Eric and Stephanie's Korean Adventure: One Year Reflections

One year ago today we stepped off a plane in South Korea, exhausted, anxious and trying to drag four suitcases, two laptops, backpacks, etc. We try to remember our first thoughts about that night but honestly it’s hard to really remember. We remember being very tired, it was the longest flight either of us had ever been on, and we had been too anxious to sleep much. By the time we made our way from the airport in Incheon towards our workplace and apartment on the east side of Seoul we continued to become more anxious and curious about what this would all be like. That first night we met one of our coworkers who would end up becoming a great friend, mentor, and the person who would (and still is) help us navigate through everything that we had to do to get established here. We remember seeing our apartment for the first time, thinking it was small but honestly not overly shocked by how small it was. We went to E-mart that first night with our coworker and boss so that the boss (who spoke no English making it a seemingly awkward situation at the time) could buy us bedding since there was none in our apartment. We spent our first two nights in one twin bed with no pillows. I remember waking up the morning after we had arrived thinking that there was no way I could do this. There was no way I could live in another country away from everything and everyone familiar. We didn’t even know where the grocery store was to buy food, nor could we ask some random person on the street since we didn’t even speak the same language anymore! Yet somehow, someway everything seemed to fall into place over the next few days and weeks and months. Work was challenging to get used to at first but we managed and quickly learned to enjoy it immensely. We found the grocery store and learned how to use the public transportation to get anywhere we wanted to go in the city. We enjoyed learning about, and doing our best to fit in with, the Korean culture and learning some history as well. Having been married for almost seven months this was the first time we had lived not only on our own, but literally on our own. There was no family or friends to visit or be with. We learned to rely completely and totally on each other and we both agree that our marriage has been strengthened by all of it. When one of us didn’t feel like we could do it, the other was right there so we could keep on going together. Somehow we have survived and made it through an entire year living and working abroad together. I think the reason it is so difficult to recall how we felt those first few days after we arrived in Korea is because we have come so far since then. A year ago we took a leap of faith without being able to see where it would lead, but even now as we are going through some challenges that come with being foreigners in another country and wanting to change jobs, we have no regrets and wouldn’t change anything that we experienced over this last year. In a way, we feel like it is a big accomplishment with how far we have come this year and what we have learned. Yes there have been challenges at time, but there’s no doubt that every single experience has helped us grow and become stronger. We have learned how difficult it can be to become totally immersed in a culture that is completely different from your own. We learned how difficult it can be to learn a new language- not only from teaching it, but trying to learn a new language ourselves. We had the opportunity to look for and purchase our first apartment ourselves in a foreign country and turning into a home that we really love. We have had the opportunity to travel to Thailand and plan to do some more traveling in Asia this next year. We have been blessed to meet some amazing people that have helped us immensely in the time we have been here. In the end, we have grown and learned so much over the course of this year. We have grown as a couple and we have grown as individuals. As difficult as it is to be away from home and everything familiar, we wouldn’t change anything about this past year and we cannot wait to see what this second year brings. A year from now we will be packing our things and preparing for the trip home to stay. But in the meantime, we plan to not waste a single day to grow more, do more and learn more together.

We have seen a lot during our first year in Korea and have thousands (yes, thousands) of pictures to prove it. Here is just a small sampling of a couple places we have been...