Sabbatical Day 270 (2.2.17) - What the Heck Have I Been Doing?

Man, I can't believe it's already February. Where did January go? I think I just ended up staying in and trying to avoid the cold weather. It's been really cold and I'm not such a fan.

I told myself that I would study Korean on my own and I've only been able to get through a few lessons. Since I'm visiting home in March, it impacts the language programs I can enroll in, and I'm not able to enroll until June! Luckily Vicky is super motivated and created a Korean studying schedule for us that we will start next week. Very exciting!

I guess I also spent January doing a lot of cooking. I've also been dabbling with making videos to post online. I just wrote a script about cooking and how I want to research produce that it is in season and grown in Korea. This will be my new pet project for the next few days so I'm excited about that as well!

Sabbatical Day 238 (1.1.17) - New Year

For some reason 2017 doesn't seem as monumental to me as other new years. I think in the past I was much more resolved to make certain changes but right now, I'm currently in the middle of the biggest change for me yet.

So, I actually don't have resolutions. I just want to continue living each day in the manner that I've been - which is doing what I want to do and being open and accepting to new things.

Our celebration was also very different than it has been in the past several years. For the past 10 I think I've celebrated at home with our Cupertino friends. And this is the only year we weren't able to do that....our celebration wasn't bad at all-it was a lot of fun...but just different.

Sabbatical Day 231 (12.25.16) - Christmas in Korea

This is our first Christmas in Korea and I'm trying to decide if I like it or not. I know that I'm definitely not used to it. It's not a crazy holiday where people are fighting each other over parking spaces and items at the store. (The shops are always just crowded in Korea as it is!) It fell on a Sunday this year and Sundays always seem to be quiet in Seoul.

The weird thing is, while Korea is very festive and they put lights up everywhere along with decorations, there isn't that same Christmas feeling. In the US I feel like people are just in a better mood around Christmas-time because they eat a lot, get to see their families, and get gifts.

Regardless, it's just a surreal experience because I'm used to seeing family on the holiday and ramping up to it. But this year, it's just me and James. He is my family now so I am seeing him!

Sabbatical Day 230 (12.24.16) - Yoga teacher training complete!

Wow, I can't believe the day has finally come! When James and I started our yoga training in August, we thought Christmas Eve was so far away. Now here we are and we just finished our class. It feels surreal. Towards the tail end, I found myself wishing that the class didn't have to end and I wanted it to continue.

We learned a lot of valuable information and I need to take the time to put my notes in order and thoughts down on paper.

While this was a teacher training course, I don't feel ready to teach yoga. This is because I don't want to teach the physical asanas and do not feel that I'm yet in the condition to do so. I want to spread the yoga that we learned and in order to do that, I need to do some major reflection.

Top 3 things from our class that I'd like to remind myself of:

1) The yoga that we know is not fully yoga - the physical poses or asanas are only one of the eight limbs of yoga
2) Don't beat yourself up because you can't get into that perfect pose. They take practice and every day I know I get stronger and more flexible
3) Yoga is a way for me to learn to control my energy. Everything is energy and I don't want to exert my energy on unnecessary things

Sabbatical Day 200 (11.24.16) - Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving abroad was hectic. I coincidentally had a test in my Korean class on the day of and felt completely dejected afterwards. Luckily, we had two parties to attend and I headed shortly after to our friend's house on base. I really felt like I was back at home because it was in an actual house, there was vegetarian food, and there was a TON of food. The next stop was James' boss' house who also had access to the base commissary. There was even more food and tons of dessert. So because of all the festivities, I didn't really miss being home for Thanksgiving.

Sabbatical Day 195 (11.19.16) - Pay It Forward...I hope

Tonight we went to a club in Itaewon. It's been a long time since I went dancing and it was so much fun! It did really make me miss our friends, though. Anyways, we had to take a cab home because the subways stop at midnight. After the cab dropped us off near our house, we saw a caucasian lady and her son walk up to a cab window and show them an address card. Then we saw them walk away from the cab and another person took the cab and it drove away.

