End of 2012

Well folks, 2012 has come to an end, thus inspiring me to get to writing a blog entry.  Or perhaps it's the current stomach flu leaving me bored out of my wits and needing to take my mind away from the pain.

A lot has happened in the past six months of non-blogging: meeting Audrey and Jordan in Malaysia for a couple weeks, hitting Singapore, diving in Borneo, meeting my parents in Seoul for a week, catching up with an old college friend in Hangzhou, and most recently- catching up with Bonita and Rachal in the Philippines.

Ideally I'd write a little blurb about each trip to fill in those who rely in this blog for keeping in touch, buuuuut, I just can't do it.  Instead, how about a few of my favorite shots from each place?

Two of my dearest friends, Audrey and Jordan, lugging their suitcases across the beach in Malaysia, July 2012

Pulau Perhentian Island, Malaysia - right outside our place, July 2012

Beautiful Ma with her huge ice cream in Seoul, Oct 2012

Dad enjoying his first legit galbi experience in Seoul, Oct 2012

West Lake, Hangzhou, China

A walk around Apo Island, Philippines, between dives Dec 2012

Our bangka, Honda Bay, Palawan, Philippines Jan 2013

Needless to say, things have been quite eventful and I'm utterly blessed and thankful to be living the life I am.  As the years go by and I lose touch with more people, I grow so much closer to others who have stuck by my side.  I have a fabulous support system of family and friends and I am so incredibly grateful for each and every one of them.

I am in the midst of a job hunt for the upcoming school year, so bare with me for news of where I'll take my travels next!

As 2013 kicks off, I wish a healthy and happy year to you all.

The Beginning

I've been quite lucky to have been able to visit Korea a handful of times since moving away, and each time I go back, I remind myself that I need to write this blog entry.  I have talked about my first year abroad with a few friends and family, but lack of time and my impatience with repetitive stories kept me from really sharing.  As I moved on, new stories and experiences replaced old and I didn't sit here as I should have to type them out.

Trees in bloom, Seoul

Where to begin?  I guess from the very beginning, when I made the decision to move abroad. From my personal journal, written last year...

It’s funny how you can spend 22 years, a young lifetime, growing up and thinking a certain way, and then a couple of years and new experiences can totally shatter, mold, and reshape what you spent your entire life building. 

I always wanted to travel when I was growing up, but my parents told me I was too picky an eater to survive anywhere but the good ol’ US of A (I am, indeed, quite the picky eater).  I was bubbled in the US until the summer between my sophomore and junior year of college when my friend Megan and I set out on a tour of Italy.  The tour group we were with, Contiki, targets college- aged young-adults and took care of all the planning, so it was perfect for our first overseas trip.  To make a long story short, Megan and I realized we had made a huge mistake in not researching a single thing about Italy after it was too late to do anything about it.  While our fellow toursmen were at famous museums they had booked tickets for months in advance, we spent our time aimlessly wandering around the cities (which was definitely still a great experience).  We made plenty of rookie mistakes, but put them in the back pocket for future travels. 

Fast forward to my last semester in college- I’m 2 months in to student teaching, give or take, and 3 months away from graduating.  I knew I wanted to teach abroad, but the rest of the world (read: Texas Tech Career Center) was as clueless as I was about the topic.  I was in the car with my friend, Liz, on a mini road trip when we got to talking about jobs- she mentioned she had a friend teaching in South Korea and how I should be in touch with him…the rest is history.  Within the next 2 months I had accepted a position in Seoul.  Time flew by, and before I knew it I had graduated and was packing for a move across the world: my first ‘real’ job, first year teaching, first time traveling alone, first time living alone.  Now, as I said before, I learned my lesson about not researching places from my Italy trip- but my senioritis just really wouldn’t allow me to do anything other than lay by the pool and go to the bar.  I Googled Korea as much as my mushy brain would let me (even where it was…embarrassing, but true) and came up with “Asia, big city, lots of spicy seafood”.  Super helpful. Oddly enough I felt such a peace about my decision, even though I didn’t know anything else about the city, the school, the housing, or the culture…I knew I was ready to just do it- if it sucked, it was only a year, and I could deal with it.

That one year has now turned into three.  Three very different experiences in three different countries. Even as I grow and change with each new adventure, I still feel rooted in South Korea: it's not just a special place to me because of the memories it holds, but also the person it helped me become.  Every time I go back for a visit, I feel like I'm home.


Seoul is a bustling city with so much to see and do.  I love the fact that I can walk down a street I've been down a hundred times and still see something new, or turn a corner and find a hidden gem tucked away from the hustle and flow.  In one neighborhood alone, I could go to a different cafe each day and not repeat the same place for a year.   Everything is so fresh and fun, that I can't help but be sucked into it.

daily memory-refresher

I recently went for a weekend getaway to my beloved city, and it definitely did not let me down.  The lights, the fashion, the food, the music and art...I could go on forever.  Even just thinking of Seoul makes the nostalgia kick in.  Of course I long to live in the city itself (although, I am quite lucky to be in the position to pop over for a weekend as I please), of course I miss my students who were beyond fantastic, but mostly I miss the people who became my family.

When you leave everything and everyone you know half a world behind, you are so incredibly vulnerable that your life is going to change in huge ways.  Luckily, some of the most amazing people I know were brought to that same little Poly School in Hwajeong, and quickly became my support system and my new family.

No matter which country I'm in now, or where I'll be in the future, I'll always hold on to my Poly family - a group of adventurous individuals from different states, countries, and life experiences thrown into something new together.  I'm so lucky to have had an amazing experience that gave me the confidence to continue in my journey of teaching abroad and travelling to places I'd only dreamed about.

Here's to those beautiful people, now scattered across the world, but always close to my heart.

xo