Adopted and Adapting in Korea

10 years ago by Erin English In Teach Abroad - South Korea

So many experiences, so many adventures, so many EMOTIONS in such a short amount of time.

First of all, LOVE:

I LOVE the school I work at! My co-workers are the friendliest people, my co-teachers are the kindest, my principal is the nicest man, and my students are the sweetest girls you will ever meet! My students make my day 10x brighter when I walk down the halls and there is a chorus of “Hello’s” with bright smiles attached. They make me forget the stress I feel about wanting my lessons to be perfect. It’s really all about learning to communicate with each other.

One co-worker who deserves special mention is my Korean mother. My second day at school, I was adopted by the dance teacher, my new “Korean mother,” as she insists I call her. She has given me so much in this first month that I will forever be grateful that she came into my life. She is the most selfless woman, always giving me gifts, without accepting anything back. She won’t take no for an answer, so I’ve learned to just accept her multitudes of kindness and enjoy them. She has taken me to amazing places as well: 동화사(대구) (Donghwasa Temple), a modern and a traditional Korean wedding (yes, I’ve already been to 2 weddings!), delicious restaurants all around town, a “secret society” meeting that I am now an honorary member of, 팔공산 (Palgongsan mountain), 수성구 (Suseong district), fruit markets, coffee shops, where she always has at least one friend who works there, stores downtown, etc. Her kindness is never ending. I feel VERY lucky to have met her. The funniest part though, is that she speaks VERY little English, and I speak almost no Korean. Yet we are able to have full conversations via the few words we know and body language. As she says, “Englishy no, Korean no, motiony very good! Haha!” It really is a special relationship.

Second, FEAR:

I worry that I’m not an effective teacher, and that I’m not doing enough for my students to really succeed. I want to help them as much as I can, to be successful in their future plans, of which I know some of them want to attend college in the States. I also fear that if I become too serious about their lessons, that they won’t like me anymore. I fear being caught in the catch-22. I know that worrying will not make anything better, but this past week has been full of it anyway. I just have to keep reminding myself of my number one rule in the classroom: “Any English is good English.” If they speak any English at all, I’ve accomplished something,

Third, LONLINESS:

Although Korea is packed to the brim with people (505 people/sq. km compared to 34 people/sq. km in the U.S.), it can be hard to find someone that I connect with. Many foreigners are here for a good time, not really serious about teaching or about bettering themselves. And I can respect their gallivanting, but I can’t relate to it. However, I have found a good group of people that I can talk with and that I am excited to get to know as we share our time here in South Korea.

But this past week, homesickness really set in. I really miss my friends from my old job, celebrating surviving “The Flood of 2013,” I missed celebrating my birthday, or “Peanut Butter Day,” and I miss all of the corny jokes that only us lab techs could ever understand. I miss my friends and the sense of humor that we all share together. I miss drinking good beer and having deep discussions about life with them. And I miss my family and being able to see them for the weekend, being able to get the BEST hugs from my baby sister, and being with the people that know me best. I know now that absence really does make the heart grow fonder (although I was always pretty fond of all of you already ;)).

I know that this roller coaster of emotions will only push me to become stronger, if I let it. I’m excited for the lessons that I will learn, and the things I will learn about myself as this year continues.

To end on a lighter note, here are a few pictures of springtime in Korea, my favorite thing being the Cherry Blossoms. The smell is absolutely amazing!