A Year Overseas: My reflection of my first year in Korea

In exactly 12 days I will have been living in Korea for one year! It has gone by so fast and slow at the same time. I have learnt, grown, and seen a lot. I have been dreaming about this opportunity for many years and now that it is here and that I have almost accomplished a whole year abroad, I am going to tell you/ reflect about what it was like living overseas.

When preparing to move overseas I knew that it would be difficult, that I would get home sick, and feel stretched, but to tell you the truth this was one of the hardest years (in a good way) of my life. To give you a little back story, I am an extrovert, city girl, and a bit of a princess. I never knew what living on my own would actually feel like... Even though I lived by myself in university I still had all of my close friends near me and my family just a two hour drive away. After university I lived with my mother and sister. I have always had someone there for me at all times, days when I was sad, happy, bored, ….. you get the point.

Living overseas by myself, as a single woman in a small (not city like I am used to) town and being a foreigner was one of the hardest but also rewarding experiences of my life. Throughout this year I have learnt how to actually be an “adult”. It is only me here, I don't have mommy or anyone to run to, so I had to learn how to be smart and resourceful with finances, living in and adapting to another culture and learning to be a teacher. I have gone through many phases of homesickness. It has been tough for me to be far away from my family and friends. To see everyone's life continuing without me and kind of feeling like I am being forgotten. It's just weird to start this new life and not having any of the people close to you here to experience it with. It was also very difficult for me because I didn't have anyone to come home to. To share my day with or vent to, it was just me and my teddy bear Buddy. Don't get me wrong, I have met some fabulous people here in Korea, whom have made this year in Korea so wonderful, but during those times of homesickness all you really want is someone who gets you and all your corky ways of thinking. Home sick for my family and friends was not the only thing I experienced. Being home sick for being in a place where I was not the foreigner, where people understood how I thought because it was in our culture and for a place of familiarity.

Okay, by now you might be saying to yourself, 'Justine but you are living in Korea seeing the World and living your dreams!' and you are exactly right. I would not change anything from this past year. I needed those hard experiences to grow to become a better Justine and to grow in my faith. If life was easy then how would I learn? I know that through this year of living overseas by myself, I am a more confident and independent individual. If I can do this, I can do so much more. It's time to continue to live, grow more and to live out my dreams and passions. I am here for a reason and am signed up for another year in Boseong. Who knows what God has planned for me for this next chapter of my life?

So, as I conclude my blog post of my refection of this past year I just want to say, live your dreams. It may be difficult and it may stretch you in ways you may not expect but the reward will be much greater than the difficult times. I also encourage you to not forget about your friends or family members that are far away. In my experience to receive a letter in the mail or to have a Skype date with a friend is exactly what I needed to get myself through those hard times.

I am excited to see how this next year changes and grows me and am excited that I get to share it with my wonderful and beautiful best friend from back home. God has blessed me with such a wonderful friend and is giving me a piece of home to get me through this next year!