Teachers Share their Experiences While Living Abroad!

            Life in South Korea is not for the faint of heart. I slave away for 30 hours every week shooting the breeze with kids and confronting the depressing financial realities of a life with minimal expenses and far too much disposable income. All of these hardships can really weigh on a man’s soul and test his ability to endure, but luckily this weekend I had a chance to rejuvenate my body and mind with a trip to Daejeon's Yuseong Spa. Yuseong Spa (so famous that it has a subway stop named after it!) is a well-known locale among Daejeon residents, and certainly is a spot that any visitor should try to include in their tour of the city. For those of you not familiar with the area and unable to read English signs in the subway, Yuseong Spa can be reached by leaving the Yuseong Spa subway stop through Exit 7.

The Han River is one famous strip in Seoul, popular for everyone of all ages, with so much to do. For the most part, it is great for bonding time with others with an amazing view and a breeze that will keep you cool during hot summer days.

I’ve been in Korea close to 12 months already.  Over the past 11 months, I’ve come to appreciate many of what Korea has to offer to foreigners like myself who choose to live and teach in Korea for a year or more.  Personally, I think that the year I’ve been in Korea was well spent.  Although I’ve spent much of my time alone, I feel that I’ve come to know myself much better as a result.  Korea offers foreigners the chance to explore Asian culture, a comfortable lifestyle, a decent income and a welcoming attitude.  What more could you ask for?  One of my favorite places to go during my downtime, Cafe Bene.  Here’s why.

One of the things I found myself wondering about when I moved to Korea to teach English is what the holidays would be like. Granted holidays can range from the big boys like Christmas, to the ones we celebrate just for the excuse to party (hump day anyone?). Lucky for me and you, Koreans LOVE to party, so most holidays here are celebrated and always a fun time. This past weekend we ventured into Seoul, Gangnam to be exact, for Tomatillo’s Annual Cinco de Mayo party. It was definitely one of my favorite days in Korea and I know that for as long as I stay here, this is where I’ll celebrate Mexican independence.

While it’s nice to go out and have a good time with your friends, every now and again, it’s just as good to stay and enjoy some girl talk with your gal pals while teaching in Korea.  Well, that’s exactly what I did.  A few teachers had to change buildings and so my apartment building has one new tenant although she’s not new to Korea.  Well this is exactly what she did!  She hosted a "Ladies Night In" on Saturday and the only outfit I had to put together was deciding which hoodie I’d wear.  Two flights of stairs up, and I was there.  Of course each person bought a treat for the building’s newest tenant; included amongst the treats, spiked hot chocolate, Sangria, strawberries, chocolate candies and potato chips.  Yum!

Hot Topics:

Valentine’s Day.  Valentine’s Day passed this week and I can tell you that for couples and singles alike, it can be a difficult day while teaching in Korea.  While some of my gal pals are in relationships, both of their significant others were overseas and so, no chocolates, no teddy bears, no flowers, and no surprise gifts!  This can be devastating for the weak at heart.  For us single ladies, Valentine’s Day can be even more troubling.  Ugh.  Luckily for us ladies, we have awesome students who of course remembered to share the love.  While teaching English, I received a package of Ferrero Rocher from one of my elementary school students.  She’s knows it’s my favorite!

Winter.  Bring a group of women together and they’re sure to busy themselves with chit chat about any and everything.  With winter in full swing in Korea, it’s important to have a good moisturizer.  Hot showers are great, but also damaging to the skin.  So, moisturize and drink plenty of water.  

Home Decorating.  Decorating is a must for any woman moving into a new apartment in Korea.  Tammy did well.  She was fortunate that the last tenant left window shades and that makes a difference, let me tell you!  But for new bedding, Emart is apparently the place to go.  Daiso, Korea’s 99 cent store also has cute little things to make your home cozy.  

Fitness.  Fitness has been an issue for me this winter while teaching English in Korea.  It’s just so cold, I find myself hibernating and only going out for work or to meet up with friends.  But fitness is important.  Suzanne is trying yoga for the first time and Kim is back in the gym.  Me, I’m having a hard time pulling myself out of bed in the morning.  I’m hoping to make some changes come March and more than likely, lose the five pounds I put on since living in Korea.  Wish me luck!

Makeup.  Our hostess Tammy loves to do makeup and so, after Casey volunteered her face, a makeover began.  I wish I had thought to do a before and after picture!  In any case Casey looked like a doll!!

YouTube Crazes.  Have you seen Harlem Shake videos popping up all over YouTube?  I heard about it while hanging out at Tilt on Thursday night and decided to look it up.  Let me say, it’s very, very funny and I’m very willing to make a video at Chungdahm if they will let us.  After watching several versions and cracking up, it definitely made all of us want to make a video at work.  Have you seen it?

The regular hours we teach English at ChungDahm are from 4-10pm, so what will you do with all your free time? Everyone finds a niche teaching English in Korea, from dance classes to volunteering at animal shelters, but for me it’s yoga! Moving here and being immersed in a new environment completely independent was a little stressful, but hot yoga gave me a way to channel my energy and relax. 

I found a place just around the corner from the branch called Hot Yoga Studio J. I actually prefer to go to classes after work, because when teaching little kids you often have to match their level of hyper activity. Yoga is where I can calm myself and clear my mind before I go to bed. The yoga instructors speak in Korean, but it’s easy to get the hang of it by following what other people are doing. I even picked up some Korean words like inhale, exhale, relax, and more others.