I felt so bad for the lady because he son was young and it was past midnight! So we walked over there and offered to help her get a cab. Her husband was actually across the street and they ended up flagging one down, but we were able to offer her some advice on how to deal with cabs in Korea: they are obligated to take you, but you just need to get inside the cab first.

With all the things I read about in the news happening, I find some solace in a FB group that I was invited to called "Pantsuit Nation". There's been some real heartwarming stories of random acts of kindness and I hope that tonight we might have been able to participate in a random act of kindness as well. I know we didn't help too much in the long run for them, but hopefully us offering to assist when they were in distress was enough for that family to want to pay a random act of kindness forward to someone else who may be in need in the future.

Sabbatical Day 189 (11.13.16) - Election Update

So it's been a few days since the election and I have a few observations to make:

1. I need to get educated on Donald Trump's policies - What were his original ideas regarding immigration, Muslims, foreign policy and Obamacare, among others?

2. There are acts of racism happening in the US which is really crazy - I keep seeing posts on FB and this Pantsuit Nation FB group that I was invited to about acts of both love and racism. People being told to go back to some country, swastikas being painted on buildings, the KKK marching in full hood? WTF?

3. I realized that I don't believe in the protests that are going on in the US - What I've learned through yoga is that everything is energy. If your energy is being diverted towards protesting, it could be used more efficiently towards an organization that you are aligned with or towards working directly with your community. What is a protest actually going to? Maybe this also includes my fear of crowds given Korea has had its own fair share of protests lately. (Side note, there was a protest of 200,000 people in Gwanghwamun yesterday to protest the South Korean president.)

Sabbatical Day 185 (11.9.16) - A day full of emotions

Every Wednesday I spend 1 hour practicing my asanas and meditating. Today was no different and I started the morning feeling great! And then I started to watch the election coverage. I couldn't stop watching but at about noon I already knew what the result would be. I had to choke back tears but I tried to keep my faith and have hope.

I went to the jjimjilbang to meet my friend as planned and tried to keep my spirits up. But as I walked to the meet my friend, I tried to figure out why I was so upset. What was it that was making me emotional? 

My friend asked me why I was so scared and so sad and I told her that I am afraid of what the future will bring. What I've seen from the campaign is people acting upon fear. Wanting to stop immigration and bring the country "back" to its greatness. Wanting to divide our country and say that people who are living there are not Americans. I'm afraid of where my place and my future children's places will be in that America. I remembered flashbacks of my childhood where I was told to go back to China. Where people still look at me in shock when I speak English without an accent. Where I've been asked "Where are you from?" Despite all this, America and being American is all I know. But from these election results, I realize that these incidents that I've experienced are not just outliers.

California is a bubble and a great bubble, but seeing all the racist acts happen across the country makes me think that the rest of the country doesn't think like we do. My bubble has been burst and I feel devastated.

However, when I tried to explain this to James, he made me think about what is the worst thing that can happen. I told him I was afraid that Donald Trump might take the US troops out of South Korea, that he might put people in internment camps, that he might start WW3. Well, after blurting all that out, I realized that I am saying all this in fear too and I'm just like people who may have voted for Trump in their fear. I cannot let fear dictate my emotions and worry. The best thing I can do is try to help - educate people in compassion, volunteer my time. Although saying all this, I wish I was back in the US in order to do so. What can I do from Korea?

Sabbatical Day 180 (11.4.16) - Seoul Kim Jang Festival

I learned that the Fall is the time to make Kim chi. Every year, Seoul has a large Kim chi making festival. The process of making Kim Chi is called Kim Jang. On Friday our school volunteered to go make Kim Chi at this festival and boy, I had no clue what I was in for. City Hall was very festival with a giant stage, a huge Kim Chi inflatable pot and rows and rows of tables with trays of cabbage. Each volunteer was given a giant plastic bag which had an apron, a head cover, a pair of cloth gloves, rubber gloves, a face mask, shoe covers, and a hand warmer.

