Joyfully Meryl

“Everyone needs this friend that calls and says, “Get dressed, we’re going on an adventure.” 10 years ago, I visited South Korea for the first time. My mom had blessed me with a plane ticket as a graduation gift for my Master’s degree and so my chosen destination was Asia. First, I visited family in Singapore and then my friend, Mbali, who had been living in Korea. I stayed with her for about a week in Paju, experiencing her life there and how she navigated teaching and living abroad. It was a wonderful trip, not just seeing my friend after a few years since we graduated, but also getting to go on an adventure with someone who loves travelling and therefore, will make sure that you get the most out of your experience.  Visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul in 2012. During that visit, I got to eat delicious Korean food, meet all Mbali’s friends, go clubbing till ridiculous hours of the morning, and visit various cities, including Samcheok (a seaside city) where we stayed in a lo...

When I arrived in Korea, COVID-19 was still fairly widespread (it still is with no less than 10,000 new cases reported every day) so I had to quarantine for seven days in Seoul before heading to Daejeon. Since I came via EPIK (English Program in Korea), which is the government’s public-school program for foreign teachers, they arranged everything concerning arrival, quarantine and transportation to our respective cities. On Friday, 25 March we (the other new teachers and I) headed to Daejeon where we’d be starting our new teaching careers. I swear you could cut the tension with a knife during the bus ride. It was so quiet. Even when the coordinator went to buy us snacks during the pitstop, no one talked. Just sitting there quietly with our thoughts. I thought this was so funny but like everyone else, I was just as nervous and quiet. Knowing everybody felt the same jitters made me feel slightly better though as I wasn’t alone in what I was about to face.  Yes, I had teaching experie...