Year: 2014

As I wrote in my article Korean Apartments: Back To Basics , there are unfortunately no tubs in Korean bathrooms. However, if you’re a brave enough expat you can get your scrub-a-dub-dub on at a Korean spa for that extra squeaky clean. There are too many differences between Korean and Western spas to name in one article, so I’ve taken the 10 most crucial bits of info on Korean spas and broken them down into two easily digestible articles for you. Enjoy today’s top 5 tips, and check back here for another 5 next week!

Today’s interview is with Reach To Teach alumni Sarah Vied, who has been Teaching with us in Taipei, Taiwan.
Hi Sarah! Let’s start off by having you introduce yourself.
Hey! My name is Sarah, I’m 26, and I’m a proud southerner from the USA—originally from a small town called Princeton in western Kentucky. This is only my second year teaching and living abroad, but my first year in Taiwan and in Taipei.

I had a class with my Korean students about dating culture in Korea. They were so animated and open about sharing with me all of their views that I decided to make a list of everything we talked about and share it here with you! Here are the 3 things about Korean dating culture that my Korean middle schools students shared with me!

I may not have even thought about it before. It may be that you don’t count your experiences as note-worthy. Maybe you think there is little worth sharing concerning your days. But I’m fascinated by the stories people choose to tell with their lives. Those stories inspire me to choose better ones for myself. And it’s why you need to start a travel blog.

Our buts are a masquerade for fear. They are an excuse to keep us from what we want and where we’re headed. No matter their legitimacy, the buts that stifle our dreams don’t have to get in the way.

I scoured blogs, watched k-dramas, and listened to an unhealthy amount of k-pop before moving to South Korea in an effort to prepare myself for all the cultural changes I was bound to experience. Although that research wasn’t wasted, there are certain things I wouldn’t have ever learned had I not moved across the globe to call the land of morning calm home for a year.

If there’s one thing that Korea obsesses over more than kimchi, it’s coffee. Seriously. Walk on any street in Korea and you’ll find a coffee shop on every corner. I once asked a Korean friend why there are so many coffee shops in Korea, and his answer left me speechless. “Coffee is cool. If you’re a guy or girl, you go to a coffee shop and drink coffee alone to look cool,” he nodded his head agreeing with himself. So, there it is. The answer to why coffee is such a hot commodity in Korea. Young Korean girls and guys are making coffee cool.

We all know what it can be like as teachers, you are as excited as a firework when you go away to another country and begin your journey as an overseas ESL teacher. In the beginning you are busy getting to know your students, getting to grips with the curriculum and school system and getting to know your work colleagues, so everything is new and amazing. Fast forward a year and you find that the ‘honeymoon period’ has set sail, the excitement of your new position has lost its charms and work has become a daily grind instead of a fun cool job.