The funniest part of the festival was that it was a huge theatrical production. No one was allowed to start until the sponsors of the event were introduced and there was a lot of talking that I didn't understand. There were several dances that happened on stage but there were no instructions on how exactly to make Kim Chi. 

Luckily, we had ajummas at our table that taught us how to make the Kim Chi. However, these ajummas didn't abide by the rule of the festival and just started making Kim Chi immediately. We of course followed because we didn't know, and were scolded by the table next to us and told to stop. 

I also don't know who will receive all of the goodies, but hoping it goes to some homeless, hungry folks.

Sabbatical Day 177 (11.1.16) - Baby, it's cold outside

Well, it's only the beginning of November and it is freezing in Seoul. We thought we'd be leaving in November when we were packing for our trip so that means....I am not prepared! I had to buy a new parka and plan to get some additional winter clothes. After living in NYC I thought I'd never need a parka again, silly me.

The great thing about cold weather is the heated floors. Another thing that needs to be brought to the US, stat. Right now, I'm sitting on the ground typing and my bum is nice and toasty. It reminds me of Saturday mornings when I was in high school. I'd wake up, walk out of my room and into the living room and fall asleep while watching TV and lying on the heating vent with a blanket wrapped around me. So nice and cozy! Now if only I could create a portable heating system to use when I'm walking around outside....

Sabbatical Day 166 (10.23.16) - Anticipation

Since we got to Korea, we knew we would have several visitors in October. When I missed home, I would just look forward to October when our visitors would be here. Now after two weeks of having visitors, they've all left and I have nothing left to look forward to!

While we had visitors, I felt tired and my schedule was definitely thrown off, but I think this is another lesson to me to learn to live in the present.

Sabbatical Day 169 (10.24.16) - Hiccup

We've been in Seoul for four months now and I had a breakdown yesterday. I'd been arguing with my mom because I got sick of her backhanded comments regarding me not working and leaving my job. She automatically thinks of the worst case scenarios and even though I've been here for so long, she still isn't able to accept it.

So I brought it up to James and he told me that I maybe hadn't given my mom enough reassurance that I was happy here. I don't actually think that what I say matters to her because she is set in her ways. So then he made me ask myself why I say I am happy in Seoul. My answer to him wasn't convincing enough and I got very upset.

Why am I happier now than when I was in SF?

I think it is because I'm doing what I want to do and I have the liberty to start whatever else I want to start. All in all, I feel independent. If I want to learn to how to knit, I learn how to knit. If I want to get my yoga certification, that's what I'll do.

Is that enough?

Sabbatical Day 153 (10.11.16) - Cultural Answers from a Korea Ahjussi

My first English "student" in Korea was a gentleman I met in a neighborhood store. He is studying to be a tour guide because he knows a lot about Korean culture. He taught himself English and has a crazy extensive vocabulary. And he currently owns a store that sells organic side dishes (panchan) where all the ingredients are from his farm. He's pretty darn forward and I hope others follow his footsteps and step up their food game.

Anyways, I go see him once a week and we speak in English together. At first he just went around his store showing me the different types of food he makes and how he makes them. Then we started talking about Korean culture and he's helped me a lot during my stay in Korea to help understand why things are a certain way.

Today, I asked him about the public toilets in Korea. Specifically, why are there so many, and why are they so clean?

I'm sure I've talked about bathrooms in Korea before but they are just about my favorite thing about Seoul. Public bathrooms are everywhere! Subway stations and randomly on the street-and there are signs that point to them, they are stocked with TP and there is always someone cleaning them!! It's seriously awesome.

