them too.
There’s this book that I’m currently re-reading that has helped me through difficult times. It’s called “Reasons to Stay Alive” by Matt Haig. I want to share one of my favorite quotes from the book. It’s rather lengthy but worth the read.
You will one day experience joy that matches this pain. You will cry euphoric tears at the Beach Boys, you will stare down at a baby’s face as she lies asleep in your lap, you will make great friends, you will eat delicious foods you haven’t tried yet, you will be able to look at a view from a high place and not assess the likelihood of dying from falling. There are books you haven’t read yet that will enrich you, films you will watch while eating extra-large buckets of popcorn, and you will dance and laugh and have sex and go for runs by the river and have late-night conversations and laugh until it hurts. Life is waiting for you. You might be stuck here for a while, but the world isn’t going anywhere. Hang on in there if you can. Life is always worth it.
I want to believe this is true. I want to experience joy that matches this pain I feel. And I think one day I will get there. It might not be this grand explosion of happiness that stays with me forever. Joy might just be in the little things. So please, keep living my friends. Keep fighting for brighter days. Tell those you love that you love them. Don’t stop fighting for your future. Find that something that is worth living for.
Wow, it has been a while, huh? Seems like it should be March 2020 with all that’s been happening around the world, yet I’m still blown away that it’s already August. Eight months into 2020. Definitely has not been the year I thought it would be, but I’m grateful to be alive and healthy.
Neighborhood flowers pt. 1
How are you all? Are you well? Please continue to wear your masks and wash your hands, as well as social distance. My heart goes out to my home country right now. Praying for things to get better, and for everyone to remain safe and healthy.
Since my last post, I have started back to school. Though as I’m writing this, I’m currently on summer vacation for 2 weeks. From mid-April to end of May, I solely did online classes with my students. Doesn’t sound too difficult, but doing online English lessons with elementary students is not the easiest job in the world. Once classes resumed in-person, I could clearly tell who actually did their work, and who just slacked off for that month. Once June hit, my work started in-person classes again. There were a lot, and I mean, a lot of precautions taken, but knowing elementary students and kids in general, those precautions lessened quite quickly. Before students could enter school, they all had to go through the same entrance, where their temperature was taken, their hands cleaned with sanitizer, and outdoor shoes switched for their indoor shoes. Everyone was required to wear a mask. Desks were spaced out, with some classes had plastic dividers surrounding the desks. Lunch consisted of a plastic wall in the middle of the long tables and everyone sat one seat apart in a zig-zag format. Students were also closely monitored when they left the classroom by the school assistants. However, most of my kids were all up in each others’ faces by the end of July. Fortunately, my city has been safe from the virus so there’s not as much worry. As for the in-person classes, each class came to school only twice a week, and different classes came on different days to spread out the students present at school. The other days students had online classes to complete at home (or not to complete at home). I saw each of my classes once a week, which halved the number of classes I “taught” per week to eleven. Once I return to school at the end of August, the students will be in the second half of their school year, and so far, I think the schedule should remain the same.
Rainy days
It’s so crazy to think I’m coming up on my one-year anniversary in Korea! It definitely has not been the grand, adventurous year I thought it would be. I had so many plans to travel around the country, visit nearby countries, and do all these fun things. For a good 3-4 months, all of that was put to a complete halt. Traveling abroad is obviously still at a stand-still, but traveling within the country is okay now. The number of locals who do not wear masks anymore has increased, much to my dismay, but I still take precautions as do my friends. It’s good to be able to move around a little more. Despite my love for my city, it’s a little restrictive only staying here for months on end and not getting to travel. As I write this, I realize how arrogant that may seem, especially with the situation in America. I’m super thankful that Korea has done its part to contain the virus for the most part, but I think it’s human nature to want a bit of normalcy again.
Within my year in Korea, I have shamefully not learned the language as well as I wanted to. I’m going to start studying more intensely from now on (fingers crossed). But being stuck inside for months and really only communicating in English at work has put my language learning to a halt. I’m disappointed in myself, but realize the difficulties of learning a language that is very different from my own and that I haven’t directly needed to use on a daily basis. It’s funny to think that. I’ve survived nearly a whole year learning only the basics of the language. However, it is my goal for this next year to actually learn Korean and use it.
