Link – Places And Spaces To Be In

Missing the SRT

A tiny story about missing the train.

Let me tell you a tiny story about this woman next to me on this photo. But before we get to that, let me share with you a little background about myself and that day.

As many of you who have been following me for a while now, you’re already aware that I lived in South Korea for over a year. While living in there, I’ve made efforts to learning the language, but haven’t succeeded past survival Korean…

Anyways, let me paint that day.

My friend Jose and I just finished our trip in Busan and that morning, we have to catch our 9:15am train to Seoul. The previous day, I asked the concierge of our hotel to have a taxi prepared for us at 8:30AM so that we’d at least have 25 minutes of free time before our train leaves. Our things were packed and ready – three suitcases, a ukelele, and our own backpacks – we went down to the lobby to find out that the taxi wasn’t going to arrive for another 10 minutes. We’re on a tight schedule. But I wasn’t too worried because I know the ahjusshi’s can drive pretty darn fast.

However, not this time.

We finally arrived at the train station – 9:15am. A sign says that our 9:15am train will be leaving at 9:17am. Rushing to find the platform that we were supposed to be at, this lady notices us in our urgency and quickly comes to our aid.

“Where are you going?” she asks me in perfect English. After stating where we’re heading, she quickly grabs onto one of my suitcases and begins to run – leading us to where we’re supposed to head.

However, once we got to the right platform, we missed the train.

Rather than leaving me and Jose to figure out what to do, she reassures me that we can still make it to another train. She then leads me to the ticket desk, translates for me for refunding and purchasing new tickets, then leads us to the appropriate platform before she herself had to hop on her own train.

I can say, she was an angel to me and Jose. I didn’t expect to find someone to see our need and to make things a bit easier. I can’t promise that the rest of our trip went smoothly. But small moments like her coming to our aid has made my experience with South Korea memorable.

Places and Spaces to Be In: Baegayangsa

Sometimes, the world just wanna be on fire. You know, the Autumn kind?

(Ok, I know that’s a terrible joke. But with what’s been happening lately back at home, I’m trying to find humor in the ridiculousness.)

So in celebration of the new season here in South Korea, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Baegyangsa to witness Autumn’s splendor. While there, I happen to also discover a new favorite tea: pine needle tea with some honey. To me, the tea smells like Christmas and tastes like deliciousness.

Much love from this new season,

Lantern’s at Jinju

A photo journal of my trip to Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival.

Last weekend, I had an amazing time hanging out with Melissa, Julian and Julian’s former student, James, at the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival. Wished that we had more time to see everything (and the fireworks !!!!).

Overall, the short trip wasn’t disappointing.

– A

One Fine Afternoon

An Afternoon with Sashai.

Why do I always find myself in Seoul? It must be the good company.

– A

Lesson’s from July 2016

Self-improvement and continuous growth from personal experiences is what I’ve been seeking ever since… forever. This past month was a bit more special when it comes to self-taught lessons.

When the new term began, many things were flung my way. Longer working hours, more job-related responsibilities, and making some tough life decisions. This past month has definitely been a rollercoaster and I’m fortunate to have family and friends here and back home who were willing to be a listening ear to this gal. I mean, I am human and do constant need of advice from my peers…

So here are the following lessons I’ve learned this month.

Work-life balance is definitely a huge deal for me. Before the beginning of this term, my working schedule was tolerable. But now… let’s just say that it’s been quite tough. During the lectures I’ve attended in college, my professors have repeatedly emphasized the importance of a work-life balance. It is a very important aspect that organizations should respect towards their employees. I never realized just how true those lessons were until I now live such an unbalanced life-style. As much as I love teaching my students and seeing them improve on their conversational skills, I’d like to have a life separate from work. Not live and breathe for work. Because of the working culture here in Korea, I can see and understand why this culture became so. South Korea is a country that quickly turned its economy around after several tough years. The importance of hard-work and supporting self can still be witnessed to this day. But this recipe isn’t for me.
Time is currency. Spend it wisely. Because I now work longer hours, spending time on the WHAT is important. I had to revisit what things were important to me and came out with the following: health, sleep, and sanity. In addition, I’ve become much more selective of WHO I spend my time with. So… note that if I spend time with you outside of work, just know that you must be pretty darn special...
Invest on having a special skill. This past month, I’ve been teaching English 1:1 to a lady who has an age in which many normally retire. But since she has a special skill, she’s still working and is in demand for it. She’s loving it and traveling around the world with it. Life goals can I say?
Have a hobby and keep it. Back to the same woman I’ve been teaching 1:1 to – she doesn’t just focus on her specialty, she also has a couple of hobbies; learning English and memorizing and writing poetry. She’s the type of woman I’d like to be when I’m older. Unfortunately, since I’m still learning how to balance my life and am lacking inspiration, I haven’t had the chance to be very creative (specifically the YouTube aspect…)

So there it is – the four lessons I’ve learned this past month. What lessons have you been learning yourself?

-A

Entering that seventh month of teaching…

I can’t believe that it’s been seven months since I began teaching here in South Korea. As cliche as it sounds, time does fly!

Whilst reviewing my notes and doing my preparations for my adult classes tomorrow, I came across the notes I wrote down for myself during my training. One note that stood out the most was a verse from Philippians:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. – Philippians 4:6

I remember how nervous I was when I was writing these notes down! I wanted do well on my mock-teaching and the real teaching that came after that. Now, I barely even need these sticky notes. Experience, Time, and several awesome people have been my teachers these past months. As always, I’m filled with gratitude for them.

So as this new term begins, here’s to new lessons and improving myself.