36 Hours in Porto – Part 1

If you know me, you know my immeasurable love for Portugal. If you don’t know me, allow me to explain. Two and a half years ago I spent a month in Lisbon for a short-term study abroad experience. It was my first real experience being abroad and my first time away from home for such a long period of time. My time in Portugal taught me so much in such a short period. It opened my eyes to the world and showed me that I wanted to see as much of it as I could. I left from that trip a changed person. About a year after I returned, I booked a trip to Peru; 3 months after that, I moved to Korea.

Now that I’m living in Spain, I knew I had to return to Portugal as soon as I could, but I also wanted to see something I hadn’t seen before. So with a long weekend approaching, I booked a flight to Porto. I met some other girls in a Madrid Facebook group (who would be solo traveling as well ) and we planned a little weekend together.

As soon as I landed, I knew it was pastry time. Portugal is famous for Pastèis de Nata but I went for my favorite Pão de Deus. It’s a soft bread with coconut and sugar on top. During my trip I learned that it’s name (Bread of God) was given because it was the Portuguese nuns who originally made it. They gave it to the churchgoers in exchange for their donations. Anyways, I grabbed it at the first bakery I saw and headed for the first blue tile wall I saw to take this picture.

After devouring my bread, I started walking towards my hostel. I was confused since my maps kept leading me to the train station. I wasn’t in a hurry though so I stopped to see more of Portugal’s iconic blue tiles in what has to be one of the most beautiful train stations to exist. Eventually, I swallowed my pride and asked an information desk where in the world my hostel might be. To my surprise, it was actually in the train station. Later, I found out that the station used to be a convent. When the city tried to turn it into a train station, the only existing nun left at the convent refused to leave. She lived by herself in the massive building for 25 more years until she passed away and they were finally able to convert the building.

After settling in at the hostel, I met up with the girls I had met online for a Port wine tasting. (The tour group was called Porto Walkers and I totally recommend them if you’re ever there!) We went to three different houses on the Gaia side of the river. All Port houses are actually in Gaia, not in Porto, because when it was first being produced the Vatican was in control of Porto and had higher taxes for alcohol than the other side of the river. Port wine is very strong and has a high alcohol percentage due to the brandy that is mixed in. It has a much sweeter flavor than a normal wine, especially the reserve wines which ferment for many more years. I liked a few of the drinks but for the most part I don’t think Port will be my new go to drink. I’m glad I learned about it though as it seems to be intertwined with the city’s rich history.

After the tour, we went back to my friends hostel where I tried yet another Port drink, mixed with tonic water, which I liked much more. Then we went for dinner and walked around the streets just looking at all the Christmas lights which were beautiful.

After walking around, I was very tired and decided to go back to my hostel for the night. I knew my next day was going to be busy since we had a walking tour planned.

But, I’ll save that for the next post.

Peace & Love,

Anna

What I’ve Learned About Living Abroad

Hello everyone! I thought I’d take the time to list out 5 of the most important things I learned about living abroad over the past year. Let’s get into it.

1. It can be exhausting (especially with communication barriers)

Let’s face it! Most people love the sound of a year abroad. It’s like a big vacation right!? Wrong. Have you ever spent an hour online trying to order pizza in a different language only to eventually give up? Have you ever purposely avoided going to the grocery store because you have a pimple and you know people will be staring at you simply because you’re a foreigner? Have you ever been caught in a torrential downpour without an umbrella when your bus is half an hour away? These are just some of the hardships I’ve faced living abroad specially somewhere where you can’t speak the language! Some days you just want to blend in, but you always stick out like a sore thumb: Nothing is easy and everything takes an extra layer of thought.

2. Traveling is real world education.

The school of life, ladies and gents! In conjunction with number one, having these experiences forces you to grow as a person. You are constantly growing and evolving. I remember how amazing it felt when I mastered the routine of going to the grocery store.

First, they are going to ask you if you want a bag. Next, they take your card. Lastly, you say the four numbers for your point card. Just four Korean numbers. You can do this Anna. Whew. Nailed it.

I saw a post recently that compared traveling to being in kindergarten again. “Your whole life becomes a series of interesting guesses.” Everything is scary and you have no idea what you’re doing, but once you figure it out you feel immense joy.

3. You can feel people’s energy without speaking the same language.

I learned this with many of the Korean teachers at my school. Most of them have a beginner’s level of English so our communication is minimal when we don’t have one of the bilingual teachers around to translate. There’s so many times I wish we could communicate more clearly because I just know we would be great friends. I feel like we already are. I have always seen myself as someone who can read others well, but I definitely think my senses are heightened after a year abroad.

