Hi everyone. If you’ve made it through my whopping three previous blog posts, here is the last one. Thanks for taking the time to read. My flight home is on August 24th, and I plan on having a welcome home party on August 29th. So hopefully I’ll see some of you then or at some other point while I’m home!
Debt & Travel
As of May 30th, I am officially debt-free! My main reason for coming to Korea in the first place was to pay off my student loans (among other reasons). I came here with roughly 14-15k in loans. I had a pretty simple strategy: as soon as I got paid every month, I immediately took out a large chunk of my paycheck to transfer home and pay towards my loan. This worked really well for me as it forced me to stick to a budget by living off whatever money I had left over after my monthly loan payment. I’m also satisfied because I feel like I’ve struck a good balance here between paying off my loans each month but also still going out on the weekends/traveling around the country.
My final two paychecks (and bonuses upon contract completion) will go towards saving up to travel in the fall/winter. I currently plan on staying home for 2-3 months when I arrive at the end of August. After that, I have a rough plan to travel through South America. The countries I’m currently thinking of going to include Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. I definitely plan on doing more Couchsurfing and hopefully even a work exchange (a work exchange is where you work a certain number of hours a day in exchange for food and accommodation). I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.
I've met a couple people here in Korea who sometimes complain to me about how they wish they could travel more or do so and so. Despite this, they will blow through $100 on a weekend night or buy some random item which may be convenient for them at the time, but is ultimately unnecessary. For anyone thinking of traveling, doing something that requires money, or reaching some financial goal- you must take real, actual financial steps towards that goal. Put money away that you can't touch as soon as you receive a paycheck. Calculate your monthly income and approximate expenses per week. Separate wants from needs (this is a big one). Keep your goal in mind. Many people want to travel or achieve some goal, but not many will actually take the logical, required steps towards that goal.
Mud Festival
As you’ll see in some photos below, I went to Korea’s annual mud festival recently. It was loads of fun.
Island travel
I went to an island called Bigeum-do (“bee-geum-doe”) a few months ago. This island was like paradise. Really deserted, and we camped out on a beautiful beach. Did some awesome hiking the next day as well. Pictures below.
A tragic accident and a reminder
A few months ago a girl I knew in Mokpo died after being hit by a bus while riding her bicycle. We were not close friends, but I had hung out with her a few times over the year with groups of friends. Initially I was quite shocked upon hearing the news. It didn’t seem real at first as I had just seen her a week or two before her death. Her sudden death served as an important reminder to me, and I’d like to pass on this reminder to everyone else:
Death, serious injury, or terminal illness can come to us or the ones we love at any time in life- tomorrow, in a week, in a month, a year, or a few years. We simply don’t know. Although I can reasonably assume that I’ll still be here tomorrow or in a month, my future is never totally certain. I’m guessing my friend also reasonably assumed she would still be alive the day before the accident. Considering I ride my bike in Mokpo every day, that easily could have been me that was hit by the bus.
I, my friends, my parents, my brothers, family and everyone around me will all die one day. When? Who knows. Could be a year. Could be 60 years. But eventually, everyone I know and everything I am will some day be totally gone.
You can look at this in a depressing, helpless and sad way- if that's what you choose. But you're better off looking at it in slightly different way. I like to think of it more as motivation or a call to action: since we'll all eventually be gone, and since we don't know when- there is no reason to not live every moment and day to its fullest, and to create our lives as we see fit.
“Fullest” can mean a variety of things: gratefulness for your health, situation, life, friendships, family. Letting go of the past and regrets. Letting go of the future and worries. Forgiving. Doing things you love or things meaningful to you. Being kind, loving and helpful. The list goes on and on, and is defined by the individual. Personally, I forget and fail all the time at doing these things. But I can at least try my best, and hopefully become a better person in doing so- and maybe even improve the lives of others and the world around me.
To paraphrase a mentor of mine: it’s not about living longer. It’s about living well and living fully.
Things I miss from home
I’ve been in Korea for over 11 months now, but it was after about month five that I started to legitimately miss certain things from home. I figured I would share my list of things (aside from my friends and family) that I miss from home. Thankfully I won’t have to wait much longer for these. I miss a wide variety of things, so I’ll keep this list to just the top 10 (in no particular order).
