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Justin Richard
Joined: 09 Sep 2010
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:04 am Post subject: Things you leave behind |
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What would you leave in Korea if you were leaving but were not going home?
I left some personal things before I left 8 years ago and it is like a time capsule, like going back in time to the day I had left..
A box containing about 20 books, personal journals, greeting cards all unseen and forgotten along with dozens of name cards of people I had relationships with and some forgotten friends. A friend like the third grade elementary school teacher who fortunately has the same cellphone number who never forgot my voice. She is now the Vice-President of the Korean Federation of Teachers Assocations. Another, a foreign affairs police official who is now a provincial Chief of Public Relations.
Three university professors I had known are now retired and it was strange calling and asking for Professor Choi or Profesor so and so and being told that he retired four years ago or six years old. At least these departments keep up to date records of cellphone numbers.
Many of these people were amazed that I had remembered them but they remembered me.
A box of clothes, of winter clothes, sweaters and long-sleeved shirts that are now more than 10 years old but they seem like new and still fit.
A world-band radio that I bought from Canada but no longer works and a 700,000 Won mountain bike a got for 550,000 by drawing arrows downward to incidiate a discount back in 1998. Needless to say it is a little rusty.
Many memories in just two boxes. |
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Epik_Teacher
Joined: 28 Apr 2010
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Why would you come back? Teaching in Korea is going downhill fast! |
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interestedinhanguk

Joined: 23 Aug 2010
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Epik_Teacher wrote: |
| Why would you come back? Teaching in Korea is going downhill fast! |
the only change is a temporary influx of teachers due to economic situations back home. Once things stabilize in the next few years, things will more or less return to normal here. |
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Epik_Teacher
Joined: 28 Apr 2010
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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| interestedinhanguk wrote: |
| Epik_Teacher wrote: |
| Why would you come back? Teaching in Korea is going downhill fast! |
the only change is a temporary influx of teachers due to economic situations back home. Once things stabilize in the next few years, things will more or less return to normal here. |
Nope, with an influx of stupid reg's and Indians, Fillip's, etc..., it will NOT return to "normal." If normal is a phrase you can use about Korea. |
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i_teach_esl

Joined: 07 Sep 2006 Location: baebang, asan/cheonan
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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| it was pretty neat to see what i packed away when i returned home after 3 years in korea. books, old letters; looking through the photos were especially nice. i found my cd collection which im not going to use again b/c of the mp3 player: over 300 cds that im having a hard time parting with. now im back in korea and brought the cds with me, but i dont know if i'll ever sit down and disc by disc move them to computer and onto mp3. |
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Troglodyte

Joined: 06 Dec 2009
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Where did you leave all that stuff for 8 years? |
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Justin Richard
Joined: 09 Sep 2010
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| At my mother in-law's house. |
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AsiaESLbound
Joined: 07 Jan 2010 Location: Truck Stop Missouri
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:05 am Post subject: |
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| Justin Richard wrote: |
| At my mother in-law's house. |
So you can retrieve your time capsule if you return to Korea? Come on back if you want to teach school or just come for a week or two to visit if you don't want to obligate yourself to 1 year of teaching English. Honestly, I'd rather be a super star salesman in the biz calling the shots and just taking off when I want to fly away on holiday, but we can't have our cake and eat it too. Not yet anyhow... |
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Justin Richard
Joined: 09 Sep 2010
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:19 am Post subject: |
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Maybe I didn't write it very well but I did return to Korea this year.
My little story was about what I had left behind and forgotten about.
It was a surprise opening the boxes. There were some pictures of my wife and I taken before we were married that were nice to find.
My daughters were surprised as well to see Mommy and Daddy 10 years younger. |
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