Category: Expat Tales

For those new expats who moved to Korea with the August 2014 intake, the one month mark of your big move is only days away. The whirlwind of your new adventure is only just beginning, and although it may seem like you’ve just begun to learn about the new culture in which you’re now immersed, there are some cultural changes you’ve already undergone without noticing to better blend into your new surroundings.

If you know me then you will know that food is a big deal to me, hailing from a family of chefs I have always been raised around different kinds of foods and I am a far cry from a fussy eater. Breakfast is also a big deal to me, it’s the fuel that starts this engine in the morning and I don’t take that lightly. When I came to teach English in Taiwan I was excited to see what people ate for breakfast here. Living in a western breakfast bubble of toast, cereal and the full English breakfast I was ready to have my bubble popped and eyes opened to the delectable delights that the mysterious Taiwan had to offer.

I recently caught up with a good friend of mine who currently calls Central America home. Emily is a different person than when I first met her nearly 10 years ago. Her friendship has shaped me and her journey continues to inspire me. JG: Emily, you and your husband are on quite an adventure. Tell…
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This carnival post will not focus on the people I met along the way, as much as the past few paragraphs may have you think. Instead I shall be focusing on the person that was there with me for the most part of my travels. She has been my best friend for a very long time and it has been a roller-coaster of a time travelling with her, she is my very good friend, Hannah.

If any one word best describes the generation of modern Koreans, it’s trendsetters. Seriously, I’ve yet to see another country so amazingly on point with their fashion game. Each season, Korea brings fresh new trends and revamps old ones with an almost unbelievable amount of originality.

I believed a hyped lie before I moved to Asia, and that lie was that most men wear beauty products as casually as women do in South Korea. The strange thing is that all I felt was a sense of excitement. Call me crazy, but I don’t think that hiding a few blemishes with concealer or foundation makes a man any less of a….well, a man.

The three things you’ll quickly learn to be true while living in South Korea go as follows: kimchi is a cure all, your elders must be respected without question, and a beautiful face can get you through any tough situation. With these three nuggets of wisdom, I’d say having a beautiful face is the most important.

As I sat at the lakeside listening to the waves stirred up by the refreshing breeze, stoic, snow-capped mountain peaks standing guard at the water’s edge, poetry practically punched me square in the jaw. This moment of peace and beauty needed to be quantified somehow. Some words, some picture, some art, so that when I…
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