1. A bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a toasted dark, lightly buttered plain bagel from Wyckoff’s best bagel shop, “Goldberg’s Bagels”.
2. My dog, Frodo.
3. Buffalo wings, good pizza, a good cheeseburger, a sandwich from Market Basket, my mom’s “chili cups”, any food my dad makes, and blueberry waffles. As you can imagine, there is a very real chance that I may put on some weight upon returning home.
4. Relaxing on the couch in the basement, watching a movie.
5. Hiking through the Ramapo Valley Reservation.
6. Driving a car.
7. Swimming in the pool/relaxing in the hot tub.
8. Meditating in the backyard.
9. Being surrounded by a language that I can actually understand. If there is one thing that may cause a slight “reverse culture-shock”, it may be this. Walking around, going places, interacting with people, and just hearing English everywhere around me (as well as seeing white people everywhere) is going to be very strange.
10. Good sunsets. The sunsets here in Korea are not that good. This is predominantly due to the air pollution (and maybe Korea’s position on the globe?). When the sun goes down, it doesn’t really hit the actual horizon because it sets behind a haze of air pollution first. There’s not much vibrancy or clarity when looking at the sunset because of all the particles in the air. It’s not like New Jersey or (especially) Virginia, where sunsets can be a vibrant combination of purple, yellow, orange or red. I miss clean air in general. Even during a clear summer day, the sky is blue, but not a vibrant blue like at home. It’s more of an off-blue with light grey and white mixed in.
Going home and final thoughts
I still remember saying goodbye to my parents at the airport before leaving for Korea. I still remember my first night in Mokpo. I clearly remember much of it like it was yesterday, and it doesn’t feel like it was nearly a year ago. This holds true for many old memories in my life. Memories from university, high school, and some childhood memories. In hindsight, time does seem to pass by very quickly. I don’t mind it though. Like a kid in a playground, time flies when you’re having fun- so maybe the quick passage of time is a sign that I’ve been having loads of fun all these years…which I feel like I have- hah!
Leaving Korea is bittersweet. I will miss the good friends I’ve formed here (some of which I feel will be lifetime friends!) I will miss many types of Korean food- I plan on getting some at home maybe in New York City. I’ll miss many things, most of which I probably won’t realize until I’m home. Going home will be surreal and a radical change for me- just what I like! I'm very excited.
Love,
Andrew
Debt & Travel
As of May 30th, I am officially debt-free! My main reason for coming to Korea in the first place was to pay off my student loans (among other reasons). I came here with roughly 14-15k in loans. I had a pretty simple strategy: as soon as I got paid every month, I immediately took out a large chunk of my paycheck to transfer home and pay towards my loan. This worked really well for me as it forced me to stick to a budget by living off whatever money I had left over after my monthly loan payment. I’m also satisfied because I feel like I’ve struck a good balance here between paying off my loans each month but also still going out on the weekends/traveling around the country.
My final two paychecks (and bonuses upon contract completion) will go towards saving up to travel in the fall/winter. I currently plan on staying home for 2-3 months when I arrive at the end of August. After that, I have a rough plan to travel through South America. The countries I’m currently thinking of going to include Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. I definitely plan on doing more Couchsurfing and hopefully even a work exchange (a work exchange is where you work a certain number of hours a day in exchange for food and accommodation). I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.
I've met a couple people here in Korea who sometimes complain to me about how they wish they could travel more or do so and so. Despite this, they will blow through $100 on a weekend night or buy some random item which may be convenient for them at the time, but is ultimately unnecessary. For anyone thinking of traveling, doing something that requires money, or reaching some financial goal- you must take real, actual financial steps towards that goal. Put money away that you can't touch as soon as you receive a paycheck. Calculate your monthly income and approximate expenses per week. Separate wants from needs (this is a big one). Keep your goal in mind. Many people want to travel or achieve some goal, but not many will actually take the logical, required steps towards that goal.
Mud Festival
As you’ll see in some photos below, I went to Korea’s annual mud festival recently. It was loads of fun.
Island travel
I went to an island called Bigeum-do (“bee-geum-doe”) a few months ago. This island was like paradise. Really deserted, and we camped out on a beautiful beach. Did some awesome hiking the next day as well. Pictures below.