A few weeks ago, I made a big decision in my life and adopted a cat! So far, things have been going well, despite this being my first time with a cat all to myself. This past week, I finally got some courage and visited the local vet’s office with my friend to set up a spay appointment for my cat, as well as get her overall health checked. Serena, my kitty, was a friendly stray who approached an acquaintance of mine while being pregnant (the cat, not the acquaintance lol). My cat has some health issues, mainly due to not being spayed (oh the yowling at night!) as well as some gingivitis. It has been a rather overwhelming couple weeks learning of all her medical needs as well as a hit to the wallet. But she’s honestly the sweetest girl and has opened up tremendously to me. For those worried about what my plans are with her when I move back home, she will be coming with me! I’m not sure when exactly I’ll be moving back to America, especially if the virus continues as it has been there, but I will be bringing Serena with me no matter what.
It has been ridiculously humid here since mid-July so I have voluntarily stayed indoors most of the time (probably best for social distancing), but there are a couple places I like to visit within my province. The first place is the stretch of road alongside the beach. During the cooler months, my friend and I would go on a morning walk in search of coffee. The sidewalk by the beach has been a really nice place to just wander about, without feeling crowded. The second place I like to visit is actually in another city only forty minutes away, in Gangneung. There’s this coffee shop that hosts BTS birthdays and other events for fans. The owner is super sweet and recognizes my friends and I since we always come for a birthday event. The cafe faces the road outside and has a very cozy atmosphere inside. Plus it’s right by the train station, so it’s easy to get to/from my city. Back in June, my friends and I made the journey there for the first time in months to celebrate BTS’ debut date. One of my friends had recently gotten a car, so we all rode with her to practice safe social distancing from the locals. It was a nice reprieve from being stuck in my city for so long.
Hopefully my next blog will not take four months to post. I have a couple of adventures coming up, which will make for a more exciting post (I hope!) so please look forward to that. Again, my prayers go out to America (and the rest of the world) and my friends and family living there. Please take care, stay healthy, and communicate with your loved ones. I would love to hear from you all and know how you’re doing! I’m still on Facebook, Instagram, and email.
Neighborhood flowers pt. 2
To my family and friends, I love you guys and miss you all so so much! Please consider writing to me as I love receiving letters! If you’d like my address, get in contact with me if you don’t have it 🙂
To those who just happened to come by my blog, thanks for reading! I hope you are doing well and that you and your loved ones are healthy.
It’s been a hot second since I’ve written a blog post. A lot has happened since my last one: Travels. Work. Coronavirus. Staying in. For those worried, I am all right. I’m safe and healthy. Thankfully, South Korea has done an amazing job testing people and getting them the help they need. I’m currently working from home and school has been pushed back to the beginning of April—over a month later than the initial start date. Truth be told, I’ve gone a little stir crazy being inside for so long, but am now more comfortable being by myself, which is probably bad since I’ve become such a recluse that the thought of leaving my apartment to see people is not that appealing. However, since the number of cases has dramatically decreased in the country, I have more freedom to go out and do things, though I am always taking precautions. My friend and I took a trip to Seoul a few weeks ago for a BTS birthday cafe spree. Seoul was so empty! It was one of my favorite trips due to the lack of people. It’s nice to see so many people doing their part to stay healthy and not spread the virus. One unfortunate circumstance though is that the BTS concert in April was been cancelled and ya girl had a floor seat *cries for eternity*
But once again, I’m so proud of the way (most) Koreans have been taking this virus situation seriously and keeping the people’s health in concern. I’m praying for all those in the States and hoping that everyone stays safe and healthy!
Let’s see, the last time I made a blog post, I talked about the things I missed in the States. This time, I will share the last couple months of vacation/home-work. Late January-mid February I was on vacation. My friends and I (ranging from a group of 4 to 2 to 6) went on multiple trips around Asia.
Seoul History Museum
First stop: Seoul. I’ve been to Seoul so many times that I’ve lost count, but this was the first stay-cation I’d be taking in Seoul. My friends and I spent about four nights in the city, and many of our activities were touristy or BTS-related. The first day, we went to the Seoul Trickeye Museum and then the Harry Potter cafe. The former was very interesting and involved using your phone with the museum. You downloaded an app which would then show you the paintings “moving” or “coming to life” on the phone screen, giving an extra bit of fun to the museum. The latter was splendidly decorated in Harry Potter-fashion. Branches twirled around the doorways, old-fashioned books lined shelves glittered with small wizard-y trinkets. The food and drinks were designed after characters and objects from the series and looked quite nice. Despite the prettiness of the drink, it was rather normal tasting and way too expensive. Definitely would recommend this place if you’re a huge HP nerd and want to do something touristy. Otherwise, share with a friend to split the cost or take quick pictures then leave! Our group also went to a VR arcade (not a fan). I got super nauseous during my first ride and basically sat out the rest of the hour we were there. Definitely not my cup of tea.
