My Time in Korea: Leaving KoKo

One week after returning from Jeju, I left Korea for home. The school I was working for was having some financial difficulty, and carrying 2 foreign teachers (higher paid) was becoming too much for the director. I was given the option to end my contract early, while still receiving my severance and return flight home. I had done what I wanted to do in Korea, and I was eager to return home and restart a relationship with an old flame that I had reconnected with while overseas. Considering that I didn't do anything exciting when I returned, and the old flame died out, it has turned out to be a decision that I have regretted. Oh well, it was only a couple of months. Overall my experience was wonderful. I came back to Korea to redeem my previous experience. All I had wanted was to go off on an adventure for a year and do something cool, and my first attempt went awfully. I HATED the fact that THAT was my living abroad experience, so I went back a second time for a do-over. It redeemed my experience and forever changed how I view my life in Korea. There were some problems with the director at my school; we had some arguments, a couple paychecks were very late, there were several agonizingly stressful times. I had my first (and only) panic attack over there. Those problems were small compared to my problems in Gwangju, and they occupy a small and insignificant space in my memory. Finishing my Korea blog has been really fun. I've enjoyed going back through my pictures and reliving my experiences. I have a co-worker who has also lived abroad. The other day she told me "when you live abroad, that sense of adventure never leaves you." It is true. I'm sort of pining for a way to go back. I was scheduled to go to Taiwan and teach English this summer, but I got promoted and decided to stay here. It was probably the best opportunity for me to ever go there (job was working 14 hours a week with free housing, unheard of in Taiwan), but it just never felt right. There's some reason for me to stay here in Utah right now, and my new job and volunteer work could be part of the reason. Now that I'm "stuck" in a career, the chances of living abroad seem slim, but I'll find a way to make it happen. The spirit never goes away. I might have to pass on teaching English again, I don't think I'll ever have THAT urge again..haha