4. It’s a transient lifestyle.

There is no getting comfortable in life abroad. There where a few times here where I thought I was (Little did I know the rug was about to be pulled out from under me). The first moment I can think of came 4 months after arriving where my co-teacher left the school. She was my best friend and I was horrified and devastated. Then a few months later, my best friend in Korea left and went back home to South Africa. All of the sudden, I was the longest working foreign teacher at my school. I had to be a leader and without my partner in crime. It’s hard to feel settled when things keep changing. As an expat, friends will come and go. As a teacher in a hagwon, workers will come and go. Nothing has any sense of permanence here.

5. Homes are where you make them.

That being said, your new country will become your home. And home will be home too. As an expat, you will spread your heart far and wide. This is the most beautiful and heart breaking part of the whole experience. Over the year, I have left parts of my heart in many places. Japan and Taiwan got small chunks of my heart as I solo-ventured and fell in love with them. South Africa got another piece of my heart with the friends I made that went home. The largest portion will stay in Korea and more specially with my students. I am struggling with saying goodbye because Korea truly does feel like home to me. I am so grateful to have met so many amazing people that make saying bye so difficult.

I hope you enjoyed and got some insight into my journey abroad.

Peace & Love,

Anna

One Month in Korea

Yes, you read that right. Somehow I’ve already been here for 30 days. It feels like it’s been  longer but simultaneously the month has flown by. It’s crazy how settled I feel in such a short amount of time. I am already adjusted to my daily routine which I’m grateful allows me to sleep in until 7:30 (a luxury I’ve never had before). As someone who enjoys the morning, I’m so glad I’m able to wake up slowly and take my time getting ready before heading into work at 9.

The first few hours of my day is spent teaching my kinder class. I teach them phonics and do workbook activities with them before switching to another kindergarten class to teach reading comprehension. Then I come back to my class and teach them reading comprehension as well. Somewhere in between those classes I get a lunch break which starts by eating Korean “cafeteria” food. Cafeteria is in quotations because it’s nothing like American school lunch. There is rice every single day and some variation of meat, vegetables, and soup (no hot dogs, pizza, or burger to be found). After lunch, I continue teaching for about an hour before my kids get ready to go home. Recently added into this routine is braiding my girls’ hair. I did it once (now they request it every day) and if I braid for one of them I must braid for all. I don’t complain though because I love that it makes them feel so special and it makes me feel special too. I always have to take a picture of it so they can see what it looks like.

Once they leave, the afternoon classes start. These classes are about 40 minutes long and focus on different subjects. I have same two second grade girls every day and teach them reading, math, and writing. I love that it’s just us three. I’m getting to know them really well and they are so sweet. This week I picked up a new class later in the day for reading and writing. They are goofy and full of energy. We get along very well.

While you’re reading this it may seem like a lot of teaching, which it is. But, I do also have a lot of down time in between to work on class decorations or any prep work. This week has been crafty with Halloween coming up. I prefer to teach though since it makes the day go by more quickly.

Here’s a photo of my little monsters with their jack-o-lantern faces that they cut and glued themselves. You can also see a bit of our decor.

At 6 pm, I practically run home. I can’t wait to eat and do as little as possible for the rest of the night. My work is not very difficult but the days are extremely long and draining ( as any teacher knows).

I have to also give a shout out to my amazing co-teacher! She is probably reading this! If you are, Sunny you are so amazing! You guys, seriously, I cannot believe how hard she works every single day for our students. She is an incredible partner, huge help to me, and a great friend to have during my time here. After work one night this week we went to the store to buy decorations for our class, but we took our time. We went to dinner and she even took the time to let me grocery shop and buy stuff for my home before driving me back home! Oh, and she bought me ice cream! I am truly so lucky!

If there is anything I can say that is a testament to how happy and at peace I feel here so far, it would be this, I haven’t been biting my nails. Those who know me well know I have been an obsessive anxious nail biter for my entire life. I am pleased to say that typing this feels weird right now because my nails are actually pressing the keys before my fingers. Truly, this is a good sign.

Anyways, I am so grateful for all I have experienced in such a short time. I have already visited many different cities and have many big plans in the works. Tomorrow, I am going to a lantern festival. Next weekend, I am going to the DMZ and one of the highest mountains in Korea and in a few weeks I’m going to an apple festival with a friend (who I met in Portugal) who is studying abroad here! There is definitely no shortage of things to do in this country.

Thank you for the constant support I have received over the past month and the interest in my crazy journey. I truly appreciate every reader, Facebook like, Youtube view, etc.

1 down. 11 to go. Let the adventure continue.

Peace & Love,

Anna

Set Back or Set Up?

