A Chance for Personal and Professional Growth

When I was applying for this program I was having some difficulties that were driving me crazy. The fault for this was of course the paperwork and the bureaucratic tape you had to jump through to get it. I was working full time while I was going through these hoops and honestly if I didn't have the help and advise of Sarah over at Greenheart Travel, I might have just given up. I literally had to apply for something three times because I kept getting rejected for this or that reason, but Sarah helped me manage to get in the essentials of my application so that I wouldn't be left behind in the late application pool. eventually, when I got the rest of my paperwork I submitted it and joined the rest of the applicants in the waiting game. Greenheart Travel was fantastic as they put all paranoia at ease and sent me information to prepare me for the insanity I had just willingly signed up for.

It really is insane to voluntarily drop all the opportunities in your own backyard to move 7,000 miles away to a completely different country and do something for which there is no safety net. But as I sit here in my apartment in South Korea, I know I made the best move I could.. I enjoyed my first year of teaching high school history in the US after I graduated college. I look forward to going back and doing that, but at the time I wasn't ready to submit to the game of politics one has to play to secure a long term job in education. I knew I still wasn't ready to settle down and so I opted to take advantage of my youth and travel. Coming to South Korea was the perfect opportunity. From a historical viewpoint, there is nothing better than experiencing a culture for yourself and actually going to see the history. From the teaching viewpoint, I am becoming more flexible ("Korean surprises" are a daily occurrence, be prepared) and becoming familiar with different methods. This opportunity is not about running away from something, it's about helping myself grow more through less mainstream means.

I have no regrets in coming here and I couldn't ask for anything more (perhaps besides some less expensive peanut butter). There really is nothing like walking down the street after what has become an average day of teaching and just being completely content with life.