Tomorrow I start my second year teaching here in Korea. I will officially meet my new students Tuesday, but tomorrow will begin the actual school year. The students have been off for the past two weeks, while I have had to desk-warm during this time. It was admittedly painful. I was bored, miserable, cold, and pissed. Some of my friends had off during this time. Their schools said they simply didn't need to show up until March 4th (tomorrow). Not mine. We continue to try to find the reasoning behind this thinking but fail every time. It's just one of those things you have to accept. So the last few days as I was getting increasingly annoyed at the fact that I hadn't seen a single soul walk down my hallway all day, I started leaving early. Whether that was the right or wrong choice, I did it. There's only so much you can take with being put up in a room on the top floor of a building with no communication all day. (Not to mention 7 cars in the parking lot at any given point.)
On more positive news, I've gotten back into my gym routine. I've been going 3-4 times a week straight from school. Training for a 10k in mid-April at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Gyeongju. This will be my third 10k here in Korea. Pretty pumped!
I'm just waiting for my life to get back to schedule. I've always been one who needs a schedule. I need to start teaching. I need the weather to get warmer. I need to get back to the happiness I felt last year at this time. Of course this year will be different. Quite a few of my friends left Korea, moved up to Seoul, etc. I'm working on saving money to start my life back in the States. Things are different. There's no doubt about that. I had an amazing time while I was home and I'm still holding onto that. But I feel like I'm forgetting the person I came here as. I need to get back to her. I know I'm not completely lost.. and this became apparent a few weeks ago while I was researching Vietnam for my vacation in September. I remembered half the reason I'm here. To travel. I was so pumped, so excited, jotting down all this research I found. I felt like myself again. Traveling is a part of me. It always has been. Teaching is another part of me. I am here living out my dreams, and I need to hold on to that. Bottom line: I need to start teaching, because I've been going a little crazy. So this next week should be the start of me getting back to normal.
I've talked to some friends who are in their third year in Korea now. Almost all of them had similar experiences coming back for their second year. It was hard without a doubt. One friend in particular told me that her second year brought on more extreme highs and lows. For example, annoyances about Korea will get to you on a whole new level, but go away pretty fast. I'm used to the culture here. I know what to expect. I'm going to lose patience on a different kind of level, but learn how to deal with it so much faster. I have such a deep respect for this country. I see the beauty in it. The kind people. It's all there. This thing that's going on with me, is my problem alone.
I feel myself slowly coming around, and I'm excited for this next year- don't get me wrong. There's a lot I want to accomplish, so I'm trying not to speed up my time here. I know how fast one year went, so I can only imagine how fast this year will go. There's so many places I still want to see in this country. I feel guilty that I'm in this slump. But I've been reassured that this is normal, and it'll take some time to get back into the swing of things. I'm focusing on the fact that I am anxious and excited to meet my new students, planning festival trips, vacations, still have that feeling of home when I walk around this city. That girl who came here last year is still here, but I'm growing up and this year will be different whether I want it to be or not. It's life. Change happens.
I met a ton of people who are new to Andong this past weekend. Unknown to them, they're a big reason why I feel myself coming back around. The anxiousness, nervousness, excitement, positiveness, coming out of their mouths was so inspiring. They are me one year ago. New to this country. Scared shitless. Not knowing what's in store for them. It's such a cool, scary feeling. But they are SO pumped to be here. I love that.
On that note: I am grateful I am here. It's where I want to be. This country continues to surprise me, touch me, and give me experiences I can get no where else. I know how lucky I am to be here, and will never lose that
Anyway I could ask you about living in Andong?! My fiancé and I have been offered a job there and would love to accept but don't know much about the city. Any info you could give would be much appreciated!!
ReplyDeleteHi Brandi. Andong is great! I still have a lot of friends still living there. It's definitely not Seoul, but you have big cities like Daegu that is 1.5 hrs away, and Busan which is about 2-2.5. Seoul is about 3 hours from Andong. It's developed a lot since my first year there. Two Starbucks now! haha. Part of Andong is extremely rural but the main city which is where we all live is a great time. A ton of bars and restaurants. And a great expat community. The trains and busses from/to Andong go everywhere, so that's never an issue. It's a smaller city, much more conservative, but I enjoyed my time. It's also a cheaper lifestyle since you're not spending money in a huge city like Seoul every day. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteAwesome thank you so much!! It sounds like a great fit for us, can't wait to get there :)
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