I'm sorry I'm late

I've actually been home for a while now and I'm only just getting around to writing a review.

About the TEFL course:
It was scary leaving Scotland and hopping around the world solo to a new continent. I knew I wouldn't know anyone, the language or the area. I threw up my guts on the 2nd flight from Doha>Incheon (nerves or food poisoning idk). Then, I was picked up from the airport and brought to the guesthouse which was walking distance to our TEFL training area. I met all the new folks going through the same thing as me - we were a mix of different people. Canadian, Scot, American, Aussie, Kiwi, English, Indian etc. We became friends fast. Nights out in Hongdae.Itaewon to the early hours, many meals shared together, random walks and hikes, shopping and spa days... yeah it was memorable. Some of us have completed our teaching and moved home but we all still keep contact and send each other random memes sometimes (speaking about YOU Josh).

Orientation was fun. A full week of tours, classes and hanging out. The palace is VERY touristy but we had great weather to go view it and wore the hanbok rentals. Korean summer is no joke actually and I'm a redhead so I nearly died (kidding). My personal favourite area was Insadong in Seoul. It's more arty and has the traditional tea houses, artist shops and hand craft goods if you're into that kind of thing. We had a cooking lesson making some korean food and I'm gutted I burned my kimchi-jeon :(... this is why I don't cook. Shout out to Carla for putting up with us all, Eddie for showing us around Korea on days out and Enzo for putting it all together. We all had a taster to plan and prepare for our own classrooms. We all had different takes on being a teacher. We were together for 1 month doing all of this and then eventually it was time to leave our shared house and move to our destinations around the country. I was unlucky as I got my job in Ulsan which is South East of Korea. It's near Busan and is a short bus journey away. The others got jobs in or near Seoul so it was tough being so far from them that when we did meet, we had to plan in advance and book things like trains, activities etc.

Being in Ulsan :

I had just got used to Seoul and Incheon and then here I was moving again to a new place and having to re-orientate myself. I didn't have my accommodation immediately and had to live in a hotel for a week or so. Meeting my new colleagues and kids was also scary. But the kids I was in charge of already knew English and I just had to improve and build on their knowledge so far. My class was also the one's who were graduating at the end. We had many field trips for golf days, museums, kid's cafes etc. A highlight was our graduation trip to Gyeongju World. It's a bit like Lotte world but more low-key. We celebrated many birthdays and when mines happened in December, the kids surprised me with chocolate cake and LOADS of cola because I'm a soda fiend who drinks nothing but cola.

Trying out being a teacher showed me I could do it if I wanted to. Many people commented to me that I seemed most happy when I was doing like an art based lesson with the class or something where we were practical instead of sat at our desks, writing in textbooks. I liked to add variety to their lessons as the books became boring after a while. I had the kids watching David Attenborough's "Our Planet" and we learned out eco-systems and all the animals. Or we had to read Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" so I'd get up Youtube for them and show them clips from the movies. Then, I would get more videos up of real chocolate factories and how they worked. Whatever the lessons were, I would improvise a bit but make sure it was relatable to the content.

About being in Korea:

I really liked their transport options. If you don't drive, then you have choices for getting around and to be fair, metros are very easy to use (if your city has them). Ulsan didn't have metros and it took me like over 1hr to get from my home to downtown where the shopping mall was or decent hangout spots. I also liked the bus stops in general and how they had heated seats for colder weather. And automated voices that told you a bus was approaching. Then there was the service in restaurants. You go in and get seated fairly fast and they would bring over the side dishes or "ban-chan" (not sure I spelled that right). If you are a person who nibbles before the main food then this was so good having the side dishes. Mostly made up of pickled veggies, kimchi, and sauces. Service was mostly fast and efficient in most places and cheap to eat depending on where you went out. Coffee culture is a big thing in Korea too so MANY coffee shops scattered around and cheap enough to get one en route to work. Back home in the UK, I just wouldn't dream of getting a coffee before work unless I sold my kidney first.

I also liked their clinics if I got sick. It was rare I got ill but there was once where I got sent out of work cause I looked ill as hell and they sent me to a clinic to get an IV and check-up. I got a private room, IV for 1hr, medicine prescription afterwards all for like 55,000krw. My colleague wrote my symptoms down for me in korean and I handed it over to the lady at reception which made it easier. I was in and out of this clinic very fast and back in to work the rest of my shift because the IV made me feel a tad better.

The temples are a big must to see if you want to check any out. I saw many in my time in Korea but the temples just give a sense of like peace? You walk around the grounds taking it all in and admiring the views and architecture. Many have animals carved into the walls, statues etc as they were viewed as protectors from demons.

Some lesser known places to visit instead of the "tourist" cities - Gyeongju, Gangneung, Sokcho, Paju, Gangwhado Island.

I think I'll leave this now as it's a lot to read.