Category: Expat Tales

I’m sure that we all have things that we would have done different when preparing to go away, because lets face it, we weren’t blessed with the gift of foresight and problems will always occur. Which is why we are here to share with you the things that we would have done differently to better prepare you the reader. Here are my top 3.

To plug in or unplug? This is the modern traveler’s quest(ion) worth pursuing. I suppose there is a time for both, as well as a natural inclination toward one option or the other. I would guess that as the world advances in the area of technology, the temptation is to be increasingly wired. Of course, that’s all subjective to your level of addiction.

We all know Valentine’s Day to be a beautiful day drenched in roses, wine, chocolates, and fairy tale-like romance…unless you’re single. Singletons around the globe dread the creeping date of February 14th no matter in which country they reside. For those currently unattached and living in Korea, the sobering awareness of a single’s relationship status in February tends to be amplified more so than in any western countries because of Korea’s “couple culture”.

How do we get from commercial outrage to united understanding? One step at a time. And maybe the first step for many of us needs to be outside of ourselves and into the lives of someone different, some place foreign. Whether that’s travel to third-world countries or to the neighborhood across town, our better selves are waiting there for us. There is great value in a global perspective.

Foreign men in South Korea, rejoice because this article is for your benefit. If you’re a newbie to the land of the morning calm, then there are a few things you should learn about Valentine’s Day in South Korea. Women, you might not find the holiday of love as appealing in South Korea as you do in your western countries. The reason being, Valentine’s Day is a holiday for MEN. You read that correctly.

Now that desk warming season is in full swing, I hope you were able to keep busy last week with the 5 productive activities to do at school during your free time. This week I have 5 more activities to share with you to prevent your brain from turning to mush during this long and lonely time at school.

This is life. Full of heartache and loss and compromise and sacrifice and exhaustion and selfishness and jealousy and hurt. None of that changes because you decide to buy a plane ticket. Waste still collides with ceiling fans. Difficult times still come. And there are healthy ways to deal with hard times, regardless of location.

In desk warming season it would be easy to just watch an endless marathon of movies and Youtube videos. In fact, this is what most teachers tend to prefer doing. Instead of letting my brain mush out for weeks on New Girl reruns and Facebook stalking, I prefer to stay busy and keep my mind occupied during this extra free time. I’m going to share with you 10 things I like to do during desk warming season to help keep me busy, active, and happy.