I arrived in South Korea almost exactly one month ago now to begin my new life here as an English teacher. It was only June 26 that I landed sometime in the evening and in haggard shape. I was so tired, yet totally wired to be in this new and mysterious place. The night before was full of teary-eyed goodbyes as well as kind and heartfelt embraces as I finished my last shift at Wicked Weed, the brewery I had been at in Asheville since October of 2016. A few last beers with my friends before waking up into the next aspect of my life, a sobering dip into the waters of change.
I think I slept for two and a half hours that night. I worked, I drank and I went home and packed, more and more until finally I got everything in my bags. Once weighed, they came in at 38 and 48 pounds, just two pounds under the limit. My bike box was stuffed full of cycling jerseys, bibs, hiking shoes, bike tires and my helmet--45 pounds. My new bike was unbuilt and carefully packed inside, waiting to be built and ridden through the jagged mountains jutting up, and all around, the city of Busan, my new home. Three checked items: two pieces of luggage and a cardboard bike box; my camera bag and courier bag as carry-ons ready to go, loaded into the van, and by 6:00 a.m., my brother and I were on our sleep-deprived way to Charlotte International Airport. Saying ‘goodbye’ to my brother at the airport felt hard. It’s difficult being so far from one of my best friends.
Having bade my final farewells, all that was left was TSA, and so I strode towards the airport with great hesitance. With no baggage issues and a short flight to Boston, I was getting ready for the longest leg of my travels: Boston to Narita, Japan. 13 hours and 30 minutes of movie watching on Japan Airlines. This was my first time on an international flight being older than 21; it was then that I realized how amazing inflight beer is. Japan’s beer is light, but it was really enjoyable, especially with a bento box! I was able to make some small talk in what little Japanese I speak. That felt really nice, especially before landing in Korea where I understand so little.
After transferring onto my flight to Gimhae International Airport from Narita, it was only about two and a half hours to Busan. Immigration forms were set in the seats in front of us and I spent my time filling that out, one character of hangeul at a time as I attempted to accurately portray my employer’s address. The rest of the short journey I spent falling in and out of sleep as I tried to balance being exhausted with the excitement of arriving into a new country. The plane was hot, I was wearing a long sleeve dress shirt with pants, sweating my ass off, and then, finally, we landed--23 hours and 30 minutes of flights and layover time later.
We disembarked onto the runway. Humidity. Hot air. Grayed out overcast skies. Welcome to early summer in Busan, the rainy season. After the bus dropped us off at immigration I got into a line across from another guy who looked like an American, big build, probably military, and young. I fought my inner voice cautioning me not to say anything and asked him what he was here for. The Navy, he said. It turned out this was his first time out of the U.S. He was under 20 and from Texas. He hadn’t been outside of Texas except for the time he moved from New Jersey, and hadn’t really seen any of the U.S. Having just come from Durango, Colorado a week earlier, I felt that was tragic. He didn’t seem to have his immigration forms filled out from the plane and didn’t know he had to have them. After pointing him towards the forms, I entered Korea; we saw each other again at baggage claim and then we parted ways after he helped me move one of my three checked pieces of luggage. I was carrying my body weight in luggage as I stumbled backwards toward the reception area where my friend, Mike met me. I hadn’t seen my friend in about six years and it was great to finally see him again after such a long time of facebook video calls where I hounded him with questions concerning Korea.
That night we dropped my bike box off at MikeBike, Mike’s bike shop, met one of my future co-workers at the school and my school’s director who was confused as to why I was there. After a few phone calls things were cleared up and I was on my way to my new apartment in Gaegeum, Busan, about ten minutes from school. It turns out confusion was something I needed to get used to; no one at my work informs any of us foreigners with regard to any changes (I walked into my class [August] today and suddenly had a new Korean co-teacher. Thanks for the heads up, Korea). One of my most immediate perceptions of Busan was its smell, like salty sea breeze colliding with humidity-induced pungent garbage. It’s not the most offensive of smells, but it is distinctive.
Five flights of stairs later with 60 pounds on my back and 48 pounds of luggage in my clutches, and we had made it to my room. From there, Mike, my new co-worker and I, went off to Seomyeon for a beer or two. Seomyeon is a major center for shopping, entertainment and good food.