Second day, We went to the swimming pool where the BTS music video Young Forever was filmed near Seoul National University. We also went to the Seoul Museum of History (totally free to enter btw) and ended our day with a fun Korean cooking class. The lady was super sweet and I highly highly recommend cooking with her if you want to learn how to make Korean food. [Instagram: hello_k_cooking].
Next day, we went to the secondhand bookstore Namjoon visited back in 2016, Daeo Bookstore. There we met a super sweet Japanese fan who gave us goodie bags filled with BTS merch! It was such a heartwarming moment meeting a fellow fan. I also saw my first Korean movie—with subtitles—in a theater. It was Parasite, which I think everyone should see. Of course, food was involved during this trip. Lots of it. We also went to an escape room on the last full day and made it out with 12 minutes to spare! Once our staycation came to an end, my friend and I went to our next destination while our other 2 friends went to a different part of Korea.
Trickeye Museum
대오서점
SNU
Young Forever
Daeo Bookstore
Our second stop? Japan. We have a friend that lives in Japan and works as an English teacher there. This was my first time leaving Korea since arriving back in August and it was a nice trip. My friend lives near the Kobe area and we stayed with her for a week. The first two days mainly involved lazing about due to our exhaustion from traveling so much (we are weak!). The third day, while our friend was working, we went to Himeji to see the castle and surrounding area. The castle was really cool and had a lot of ground to wander about. The next day, we went with our friend to her work to see what a Japanese high school is like. I was super impressed with the students’ English levels. They were having full conversations with me! Albeit they were a little shy. It was cool to see the difference between my elementary students and her high school students. A lot of the students were interested in continuing to learn English in college and use it in their jobs. The next three days were spent in Osaka and Kyoto. Osaka was—in my opinion—not the nicest. But it seems like I was not in the right area because everyone who’s gone to Osaka has loved it and thought it was super great! So next time, I’ll go to a different area. However, I was excited to go to the Osaka Aquarium. I love sealife and this was a spectacular aquarium. You start at the top (I think there were 8 floors) and wind your way down to see the different levels of sea animals. Next door to the aquarium was a giant ferris wheel. Since we went to the aquarium in the evening, all the city’s lights were on and the view was so pretty from the top of the ferris wheel. I was happy with those two places.
The next day, we saw the Osaka Castle and history museum. I was a big fan of all the miniature landscapes the museum had. I love small things. The next day the group split up (3 of my friend’s friends had joined us) and my two American friends and I went to Kyoto! Kyoto was soooo pretty! We first stopped by this rather fancy Starbucks where you could sit on traditional tatami mats while enjoying your coffee or tea. After that, we wandered down the streets which were filled with little shops and cafes. All of us are huge Ghibli fans, so we stopped by the Studio Ghibli store. I bought a little Kodama, which I sadly forgot to take pictures of while we were at the shrine! Speaking of shrines, we went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine and walked around there for a while. There were many people there, so taking pictures was hard, but worth it once we got those shots. After the shrine, we went back to our friend’s apartment to enjoy our last night in Japan.
Aquarium
View from Himeji Castle
Osaka Castle
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Sunset in Japan
ありがとう Japan!
Third and final stop: Busan. This would be my first time to Busan since moving to South Korea nearly five months before. My friends and I took a bus from our city to Busan and I was surprised by how fast it was! The first day there, we went to the Young-Do observation deck near Busan Tower. There were shops and restaurants around the observation area so we grabbed some food and looked out around at Busan. Once it hit evening time, we made our way to Busan Tower and watched as the tower changed lights. To go up to the tower, you had to take an escalator or a looooooooooon flight of stairs (can you guess which one we took?) and once reaching the top, we were met with a beautiful view of the city lit up at night. On our way back to our hotel, we walked by the Gwangan Bridge, which was of course lit up with pretty lights during the night. (I’m a huge fan of lights at night).
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Day 2, we went to the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, which was right on the ocean side. It was a very pretty place, especially with the waves nearby. This was during early February, when the virus was starting to get worse, so we all wore our masks. “Safety first, safety second, coolness third” —Jungkook, BTS. Around the temple area, there were a lot of stands with jewelry and religious knick knacks you could buy, and LOTS of food. I had a potato tornado and a nicely fresh hotteok (my first!). The hotteok was so delicious! It was filled with brown sugar and pumpkin seeds. Next, three of us went to the Busan aquarium while the other three wandered around Haeundae beach. I adore aquariums so I was super excited to go! Before we entered, our forehead temperatures were taken and we were given hand sanitizer. I really admire how South Korea takes preventive measures against the virus, but still allows people to enjoy their time out. Once we were done at the aquarium, we met up with our friends and wandered around Haeundae beach before getting dinner at a pork belly place.
