Wanderland Elle

It's hard to remember why I packed all of my belongings into two suitcases and a carry-on 18 months ago to move to South Korea. Anything that couldn't fit was gifted to my more-than-willing-to-accept teenaged sister, or stuffed into trash bags and thrown out. Coincidentally, my parents were in the middle of a divorce as I made my final journey preparations, and neither of them would have room to store any of my things. Tons of books collected throughout my childhood found a new home at the library. Odds and ends that I have a habit of hoarding made their way to the dump. And thus, lighter, it was time to embark on this sparkly new adventure. Oh, how we love things when they're new.

Why South Korea, though? That's the question, isn't it? It could have been anywhere, really. But, with Korean American friends that introduced me to the food, a Korean language teacher encouraging me by telling me how great of a way this would be to learn the language, and US expat blogs raving about their ability to pay their student loans with ease I dove right in. To be honest....I was running. I wouldn't have admitted it then, but I'm an entire 18 months older now. I'm wise. I know.

I was running.

My hopes when I first got to Korea was that I would learn how to be an adult. I wouldn't live with my parents. I wouldn't have to depend on anyone. I know, pretty basic stuff. I was enticed by the ability to completely reinvent myself. I could decide what kind of adult I wanted to be. I wouldn't be lazy, I wouldn't be messy, I wouldn't be anything like the person I had grown to be. But, I quickly learned that changing as many time zones as I did was not the same as changing myself. I'm still a sloth. I'm still a mess. I'm still almost exactly the same as I was before. I'm just 18 months older.

I did do some good, though.

All things considered, I have accomplished some major goals. I can easily pay bills in another language without any help. That's something. And, I learned how to make "ricotta cheese" from nothing but milk and vinegar. That's something else. Honestly, I've also come to realize a lot of personal truths about myself, although I'm not ready to share them just yet. There are a lot of things that I worry about as I prepare myself to head back to America in less than 6 months...

But we'll save that for another blog post.

As you could tell by the title, I'm participating in a weekly blogging challenge. It's called the Blogging Abroad Boot Camp challenge and it's a way to reinvigorate my writer's spirit (AKA wine isn't enough). It's a weekly challenge, and I'll be giving you new blog posts every week *hopefully* for the next nine weeks. How many times can I say week? If you want, check it out by clicking the image below. Also, go ahead and let me know, if you're are or were an expat, what's your why? For my homies that are in their home countries leave a comment about a time that you made a life-altering decision. Did you recently quit a stable job to pursue your cheese-making dreams? Did you drop everything to see a one night only curtain of your favorite Broadway play? Let me know!

Elephant graveyard, bus graveyard...same thing.

There's one thing that you never want to fail when you're traveling, and that's your GPS. Imagine being in another state using your GPS and getting lost. Ugh, sucks, right?

Now, imagine being in another country, where you (after years of studying) barely speak the language, and your GPS calls it quits.

Now imagine that same scenario, but this time, your GPS is just a straight up liar.

That's what happened to me this past Saturday. Nicholas and I decided to just travel around Daejeon and see what we could get into. After a really nice Japanese Ramen lunch, we got on the bus (with the urging of Google Maps), determined to head towards the downtown area. Imagine our surprise when the bus we get on (thanks Google) goes in what seems to be the opposite direction. But, what do we know? We don't get off, because maybe this bus takes a different route downtown than what I'm used to. Well, eventually we get to the end of the line. The bus pulls into the bus graveyard. Where buses go to die get prepared for another route.

The bus driver looks into his rear view mirror at us, and seeing the looks on our faces, takes pity. He asks, in Korean, where we are headed. I let him know that we were trying to get to Eunhaeng-dong and he laughs and laughs. Then, he tells us we need to walk in *points* that direction to the bus stop and wait for the bus to get us. So, we prepare to start walking, a little defeated because we felt like we wasted bus fare. Then, as we start heading towards to bus stop, the driver gets off of his bus and yells for us to come back. The bus we need just happens to be leaving, and we should get on it. The best part? We didn't have to pay again. So, yeah, eventually we made it to our destination, and the memory is definitely a pleasant one, but at the time, I remember just feeling so betrayed by Google Maps.

Not long after takeoff

Or did I forget to mention?

This is a cake! I know, it's awesome!

airplane food

Today marks one month that I've been in South Korea. Daejeon, to be exact. That means a lot of things. The most important thing is that it really shows how lazy I've been about writing. I finally decided to get my life together and write today. You may have some questions, so I guess I'll use this post to answer common questions I've gotten since I've been here.



1. What are you doing there?

Yeah, how could I leave Christina?!

I'm on a year-long contract, teaching English in elementary school, through a Korean government program called EPIK (English Program in Korea). After months of applications, gathering documents, and stress-eating, I was able to secure a job in Daejeon, South Korea. I teach 3rd-6th graders at two elementary schools. While I'm here, I'm planning on traveling all around Korea and the surrounding Asian countries.

2. Why Korea?

I've gotten this question so many times, from friends, family, and Koreans alike. I chose Korea for quite a few reasons. The first reason being: I studied Korean in college. I have a basic grasp of the language, and so it has definitely helped me in acclimating myself here. Mind you, I don't know enough to be totally independent of my co-teachers' help; yet, I feel as though my knowledge has allowed me to easily navigate my neighborhood, and not get lost when using public transportation. Another reason I chose Korea is because of all of the teach abroad programs I've researched, Korea offers the best benefits, as well as having a relatively low cost of living. That means I can pay off my student loans while I'm here. Third reason is living here gives me easy access to many other Asian countries, and I really want to see as many as possible.

Why not Korea?!

Seriously. This is the view from my apt window.

3. Don't you miss home?

Yes. Duh. But, I'm on a different journey now. My family still loves me, I still love them and I'm really happy everyone has been so supportive of me.

4. What's Korean food like? OR Will you eat dog?




Korean food is delicious. There are so many different flavors, textures, and spices. What I really enjoy about Korean cuisine is that meals often include rice and soup. Those are two of my favorite things. Also, I love that meat isn't normally the main focus of a meal (unless you specifically go out for meat), so I find myself eating so many more vegetables than I did back home. Now, when it comes to Korean attempts at Western food, I'd have to give a little side eye. Corn doesn't belong on pizza (or this planet, for that matter)! Yeah, I'm looking at you Pizza Alvolo!

Oh, and let this be the last time I ever say this: I will not be eating dog. Although, dog soup is popular with the older generation, pet culture is becoming much more prominent in Korea. The younger generation are not willing to eat Fido. You can all breathe a little easier now.

5. Is your apartment tiny?

Actually, no. My apartment is much bigger than I imagined. My building is only one year old, so everything is clean, new, and mold-free. I've got a separate bedroom, which is typically unheard of. My landlord and his family are literally the greatest. They help me with any and everything. I teach their oldest son, as he's in 3rd grade. The youngest son, a 1st grader, is so cute and cheeky. Every time they run upstairs to offer me fruit, coffee, or a snack he runs right into my apartment, filled with curiosity. I'd say I hit the jackpot.

All in all, I'm having a blast. I'll try to post more regularly with pictures, videos, and more updates about what's happening here. It took me a month to make the first post, though, so let's see if I can break my own record.





Love from Korea,

Shawnelle