When I tell people that I am moving to Korea to teach English, I usually get basically the same responses.
"Really?! That's awesome."
"I know someone who taught English in China and they loved it!"
"Do you speak Korean?"
Yes, it is awesome. Most people I've heard about going to China are volunteers that pay their own way, I'm going to be an actual teacher that gets paid (not to brag or anything). And, no, I don't speak Korean, but you can bet I'm going to learn.
I don't often get asked why, but I know that there are those out there who are curious as to why I decided to teach English in Korea. So, I guess it's story time (and this could be a long story):
Once upon a time, just two weeks before her last finals before graduation, Amber sat alone in her apartment. Her roommates were studying or gone for the weekend and the effort to find out if the neighbors were doing anything fun that night was too much. After all, sometimes a night being a hermit is just what you need. Out of sheer boredom, Amber began browsing the titles available to watch on Hulu, hoping to find something worth watching. She never imagined this is where fate would make its appearance.
(But really.)
The title was innocent enough, if slightly strange, and one she had heard before in passing. "Boys Over Flowers." "Hmmm..." she thought. "It's Korean. Aimee really likes Korean dramas and is always trying to get me to watch them. I have nothing else to do. Let's give it a shot."
(Ironically enough, I blame Aimee, my roommate from California, for my Korean drama obsession and not Jua, my roommate from Korea. Also, Aimee happens to be serving a mission in Daejeon, South Korea right now. Perhaps I shall surprise her with my appearance...)
The fateful click occurred at approximately 7 pm on a Friday night. At approximately 5:30 Saturday morning, Amber decided it was probably time to turn it off and get some sleep. The weekend was lost. She had to know what happened next! Would Goo Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di finally get to be together or would his evil mother win out? Would Ji Hoo cut his hair? Would anyone ever communicate properly??
(I might be slightly ashamed to admit to the next part of my story...)
"Boys Over Flowers" boasts 25 episodes. Not those wimpy 45 minute episodes with 15 minutes of commercials we have here in the States. Full hour long episodes. Amber found herself completely absorbed, and before she knew it all 25 episodes had been watched -- in less than 3 days. "That's it," she told herself, "no more Korean dramas until after finals are over" -- and then she proceeded to watch 3 more over the next two weeks.
I know, I know. This all sounds like I'm just obsessive and have no self-control (which is probably true), but this was actually quite important in the long run. After that weekend, I found myself totally immersed in the world of K-Drama and K-Pop. I spent basically all of last summer babysitting my niece and watching Korean Dramas. In November, I drove all the way to L.A. with other K-Pop loving friends to see BigBang in concert (you know you're jealous). I would much rather meet Korean celebrities than American celebrities. Yes. I'm slightly crazy.
After deciding to go on a mission, and then deciding to NOT go on a mission last year (a very stressful experience, and one I'm not going to get into here), I knew that I needed to do something with my life. I needed to get out of my parent's house and be independent. I needed to take a chance. But at the same time, I was afraid of jumping into anything too fast and simply making a decision based on an obsession and too much emotion.
It was around this time that I found EPIK -- a program sponsored by the Korean government to place native English teachers in public schools to aid with English education. I had previously looked into programs where I could be a volunteer English teacher, but they didn't seem to be quite what I wanted. EPIK was different. I could get a job in a public school, they would provide an apartment for me, I would get a monthly salary, and I would have an English speaking co-teacher. And, to top it all off, I had the qualifications they were looking for.
This was it. The opportunity I was looking for. I could combine two of my very favorite things - Korea and English - and experience the world and get paid.
OK. So the decision really wasn't that easy to make. In fact, the initial thought of moving to Korea to teach English was absolutely and completely terrifying. And I had no idea if I would be able to even get an interview with EPIK, let alone a job. But I knew I had to try. If it worked out it was meant to be, and if it didn't work out, there was something else for me to do in this world.
Well, it obviously worked out, and I couldn't be happier or more content. My "obsession" has become more of a deep love for the Korean language, people, and culture (though, maybe I'll start blogging about Korean dramas and music once in a while, just for fun). I can't wait until I get to live in the midst of all of it. I can't wait to be completely lost in something so completely different from what I'm used to. I can't wait to be in a classroom full of students (you know I'm going to be the "cool" teacher). I can't wait for this experience to begin!!
And now, to sign off of this very long blog post, I shall leave you with some pictures of my city!! (And yes, I'll already calling Daejeon my city even if I'm not going to live there for another month.)
