Being in Korea has been such a roller-coaster ride with constant ups and downs. I didn’t believe in culture shock until I experienced it firsthand. Asian countries have been known to be a fast paced moving society. Examples of culture shock in Korea would include crazy drivers (cars driving on both directions even when it’s a one way street), quiet subways even when it’s packed with people, crowded marketplaces, language barriers, Koreans assuming that all Asians= Korean, eating spicy foods/ Korean food (yes veggies) on a day to day basis. But I know I will eventually grow to love Korea. People here are extremely helpful, friendly, and patient despite language barriers and most of them are accepting of foreigners.
Updates:
Yesterday we departed from Jochiwon, Korea University main orientation after having spent 3 weeks there. During the time there I was placed in group 4 with Jeonnam and Gangwon TaLK scholars and we had the chance to bond with our peers by going out to eat and get to know each other. After parting ways, we arrived into our designated provinces in Jeollanamdo province in Gwangju (one of the main cities in Jeonnam). The bus ride took about 2 hours and 40 minutes. We now have orientation at a business training facility..similar to the dorms in Jochiwon. I officially start teaching on March 2nd at Haenam in Samsan. I’m super excited to teach cute little kids ABCs, and 123.
Having arrived we had free time for the rest of the night. After eating diner we then celebrated a couple TaLK scholars’ belated birthdays with pizza, fried chicken, and cake! It was a good time of bonding and we watched some random comedy shows from all around the world. I love our POE coordinator and supervisor! : ) They are super friendly and down to earth.
Today we had an entire day worth of lectures from 9am-3pm. I got to meet some KTS (Korean TaLK Scholars) or co-teacher, who is paired up with a FTS (Foreign TaLK Scholar). Unfortunately, I was informed earlier that I was not going to have a KTS in my school but hopefully I will get some pointers from my mentor teacher. At night we had a meet & greet session with former generation TaLK scholars. It is interesting meeting a buncha people from Jeonnam who have gone through the program. After getting to know them, we grabbed some street food. Sooo yummy! : )
God has constantly provided me with endless amount of support from family and friends in the States and Korea. I feel extremely blessed and lucky to have people who are constantly keeping in touch with me! Thank you so much for the encouraging words! ❤ It has definitely been different in terms of spiritual growth. Being overseas requires a lot more spiritual self-discipline to read the Word each day and spending quiet time with God. Spending time with the maker has been priceless and brings me so much comfort and peace in trusting in His plans more and more!
Tiffany in Korea 