Volunteering at Mulmangcho.I miss my hair this color. (2014) Getting ready to depart Korea has left me with a lot of emotions. I have spent the last 4 years of my life in this country, and for better or worse, I have grown a lot as a person. There are a lot of things that I will miss and not miss about Korea, but as I’m winding down I thought why not close out this…
My main school during last year was a small middle school in 옥계. I really enjoyed the school a lot and I was very lucky to get a chance to fully experience the 회식 (Hweshik) also known as a work dinner. Many people do not enjoy these, but I really enjoyed them. Actually it was always really nice food I would never buy for myself and that deserves its own post. But today I am…
I have a good friend I have met here that volunteers a lot and I was always inspired by him. One day I happened to notice that he was going to volunteer on an event on facebook and I thought to myself, why don’t I sign up as well. I was a bit apprehensive about volunteering by myself in a foreign country at first but this experience at the Aemin Orphange made me feel more…
One of my goals when moving to Incheon was to take Korean classes again. There were classes being offered but they were further away so I opted to try culcom (culture complex) in Bupyeong. It was really easy to sign up via their website. I learned about Culcom through a friend and have found it to be a more informal setting. For now this is okay with me as it is pretty flexible. The one thing…
So I didn’t really go anywhere exciting for summer vacation. As in I didn’t leave the country or end up on some island with nice beaches. Luckily for me, I didn’t book such a vacation, because my foot still doesn’t let me walk more than a few hours at a time without swelling a bit and then I need to rest and it goes back to its slightly swollen self the next morning.
Visas are a complicated mess only if documents do not come to you quickly. Another bonus is working with recruiters that truly care about you and how you are doing through the whole process. My first recruiter is a friend now and called me up after I told her what had happened before, and she said I needed to change my visa status a.s.a.p. before starting my contract or I would not be able to…
As an American we can stay in Korea for up to 90 days with no visa, which is awesome if all you are doing is traveling. If you are coming to Korea to teach as an English teacher you will most likely be on an E-2 visa for work after receiving your work contract and NOA (notice of appointment). Once you come to Korea you will go with your co-teacher and apply at your local…
A year ago today I boarded a plane at JFK Airport and met new EPIK friends in San Francisco before boarding our plane to Incheon International Airport in South Korea. Thinking back on the past year it is interesting to see how far I have come and how much my life has changed. A year ago, I went through orientation and upon completion was ushered by bus to a city in my province. I remember…