SoKoDiaries: An American Teacher Living in South Korea (Vol.1)

By Nailah Harvey

In 2012, three percent of the population in South Korea (SoKo) were foreigners; an even smaller percentage (of the foreigners) were Black-Americans. As a Black-American woman living in SoKo during that time, culture shock was not the only thing Nailah had to overcome. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Nailah's temporary stay in an urban-rural Korean city was an unique experience. But that was not the only unique experience. Nailah's SoKo journey was filled with many contrastingly pleasant memories. From being pushed in line by older Korean women, to being known in her city as "Reggae Hair" because of her dreadlocks, it's all written in here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nailah Harvey
• Release date: Feb 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301741021

Nailah Harvey

Nailah Harvey lives in Los Angeles, California as an indie author and copywriter. When not writing her next book, Nailah teaches authors and bloggers how to #LookBetterInWriting with grammar & writing resources on her educational website (www.nharv.com). Nailah's greatest adventure was living & teaching overseas in South Korea--where she began her "SoKoDiaries Book Series."

Book preview

SoKoDiaries

An American Teacher Living in South Korea

Nailah Harvey

Copyright 2013

Smashwords edition, copyright 2013

Copyright 2013 Nailah Harvey

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank God. In the process of putting this book together, I realized how true this gift of writing is for me. YOU graced me with the opportunity to travel to South Korea and put all of the mentioned experiences in my path. In fact, YOU were the true author. I just penned what was spoken to me; therefore, I will not hustle YOUR glory.

To my mother, Sonya Clark-King: I can barely find the words to express all the wisdom, love and support you have given me throughout the years and that is unheard of because I always have something to write. Nevertheless, I want to thank you for not giving up on me. You could have thrown in the towel when I turned 18 years old, but instead you continued to help, encourage and guide me. I don't think you really know how much you mean to me.

To my father, George Harvey: I love how we both decided to leave the past in the past and work toward a better relationship. Thank you for inspiring me.

To my stepfather, Carl King, Jr.: You came into this family with intentions to add and not replace and I love that. Thank you for being dependable. I can count on you for anything and I know that you will help however you can and in a timely manner! I also thank you for helping me edit SoKoDiaries.

To my younger brother, Nehemiah Harvey: I wish I were half the writer you are. One day the world will witness your many talents AND gifts.

To my friend, Julia Johnson: Thank you for being the original editor of SoKoDiaries. You were not afraid to tell me the areas where my work lacked, and that helped me grow as a writer.

To all of my family and friends: Thank you for your support throughout my SoKo journey. I acknowledge you. I love you!

I dedicate this book to two of the closest people in my life: my mother and my grandmother. Mom, your physical presence strengthens me. Granny, your spiritual presence restores me. I thank God for you both.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Please Don't Go!

Chapter 2: SoKoDiaries

Chapter 3: What is EPIK anyway?

Chapter 4: Culture Shock

Chapter 5: The Time Difference

Chapter 6: School Uniforms & Indoor Shoes

Chapter 7: Korean Grade Classifications & My Classroom

Chapter 8: Lions, Tigers and Lesson Plans

Chapter 9: Co-Teaching

Chapter 10: Blame it On the Language

Chapter 11: Korean Cuisine

Chapter 12: I Need Toilet Paper

Chapter 13: Friends

Chapter 14: Mirror, Mirror

Chapter 15: Air Dry

Chapter 16: Organized Trash

Chapter 17: 2012 U.S. Presidential Campaign

Chapter 18: Africans, Americans & The Military

Chapter 19: Thanksgiving

Chapter 20: Cell Group

Chapter 21: I Wonder How Abraham Felt

Chapter 22: It Was All For the Glory

Chapter 23: SoKoDiaries Meets Facebook

Chapter 24: Dear Mom

Introduction

'To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.' –Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

This scripture spoke directly to my life from August 2012 to November 2012. Seasons are very important in our lives, just as much as they are important in our environments. Seasons explain God's timing. Knowing this, I want to talk about a particular season in my life where I put my faith to work; a season where I left everything that I knew and moved not only to another part of the world, but to another way of life. I want to share the story of my three months of living and teaching in the Republic of Korea, the R.O.K.

On August 18, 2012, I hopped on a plane to South Korea (SoKo) to start a new chapter in my life. Unaware of the mental and physical impact that this journey would have on my life, I settled into my new position as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. It was there that I really discovered the dual benefit of being an educator. I was a teacher during the day and a student by night as I learned beginner's Korean, studied the nation's history and immersed myself in the culture. I believe my perspective is interesting on different accounts. Not only was I a Black-American living and teaching in a homogenous country, but I was also a single woman living in a society where couples were celebrated. I wore dreadlocks (I actually prefer the term, sisterlocks) in a demographic where straight hair was preferred. Lastly, I lived in an urban-rural city having been born and raised in Los Angeles, California - one of the largest metropolitan cities in the world. Needless to say, I have a story I'd like to share with you. I like sharing. That is what education is to me: a transfer of knowledge.

The purpose of this book is to talk about my experience in South Korea. I also would like to make known some obstacles that I faced while there and how I overcame them. I once read an article that said writers find their niche and write about it. Although I had blogged for two years, it wasn't until I started my new journey in a foreign country that people became interested in my stories. Well, this is it! This is my current niche...writing about traveling with a hint of self-help.

SoKoDiaries started as a personal journal - a diary - and evolved into a book. It is my testimony in written form. This book talks about how I experienced God in a new way and worked through culture shock, homesickness, and grief in order to share this remarkable opportunity. SoKoDiaries is not quite a how-to guide, but that's great if it helps people with research or any decisions involving South Korea. My purpose, however, is to share my journey in hopes of providing encouragement. I want people to know that God is present in every obstacle of life, just as He is present in the good times.

I struggled with the idea of releasing this book because I felt that it would fall short of a good analysis seeing that my excursion lasted only three months. However, the short time that I spent in Korea does not minimize my growth. I still believe that I can help someone even with my limited experience. Although it was for only one season, my SoKo journey impacted my life in such a