A Life of Layovers: How Traveling Solo Changed Who I am

I didn’t know what I wanted to do. The only thing I knew I wanted, was to travel.

I came across a job posting looking to hire English teachers in Korea. I had majored in English. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, and no true passion for teaching. Travelling, on the other hand, sounded perfect. I researched the hell out of this gig. Turns out, a lot of people do it. I have never pursued something so fervently as I did when I found this opportunity to go abroad, leave Texas, and get paid to live in a foreign country. I was 23, had just graduated college, and nothing sounded more enticing than this grand new adventure. I had befriended a girl with a mom from Korea in the 8th grade, but other than that, I had no personal ties or knowledge about anything related to Korea. I didn’t even have a passport. I truly don’t know what compelled me to yearn for this experience more than I’ve ever yearned for anything. I contacted the schools, I spoke to the other foreign teachers employed at the schools. In a few weeks I had secured a job offer, a plane ticket, a step-by-step guide on how to make the transition, and a newfound excitement that had been dormant for years. My mom gasped when I sent the acceptance letter to the school I’d be working at. In a town called Cheonan, about an hour train ride south of Seoul, I’d embark on a new journey, alone, at 23, having never left the country.

I managed to navigate myself to the outside of Incheon airport. I was instructed to take the bus to Cheonan. I didn’t have a cell phone, so I relied on my interpersonal skills and some charades to persuade a lonesome taxi driver to let me use his cell to contact my new boss. I got on a bus that I wasn’t confident was going to the right town, but I just sat there and marveled at the flashing lights, futuristic buildings, signs that didn’t have a single English letter on them. I was so exhausted and running on pure adrenaline and it was close to 8pm. We pulled into a bus station about an hour later and thankfully my new coworker and boss were there to meet me and spoke decent English. It felt like a huge relief. I just wanted to get to bed and crash immediately. But of course, they drove me straight to a restaurant for dinner without asking if I was hungry. We sat down to a Korean BBQ, and I was exposed for the first time to someone nonchalantly cutting meat with a pair of scissors. A technique that I have come love. Then they took me back to my newly built apartment budling. the door had a keyless entry combination lock and spoke to you in a futuristic Korean voice. The wallpaper was lime green flowers and pink stripes, an objectionable mixture of colors and shapes. the shower didn’t have a curtain or a door, it was just a space next to the toilet that got soaking wet. All of these new and different things to get accustomed to, but I had no expectations and nothing to compare to this experience so it was all magical and exciting.

Over the course of a year, I learned how uneducated I was. How the US is not the center of the world like everyone loves to believe it is. I learned about so many other countries and met so many interesting people. I had the most unique experiences. I went to a mud festival where the soil is so rich you can rub it all over your body while drinking cocktails out of a bag hanging from a string around your neck. I stayed in a Buddhist temple where we were awoken at dawn by the sounds of monks playing their chimes for morning meditation, ate meager bowls of rice and kimchi, and took silent nature walks. I took painting classes given entirely in Korean. I ate a live, squirming tentacle. I experienced a type of soup that contained an entire spine of a pig in a bowl with the most delicious broth and vegetables you’ve ever tasted. I lived the most amazing year of my life that in turn awakened an even deeper yearning inside of me. Upon coming back home to Texas, I felt the familiar feeling of not knowing what to do again. I had experienced true wanderlust and nothing could satisfy that craving. So I embarked on my next adventure. Moving to Thailand.