Moving Abroad

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It has been almost two months since I moved to Korea, time flies! Unfortunately,  time doesn't work that way for everyone. In the past months at least three people in Daegu have decided that they wanted to go home. While I don't know any of them personally I can't imagine how much it sucks to spend so much of your time and energy into moving and not like it at all. So I thought I would put in my two cents about moving abroad and what to consider.

I think many people romanticize what it's like to live in another country. Many think that everything will be different and maybe even they will be different, but this is not the case.  You are who you are, and moving somewhere else won't change that. You may find out new things about yourself or the experience may help or inspire you to work on parts you don't like, but moving won't change the inherent you. 

Overall, life in other countries looks pretty much the same. You go to work, have work related issues, and try hard to be good at your job (especially as a teacher). You go home after work, relax, try to make new friends and go out on the weekends. In the end, you still have to find what makes you happy in your free time.  

What has made moving a good experience for me is that I was very truthful about my situation and expectations. I loved my life in Chicago and while I sometimes miss it, I know that I have not chosen a better life path just a different one from the one I had in Chicago.  I also knew that living in another country would be hard. I feel guilty at least once a day about not speaking Korean and awkward more than once a day. 

There is also Derek. I know that a lot of my happiness is because I am sharing the experience with him and we have each other. I think it would be much harder without Derek and am not even sure I would have ever come to Korea. We remind each other that we have to make the best of our experience by exploring or trying new things, otherwise moving would be a waste.

In the end, I encourage people to think about moving abroad (come to Korea!) but you have to be very truthful to yourself about why you want to.