Anyway,
Today I decided to pick a direction and just start walking. I loaded my mp3 player, camera and some cash and started out. I was trying to find the slums I’ve heard about but I haven’t seen yet. I figured it would be a great place for pictures. I wasn’t that worried because if I got lost I would just hop in a cab and tell the driver to take me back home. I tried to pick the narrow streets as I find these more interesting then big roads. The first thing I noticed was the smells. Everything from seafood, to rotting seafood, to mystery meats, to garbage, to sewage filled my nostrils. I walked for about an hr in the same direction and eventually found Hwaseong Fortress. I walked around there for a while and decided to make my way back to get ready for work. Finding my way back was pretty easy as I took notice of landmarks on the way.
On a different note,
If you are reading my blog and contemplating a move over here let me give you some advice before you take the plunge. You really need to have multiple reasons for coming over here. If you come here just because you think the money is good you might end up regretting it. Money is not going to keep you happy, it doesn’t matter how much you are making. Eventually it will lose its value. It’s called the Theory of Abundance. If you have a lot of something eventually it loses its value. Once money isn’t important to you then you have nothing to fall back on when things get tough. You should have at least three reasons for coming here. My reasons are, learning a new language, experiencing the highs and lows of living internationally, and the opportunities for travel. If I find learning Korean is just too darn difficult and boring I have 2 other interests to fall back on. And please, for the sake of everyone here, don’t come here if you aren’t capable of finding a job in your own country. If you can’t find work in your own country there are probably things you need to work on before coming over. If you are American you are going to have to get used to the idea that people will not like you just because you come from America. And I’m not talking about the Koreans. I heard a story from another American when she was in training for her school (a rare thing). She said to a Canadian “I really can’t tell the different between an American and Canadian accent”. The Canadian woman replied, “That’s because you are American and think the world revolves around you”. Remember, the majority of the people who come here, come here because they can’t find work in there own country. Just be ready for some weird situations if you are brave enough to take the plunge.
Hopefully I haven’t scared you off, this is the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s certainly not for everyone though. This place chews foreigners up and spits them out on a regular basis. If you feel you can cope with these things then by all means come on over and you will experience things you can’t even begin to imagine.
One last thing, a new movie is in production about English teachers in Korea, here is a four page article about it. Movie about expats
