A New Start.
I know what you might be thinking. It’s been a little while since I’ve posted an update on this blog, and you’re not wrong. A lot has happened since my last post here, so I thought I would share what’s been going on.
The short story is, I left my cosy and comfortable life in the UK to try something new. Something I’ve wanted to do for many years.
“I finally get to live my dream, by living and working abroad.”
However, that’s not the entire story and let’s be very clear, I didn’t think emigrating would all be silver linings and rainbows. I’ve always been realistic in my thoughts and beliefs that I can do this, which was always the reason I wanted to try doing this. Not only was it a case of finding out if it’s possible, but also a personal challenge of if I can do this and if so, do I want to do this for the rest of my life.
So here’s what happened:
A few months back, I completed my TEFL, a teaching qualification that allows me to support those wanting to learn English as a second language. I did this while being unemployed, having been made redundant at the beginning of 2020 but with a global pandemic thrown in, finding work, even key work, was harder than ever before. Not one for sitting on my laurels, I educated myself with fresh skills that I felt could open doors to me later.
Getting my head around the change in working style was quite difficult as it’s very different from my creative background in marketing, but at the end of my qualification with TEFL.org, I found a recruitment company who were looking for teachers ASAP so I sent them my resume in the hopes of finding work. Within a few days, I heard back from them and now I find myself here… in Seoul, South Korea.
Seoul is one of the locations in the world that feels familiar to me, even though the language and surroundings are different, there’s a familiarity in being “Lost in Translation” that makes me comfortable. Being truly honest, my heart still lies in Hong Kong, and probably always will, but with a difficult political climate and advice from those I know living there, it wasn’t the right move for now.
Let’s be completely honest here. Relocating one's life is no mean feat. Not only do you have the trouble of downsizing your life into a suitcase, or what you can physically carry. It’s negotiating a new language, a new set of rules, figuring out from scratch how to pay bills, how you get a bank account or even find a doctor if you need one. However, these are all straight forward when you have support from your job location, but what about other needs. People needs.
We always seem to forget that no matter how happy we can be in our own spaces. In my case, my 35m2 apartment in the middle of Seoul, but we all forget companionship. Having someone we can turn to for a friendly chat at 11 pm or even a heartfelt hug when you need one. Because I’m not going to lie to you, it is tough not knowing anyone here outside of work. Thanks to technology though, people I know well are just a button away… so long as I check the time first.
I found myself a job at an academy here in Seoul called Chungdahm Institute (CDI). It’s very well known here in Korea so I’m pleased I landed the job, especially landing one here in Seoul itself. My location offers classes Monday to Friday, which is very rare for academy work as many school students in South Korea also attend academies on weekends. I’m sure I will need to support them on weekends during exam seasons, but it’s quite nice to know I have some allocated time in my schedule to relax or even complete my studies.
The work is quite late here, but that’s to be expected. Academy studies begin after state school has ended, meaning I teach between 4 pm and 10 pm Monday to Friday. The change in the working schedule from the regular 9-5 is a bit of an adjustment, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it very soon.
My current schedule includes 4 different study groups whom I see twice a week. At the moment, all classes are virtual due to COVID19 but that’ll change in the future. Being still new to this, video classes are really useful as it means my peers can drop in and observe. I’m applying their recommendations and thoughts daily so I hope I can be a better teacher before the students are back in the physical classroom.
During my spare time here, I am going to be more mindful and focused.
I know it’s essential for me to learn the local language should I want to stay here, not just for conversation and meeting people, but for life admin too. I’ve already found a suitable language school at Seoul National University and conveniently fits perfectly with my working schedule. Fingers crossed I’m accepted onto their course.
I’m also keen to start creating more content while here. South Korea has a lot to offer visitors, especially in Seoul, so I hope I can share this with other people who may want to escape but can’t just yet, either because of money, working situation or simply COVID limitations. The content should be inspiring, comforting and motivational, maybe even a little humorous, so I’ve been looking at how I can truly capture that and working through a sharing platform.
More importantly, I want to make time for me. Although I know my Visa is here for 13 months, the goal is to see if I want to stay for longer and make this place home, and to do that I need to have brain and breathing space. It’s important for a healthy mind and body too, so I hope that while I will be out capturing content to inspire others, that I can step back and take a few moments for myself during the process.
In the meantime though, I will be posting digital content on my Instagram channel once I’m a little more settled into my schedule, so you’ll be able to keep up with my adventures and new work there (Once Instagram switches REELS on in SK). Another thing I truly miss is writing my thoughts, so, I’m going to start looking into a new blog but before that, I’m going to consider my scope, content and branding concepts before jumping in.
Otherwise, I will be sharing my resume related updates here regularly now I’m back online, so stay tuned for more.
See you soon
Kiki ☺️