Okay update time! My move has been pushed back. Things were coming down to the wire and in the end didn’t go the way I would have hoped. Here’s the rundown:

So basically, I had to get an FBI background check and I didn’t pass. Just kidding. I got the background check done and was emailed my results in a password protected zip file. This is the new way that the US likes to do it because it’s faster and more efficient. Unfortunately, this is not the way Korea likes to do it! After deliberating and having my program director visit their office multiple times for hours on end, they rejected the document. They needed it to be printed out on a different kind of paper with a watermark instead of just on normal copy paper. For whatever reason, they could not verify it’s validity without this special paper. Yeah, my move is postponed because of one single piece of paper thats texture was incorrect…

This is frustrating because:

1. I was supposed to go to LA to get my visa as soon as this was approved.
2. I couldn’t communicate with people in Korea until night time so I wouldn’t know if I was going to LA until the night before.
3. I had been speculating which day it was going to be and organizing my work schedule around it.
4. It kept taking longer so I had to keep switching around my schedule.
5. I was mentally prepared to be leaving the country in 11 days.
6. After I got the document originally done, I have to apostille it which means someone in the US government has to verify the validity of the document and sign off on it ( so the paper shouldn’t matter because it’s already been signed off on).
7. And I have to reprocess a document which I have already correctly processed just to have it printed on a different type of paper.
8. Usually it takes 10-12 weeks to get this document by mail.

You can see how disheartening this would be which is why I spent the night crying and being upset. The immediate thought that crossed through my mind was “Maybe this means I shouldn’t go”. I was looking for an “out” because to be quite honest, the closer the day came the more nervous I was getting.

I had to stop and ask myself “What is the lesson here? Why is this hurdle being placed in my life?” Not to toot my own horn but I have recently discovered I am very good being self-aware and recognizing patterns in my life, and then I saw it.

Pattern: I spontaneously decide I want something. I sign up for it. It gets difficult. I don’t want it anymore.

Why is my first thought when something gets hard to quit?

I wasn’t expecting to learn any lessons before I even got to Korea, but then I realized…

When I’m there in a brand new environment and culture with brand new coworkers and personalities, many moments will be like this. My expectations will not always be met. I will be disappointed at times. Deadlines will change. Will I run home as soon as something doesn’t go my way?

Here’s where having good friends comes into play. I called my friend Amanda and she talked sense into me. “The Universe has perfect timing and you have to believe that this is all happening because it’s the best possible way.” I have to think of it as a set- up for something better instead of a set-back. I just have to detach myself from the result. As Tony Robbins says, “Trade expectation for appreciation”. I was upset, but I let go. It instantly worked miracles.

Yesterday, when I went to the get my fingerprints redone for the background check, the channeler ended up giving me the redo for free because she was sympathetic to my situation. She also found a way that would only take a few days instead of the 12 weeks it should have. As soon as I let go of what should happen, things started falling into place quickly. I have hope that everything will be resolved soon and I will be on the plane in no-time.

Que sera, sera!

Peace & Love,

Anna

Moving to Korea (The Process & My Experience) PART 1

Hey everyone!

Soooo if you didn’t see in my last post, I announced that I will be moving to Changwon, South Korea. Moving abroad is a long and tedious process. I know you could easily google it and find out for yourself but I think for my readers, friends, and family it might be more fun to hear my experience with it all: the good, the bad, and the horrifyingly hysterical. I’m gonna do sort of a Q&A format with myself for this one. This post will be split into 2 parts. The first part (this part) will be everything up to me getting the job and the second will be everything after.

Q: First things first, how did I choose Korea?

A: Originally, I really wanted to move to Europe. I thought a lot about Spain since I wanted to practice my Spanish or Portugal since I had already been and loved it. Ultimately, I decided that these choices weren’t for me for a few reasons.

Reason #1: MONEY

Salary and benefits aren’t that great in Europe or at least in those two areas. Most teachers just breakeven which is great. You get to travel around for a year and don’t lose any money. For me personally, I was looking for more than that and I knew I could get it elsewhere. After researching countries in Asia, I decided Korea had the best benefits including: paid airfare, paid studio apartment, good monthly salary, severance, pension, and low cost of living. This would help me to pay of my student loan debt while still living abroad and having extra money to travel around. SOLD.

Reason #2: EXPERIENCE

To be frank, everyone goes to Europe. It is beautiful and amazing and I hope to explore it in much more depth one day. But this was my one real chance to do something crazy and completely out of my element. I wanted an experience that many people don’t get to have so I started searching countries that seemed a little more “extreme” for lack of a better word.

Also, my grandparents worked in the military and lived in South Korea for many years. I had always been fascinated by their stories and their positive experience. They really embraced the culture, learned the language, and loved every second of it so Korea came into my mind quickly once I started thinking of Asia as an option.

Once I decided on Korea, the 3rd reason came into play.

