Sitting in Gimpo airport now enjoying the free wifi, not something I’ll be doing much back in Japan…
Seoul isn’t (yet) one of the world’s great cities, but it’s probably the most liveable place where you can save a decent amount of money. The British Council was bloody hard work, but as my wife nicely summarized the difference with most of the rest of TEFL “In the British Council, you have human rights”. It was also nice to work with professional colleagues for a change, although the pressure to keep up with those high standards was probably another thing that made it so exhausting. Another thing I won’t have to worry about most other places, especially Japan…
I used the technology (IWB, LearnEnglishKids, etc) less and less as the months went by, but I guess I will miss having it there when I do think of something nice I could do with it. Things I’ll probably miss about Seoul include:
– Traditional teas, especially ginger and some other bitter powdered ones that I still have no idea the ingredients
– The armchairs and sandwiches in Twosome Place (almost make up for the ridiculous name)
– Cheap taxis
– Being able to walk to work
– Some good cheap beers such as Leffe and Filipino San Miguel for about a pound (almost makes up for how revolting Korean beer is)
– Free kimchi and leaves to wrap your meat in
– A decent selection of places for a Sunday stroll, e.g. round the backs of the palaces, up the hills and along the river and stream
– Good American food like bagels, muffins and (US-style) burritos
Things I won’t miss:
– The soju breath of old men on trains and buses
– The winters (apart from underfloor heating, which I loved)
– The price of all stuff for kids, especially baby stuff
Back to Japan for ten days, then UK for a similar length of time. Then it’s real job search time!
TEFLtastic 
Good luck Alex! The start of a new phase of your life by the sounds of it. Do you know where you will go?
Sara
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Good luck to you, too, Alex. I’m surprised that someone as talented as you are still has to undergo a full on job search. My goodness, we really are in a global recession ! I’m waiting to see what that next country will, be, too. Turkey, Thailand, Spain, Japan, Korea, and now …
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Thanks guys. The next place will be the topic of my next post
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Very curious to hear how you get on. Good luck and enjoy your break.
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Good luck Alex! Am also hoping to be moving next year… more on that soon.
K
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Really? Wanna swap? I quite fancy a clean and organised European country. Would make a change from the places I did work in Europe…
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Good luck Alex, perhaps our paths will cross again one day in Japan; until then please keep writing – I enjoy reading what you have to say!
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What a beautiful post! I’ve had it sent to my DoS ;)
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Thanks John. I guess everyone at BC Seoul will have to start reading just in case they get a mention! No applying for jobs in Tokyo before I get, please!
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