This year will be finished in rougly 31 days depending on what time zone you live in. Right around this time of year is when I look at the past 12 months to see if I was successful at accomplishing any goals set for the year. However, back in January I didn’t set many new goals to achieve in 2008. I was unemployed at the beginning of the year so my only concern was to find a job asap. When I lucked upon the teaching job here in Seoul, I packed my bags and left my life in Los Angeles.
The one year that I didn’t have a laundry list of things to do happened to be the year when I did the most. Here are a few things that 2008 brought me:
- Moved to a new country
- Taught kindergarten
- Quit smoking
- Lost 20 pounds
- Dated a helluva lot more
- Got closer to God
- Visited Thailand
- Met some new life-long friends
- Wrote on a regular basis
- Discovered I can’t get along with all types of personalities (quite a shocker for me!)
When I look back at 2008, it truly was an awesome year. I was a little worrisome when I left LA to come here. Although I was excited about new adventures, I just kept wondering if I made the right decision. I was really comfortable with my life in LA but at times, I felt like my journey was coming to an end there. Once I left and came here, I realized how much was missing from my LA life. Everything that was missing are most of the things that 2008 brought me. Living here in Seoul has given me a more balanced life which is what I tried so hard to achieve back in the States. I never would have dreamed that moving almost 7000 miles from home was just what I needed. As 2009 fastly approaches, I wonder if I should go back to making a list or just see what the new year brings my way….
I stayed up and read your entire blog. It’s so encouraging. I could relate a lot. As an African-American undergraduate who is quite familiar with the Korean culture ( and a little with the language) I have always longed to stay there for a prolonged period of time. I met my Korean friends when they were studying english at my university. They are like brothers and sisters to me, but each had to leave one by one. Finally I was able to take advantage of an opportunity and go to Korea to reunite with them for just one week last summer following a stint elsewhere. It my first time outside of the US and I backpacked four cities while I was there!! It literally was the time of my life.
My point is: I always read that teaching English would never be an option for me because I am African-American and that the parents of the students and administration would disapprove or think I was “foreign” or not a native speaker. With this said, you have shattered that myth and should I ever feel the great desire to spend a prolonged period of time in Seoul breathing in the polluted air and loving on my long lost friends, I could certainly see myself entertaining the idea again.
This blog really made me happy and really feel like anything is possible anywhere. Thank you.
Hi S:
Thanks for reading my blog! I am really glad that my experiences here in Seoul can be of inspiration to someone. I have seen quite a few African-Americans here teaching so it’s a bit easier for us to get jobs here now. If you ever decide to come here, feel free to ask me any questions. Take care and you have inspired me to write more!
Shauente