Teachers Share their Experiences While Living Abroad!

I'm sure there's a deeper meaning behind this day we call St. Patrick's day, but from my experiences back at home in America, it's a day when people wear green to avoid getting pinched, drink a lot of alcohol, and even dye the rivers green. I thought this was one celebration that I would miss out on as an English teacher in Korea, but boy was I wrong. 

A couple weekends ago, I went to Hongdae for a fellow English eacher's birthday dinner. Hongdae is a very lively area located in the North West of Seoul on the green line #2 next to Sinchon. It is filled with city lights and music, and there was even a dance competition happening in one square while I was walking by! The restaurant we went to is called Yeti, and it was so packed that we were about to walk away. The owners of the restaurant happened to be Nepali, so I spoke to them and explained that it was my friend’s birthday and we really wanted to eat there. They were so nice and thrilled to meet someone half Korean and half Nepali, and said they would try putting two tables together for us. We waited in the Ho Bar next door while they prepared our tables, leaving them with our number. 

Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of traveling abroad and teaching in South Korea is the diverse range of people that I have been privileged to meet and work with. Currently, my hagwon employs teachers who claim the following cultural designations: Jamaican, Chinese, Korean, Trinidadian, Filipino, African-American, and just boring and plain "White-American" (that would be me). Not to mention, the guy from New Zealand that I met who loves to hike, the Irish boy at the rock-climbing gym, the gorgeous Russian girl who loves to drink vodka, or the sexy Englishman who called me “love” and told me everything I wanted to know about London Bridge, the Prince, and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (slight crush). 

Read on to see what the Aclipse team thinks is so great about teaching overseas!