Reason #3: RESEARCH

I did a shit ton of research. Like soooo much research. And by research I mean I locked myself in my room for one month and watched every vlog I could find of people who were/are teachers in Korea. THANK YOU INTERNET. I found so many cool ladies who were living in Korea doing their thing, living their best lives. It inspired me so much that I ultimately decided on Korea before then entering the next phase which was researching specific cities to see which ones seemed like a good fit. This phase was exhausting and tiring. I didn’t go to the gym for weeks. My eyes were glued to my computer screen. I wanted to be so sure of everything.

Here are two Youtubers whose videos I found the most useful:

Melody on the Move

Jessica Moy

I found few cities I was interested in and then went on to the next step!

Q: So, after you decided on Korea and a city, what did you do?

A: There are two general ways you can go about working abroad in Korea.

1. EPIK PROGRAM: EPIK stands for English Program in Korea. This is the public school teaching system for expats. I will spoil the surprise: I did not go this route (so my knowledge is limited). From what I understand, this is the safer route because it is more regulated by the government, but they also pay less and you seem to have less control of where you end up. I believe you tell them your top location choices and you don’t find out where you are placed until you are actually in Korea for your 10 day orientation.
2. Hagwon: The alternate option (my choice) was a private school. The process here is different. Most people go through a recruiter. I looked online at Dave’s ESL Cafe and responded to multiple listings there where I was then matched with recruiters. I am working with JAKS and have had a positive experience so far.

Q: What is the process of working with a recruiter like?

A: Okay, here is goes. Long list of steps to follow.

Step 1: Initial Interview + Documents

You will have an initial interview with a recruiter. They will ask you about your work experience and your resume. Note: You do not need experience teaching to work in Korea. You just need a BA degree in any field. They will also ask where you want to work and if you have your documents prepared.

WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PREPARING DOCUMENTS! CAN YOU FEEL THE FAKE EXCITEMENT IN MY TYPED OUT WORDS?

PRO TIP: As soon as you decide what country you want to work in, begin preparing your documents.

I decided last minute and in the peak of hiring season, so I had to act fast (which was costly). The two main things you need to have are your:

FBI Background Check & BA degree

The FBI check was the easier of the two. I got a live scan with an FBI Channeler, which I recommend. You usually go to get the live scan and then have to send it to the FBI, which takes weeks, but doing it with the Channeler allowed me to have my results immediately. Once you have your results, you have to send them to be apostilled. I paid 50 something dollars to have my apostille expedited because it can usually take around 6 weeks if not. So basically don’t do this last minute, if you don’t want to spend extra money to make it happen fast.

Then you have to get your degree notarized and apostilled as well! Woo hoo! There went another 60 something dollars of my hard earned cash. Since I had just graduated, I didn’t even have my physical copy of my degree yet. It took about 4 weeks after graduation to come in the mail so the whole process has been rushed.

I can not reiterate enough to start the process as early as possible.

Step 2: More Interviews

Your recruiter will match you up with private schools based on the area you wish you work in and then you will interview with the director at the school. They will offer you the job. The best advice I received was: Don’t feel forced to take the first one. There are so many jobs and so many schools waiting for you.

My first interview was great so I was instantly called to take it. I probably would have until they told me the person I would have been replacing decided they wanted to keep their job after all.

So, it was back to the diving board.

The next interview I had was AWFUL. They couldn’t Skype with me because their computer was broken and they asked me approximately 3 questions.

‘What’s your work experience?”

“Have you ever been to Korea?”

“Are you Asian because your last name is Lee?”

Oh, and a fourth question “Do you have any questions for us?”

Which I did, lots of them.

“What does the daily schedule look like?”

“What kind of breaks will I have?”

“Will I have prep time?”

etc.

The lady couldn’t answer any of the questions because she was new. Fine. Then she asked the director of the school who refused to answer my questions and told me to ask my recruiter (who doesn’t work for the school). She told me “She hoped she would see me in Korea,” and that was that. It’s was a HARD no (hard meaning BIG) from me.

But minutes later I had another interview with a different school that was great and ta-da I have a job in Korea!

TAKE YOUR TIME.

PRO-TIP: MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK

CAN I TALK WITH SOMEONE WHO IS A TEACHER AT THE SCHOOL!?

They will give you a point of contact and you can ask them the real stuff you want to know and get a real not sugar coated answer. One of my coworkers stayed on the phone with me for nearly an hour as I asked her tons of questions and I still message her now with any questions that come up. LIFESAVER.

Okay that’s it for now! If you read this far please leave a comment or a like on this post, I want to thank you! I hope I explained thoroughly and entertainingly. Like I mentioned before, I will be releasing a part 2 to this post once I finish all of the steps for my visa!

Peace & Love,

Anna