Saturday's Thoughts

It's around 6:41 a.m. I've been up since 5:00. Today I will shoot three more interviews here at the apartment. I am rather relieved to be doing these interviews on my "own" turf as it were, rather than at the university, which is a bit of a schlepp from here when you're carrying bags of equipment.

Yesterday, both teachers I interviewed spoke about the feeling of freedom that comes with living in Korea. Here, you're outside the bounds of your own society, you're free to think and do without the burden of responsibility to the things that hold you in place back home. (The only common responsibility that no one can escape, it would seem, are student loans, which seem to be ubiquitous no matter the country of origin.) This freedom isn't about shirking responsibility - although certainly people come here looking for escape. It's about having the space to examine how you react to being in another culture, and taking away something about yourself from that. Learning about another culture, living aspects of that culture and language, create a new vantage point from which to see your own culture and your life. That theme was reiterated by both Eli and Noel yesterday.

Certainly, paying back student loans in an economy that allows you to do so without living like a monk is a huge draw, as are the plane ticket to get here and the free housing. The average "oegugin" (foreigner) who works here as an EFL teacher makes 2 - 2.3 million Korean won per month, which is around US$2000. That's a lot of money here, and most Korean managers don't make that much. The cost of living being what it is, it's very possible to pay students loans, save some cash, and still live well here.

Tomorow I will take a train to Ulsan in the afternoon, after my two last interviews in Seoul. From that point I'm not sure what my internet access will look like, so posts may come every couple of days. Please be patient if you don't see something new up every day. Oh, and also be assured that photos will go up when I return.