August 2018: It's Real, We're Here, We Made It
Or, alternatively, My First Impressions of Korea + Recap of the Past Three Weeks.
I have to admit, I feel a bit of hesitation writing this blog post. So much has happened in the past three weeks that I've been avoiding finding a way to write about my impressions so far.
But, of course, this blog is here for me to offer my impressions so--here goes.
First order of business: I will be making a vlog about my first 10 days with footage and my thoughts from Seoul, Busan, Orientation and Daejeon.
Update: Here's the vlog!
Second order of business: I'M IN KOREA!
Okay, that's over with. Somehow, even three weeks later, it still feels unreal but also perfectly real.
I arrived in Korea August 16th, 2018 at Incheon airport after a 13-something hour flight. My immediate impression? There was a huge poster of BTS right outside of immigration. So that was cool.
first flight: layover in seattle
I met up with some friends I'd met through the EPIK facebook/kakao groups and went to our airbnb, which was situated right in Hongdae, Seoul. It's hard not to be overwhelmed by the flood of people, the fashion, the lights, the street food. We were right in the middle of everything.
I quickly realized how poor my Korean skills were. I had casually studied for about six months before arriving, so I could read and write Hangul, but the feeling of helplessness settles in quick when you realize just how limited your vocabulary is.
This was something I knew would happen, but I don't think I was truly prepared for it--my only other experience abroad was a study abroad in Italy. Then, I had taken 4 semesters of Italian and was approaching conversational fluency.
So while I still experienced culture shock in Italy, I felt much more capable. In Korea, of course, I'm experiencing culture shock and the intense language barrier.
But that said, the culture shock hasn't been too unbearable. I think my years' worth of research prepared me for a lot of big and little things to expect. In fact, so much so, that a lot of things I was told (don't do this! don't wear that!) aren't as extreme as they were made out to be--at least, not from what I've seen so far. I think it's because Korea is changing so much, so quickly.
Anyway, together with my airbnb buds, we figured out how to order food, how to traverse the subway lines and how to manage the first 2 days.
After our quick stay in Seoul, we headed to Busan, where we spent one night there along with other Korvia folks. We saw a bit of Gwangali beach, and the next day headed to the airport to check in with EPIK staff. Most of that morning we spent lining up, getting our names called, dragging our suitcases all over.
I think that's when it started to feel real.
Finally, we headed to Daegu where started orientation. Honestly, orientation is starting to feel like such a blur already, but at the time each day felt like a week. I mean this as kind of a good thing.
I thought about dissecting orientation into a day-by-day, but so much happened that I really can’t.
So the gist is that I met tons of people from all over the world, attended some surprisingly helpful lectures, went on a cultural field trip to Andong, and spent most nights at the CU convenience store near campus drinking with friends.
Some parts were dull, some were really fun, others were exhausting. It rained a lot, which was a slog to be in. We had to prepare a lesson demo with a partner, and my demo turned out meh (in my opinion), but besides that, I really enjoyed orientation. It gave me a softer landing into Korea by offering a lot of structure and a support network, plus gave me real tips for being a better educator and eased any homesickness I had. I really believe orientation was totally necessary.
I also took the Kpop class and performed Bang Bang Bang by Bigbang at the closing ceremony. #bangerzforever
After orientation ended, we split up by our provinces/cities. I said goodbye to my Gangwon province friends, and us Daejeon people headed to…you guessed it, Daejeon.
It was actually so dark and rainy that day, it was kind of miserable and I think that added to our nerves. We headed to the Education Office Building (I think that’s what it was?) and had a quick ceremony where we met our co-teachers.
My co-teacher was immediately super welcoming and warm. She first took me to the school, where I greeted the principal, a few other teachers and ate lunch (my school lunches are soooooo good!). Unfortunately, I’ve gotten very shy with speaking Korean, and I was so nervous I didn’t say much beyond “annyeonghaseyo.” I think my shyness is pretty obvious. At least I got the bowing-and-shaking-with-both-hands part right?
Next was off to the immigration office to apply for my Alien Resident Card (which is basically essential for literally everything–I got a few days ago today, as of this posting!) After, she took me to my apartment and then to some phone stores to see if I could get a phone plan with my ARC number alone (you can’t :/). She also helped me move my stuff into my apartment and set up the wifi, so bless her.
Before she left, she fretted over whether I would be okay, saying, “I feel like you’re one of my kids!”
my apartment approximately 2 weeks after move-in
My apartment is small, but I expected that. It’s actually really nice and clean, and so far I love it.
I went out to dinner with a friend and hit up e-mart, which is a big department/grocery store in South Korea.
The next day I headed to school, where I introduced myself to my students (5th and 6th graders) and mostly observed.
The kids love that I love BTS (one class asked if I had a boyfriend, and I asked, “Yes! Do you want to see a picture?” They all nodded and so I showed them a picture of V from BTS. They all screamed.)
My students are mostly at a high English level, which is both exciting and unexpected. My job will be mostly to come up with games and work on pronunciation and grammar. My coteachers (I have two at my main school–none at my second school) decide the curriculum and head most of the lessons.
So that’s kind of it, as far as my initial transition to Korea goes. I’ve spent the last two weeks getting dinner with friends almost every single night, going to noraebang, shopping, buying house stuff and making lesson plans. We went to Seoul the first free weekend we had, which was a blast. I love Daejeon for living, but I love Seoul for visiting.
To sum, I love my group of friends, I’m working on my Korean, and I’m eating good food. There’s not much more I could ask for!
I haven't really been homesick except for one night. I was telling my coteacher about my mom, how she teaches deaf ed and how proud I am of her. And suddenly, I was trying not to cry. That put me in a mood the rest of the day.
I realized, as well as I was adjusting, I missed my mom and family so blindingly much. Also, whenever I see a golden retriever, I instantly miss mine back home.
I've also been thinking a lot about Italy. I miss Italian and how comfortable I am with it (it's funny to call myself comfortable with Italian--but in comparison of my Korean language skills...).
But, honestly, much of my study abroad I spent homesick and insecure and nervous. Time has made me forget a lot of that in favor of the cool remarkable things about my time there.
Being abroad has reminded me of those feelings but not because I'm experiencing them again. I feel like I'm adjusting better to Korea--whether that's because of something innate to Korea or because I've learned and grown from Italy, I don't know.
But there are things that feel very different, of course. In Italy, I could pass as Italian. But here, of course I don't pass as Korean. People stare a lot, which I mostly ignore. Sometimes I catch people taking pictures of me, and that bothers me a little. I expected to be a bit of a curiosity, but maybe not to that extent.
I'll update soon with my travel video, plus maybe something about my expectations vs reality of Korea. For now, I'm alive and living and thriving and surviving and all of those words.