Greeting Daejeon through why's and tears
Over two months ago I arrived in Seoul, South Korea to start a new job teaching English. I had been to Korea before, about 10 years ago, but I was only here for a week or two so I didn’t have that much experience of the country. So, coming here has been a bit of a shock to the system, even for someone who has travelled quite a bit in East Asia and lived in Taiwan for a year. But I think it’s been a shock mostly because I have essentially changed almost everything about my life. I’ve changed my career, from being a full-time student, academic and researcher for the better part of the last 10 years. I’ve moved countries, from my very comfortable life and home in Cape Town, South Africa to the city of Daejeon, where I’d never been before and would be teaching and living, with no family nearby. I’ve moved to a country with a very different language, culture and societal expectations to my own. The lack of English spoken and used in this city has been astounding and honestly, just caught me...