The ahjussi explained to me that Seoul hosted the summer Olympics in 1988 and the government went through a campaign before that to upgrade the city in order to prepare for all of the tourists. They were genius enough to include many public bathrooms in that campaign. They're so clean because the government would inspect the bathrooms. If the bathrooms were clean in a specific district, that district would receive government subsidies.

How they have kept the bathrooms clean to this day, boggles my mind. I'm just going to say THANK YOU and hope some day the US starts to entertain the idea of clean public bathrooms too.

Sabbatical Day 135 (9.21.16) - Santosha - Contentment

I've never been a patient person. I've always wanted results ASAP and would get easily frustrated. I am not saying that I've overcome my impatience. That definitely will not go away ASAP. However, one of the things I've learned from yoga training is that being aware is the key to slowly obtaining results.

By being aware I don't mean that I just acknowledge I'm impatient. By being aware I mean that each time I see myself growing impatient and frustrated, I acknowledge those feelings and think about what it is exactly that is making me feel that way. I think reflecting on those feelings and thinking about the situation prior to those feelings will help me slowly grow less impatient.

I have used this awareness to help me as I'm learning Korean. As I've said before, learning Korean is a hard process. I've been here for 3 months now and I've only recently felt comfortable with going out by myself. I found that when I went around with James, I was never that uncomfortable because he would always translate for me. But when I went out by myself, I would get so frustrated because I couldn't understand anything. So I did the natural thing and tried to avoid it.

But then I learned to be more aware and realized that I was the reason I was frustrated. I was frustrated at myself! I realized that of course I couldn't understand anything! I have barely been in Korea for a few months and I shouldn't expect that I would understand everything. I basically was making myself feel bad because I thought I was good at languages and should be picking it up faster.

Instead, I should practice contentment which translated to feeling happy that I could understand a word or two. And seeing that I could increasingly understand more. This really helped diminish some of my fear. I've been going to places and actually speaking in Korean.

Again, not saying all my fear is eliminated (for example, today I opted to go to a buffet for lunch instead of a place where I actually needed to place my order) but I think I've taken a step in the right direction.

Sabbatical Day 129 (9.15.16) - Chuseok

This past week was the Chuseok Holiday in Korea. It is very much like the American Thanksgiving which celebrates the end of the harvest. It also coincides with the full moon and the Mid-Autumn Festival that is celebrated in China and Vietnam. I'm sure it is celebrated in other countries too, but those are the ones I know of.

Anyways, we had Wednesday-Friday off and people typically leave Seoul to go back to their hometowns to visit the graves of their ancestors. We left Seoul to go to the East Coast of Korea to a town called Sokcho. James' aunt and uncle have a time share on this coastal/beach city and it was a very cool experiences. Right next to Sokcho is a national park called Seoraksan. It is a huuuuge park with tons of hiking trails and a Buddhist temple. I haven't been to too many national parks in the US, but this one was waaay different than the American ones I've been to.

1) There was wifi and service (of course)
2) There were great maps which showed information about the trails. The maps included elevation and the estimated amount of time it would take, among other things
3) Along the trail they had numbered markers with phone numbers that you could call in case you were in need of help. Seriously, I think the Koreans are very thoughtful when they plan.

After hiking in the park for a few hours, we went to the timeshare condo which is next to a huge lake. The timeshare was owned by Shinsegae which is one of the top conglomerate companies in Korea. It was very homey but there was only one room with an actual bed. I guess it's more common for people to sleep on sleeping mats! Another thing I liked was that the floors were heated, but they are heated in all buildings!

For dinner we went to a seafood restaurant that even came to pick up the entire gang so no one would have to drive drunk. The first "course" was about 10 small plates with different types of seafood (shrimp, fish, seafood balls, etc.). The second course was at least 6 different types of sashimi. The third course was a stew that was made out of the fish bones. It was so much food I was ready to burst!

