Living in Korea has become something I am very used to and somewhat enjoying. But this has not been the case for my first six months here. As we know, Korea is a very conservative place and for someone from a very liberal background like myself, I found it extremely hard adjusting to living here.
My first experience of language/culture shock experience was my first day in the language school. The best word to describe the day is “awful”. I felt like I was in a wrong country, a wrong place at the wrong time. I understood nothing that was being taught (although the teacher did not teach in English, other students seem to understand). Looking at the writings on the text book and board, it felt like it was art and I thought I needed to be an artist to read and or write the language.
The food was nothing to write home about as well. During my first week living in Korea, I ate chicken from KFC and burger every single day twice a day. I could not say a simple word like “hi” in Korean let alone try ordering home from a restaurant. I was by myself and had no friend for the first one week and it was extremely difficult to adjust considering my state of mind at that time.
Moving to a different part of the world, thousands of miles away from home where I know the culture is different is enough shock on its own, coupled with the fact that English is not the first language here made it worse for me. I had experienced a very sad event a year prior before the year I arrived here, and thus, I completely felt like I was in a pool of water, I did not know how to swim and was without a life jacket. Metaphorically speaking, I almost drowned in this pool called Korea and thought I had moved to the wrong country.
I can happily say today that is not the case today. I was motivated to study more during my time at the language school, I can go around on my own without the help of a native, I can eat some of the food, and I am almost completely adjusted to life here. Although I would love for some things to change, things like being stared at a lot because of the colour of my skin, the natives learning how to say “I am sorry” and “excuse me”, being bumped into around, stepped on and racial discrimination.
But overall, I am enjoying my time here at the moment and would be getting my masters degree in Korea, which means living here for at least 3-5 more years.