Day 3! First, Gamcheon Culture Village. We really just walked up and down the streets here. As Google describes it, it is a “picturesque attraction featuring a village of colorful houses, painted murals, shops and cafes.” Which it really was! The Little Prince is very popular in South Korea, so they had a statue of the boy that you could take pictures with. The line was quite long for pictures, and to be frank, I wasn’t a big enough fan to warrant getting a picture (still a good book though). After Gamcheon, we went to the Running Man Theme Park, where we participated in short games and “missions” in order to compete against one another. There was also a silly, interactive “museum” on poop next to the theme park. At this “museum” of sorts, we became food (an apple I believe) and went through the digestive process to see how we become poop. It was a super silly place to go and definitely one to stop by if you like those sorts of things. That concluded our set plans for the trip, so we just wandered around Busan, ate some yummy food, and went back to our hostel for our last night.
All-in-all, it was a whirlwind of almost 3 weeks of traveling! I was definitely glad to be back in my city by the end for some relaxation. It was super fun to travel with my friends, visit a friend in another country, then rest for a while more before work starts.
Despite all that traveling, work still has not technically begun for me. I’ve been mostly working at home due to the virus. Thankfully, our numbers have been quite low the last couple weeks and things will hopefully go back to normal soon. I hope everyone out there takes care. Remember: wash your hands! Wear a mask if you can in public! And stay home otherwise!
1. Driving: I’ve never been a huge lover of driving, but boy do I miss it here. Being able to get in the car and go wherever I need to go as soon as I need to go. Or just drive around the neighborhood for a while. Not having access to a car here hasn’t really been that debilitating, yet I miss the freedom of driving myself. Taking the bus or subway (or taxi if I’m running extra late or just lazy) isn’t the same.
2. Speaking my native language: Obviously being able to speak English anywhere and everywhere, and having people understand me is greatly missed here. Some days I just don’t want to talk to anyone because I either don’t know enough Korean to make conversation or no ones even tries to talk to me. It sucks that my Korean language abilities are still so low yet I’ve been here for nearly five months. I really want to learn Korean because I think the language is really interesting and I obviously live in South Korea, but learning a new language is just so hard!
3. Kombucha and hummus: I adore the taste of hummus and kombucha and I’m so sad they’re not a thing here! I could always count on a kombucha to make me feel good after having an upset stomach or just for the fun of drinking. And hummus was the best sort of snack out there. Especially Cedar’s original hummus (or hommus, however it’s spelled). Anyone know of anything similar to kombucha or hummus in South Korea?
4. Family, friends, pets: although I’ve made new friends here, and FaceTime my parents almost every weekend, it really gets lonely here sometimes. Especially with the colder weather and drearier days, I could really use some nice hugs or animal snuggles. I’m not an overly physically affectionate person, but man, I would love someone to just hug me for a few hours right now. And I haven’t made any friends who have pets, so no animal snuggles there. It’s a struggle some days.
5. Tucson: I just miss my city back home. Though I only lived there for five years of the 18 years in Arizona, Tucson became my home during college and the year after. I miss the city and the people there. I miss the Desert Museum and getting to walk around seeing the animals. I miss the warm, dry weather. I even miss my college campus, which is crazy! I guess I just miss the ease of knowing where I was everyday I woke up and could go about my business with no worries of getting lost. I miss going to Barnes and Noble on a day-off to look at the books and probably spend too much money. I miss going to Sprouts! Oh how I miss Sprouts! I miss the River Walk outside my condo that I could take my pup on for walks when she came to visit. I miss seeing late evening Marvel movies with my friend or grabbing In-N-Out when I was craving a burger. I miss the beautiful sunsets. I miss the cats I used to live with—Titan and Echo, I love you! Also the couches I would spend days on, just chilling during vacation. I miss the Super Target on Oracle and Roger. I even miss the long drive I used to take to my school for work every day. Oof Tucson, I miss ya.
Honestly, I am by no means a food expert, nor do I have the photography skills (or the patience) to take nice pictures of my food before digging in, but I can say that the food here in South Korea is amazing! Below, I’ve listed six foods I’ve tried in South Korea that are delicious and definitely foods you should try if you ever visit.