The next morning we woke up bright and early to walk around the lake. James' aunt is super active so she was determined to walk around the lake (~7 km). It was luckily flat but took us several hours. Thank goodness we worked up an appetite because we proceeded to go to two different restaurants for "lunch". The first was known for it's naeung myun (cold buckwheat noodles). They came in a spicy sauce and the noodles were nice and chewy. My favorite dish there was actually the mandoo soup. They made rice cakes out of brown rice and the mandoo skin was perfect!

Then we headed to the beach to walk off our first lunch. It was very interesting because there were plenty of Koreans on the beach but only section where all the foreigners happened to be. It was only in that section that there was any skin shown. Everywhere else, the Koreans were very covered up in their rash guards, hats and long sleeves.

For our second lunch we went to a seafood restaurant which specializes in sashimi served in a cold spicy sauce. It was about 3 pm when we arrived and there was an hour wait....freaking crazy! Only James' uncle got the specialty dish and everyone else ordered a variety of other dishes. James had the crab bibimbap and I had the uni bibimbap. I'm still thinking of now because it is so simple, but so delicious. I need to recreate it!

After second lunch, James and I went to the bus station to board our bus back to Seoul. The drive that should have taken 2.5 hours ended up taking closer to 4.5 because of traffic. It still boggles my mind that we drove from coast to coast in such a short time!

Sabbatical Day 123 (9.9.16) Ahimsa - Non Violence

In yoga teacher training we learned what yoga is and the philosophies behind it. Included in our learnings are what's called yamas and niyamas. Yamas are moral principals or refusals. The first of which is called ahimsa or the practice of non-violence. I want to be able to apply what I learn in training to my own experiences, so here goes:

Non-violence sounds pretty easy, right? But it isn't just about non getting into fights.

Violence can show itself at any point in the day - road rage, in pushing yourself too hard, focusing too much of your energy in one thing, in getting upset at the cashier for being too slow, in becoming frustrated at work.

In our training we have learned to become more aware, more conscious. By practicing non-violence, you see the things that make you upset - acknowledge, then control the feeling.

Non-violence is a struggle for me-especially in daily deeds. I walk to school everyday and get frustrated with the cars that don't stop for me, with the people who cross the street while on their phones. I know I need to acknowledge that feeling of frustration and move past it. I try hard to be empathetic and put myself in their shoes.

What I notice now is that I am more able to acknowledge my feeling when I have a longer interaction with someone and they make me upset. I am also able to be more empathetic. For example I am taking Korean at an academy nearby. They have really good reviewed which is why I chose to attend classes there. However as I attended I learned that they have several administrative misgivings that frustrate me. One of the frustrations is how they administer their monthly culture trip. I went last month and there was very little information provided and no organization. We ended up on a bus for 3 hours and had no idea where we were going or when we were going to be able to eat lunch, among other things. At the time, I hadn't yet started my yoga training but once I did start, I noticed there were more and more frustrations I had with the academy. At the end of my month long class, I decided to provide feedback on my experience as part of acknowledgement of my feelings. I tried very hard to understand why they did not provide any information to the students and not let my emotions come across when providing my feedback.

Sabbatical Day 116 (9.2.16) - Fukuoka:Tokyo::Portland:NYC

James and I found a last minute deal to Fukuoka and visited for 3 days, 2 nights. We never thought to travel there but we are so glad we did. It was the perfect city for a short trip because it was walkable, food was delicious and people were friendly. It was also on the water so it really reminded us of Portland. There also wasn't the foot traffic or sheer volume of people and craziness that characterizes Tokyo.

I did some research prior to the trip by reading blogs and other websites. I found out that Ippudo came from Fukuoka and the region is famous for Hakata style ramen. By the time I finished our itinerary, there were way too many restaurants for the meals we would have there. So we had a choice: cut down on the places we went to, or eat at all of them. We settled for eating at all of them, of course.