A tragic accident and a reminder
A few months ago a girl I knew in Mokpo died after being hit by a bus while riding her bicycle. We were not close friends, but I had hung out with her a few times over the year with groups of friends. Initially I was quite shocked upon hearing the news. It didn’t seem real at first as I had just seen her a week or two before her death. Her sudden death served as an important reminder to me, and I’d like to pass on this reminder to everyone else:
Death, serious injury, or terminal illness can come to us or the ones we love at any time in life- tomorrow, in a week, in a month, a year, or a few years. We simply don’t know. Although I can reasonably assume that I’ll still be here tomorrow or in a month, my future is never totally certain. I’m guessing my friend also reasonably assumed she would still be alive the day before the accident. Considering I ride my bike in Mokpo every day, that easily could have been me that was hit by the bus.
I, my friends, my parents, my brothers, family and everyone around me will all die one day. When? Who knows. Could be a year. Could be 60 years. But eventually, everyone I know and everything I am will some day be totally gone.
You can look at this in a depressing, helpless and sad way- if that's what you choose. But you're better off looking at it in slightly different way. I like to think of it more as motivation or a call to action: since we'll all eventually be gone, and since we don't know when- there is no reason to not live every moment and day to its fullest, and to create our lives as we see fit.
“Fullest” can mean a variety of things: gratefulness for your health, situation, life, friendships, family. Letting go of the past and regrets. Letting go of the future and worries. Forgiving. Doing things you love or things meaningful to you. Being kind, loving and helpful. The list goes on and on, and is defined by the individual. Personally, I forget and fail all the time at doing these things. But I can at least try my best, and hopefully become a better person in doing so- and maybe even improve the lives of others and the world around me.
To paraphrase a mentor of mine: it’s not about living longer. It’s about living well and living fully.
Things I miss from home
I’ve been in Korea for over 11 months now, but it was after about month five that I started to legitimately miss certain things from home. I figured I would share my list of things (aside from my friends and family) that I miss from home. Thankfully I won’t have to wait much longer for these. I miss a wide variety of things, so I’ll keep this list to just the top 10 (in no particular order).
1. A bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a toasted dark, lightly buttered plain bagel from Wyckoff’s best bagel shop, “Goldberg’s Bagels”.
2. My dog, Frodo.
3. Buffalo wings, good pizza, a good cheeseburger, a sandwich from Market Basket, my mom’s “chili cups”, any food my dad makes, and blueberry waffles. As you can imagine, there is a very real chance that I may put on some weight upon returning home.
4. Relaxing on the couch in the basement, watching a movie.
5. Hiking through the Ramapo Valley Reservation.
6. Driving a car.
7. Swimming in the pool/relaxing in the hot tub.
8. Meditating in the backyard.
9. Being surrounded by a language that I can actually understand. If there is one thing that may cause a slight “reverse culture-shock”, it may be this. Walking around, going places, interacting with people, and just hearing English everywhere around me (as well as seeing white people everywhere) is going to be very strange.
10. Good sunsets. The sunsets here in Korea are not that good. This is predominantly due to the air pollution (and maybe Korea’s position on the globe?). When the sun goes down, it doesn’t really hit the actual horizon because it sets behind a haze of air pollution first. There’s not much vibrancy or clarity when looking at the sunset because of all the particles in the air. It’s not like New Jersey or (especially) Virginia, where sunsets can be a vibrant combination of purple, yellow, orange or red. I miss clean air in general. Even during a clear summer day, the sky is blue, but not a vibrant blue like at home. It’s more of an off-blue with light grey and white mixed in.
Going home and final thoughts
I still remember saying goodbye to my parents at the airport before leaving for Korea. I still remember my first night in Mokpo. I clearly remember much of it like it was yesterday, and it doesn’t feel like it was nearly a year ago. This holds true for many old memories in my life. Memories from university, high school, and some childhood memories. In hindsight, time does seem to pass by very quickly. I don’t mind it though. Like a kid in a playground, time flies when you’re having fun- so maybe the quick passage of time is a sign that I’ve been having loads of fun all these years…which I feel like I have- hah!
Leaving Korea is bittersweet. I will miss the good friends I’ve formed here (some of which I feel will be lifetime friends!) I will miss many types of Korean food- I plan on getting some at home maybe in New York City. I’ll miss many things, most of which I probably won’t realize until I’m home. Going home will be surreal and a radical change for me- just what I like! I'm very excited.
Love,
Andrew