I crashed onto my bed that night, sleeping on a mattress on the floor with only a comforter between me and the mattress. I had a white undershirt over my pillow as a pillow case and the AC working hard to combat the heat and humidity. No sheets and no mattress protector. I was told I would have them, but I wouldn’t get those for another few days from my employer as though they were an afterthought.
The next day was about exchanging Benjamins into bills featuring Shin Saim-dang, the newest Korean bill issued due to Korea’s increasingly strong economy which spurred some controversy due to a famous Korean woman being on the front. The bills are worth 50,000 won, the Korean equivalent of what might be around $46 in the U.S. I had a lot of them and it felt good. It was the first time I had ever held two million of any kind of currency. You could call me a millionaire. Mike’s wife was good enough to make this exchange for me and also secured Mike and I some American flag luggage tags. We joked that she should have gotten us the Canadian ones.
Next, we had lunch. The best noodles I have ever had in a white bean sauce which felt a little underwhelming because of its modest flavor. I was excited to try the bold flavors that make up so much of Korea’s cuisine, but the cold thick noodle soup we had was a great dish to have on such a hot day. Mike and I went back to his shop and unboxed my new steed. Black with more black, glossy on a matte finish, easily lost in darkness and infinitely sexy; yes, I’m referring to my bicycle. It’s my first carbon-frame road bike and it feels great to ride! Mike meticulously built it for me and tuned it to greatness. I first met Mike at a bicycle shop in Asheville and he was a big part of me falling in love with cycling as much as I have. He was the one who introduced me to cyclocross and he provided a lot of information on teaching in Korea. That was my last free day until the weekend because classroom observation began the next day.
That Wednesday I met David, the teacher I was replacing. All of our students thought we were brothers. We do look somewhat similar; we were two slender, roughly similar in height white people with blue eyes and brown hair living in a country of Koreans. We were essentially the same person.
So, over three days I observed... Loud voices, screaming, “what is the weather like?”, droning answers to rote questions, constant repetition and an inordinate amount of playing hangman. It was exhausting, just listening to it. That’s when my anxiety began to build. The third day I watched classes was David’s last day and we went out for drinks and food in Gwangalli with Lydia and Kristi, two of our co-teachers. Drinking and eating seem like they are almost synonymous in Korea. This was my first time being by the beach and I hadn’t seen so many foreigners in one place in Korea before. It was nice to know there were more of us. We all said goodbye to David that night and he was gone the next day… Sad losing a friend at a point when I was so lacking them.
My decision to leave the U.S. to go teach in Korea was not an easy decision to make and maybe it was half way made in impulse because sometimes life needs to be allowed to happen and not be hampered by the uncertainty and insecurity of our minds. This is a lesson I’m still trying to embrace fully in the way I live my life. I’m still apprehensive about jumping off of heights, diving into cold water and fearing that maybe I won’t float back up to the surface. But for me, somehow, moving to a new country is an easier thing to do. It’s ridiculous.
I’m glad for all of my experiences abroad. I think in so many ways they have strongly shaped who I am, and even though Korea has so far been a challenge, it’s one I’m excited to overcome. I look forward excitedly for a future in which I understand what the clerk at the cash register is saying, even when he is only asking whether I need a bag or not and for the time in my dreams when I’m having philosophical discourse with another Korean while speaking in Korean because at that point, I know I will have rid myself of the fears which sometimes visit my mind.
Of the various challenges I face living here, being in a city feels almost more foreign than being in another country. So much of my life I have always felt close to the people in my lives, and I have never been in want of friends, but living in a city, surrounded by so many people, I haven’t ever felt as lonely. That is a feeling which has been compounded by the fact that I cannot even express my feelings to 99.9% of the people I’m surrounded by because of language differences. It’s so easy to feel impatient with oneself. Learning Korean while I’m here is a huge goal of mine and one that feels at times is slow-going. I realize I have only been here a few weeks, but when you are surrounded by a language you cannot understand all of the time, it makes you want to understand. It’s not a reasonable thing to ask of oneself even after months of living here, but I hope to move forward making steady progress.
I’ll try to continue posting my thoughts and experiences in Korea, but life does move fast and I try to spend my free time engaging with people in real life or destressing from a long day of teaching kids a language they aren’t convinced they should learn. I miss so many of my friends back home and, to all of you reading this, thanks for taking an interest in my life and I look forward to the time we can hang out together again. Thanks for your support!
