Category: Advice for Living Abroad

With my bags packed and plane ticket in hand, I set off with my best friend to explore the beautiful and trendy city. As any true traveler knows, not everything will go according to plan. However, with a little help and these quick tips to remember, your trip might go as (almost) smoothly as mine went.

Teaching English abroad is, for most people, one of the best decisions they’ve ever made. But it’s a big commitment, and it’s important to make sure that you are prepared and that you know what you are getting into.

There are few joys in life greater than getting a fresh stamp in your passport. What could possibly beat the rush of excitement you feel when you click the “purchase ticket” button for a plane ticket to somewhere new? Clicking “purchase tickets” with your significant other is the answer. Traveling with your partner is more fun than…well, traveling with anyone else.

Last week you saw the first installment of this two-part series which aims to guide teachers in the right direction during your time in Korea. there are many ways that you can go wrong with your experience in Korea, but there are also many ways you can go right. Here is the second part to making your time in Korea count.

“I’m moving abroad at an older age by myself, and I feel like I might be too old for such an adventure,” Emma said. That sentence got me thinking long and hard about age and how it relates to travel. My conclusion? It doesn’t matter one penny what age you are. If your heart tells you to travel, you must travel.

Back in college, a cup of ramen and a lemon-lime Gatorade was all I needed to survive the dreadful “Sunday Hangover,” which always showed up after a fun Saturday night. You beg forgiveness and offer your first born in exchange of the relief from the pounding in your head. In Taiwan, there’s no need to go to such extremes because the cure to your dilemma is right outside your door. That cure is food, delicious Taiwanese food. The food is so good it has magical healing powers. Just don’t quote me on that last promise.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from the things life has thrown at me, it’s that people have their own reasons for making the choices they make. Moving to Korea as a foreign language teacher is no different; we’re all here for our own reasons, at varying stages in life, and with diverse intentions.

Transitioning to the slow rhythmic flow of Taiwan’s lifestyle was confusing after living for a year in the balli balli (hurry, hurry) mindset of Korea. A place where people eat a breakfast of street food while speed walking to their morning jobs, push through crowds to get to their destination first, and have no concept of queuing because it’s considered too slow.