My Newsletter to the Church
About a month or so ago one of the members from my church back home asked me to write up a blurb about my life in Korea. IT was about Thanksgiving time when she asked, so she wanted me to talk mostly about what I was thankful for. I also took the opportunity to write about my life here, as well as the differences between Korea and the USA. And now I'm posting it for others to read too. Feel free to read and comment
Dear First Church,
It’s been almost three months since I arrived at the airport in South Korea, a confused foreigner without a word of Korean to help her get around. Since then I’ve learned to adapt to my lack of Korean and my horrible sense of direction. I can’t say I’ve become totally accustomed to living in Korea, but I’m getting more used to it and enjoying my time here more in the process.
I started out with a week long training that probably should have been stretched out into two to three weeks. The training was difficult, but after that week we were finally sent to our final destinations. I can remember the first day of class, feeling totally overwhelmed by the fifteen elementary kids sitting in front of me, expecting me to teach a class. Our teaching careers had begun.
During that time I’ve grown as a teacher and became more confident in my speaking skills and became more comfortable standing in front of a class. I teach five different classes, mostly with elementary kids or middle school kids, so being comfortable speaking in front of others was a necessity. I teach two three hour classes a day, with a grand total of six hours a day. We work evening shifts from 4:30 to 10:30, with mornings and Saturdays and Sundays off. I manage to keep myself busy on Saturdays hanging out with friends, or visiting the electronics shopping district, and Sundays at a local church.
Living in South Korea has really helped me to learn to appreciate the things I had in the US. Korea is by no means a third world country, but like all countries there are things here that don’t exist in the US and vice versa. One of the hardest things to deal with in Korea was the lack of a dryer. Clothes are instead hung on a drying rack and left to dry. Since clothes then take longer to dry, you have to plan out when you will wash your clothes to ensure that they’re dry by the time you need to wear them. Another thing to adjust to here was the spicy food and the night life. I’m no fan of spicy food and I recently found I don’t have the stomach for it, which means I must be more selective when dining out and purchasing food since there is not a big variety of it out here. The Korean night life is probably something that wouldn’t be so strange in bigger cities like Chicago, but coming from a sleepy suburban where no one is out past one o’clock, it was strange for me. Here people are out at all hours, making noise and generally having a good time. It’s not unusual to make a run out to the local convenience store at two o’clock in the morning and pass all sorts of people, some a little too merry, on the way. Despite this, I have never been bothered once in Korea or pursued by people who had a little too much to drink. People here generally leave others alone, even while tipsy.
However, there are also some things I’ve learned to appreciate about Korea. The biggest is probably the transportation. Where we live in the US it is nearly impossible to get around without a car, but here it’s much easier and even more practical to take public transportation instead of driving a car. South Korea employs both buses and subway trains for traveling, and they also have large sidewalks with walking and bike lanes. It’s about a fifteen to twenty minute walk to the nearest subway station, where I can go to pretty much anywhere I want in Seoul or Incheon. Subway tickets are about 1,500 won to 3,500 won per trip ($1.50-3.00), which can be even cheaper if you buy a t-money card. Another good thing about Korea is the variety of American products you can buy. There is an American style McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Outback Steakhouse. And that’s only in my neighborhood. Around the Incheon area and Seoul there are also numerous American restaurants like Starbucks, Quizno’s, Subway, and Burger King. There is also a Costco here, which has all sorts of American products in bulk. This makes living in Korea a little easier since I can get the food I am familiar with here. Another great thing is the people I’ve met. The first person I met in the apartment complex happened to not only work for the same company as me, he also turned out to be a Christian! We hang out a lot, especially after work, and he teaches me Korean, as he came here to study it. He even went so far to find and introduce me to a church here. This has been really helpful, especially on the days where I missed home or had a bad day at work. I’ve also made friends with a Korean girl who is studying English and is also a Christian. I met her one time in McDonald’s and we’ve hit it off ever since. She’s helped me tremendously over the past three months, bringing me to cultural festivals, showing me around town, translating for me, and helping me stock up on food at Costco. She and my friend Charles have truly been godsends to me, and I am extremely grateful for their company during my time here.
Overall, Korea has been a wonderful opportunity for me. I’m able to experience another culture, all the while being able to keep a close reach on the things that are important to me, like God and my family and friends. I don’t plan on staying more than a year as I have too many connections to the US that I don’t want to give up, but it’s definitely been an experience of a lifetime and I don’t think I’ll ever regret making my decision to work overseas.