"Really?! That's awesome."
"I know someone who taught English in China and they loved it!"
"Do you speak Korean?"
Yes, it is awesome. Most people I've heard about going to China are volunteers that pay their own way, I'm going to be an actual teacher that gets paid (not to brag or anything). And, no, I don't speak Korean, but you can bet I'm going to learn.
I don't often get asked why, but I know that there are those out there who are curious as to why I decided to teach English in Korea. So, I guess it's story time (and this could be a long story):
Once upon a time, just two weeks before her last finals before graduation, Amber sat alone in her apartment. Her roommates were studying or gone for the weekend and the effort to find out if the neighbors were doing anything fun that night was too much. After all, sometimes a night being a hermit is just what you need. Out of sheer boredom, Amber began browsing the titles available to watch on Hulu, hoping to find something worth watching. She never imagined this is where fate would make its appearance.
(But really.)
The title was innocent enough, if slightly strange, and one she had heard before in passing. "Boys Over Flowers." "Hmmm..." she thought. "It's Korean. Aimee really likes Korean dramas and is always trying to get me to watch them. I have nothing else to do. Let's give it a shot."
(Ironically enough, I blame Aimee, my roommate from California, for my Korean drama obsession and not Jua, my roommate from Korea. Also, Aimee happens to be serving a mission in Daejeon, South Korea right now. Perhaps I shall surprise her with my appearance...)
The fateful click occurred at approximately 7 pm on a Friday night. At approximately 5:30 Saturday morning, Amber decided it was probably time to turn it off and get some sleep. The weekend was lost. She had to know what happened next! Would Goo Jun Pyo and Geum Jan Di finally get to be together or would his evil mother win out? Would Ji Hoo cut his hair? Would anyone ever communicate properly??
(I might be slightly ashamed to admit to the next part of my story...)
"Boys Over Flowers" boasts 25 episodes. Not those wimpy 45 minute episodes with 15 minutes of commercials we have here in the States. Full hour long episodes. Amber found herself completely absorbed, and before she knew it all 25 episodes had been watched -- in less than 3 days. "That's it," she told herself, "no more Korean dramas until after finals are over" -- and then she proceeded to watch 3 more over the next two weeks.
I know, I know. This all sounds like I'm just obsessive and have no self-control (which is probably true), but this was actually quite important in the long run. After that weekend, I found myself totally immersed in the world of K-Drama and K-Pop. I spent basically all of last summer babysitting my niece and watching Korean Dramas. In November, I drove all the way to L.A. with other K-Pop loving friends to see BigBang in concert (you know you're jealous). I would much rather meet Korean celebrities than American celebrities. Yes. I'm slightly crazy.
After deciding to go on a mission, and then deciding to NOT go on a mission last year (a very stressful experience, and one I'm not going to get into here), I knew that I needed to do something with my life. I needed to get out of my parent's house and be independent. I needed to take a chance. But at the same time, I was afraid of jumping into anything too fast and simply making a decision based on an obsession and too much emotion.
It was around this time that I found EPIK -- a program sponsored by the Korean government to place native English teachers in public schools to aid with English education. I had previously looked into programs where I could be a volunteer English teacher, but they didn't seem to be quite what I wanted. EPIK was different. I could get a job in a public school, they would provide an apartment for me, I would get a monthly salary, and I would have an English speaking co-teacher. And, to top it all off, I had the qualifications they were looking for.
This was it. The opportunity I was looking for. I could combine two of my very favorite things - Korea and English - and experience the world and get paid.
OK. So the decision really wasn't that easy to make. In fact, the initial thought of moving to Korea to teach English was absolutely and completely terrifying. And I had no idea if I would be able to even get an interview with EPIK, let alone a job. But I knew I had to try. If it worked out it was meant to be, and if it didn't work out, there was something else for me to do in this world.
Well, it obviously worked out, and I couldn't be happier or more content. My "obsession" has become more of a deep love for the Korean language, people, and culture (though, maybe I'll start blogging about Korean dramas and music once in a while, just for fun). I can't wait until I get to live in the midst of all of it. I can't wait to be completely lost in something so completely different from what I'm used to. I can't wait to be in a classroom full of students (you know I'm going to be the "cool" teacher). I can't wait for this experience to begin!!
And now, to sign off of this very long blog post, I shall leave you with some pictures of my city!! (And yes, I'll already calling Daejeon my city even if I'm not going to live there for another month.)
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