After Korea??

As the time comes to finish my contract in Korea and move on to a new adventure in life I become baffled, confused, overwhelmed and uncertain of everything. I’ve lived abroad before and have become acquainted with these feelings as the time comes to leave the places I have created a life in. In the past I have made fast, irrational and completely wonderful decisions.

This particular adventure, my life in Korea, has been the longest I’ve lived abroad in one place and in the most “real-life” environment I have ever lived in. I have a real job teaching, my own apartment, friends, a boyfriend, a favorite restaurant, convenient store and, and …..oh how I dread saying this… a schedule. I came here to have another adventure and due to personal financial needs in our current world economic crisis, I made this place a home instead of a spontaneous or random experience. Fortunately, Korea’s slogan is “Dynamic Korea” which happens to be true in life here. Each day I wake up unknowing of what might happen, classes are randomly cancelled because lunch arrived early, school has been cancelled because it’s the principals birthday or the teachers want to go to dinner so we leave school early and get drunk off soju and go to a noraebong (Karaoke rooms- Koreans are obsessed). There have been extremely difficult times and there have also been unforgettable memories made.

I don’t regret coming to Korea and I could NEVER regret staying an extra year. I paid off debt and met amazing friends, including my boyfriend. I also started rock climbing and getting back into my childhood hobbies of camping, hiking, and biking. There were many years that I drifted from who I am and explored who I wanted to be. Without those years of discovery I wouldn’t be who I am today. Now that I’m comfortable in my own shoes and have discovered what I love in life there is still one HUGE problem, what do I do now?

I have MANY loves in life such as writing, board games, family, friends, hiking, biking, pretty much every adventure sport and anything outdoors, reading, singing off tune, dancing, wine, etc… When I think about what I want to do after Korea one thing comes to mind, go back to school. When I think about what I want to go back to school for two things come to mind, Cultural Anthropology and Outdoor Education. On one hand, who wouldn’t want to go to school for Outdoor Education? I can do anything from teaching, to guiding adventure groups, working with nonprofit organizations, writing, photography and so many more. I would love the lifestyle and be able to live with copious amounts of freedom. The best part, this subject comes a bit more naturally to me. The problem lies in the fact that when I think about doing this I feel unsatisfied. I feel a craving for something different. I want to study culture and geography and the behaviors of humans in history. I want to travel the world and teach people about cultures other than their own. Help them to understand people they may otherwise feel “hatred” towards. This would be the most satisfying lifestyle to me if only I had time and money for the adventures on the side.

So what do I do? I apply to both and hope that with time and support from family and friends I figure it out. With the current financial situation around the world, I feel extremely lucky that my biggest problem right now is picking what I “want” instead of what I “have” to do with my life.