I Moved!
Surprise! I moved to South Korea and I could not be more excited to start my career here as an English teacher. Since we’re still living in a pandemic, I’ve been in quarantine for the past 2 weeks so I haven’t seen any of Korea; only movies, tv shows, and the view outside my dorm room.
Many of you are wondering how I got here so I’ll save you the novel and tell you the short story: I applied to a program called EPIK in August, got accepted, and then booked my one way plane ticket to Incheon International Airport. Packed my life away and now I am currently sitting here in the Hae Oreum Dorm at Konkuk University in Chungju writing this post on my last night of quarantine before I start orientation tomorrow and teaching in March.
Some notable things since I arrived in Korea:
- I got covid symptom flagged at the airport for having “too high” of a temperature (37.5°C – the threshold to get held back). They even stickered my passport and made me wear a covid symptom badge necklace to make sure the airport officials knew. Lucky me, I know. This also made my travel from Seattle to my quarantine site go from 14-15 hours max to 27 hours (I slept 3 hours the entire 27 hours and continued to stay away for an additional day since I arrived at my quarantine site at 5:30 am…we love to see it).
- I turned 23 in quarantine! And it wasn’t as lonely as you’d expect. My best friend from college, Jamie, threw me an online birthday party and created a party room where whenever someone would enter the call a new little character she created would join the ‘house party.’ It was so cute and thoughtful! Plus the food I got on my birthday was stellar. Even though I wasn’t at home, my younger brother decided to make Korean fried chicken for my birthday…how sweet and I had to just watch them eat it over a video call #torture.
- Anyone who knows me well knows I cannot tolerate anything above 0 stars but since I can’t pick what I eat during quarantine, I can confidently say that I tolerate spicy food a little bit better now – thanks 고추장 (gochujang (Korean red chili paste/sauce))!
- I have survived without a fridge and microwave (the outside ledge of my window acts as a fridge and the heater on blast as a microwave).
- I learned what the difference between sushi and kimbap is.
- The Chungju quarantine staff are the sole reason for my happiness during quarantine. They are so generous and have kept all 100+ of us safe and well-fed over the last 14 days. I truly am so thankful and have so much gratitude for them and all their cute/yummy food surprises. I love them and they have my heart. Chungju over Seoul (quarantine) forever!!!!!
- Two years ago, I watched seasons 1-7 of Game of Thrones in 18 days, which I finished just before season 8 premiered, and I wasn’t sure how much TV I could watch again after that, but anything is possible. So, I watched 7-8 shows/movies in 14 days. And yes, I am ashamed I didn’t finish any K-dramas.
- I used a wet room for the first time, and it’s not as bad as you think it would be.
- I completed a 28 lecture Korean course for beginners, but I still suck at it so I better figure it out soon!
- I made 5 friends at the airport!!!
Anyways, stay tuned for more updates :).
xoxo from KR ♡
If you’re interested in the shows/films I watched:
- I May Destroy You (12 episodes) – Michaela Coel – 10/10 must watch but don’t binge
- BlacKkKlansman – Spike Lee – 9/10
- Mulholland Drive – David Lynch – 7/10 until you watch this YouTube video explanation AFTER watching the film, then it’s a 9/10 for me LOL.
- The Royal Tenenbaums – Wes Anderson – 7/10
- Lovestruck in the City (only watched 5 episodes) – I didn’t finish obvi, but 5/10, I’ve heard both that it gets better and that it doesn’t so I’m not so sure if I will continue.
- Bridgerton (8 episodes) – 10/10 yep
- Twin Peaks season 1 (8 episodes) – David Lynch – 10/10
- Twin Peaks season 2 (22 episodes) – up until episode 12 or 14((?) you’ll know when you watch) 9/10, the rest is a 5/10