On the first day we arrived at around 6 pm and ate two dinners. We shared a bowl of ramen at Ippudo, then hopped over to the Yatai stands. The ramen at Ippudo was delicious-milky broth and the noodles were just right! We were a little overwhelmed by the selection at each stand, but just sat down at one and ordered ramen. After we finished eating, we felt fomo because the other people at our stand were eating grilled mentaiko. So we hopped to another stand and ordered mentaiko and a yakitori combo and they both didn't disappoint. Our only frustration was that they required we each order a dish and a drink and the stands weren't as cheap as we thought they would be. However, the gentleman sitting next to us struck up a conversation with us and pitched in for our bill....so nice!

Our second day was crazy. We woke up early wanting to eat at the fish market before our Asahi brewery tour. The fish market turned out to be further than we anticipated and we ended up being late for the tour! I did get to grab an egg salad sandwich from a convenient store and James got some yummy mini croissants.

The Asahi brewery tour is money. It's an hour tour and the factory is really cool-especially the beer canning room. At the end of the tour, you can taste up to three cups of their beers. These weren't dinky cups either. And it was all free!

For lunch we made it to the fish market only to find that it only opens to the public once a month. We did get to eat sushi which was very cheap and fresh! I also got to have my uni and we sat next to a gentleman who was from Berkeley!

We walked around and found the hipster artsy area of Fukuoka with boutiques and cool shops. Then we decided to search for this tempura joint I found called Tempura no Hirao Tenjin. Thank goodness I can still read hiragana and katakana because we wouldn't have been able to find this place. We ordered a combination platter to share at the vending machine and sat down in the coffee shop bar area. On the counter next to us were four containers - salted yuzu squid, pickled bean sprouts, pickled mustard greens, and pickled radish (all bomb). We saw everyone piling the squid onto their rice bowl but we were skeptical at first. I would have gone back for the side dishes themselves. Then the chefs come by with freshly fried bits and drop off the correct ones onto your plate. It was amazing and only 720 yen. James was so amazed he wanted to order more.

After leaving the tempura restaurant we saw an Ichiran ramen which seemed to be very popular in Fukuoka.....so we went in and ordered a bowl of ramen and a matcha tofu dessert. The restaurant was one counter separated by walls and each person sat at one spot. It was an interesting experience but the ramen didn't impress me much. The matcha tofu, however, did. Warm, sweet tofu with real matcha? What's not to love?

By this time it's pretty late so we decided to go back to the hotel to sleep. But at around 10:30 we were feeling ambitious again and went to get gyoza. I read about a gyoza place that's been around for a while and we got there shortly before they closed. The waitress told us to eat quickly and we definitely did. Their gyoza came out on a hot sizzling platter and both sides of the dumplings were crunchy.

On our last day we only ate once and it was all we needed. On Trip Advisor, Chikae Fukuoka is one of the top rated restaurants. We got there at 10:45 and the restaurant opens at 11. There were already 15 people in line. As soon as it opened we walked in and were seated in a large room with a counter surrounding several fish tanks. There were only two options for lunch - sashimi or soba for 1400 yen each and we ordered one of each. Each meal came out on a platter with 5 main dishes, 2 dipping sauces and a plate of pickled vegetables. Mine had stewed fish, agedashi tofu, sashimi, crab miso, tempura and chawanmushi. James' had soba with two dipping sauces, chicken rice, agedashi, tempura and chawanmushi. We were so full afterwards that we couldn't eat again for 6 hours. And our mind was so blown that the food was so delicious and cheap. This is a must do!!

All in all, we loved Fukuoka! We would go back again to eat and walk around the cool town for sure! On a side note, I am amazed that I still remember how to read Japanese and speak some phrases. At first I was hard on myself for not being able to say more, but seriously, that was 16 years ago!! The brain is an amazing thing....

Sabbatical Day 96 (8.13.16) - Yoga Teacher Training

I've always like Yoga as a means of exercise. When I came to Seoul I thought it would be a good time to deepen my practice and go through teacher training. I am not sure if I necessarily want to teach, but that can always be decided later.

