In 14 days, I will pay overweight charges on my luggage, request an exit row seat to no avail, submit to some uncomfortable screening by U.S. security officials, and then be levered into an aluminum tube to be shot through the air over vast continents and oceans, arriving in a strange and unknown land. Yes, folks, I am moving to South Korea. I’ve got my handy Lonely Planet Korean phrasebook, a year’s supply of deodorant, and a school waiting for me in Bundang.
So how did I get myself into this mess? Why, how anyone of recent college age gets themselves in trouble: Facebook. Targeted advertising does work: I clicked on an ad saying something to the effect of, “Travel the world! Teach in Asia!” and found myself, after a brief application, full into arranging college transcripts, background checks, and a lost passport. My recruiter found a school for me; I checked it out with some teachers there, found it reputable; I signed the contract and got my visa. Then, and only then, did I start saying to myself, “Wait, what the hell am I doing? This is nuts.” I’m always up for adventures and travel, for broadening experiences and embarrassingly awkward ones as well. But moving to another land, especially one as foreign as Korea, is a big step. And I probably gave it less thought than buying a new CD. Had a plethora of ESL teachers not assured me that it was a great experience, I certainly would have questioned my sanity and soundness of judgement: Your brain is going to mush, man! History papers and translating ancient Greek kept you sharp for a little while after graduation but look at you! A year out and you’re back living with your parents before taking a job for which you’re not even remotely prepared or qualified!
Again, I should be bothered by such things, but I’m not. I’ve gotten an adventure bug ever since graduating. This past winter I worked in Aspen, Colorado as a snowmobile guide. And I took a roadtrip home that took me through beautiful, desolate, and scary places and introduced me to some wonderful (and on one occasion, psycho-creepy) people. New vistas, smells, food, people — that’s what drives me right now. But while fun and absurd experiences will be had, it won’t be one long party or Spring Break Seoul 2k10. No, I hope that, in searching high and low in the strangest places, I will find my place in history, that role I am supposed to fill, whatever it may be, no matter how small.
So look forward to some posts, mostly after I get to Korea. And if you’re thinking about teaching in Korea and want to know anything about it or get put in contact with my recruiter (who has done a great job), just leave your email in the comments section and I’ll get back to you.
3 Comments
June 15, 2009 at 2:54 am
Fantastic post! I look forward to hearing about your adventures and the new vistas, smells, and people.
June 16, 2009 at 1:38 am
I am soooo excited to hear AAALLL about EVERYTHING that you experience. You are a wonderful kid and I hope only the best and most exciting for you. LYAMY
June 27, 2009 at 3:59 pm
ahhh bundang, vaaaary niiiice