9:46 PM
Sho
I'm not exactly sure what day I'm on, but it must be around the 357 range, because my contract is a year, and I'm leaving in five days, a bit before it officially ends.
I am sometimes very bad at creating closure with people, places, ages, etc., but my goodbye to Korea has been slow and long, so I thought I'd take a moment to write out some of the things I will miss.
Things I will miss about living/teaching in Korea:
- Walking around by myself past midnight and feeling completely safe. I have never felt as safe in a country as I do here. (Which is ironic, as I'm on the border of a crazy-eyed, nuke-happy dictator).
- Low crime in general. I haven't had to think about pickpockets. My friends have had phones and wallets returned to them. I've left my bags outside for one reason or another.
- Public Transportation. It costs me a couple of dollars to get to Seoul -- an hour away -- on a direct bus. The buses are direct and extensive. The metro is clean, fast, and extensive. It's great not having to be dependent on a car.
- Not worrying about taxes when shopping or eating out. The price listed is what you'll pay. How pleasant.
- And on that note, not worrying about tipping in general. I'm not miserly, and I know that tipping in the States is the bulk of the waiter/waitress' salary. But it's nice that it's built in here. And that it's still cheaper (Korean food), or similarly priced
- Korean food. Mmmm. Inexpensive access to delicious Korean barbeques, soups, bimbimbop, kimbop, etc.
- The tight knit community of foreigners in rural areas. I live near a small town called Geumchon, and it's pretty cool to walk around and bump into friendly faces.
- Free rent, inexpensive health care, cheap phone bills.
- "Service". Service is what Koreans call little gifts that are thrown in for free with purchases. Free drinks, free time at noraebong, free random stuff...
- Noraebong! Noraebong is Karoake in a purer form. It's private rooms with couches, tamborines, and giant TVs and mics set up for singing. You and your friends choose all the songs, and you can be as ridiculous as you want.
- Kind and hospitable Korean people. I've had so many stringless free lunches here. And people who come up to me and help me carry things (suitcases, guitar cases, etc.), or just want to chat. Strangers who help me with directions.
- The children here. Are. So. Incredibly. Cute. It's absurd.
- My students and the quirky, sweet things they say. The ones who really want to communicate with me, so they come up and repeat "How are you?" over and over, or say "This is for you," and hand me random things from my desk (I think every ESL teacher grows to resent that lesson...). The students who insist on taking photos with me, who try to have Google Translate conversations with me, who request Justin Bieber songs...And the quiet sweet ones who bow at me and murmer "Hello." The artwork and failed attempts at spelling and grammar....
- My co-teacher. Her muttering to herself in English and Korean and then saying "Why?!" when I laugh at her. Her endless dramas with her bf. Her existential crisis over teaching.
- My apartment. It's a good size, and it's in the middle of a street that has restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, bakeries, convenience stores, etc. I love living alone.
- Pizza School. These are a chain of pizza places that have 5 dollar pizzas (actually, more like $4.50 if you convert it.) Pretty delicious...
- All the quirky things I take for granted. Subway arrival music. Larva cartoons on the bus. Street food. The everpresent feel of Psy...
**
There are probably many more things, but these are the ones that came to mind first.
I am sometimes very bad at creating closure with people, places, ages, etc., but my goodbye to Korea has been slow and long, so I thought I'd take a moment to write out some of the things I will miss.
Things I will miss about living/teaching in Korea:
- Walking around by myself past midnight and feeling completely safe. I have never felt as safe in a country as I do here. (Which is ironic, as I'm on the border of a crazy-eyed, nuke-happy dictator).
- Low crime in general. I haven't had to think about pickpockets. My friends have had phones and wallets returned to them. I've left my bags outside for one reason or another.
- Public Transportation. It costs me a couple of dollars to get to Seoul -- an hour away -- on a direct bus. The buses are direct and extensive. The metro is clean, fast, and extensive. It's great not having to be dependent on a car.
- Not worrying about taxes when shopping or eating out. The price listed is what you'll pay. How pleasant.
- And on that note, not worrying about tipping in general. I'm not miserly, and I know that tipping in the States is the bulk of the waiter/waitress' salary. But it's nice that it's built in here. And that it's still cheaper (Korean food), or similarly priced
- Korean food. Mmmm. Inexpensive access to delicious Korean barbeques, soups, bimbimbop, kimbop, etc.
- The tight knit community of foreigners in rural areas. I live near a small town called Geumchon, and it's pretty cool to walk around and bump into friendly faces.
- Free rent, inexpensive health care, cheap phone bills.
- "Service". Service is what Koreans call little gifts that are thrown in for free with purchases. Free drinks, free time at noraebong, free random stuff...
- Noraebong! Noraebong is Karoake in a purer form. It's private rooms with couches, tamborines, and giant TVs and mics set up for singing. You and your friends choose all the songs, and you can be as ridiculous as you want.
- Kind and hospitable Korean people. I've had so many stringless free lunches here. And people who come up to me and help me carry things (suitcases, guitar cases, etc.), or just want to chat. Strangers who help me with directions.
- The children here. Are. So. Incredibly. Cute. It's absurd.
 |
| Ilsan |
- My co-teacher. Her muttering to herself in English and Korean and then saying "Why?!" when I laugh at her. Her endless dramas with her bf. Her existential crisis over teaching.
- My apartment. It's a good size, and it's in the middle of a street that has restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, bakeries, convenience stores, etc. I love living alone.
- Pizza School. These are a chain of pizza places that have 5 dollar pizzas (actually, more like $4.50 if you convert it.) Pretty delicious...
- All the quirky things I take for granted. Subway arrival music. Larva cartoons on the bus. Street food. The everpresent feel of Psy...
**
There are probably many more things, but these are the ones that came to mind first.
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1 comments:
I loved this!!!
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