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Tag: korea

We Came Home

March 29, 2020April 10, 2020Leave a comment

To be honest, finding the motivation to write in self-quarantine has been a struggle—ironic, considering all the free time it creates. But, alas, after fielding messages from concerned friends and family, I finally sat down to put an update in writing. So here we go. To those who did not yet know: surprise! Joey and … Continue reading We Came Home

It’s Not All K-Pop and Kimchi

March 8, 2020March 9, 20201 Comment

When we left Korea for Japan in mid-January, the term coronavirus was, itself, novel. At the airport there was a standard number of people wearing face masks—it being flu season in an airport in Asia—but having now been on this side of the world for over a year, a layperson in a face mask didn’t … Continue reading It’s Not All K-Pop and Kimchi

February: Single-Use Plastics

March 2, 2020March 17, 2020Leave a comment

When I lived in Thailand, everything came in a plastic bag. Iced coffees in takeaway cups: bagged; fresh fruit from the market: double bagged. The one that always killed me was when I would stop into a 7-Eleven post-run on a humid evening, red faced and dripping with sweat. I would grab a plastic water … Continue reading February: Single-Use Plastics

Snow Day

February 17, 2020February 17, 2020Leave a comment

I woke up Sunday morning and I really did not want to go to the gym. I was still sore from climbing earlier in the week, and "going to the gym" is not as simple here as it is at home. To go to the gym is a commitment: a 15-minute walk to the bus … Continue reading Snow Day

January: Food Waste

February 3, 2020June 3, 20202 Comments

On my first day at school with the set intention of minimizing my personal production of food waste, I was served the biggest bowl of noodle soup I had ever seen. I am talking comically large: like, my own personal serving platter. I had never even seen the giant bowls that the soup was being … Continue reading January: Food Waste

Teacher Update: English Camp

January 10, 2020March 17, 2020Leave a comment

The Korean school year ends with the calendar year, followed by the longer of the two school breaks: winter break. During this time, it is not uncommon for a foreign teacher to be “asked” to host an English Camp at one of their schools, as I was. My instructions were these: the first week of … Continue reading Teacher Update: English Camp

Give Me More Kindergartners

October 24, 2019Leave a comment

It is safe to say that my feelings about my students change daily, sometimes by the minute. Some days they are engaged, funny, and enthusiastic; we joke and laugh, and time passes quickly. Other days, nobody listens or cares, they whine and carry on, and the minutes tick by like hours. However, through the ups … Continue reading Give Me More Kindergartners

Understanding Our Differences

October 1, 2019November 28, 2019Leave a comment

People in Korea are afraid of English. Deathly terrified. There are exceptions, yes: there always are. But my experience these past six months can be characterized by this general fear. The look I get from the coffee shop worker when I come up to order is one of sheer panic. When the woman at the … Continue reading Understanding Our Differences

Humidity, Hiking, and Hopeful Thinking

August 19, 2019August 19, 2019Leave a comment

Summer has hit here in Korea... oh man. We are talking 100 degree days, 100% humidity, and UV index levels of 11 (read: extreme!). On days we get a little relief from the glaring sun, it pours down rain (did I mention 100% humidity?). Unlike in Oregon, where summer rain brings a clean sense of … Continue reading Humidity, Hiking, and Hopeful Thinking

Week 10: A Win

July 9, 2019August 19, 2019Leave a comment

Finally—finally!—after over 2 months of teaching in Korea, I had a week that felt like a win. Did I mention: finally?! Let me get one thing out of the way: the whole teaching thing? I don't love it. Quite honestly, it is frustrating and stressful and I want to like it more than I do. … Continue reading Week 10: A Win

Girl vs. Korea

June 20, 2019September 1, 20191 Comment

I’ve never had a job—or, in my many years of schooling, a schedule—so jarringly emotionally inconsistent as being an English teacher in Korea. Seriously. One day things will be great: the bus will come on time; I will get to school early and the other teachers will be in a great mood, offering me coffee … Continue reading Girl vs. Korea

Week 1: Making the best of things

April 27, 2019August 19, 20191 Comment

For the months leading up to our big move, I tried to keep my expectations of what was to come in Korea low, nonexistent even. In a situation that was totally out of my hands, speculating about where I would be placed, what my school would be like, or what my apartment might have seemed … Continue reading Week 1: Making the best of things

I am a native Oregonian and a graduate from The University of Oregon on a mission to explore the world and make a difference.

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Recent Posts

  • May: Buy Nothing June 3, 2020
  • April: Cleaning Out the Closets May 12, 2020
  • March: Digital Declutter April 13, 2020
  • We Came Home March 29, 2020
  • It’s Not All K-Pop and Kimchi March 8, 2020
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