NUMBER ONE: Dakgalbi 닭갈비
닭갈비 with 라면, yes please!
Dakgalbi is spicy stir fried chicken best served hot. It’s mixed with a spicy sauce called gochujang 고추장 (which is super good!) and served with rice cakes and ramyeon (at least in all my experiences). I first tried dakgalbi two days after moving to my city. My coordinator was showing a couple other new EPIK teachers and me around our city and we stopped at a dakgalbi place to eat. The chicken was really good and cut into small pieces with no bones, and we added rice cakes and ramyeon 라면 (Korean version of “ramen”) to our meal. With this meal, you can wrap the meat, rice cakes, and ramyeon in lettuce and eat it that way. The meal usually has some sort of green onions and sweet potato in the mix as well. Dakgalbi remains one of my favorite dishes in Korea thus far.
NUMBER TWO: Bibimbap 비빔밥
“Bibim” means mixed ingredients and “bap” means rice, making bibimbap a dish of cooked white rice topped with namul (sauteed and seasoned vegetables), fried egg, and kimchi. Whenever I have bibimbap, I add gochujang (chili pepper paste) to the mix for a little extra kick. My favorite way to eat this meal is in a stone bowl (called a “dolsot bibimbap”). Dolsot bibimbap and regular bibimbap are basically the same dish, just one is served in a stone bowl, which keeps the rice and vegetables warm from start to finish! This is another favorite meal of mine as you can never really go wrong with it!
NUMBER THREE: Tteokbokki 떡볶이
My poor rendition of tteokbokki
Tteokbokki is stir fried rice cakes, usually placed in a spicy sauce. I first tried these when I went to a dakgalbi place. The rice cakes were mixed in with the chicken, vegetables, and ramyeon. Rice cakes are very chewy and soft to eat, and can come in many different shapes. So far, they’re tasteless on their own, which is why they’re usually in a spicy sauce. I cooked my own for the first time a few weeks ago and they weren’t too bad! The sauce was definitely not as good as a restaurant, but it was decent for my first attempt.
NUMBER FOUR: Kimchi 김치
Kimchi is always a must at school lunch
Ah kimchi… The all-time favorite banchan of South Korea made from fermented cabbage and radish. I think I’ve eaten kimchi almost every single day, sometimes more than once during the day. The cabbage or radish (or both depending on the person making it), is mixed with various spices to create a spicy taste to it. Despite not enjoying the taste of kimchi in America, I can safely say I really like kimchi, especially the cabbage kind.
NUMBER FIVE: Hoppang 호빵
Hoppang is a warm snack usually eaten during the winter months in Korea. It’s made of warm fermented yeast filled with red bean paste, which gives it a sweet flavor. I had my first experience with hoppang for school lunch one day and accidentally mistook it for mandu since there is a mandu stand that sells hoppang near my apartment. The hoppang wasn’t warm for lunch, but my co-teacher told me that it tastes even better warm, so I’m excited to try it heated up! Sadly no picture was captured for this food.
NUMBER SIX: Tteok 떡
Another variation of a rice cake. Tteok is small oval-shaped rice cakes filled with sweet things. My favorite is steamed tteok, which is filled with brown sugar and red bean paste. I looked up how to make tteok online, so don’t take my word for how it’s actually made hehe. The main ingredients for steamed tteok are rice or glutinous rice or sometimes both mixed together. Other times, grains, beans, sesame seeds, wheat flour, or starch are mixed together with the rice to create the sticky, chewy texture. For the stuffing, anywhere from nuts and fruits to vegetables and honey can be added. After combining the ingredients, the rice is soaked in water for a while, then ground up. The rice is then placed in a steamer (called a “siru”) and steamed for a certain amount of time, depending on the type of tteok being made. Usually the rice is placed in a circular steamer in one big lump to later be cut into smaller bits. Then, the stuffings are added in after the cutting of the steamed rice. Designs may be added to the steamed tteok for a more aesthetically-pleasing rice cake.
To be completely honest, I’m not even sure “steamed tteok” is what I’m thinking of when I think about the tteok I’ve eaten. There’s just so much variation! I should take more pictures next time and ask a Korean friend what type of tteok it is.
I’ve tried many, many more foods during my four months in South Korea, some delicious and some that still make me shudder to think about. The more Korean food I eat, the more I love it. Maybe my next blog post should be on drinks I’ve had in Korea. There’s certainly some interesting ones out there!
meghan-o in gangwon-do 