Airports can be both the most depressing and the happiest places on Earth. In the past two weeks, I’ve been on the former side twice. I left Romania in the middle of October and, 12 days later, I find myself 30,000 feet in the air again. This time, though, I am not leaving a person that I love, and I’m not going home to see my family and friends for the first time in 13 months: this time, I’m heading off to be completely and utterly alone. After hitchhiking, cycling, rafting, and everything else that I’ve done for the past year, I’m broke as a joke with student loan companies and debt collectors on my six. Because of this, I had to make a very difficult decision. I knew that I did not want to stay at my parents’ house and that I wanted to keep seeing the world. I had taught English in Turkey for six months, so I knew how easy it could be to get a teaching job abroad.
And it was easy. After a 20 minute Skype call, I was offered a job at a foreign language academy in Seogwipo, a city on the beautiful South Korean island of Jeju. With good money, minimal hours, free accommodation, and free flights as long as you stay for one year, it’s a pretty solid deal. My boss even told me that I could bring my dog! I anticipated how low I’d be feeling after leaving my heart in Europe, and the thought of having my lovable pup with me to snuggle was the only thing that I thought would keep me from plunging into loneliness-I haven’t been alone for a VERY long time, and have never lived by myself in a foreign country, so having my best furry friend with me seemed like the best kind of comfort. For three months, I borrowed hundreds of dollars for paperwork, veterinary visits, and notarization of documents by the USDA (thanks again for all your help, Ma). A week before I was set to leave, I found out that my boss had booked me on an airline that does not accept animals from the U.S. (*FYI: Do not fly Singapore Airlines from the U.S. if you want to take a pet). Needless to say, I was crushed. I contacted at least ten pet travel companies, but after receiving a quote of $5000, I knew that hope was lost. I did contact my new boss and even a co-worker in a final attempt to get what I was promised, but I got the exact response that I had expected: “Sorry”.
After 18 hours of flight, three hours of layover at SFO, and a 30 minute delay, I found myself beyond jetlagged, sprinting from the Incheon-Gimpo train with 10 minutes to catch my final flight to Jeju. Out of breath and dripping sweat all over the place, I dragged my two 50 lb bags (a girl needs her shoes) to the counter, feeling like I just might make it. “The gate has been closed”, or at least that’s what I assume she said, since it was in rapid Korean. Two hours of taxi rides, one wrong hotel, numerous burps and farts from the drivers, $110, and a whole bunch of Koreans shouting later, I’m crawling into bed at what I believe is called a “love motel” (based on the complimentary condoms, lighter, and ashtray on the bedside table) in Seoul. I’ll complete the final leg of my trip tomorrow afternoon, after some much needed sleep in the bed with no sheets; I might even amuse myself with the mood lighting adjuster on the wall.
I’m embarking on this journey alone, with my heart and my hound left behind and having to settle for my favorite blanket instead. It was not my first or even second choice, and I fully believe now that I made a mistake in leaving a situation that I was truly happy with 12 days ago. Unfortunately, I made the decision and financial obligation six years ago, when I chose to go to the university that I did (yeah, Dad, I know you’re shaking your head now). Now, I must deal with the consequences of that and pull myself up by the boot straps. Hopefully the next year will be full of amazing memories, though it definitely cannot compete with the last one. Judging by my first day, I’m fairly certain that it won’t be uneventful. I hope there will be more great new people, places, and food along the way, while I try to figure out what the hell to do in this crazy thing called “life”.
My new adventure starts now.
Hang on tightly there Leah, we are going to be with you once again, being inspired, listening, learning and supporting you in your new adventures!
Many hugs, from Brazil
Léo.
Eleonora & Leo: thanks so much for the kind words. Hopefully I’ll have happy things to write about again soon!
I don’t know about Jeju specifically, but you might be able to foster a puppy from a nearby shelter. Look for it! Nothing can replace your own pup, but another (temporary) puppy could give it a shot, at least. ?
