week two - highs and lows

Week 2:
This week has been full of highs and lows. The lows have been enflamed by culture shock and homesickness. Culture shock is not something that I had not anticipated at all. I was of the thinking that ‘oh I have travelled to Korea before and I know what to expect so I will be completely fine’. However, this was not the case at all. Every other time I have travelled I have only been gone for 3 weeks or 6 weeks and you could always see that the finish line is only around the corner but when you are in a foreign country and you think about being away for a year it makes your heart drop ( when you thingk about being in a country fighting your way though the communication barrier it feels hopeless and depressing). In a foreign country everything is done different and if you do something wrong you can’t always understand what the person is saying which can get really stressful. Furthermore you can’t read signs so you don’t know what the rules are. Basically you can’t understand anything local people are saying. In addition everyone is always staring at you which can feel really intimidating. I think the reason why I feel so different from last time is that last time we were on the go all the time, everything was an adventure and exciting. Also, there were a bunch of people who were going through the exact ting as me at the same time. However, this time I am more on my own and not everything is an adventure all the. Sometimes I feel extremely lonely and think about everyone at home and how I miss them. I sit in my room and wonder what the hell I am doing her and how the hell do I get out of this. But then I realize that I am here for a reason and I have worked so darn hard to come here and it would be silly to not stay. I have to repeat to myself that I am just going though culture shock and things will get better.

What also helps is the support from the other foreign teachers. I have one foreign teacher, Elissa who has been an absolute god send. This weekend she has been my local tour guide showing me the buses and how to get to different locations. She has shown been the best places to shop, drink and find cups of tea (a complete luxury here). She has shown me the good clubs, where the local gym is and how to get a public transport card. I could go on for hours of the things she has shown me. It has been awesome also doing these activities with her and they have reminded me why I am here, ‘to encompass myself in the Korean culture and to experience the wonders of living in such a big and cultural city’. Not to say that she has made me feel much better and once again excited to be here.

I am now looking at things differently. I’m not so worried about not being able to understand people, I am more excited about when we do try and communicate and we succeed at communicating, even if it’s just a little bit that is understood. Plus I am able to celebrate my personal little successes like catching the subway by myself and ending up at the correct location or finding a new pair of Nike sneakers for under $75 so I can now join the Gym. And I have realized that if I can keep my excitement levels up I won’t think about 1 year being so far away but I will be thinking about the kind of adventure I can have today!
Oh I forgot to tell you about meeting up with Lynn on Thursday night. Lynn is one of the Korean girls in the buddy program from the last time I came to Korea. Last Thursday night we met and she took me to her mum’s restaurant. Oh it was amazing she cooked a beautiful meal for us. It was fish cheek in a spicy tomato sauce on a bed of a bean shoots or something. Man it was so nice (you can see the photos on my facebook -week two). Lynns mum had never met a foreigner so it was very exciting for her. She asked me lots of questions - with lynn working as an interpreter. However, she would sometimes imitate what I had said like hello and good night. I guess she couldn’t really understand wholly what I was saying but it must have been obvious that it was a greeting or something. It was so cute. I then slept at their house. It was a lovely unit about double the size of my unit and really homely. The next morning lynn took me to Gwangalli with is a beach district with some nice coffee shops and a big store called Mega Mart where I bought some South Aussie jam - beerinberg . it was really fun.

I hope that everyone is ok. Don’t forget to check out my photos on facebook and that I have skype set up so we can have a chat. Miss you all but slowly dealing with the fact that I miss you.
Love Gia

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