Sincerely,
Traci
Dear First Church,
It’s been almost three months since I arrived at the airport in South Korea, a confused foreigner without a word of Korean to help her get around. Since then I’ve learned to adapt to my lack of Korean and my horrible sense of direction. I can’t say I’ve become totally accustomed to living in Korea, but I’m getting more used to it and enjoying my time here more in the process.
I started out with a week long training that probably should have been stretched out into two to three weeks. The training was difficult, but after that week we were finally sent to our final destinations. I can remember the first day of class, feeling totally overwhelmed by the fifteen elementary kids sitting in front of me, expecting me to teach a class. Our teaching careers had begun.
During that time I’ve grown as a teacher and became more confident in my speaking skills and became more comfortable standing in front of a class. I teach five different classes, mostly with elementary kids or middle school kids, so being comfortable speaking in front of others was a necessity. I teach two three hour classes a day, with a grand total of six hours a day. We work evening shifts from 4:30 to 10:30, with mornings and Saturdays and Sundays off. I manage to keep myself busy on Saturdays hanging out with friends, or visiting the electronics shopping district, and Sundays at a local church.
Living in South Korea has really helped me to learn to appreciate the things I had in the US. Korea is by no means a third world country, but like all countries there are things here that don’t exist in the US and vice versa. One of the hardest things to deal with in Korea was the lack of a dryer. Clothes are instead hung on a drying rack and left to dry. Since clothes then take longer to dry, you have to plan out when you will wash your clothes to ensure that they’re dry by the time you need to wear them. Another thing to adjust to here was the spicy food and the night life. I’m no fan of spicy food and I recently found I don’t have the stomach for it, which means I must be more selective when dining out and purchasing food since there is not a big variety of it out here. The Korean night life is probably something that wouldn’t be so strange in bigger cities like Chicago, but coming from a sleepy suburban where no one is out past one o’clock, it was strange for me. Here people are out at all hours, making noise and generally having a good time. It’s not unusual to make a run out to the local convenience store at two o’clock in the morning and pass all sorts of people, some a little too merry, on the way. Despite this, I have never been bothered once in Korea or pursued by people who had a little too much to drink. People here generally leave others alone, even while tipsy.
However, there are also some things I’ve learned to appreciate about Korea. The biggest is probably the transportation. Where we live in the US it is nearly impossible to get around without a car, but here it’s much easier and even more practical to take public transportation instead of driving a car. South Korea employs both buses and subway trains for traveling, and they also have large sidewalks with walking and bike lanes. It’s about a fifteen to twenty minute walk to the nearest subway station, where I can go to pretty much anywhere I want in Seoul or Incheon. Subway tickets are about 1,500 won to 3,500 won per trip ($1.50-3.00), which can be even cheaper if you buy a t-money card. Another good thing about Korea is the variety of American products you can buy. There is an American style McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Outback Steakhouse. And that’s only in my neighborhood. Around the Incheon area and Seoul there are also numerous American restaurants like Starbucks, Quizno’s, Subway, and Burger King. There is also a Costco here, which has all sorts of American products in bulk. This makes living in Korea a little easier since I can get the food I am familiar with here. Another great thing is the people I’ve met. The first person I met in the apartment complex happened to not only work for the same company as me, he also turned out to be a Christian! We hang out a lot, especially after work, and he teaches me Korean, as he came here to study it. He even went so far to find and introduce me to a church here. This has been really helpful, especially on the days where I missed home or had a bad day at work. I’ve also made friends with a Korean girl who is studying English and is also a Christian. I met her one time in McDonald’s and we’ve hit it off ever since. She’s helped me tremendously over the past three months, bringing me to cultural festivals, showing me around town, translating for me, and helping me stock up on food at Costco. She and my friend Charles have truly been godsends to me, and I am extremely grateful for their company during my time here.
Overall, Korea has been a wonderful opportunity for me. I’m able to experience another culture, all the while being able to keep a close reach on the things that are important to me, like God and my family and friends. I don’t plan on staying more than a year as I have too many connections to the US that I don’t want to give up, but it’s definitely been an experience of a lifetime and I don’t think I’ll ever regret making my decision to work overseas.
Sincerely,
Traci