Sally- Thanks for the advice. A few people have suggested that I do this, so maybe I’ll look into it. However, it’s not the same as having my dog that I’ve had for 3 years. Tough decisions and the life of a traveler!
I’ve been living in Korea (Busan and Ulsan) for over 2 1/2 years now. I’m not sure what life is like on Jeju, but I’ve been twice and it’s really beautiful and there’s soooo much to do! Hope you enjoy your time in Korea.
Thanks for the insight. I’m hoping it works out for me, too. Just a little nervous for the first time in a long time!
My boyfriend is a vegetarian too. We cook a lot at home. You should try iherb.com. They ship to Korea for cheap.
Meagan- thanks for the tip!
Yeah it’s great. Shipping to Korea is usually about $4. It’s seriously my favorite website. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll send you a coupon code.
[…] thought about this topic for quite a while, but only began to truly conceptualize it when I moved to Korea a week ago (Thanks Laura and Melissa for your inspiriting conversation). In Korea, children’s lives […]
[…] I’ve lived in South Korea for two weeks now. I came with a hundred bucks and, unfortunately, still have 23 days until pay day. Thus far, I’ve been living on rice, seaweed, and hot sauce- surprisingly good, but getting a bit old. The circles under my eyes indicate that I need some nutrition in my broke life. Today, I went to the Korean market and splurged on a $1.20 pack of soybean paste, and decided to use it as a broth. For a grand total of $5.00, I have enough soup to last me for a few days. After that, only 18 more days to go! I guess it’s all part of the adventure. […]
I always wondered what it was like to teach and live on Jeju. The island never really won me over if I’m honest, but I hear the community of teachers there is small and everyone gets along really well!
Lily- so far so good in Jeju. It does seem like a tight knit community, I don’t know how I feel about the island yet haha. We shall see!
Haha I know the feeling (kind of) since I live on Geoje Island. We always refer to it as “the island”, and although we have one bridge that connects us to Busan now, it still feels like I’m trapped on the island sometimes! Good luck! ?
[…] it. I’ve been pretty lucky in most of the countries that I’ve been to thus far. In Korea, people seem quite friendly and often wave. My students love my “golden” hair, and […]
[…] and hit the town. Busan is Korea’s second largest city, and we were both excited to leave our tiny island home and explore the metropolis for a few days. Although the city is a bit uninspiring as far as […]
[…] arriving to Korea, I was frequently told that it was a carnivore’s paradise- not the first thing that you want […]
[…] that I remember fondly, and I wish that I’d done more with my time there. I currently live in South Korea, and there are many aspects of life in Turkey that I miss, including the ease of being a vegetarian […]
[…] complete our rafting journey, I was determined to see more of the country before leaving Europe and heading for South Korea. After a few days visiting a friend in Kraków, nearly burning down our cabin in rural Ukraine, […]
[…] Upon my arrival in Korea, my new co-worker and I decided to venture out into nationally-renowned scenery at our doorstep. Living in the Korean version of Hawaii (supposedly), we were prepared for tourists and an obnoxious amount of smartphone and tablet photos. However, we were definitely not prepared to be the subject of those photos. With the sea on one side of us and the largest mountain in the country on the other, we expected the photos to be of anything but two girls standing in between. I’ve come to realize, though, that in an utterly homogeneous society, anyone with larger eyes and bright blonde hair is bound to stand out. I’m so accustomed to this now, in fact, that I didn’t object when several drunk Korean guys actually asked me for some photos with me the other night. Completely harmless, a bit awkward, but oh well. It’ll give them a conversation starter with their friends the next day. […]
[…] have been scarce in my part of Korea. On a potluck Mexican night, we were all definitely missing the creamy dip. One day, I was […]
[…] After all, one of the best aspects of traveling involves seeing and doing new things. Since coming here, I’ve experienced a lot of “firsts”, some very pleasant and some not so […]
[…] since moving to Jeju, I’ve wanted to check out Manjanggul Cave. Jeju was formed from a series of volcanic […]