I did as much research as I could (since I am limited to English searches only) and found a school that teaches in English. I went to one class and was a little taken aback because the class was very different from classes I've taken in the past. I'm used to Vinyasa or Bikram with a lot of movement and this class the poses were held for 30-60 seconds with a short break in between.

However, I decided to attend their free workshop class which was an intro to their teacher training course and James came along with me. In this workshop, we learned that Yoga is not so much an exercise, but a way to balance your energy. I will update more as I learn more, but long story short...we are both doing the teacher training course and will be staying in Korea for a little longer than planned so that we can finish the course.

I am so excited for it!

Sabbatical Day 89 (8.6.16) - Korean Costco

I think I've mentioned before that I haven't been able to find frozen vegetables in any Korean markets. I heard they sold frozen vegetables at Costco so we made the trek over. We took the subway and each brought a bag anticipating all the goodies we would buy. We planned to cab home.

By the time we got to Costco, it was dinnertime. Of course we headed to the food court to see what cool Korean style goodies they had. They had a lot of the same things as in the US (caesar salad, hot dog, pizza, chicken bake) but they also had a bulgogi bake and this potato wedge, bacon pizza. I knew that a meal at Costco would be impossible without eating meat, so I decided I would just eat a little and we ordered the bulgogi bake and the potato wedge bacon pizza.

While we were waiting for our food, we noticed all of the tables eating what looked like curry rice. When we looked closer, it wasn't rice. It was actually diced onions mixed with mustard and ketchup. EVERYONE was making a plate so we decided to make one too! I'm not usually a fan of raw onions, but this was really refreshing. The bulgogi bake was good except it had too much meat. And the pizza was weird. The potato wedges were huge and the pizza was soggy...fail.

By the way, Costco was crazy. This one was two floors and the food court was downstairs. It was quite an adventure getting down to the food court because it was so crowded. The rest of the warehouse wasn't any better. I already get so annoyed at Costco in the US because there are people walking every which way. This experience was even worse because the space was smaller.

We noticed that everything was ridiculously expensive. Because of the high prices, we didn't want to buy anything and reasoned that we actually didn't need it! The only thing we wanted to buy was a bag of frozen broccoli but didn't end up getting that either. That's because it was on the bottom floor and we wanted to check out the top floor first. By the time we wanted to go back to the bottom floor, the line for the escalator was 30 people deep. No thank you!

So...all in all...Costco was a fail and a huge disappointment. =(

Sabbatical Day 84 (8.1.16) - A contract can be broken in Korea

James and I don't have a definite return date to the US yet, but we know we will be in Korea for at least a few months. While we are being spontaneous, it makes it hard to settle ourselves in Seoul for the short term.....or so we thought. We found out that for our big ticket items, we can commit to the contract term, but if we want to leave earlier, we would just need to find someone to take over the contract. Our big ticket items were housing, cell phone and a gym. Housing is usually a 1 year lease, cell phone is 2 and a gym is usually month to month (same as in the US).

Housing - while it is possible to find short term housing and air bnb is available, we found out that it is much cheaper to commit to a 1 year lease. However, if we need to leave earlier, we need to contact our real estate agent and pay a finder's fee for them to find another tenant to take over the lease. So easy! The cost is a fraction of one month's rent! Side note: most apartment hunting in Seoul is done through a real estate agent. There are many of them and they are quite helpful.

Cell phone - you can get a prepaid phone but we found that it was more expensive to do so. A regular phone contract is for 2 years but you can find someone else to take over your contract for no additional cost. Side note: opening a cell phone account requires an active bank account at a Korean bank because a cell phone in Korea is like a piece of identification.

Gym - we got a great deal on our gym but we had to pay up front for a year. If we do not stay the whole year, we can just transfer our memberships to someone else.

This really takes the stress out of being here for a short time and not having to worry about breaking the bank!