Guest Column: Window to the Seoul

It is 9 a.m. on my day off, and all logic says I should be asleep. However, I was woken up by the sounds of 8-year-old children laughing and shouting in a language I don't understand as they threw around a Frisbee. On my way to grab some food from 7-Eleven, I glance at the week's menu. Acorn jelly and kimchi for lunch? That's the norm here in Seoul, South Korea.

A year ago, I was an average college senior. Decked out in my cap and gown, I sat on the court of Comcast Center with my friends. In the following weeks, I watched as these same friends struggled to find jobs, and I knew I wasn't ready to deal with that. At 21, I wasn't ready to get a "real" job and get a lease, bills and all of the other responsibilities that come with young adulthood. Moving to Korea seemed like a great time-filler. After all, I'd only been able to legally drink for a few months - what on earth made me think I could handle all the other things that come with being a grown-up?

As summer approached and I, still jobless, insisted I was going to Korea, my friends said, "How exciting! I wish I could do that!" and then signed their contracts and began apartment-hunting without realizing that they, too, could do this. Instead looking for a job in this time of layoffs and buyouts, I perused the ESL Cafe website, praying to find the perfect teaching job. After months of interviews, contract debates and job offers, I took a job at an English village on the outskirts of Seoul. My flights, meals and apartment are covered by my employer. My only expenses are the ones I create for myself - food, trips, subway fare, etc.

I now spend my days teaching kids in situational classrooms. On any given day, I am a flight attendant, a bank teller, a grocer and a waiter. I am no longer "Melissa," but "Melissa Teacher." When we get some really clever kids, I turn into "Melamine Teacher" or "Medusa Teacher."

Everything I had read online was true (for once) - the job is easy and the money is good. My coworkers are from all ends of the Earth: I have made close friends from Scotland, England, Australia and everywhere in between. Living and working in a foreign country is nothing short of exciting. While I don't always agree with traditional Korean culture, I've grown to respect its history. On my vacations, I've traveled to countries I never considered visiting. But when a flight to China or Japan is only $100, why not go?

I'll be honest; sometimes living here is hard. I didn't get to spend the holiday season with my family. I missed the funerals of both my grandfather and my college mentor. The lives of my friends have continued on. There have been engagements, job promotions and big moves, and instead of being there to celebrate, I can only read e-mails or look through Facebook albums after the fact. When I come back to America, I will be starting from square one. I'll begin the job hunt and hope that my grasp of my native tongue hasn't taken a tremendous blow after a year of speaking in dumbed-down, broken English.

While there have been rough patches, overall this has been an incredible experience. This experience has been about limits - finding out what my own are and pushing them. Eight months into my contract, I have no intention of signing another one, but I have no regrets about the year I agreed to. Teaching English abroad isn't for everyone, but it's the perfect way to venture out into the world and see things I never dreamed I'd see. If you have any questions or are interested in teaching in any country abroad, feel free to contact me or check out www.eslcafe.com.

Melissa Weiss is a university alumna from the class of 2008 and former reporter and copy editor for The Diamondback. She can be reached at weiss86@gmail.com.