Projects
|
FAQ
|
Announcements
#Became more positive after distancing from civilization #Confidence to overcome difficult challenges #Became grateful just to be living in Korea
I think I''ve come to be grateful even for small things. I was thankful to see things on TV, and I even felt grateful when I ate a hamburger. I think I''ve become much more positive. In Korea, I get upset if a restaurant is even a little dirty, and having subways and tall buildings is taken for granted, but there are no buildings over two stories there. So living in Korea itself feels like something to be grateful for. And I gained confidence. Because I had more encounters with many people, doing sales boosted my confidence a lot. Approaching and talking to people I had almost never met before really increased my confidence and felt good.
-Harvard professor leaves for Thailand to brighten the world / Yang Soyeon, Bae Yoonju — Gap Year Tribe gappers / 12-week gap year |
Q.What was the manager you worked with like normally?
Soyeon: They are run by a married couple. Both are busy, but the husband doesn''t fuss over the volunteers about every little thing; he''s more like a father
He looks after them in a broad way. He checks people''s business connections and explores opportunities abroad, that kind of thing, while the wife is, in detail,
involved with the managers'' conditions and what to do for the children, so both were busy. Together, every week
when there was a meal for volunteers, they''d talk only at that gathering, and otherwise there weren''t opportunities to talk.
Yoonju: We had meetings every Friday, and they''d say, ''What have you been doing up until now?'' and you''d answer.
Then there was no separate feedback exchanged. There was no personal feedback, so you really had to do everything on your own.
Soyeon: Oh, I did receive feedback. I often went to the manager''s office and even visited the handmade factory, so
Evelyn gave me a lot of feedback, and the husband was creative, giving confidence and motivation.
Evelyn has a cynical personality, so at first we didn''t expect her to be motherly, but once you get to know her she is a warm person,
though she doesn''t smile much.
Yoonju: Still, Evelyn is sensitive about looking after the condition of managers and volunteers. If the cleaning lady at our accommodation
didn''t come or if bottled water wasn''t delivered, she''d get angry right away. But when it came to working,she was laissez-faire.
A French guy said that working with Evelyn was difficult because she would just say ''okay'' without giving feedback.
Soyeon: She even took me to the airport when I returned home.
Yoonju: So the British guy complained that Soyeon had been there three months while he had been there eight months, and that she only greeted him.
Soyeon: That''s because I was on the same path. Both members of the couple are well-educated, and the volunteers tend to be well-educated too.
They all had doctoral degrees and their ages ranged from the early twenties to the late twenties/around thirty. Medical students,
They were office workers from successful companies. We were the only students and were young.
Q. You said you rode motorcycles while moving between institutions — I''m curious how that was.
Soyeon: I got used to riding motorcycles later.
Yoonju: It''s fun if you''re good at riding.
Soyeon: But you should definitely get travel insurance. Because when I went there I suffered from a high fever. I was sick for about one to two weeks
It was hard. When I was in Bangkok I was sick and exhausted, and when I went to a private hospital, just getting an injection cost 70,000 won.
So I think travel insurance is necessary.
Yoonju: Embarrassingly, on the day I had a high fever I had a motorcycle accident. I was riding and needed to turn right, but that spot was sandy
and I slipped. I injured my leg. At the time I didn''t realize I was hurt and felt embarrassed when people helped me.
When I arrived at the office and ate breakfast, I tried to put the dishes back but my leg hurt and wouldn''t move.
So while I was being carried there, she (Soyeon) called saying she was suffering from a high fever.
Soyeon: So after the two of us got injured and sick, Jae-eun (a gapper who participated during the same period) had an accident too.
So they said the three Korean women had used up their luck here (laughs).
Still, the nice thing is that during meals we sometimes do activities where each country prepares its own food.
Yoonju : So we decided to make Korean food, but we couldn''t find the ingredients. We were embarrassed trying to make janchi guksu (banquet noodles).
Soyeon : If you''re going, you should definitely prepare a lot of Korean food before you go. The kids there like Korean food too.
They like it if you give them gim (dried seaweed) as a gift. Prepare lots of Korean food, and you should also bring a bit of extra money.
They give 4,000 baht there but it gets used up quickly. I traveled a lot so I spent it on transportation and it went fast.
Yoonju: One thousand baht is about 30,000 won, and it really can be spent quickly in a week. If you want to, you''ll spend it fast.
Q.Aside from work-related matters in Thailand, do you have any other memories?
Soyeon"I told the manager confidently, ''I''ve worked this much, so I want to take the remaining week off to relax,'' and I even traveled alone. Before going back to Korea I wanted to see other places, so I traveled, which gave me my own time and let me meet a variety of international friends— it was great. Toward the end I got so attached that it was almost sad to leave, and I thought, ''I definitely want to go to Thailand again.'' I''m still in touch with the volunteer friends."
Yoonju"After returning from Thailand to Korea I felt empty. It felt like I had been dreaming, so I spent two weeks feeling listless and couldn''t concentrate on work. It''s not that I want to work again, but I want to go back to visit."
Soyeon"It''s not exactly like a family, but it has a family-like atmosphere. When we''re working, everyone works individually, but if there''s a joint project we gather, go to the site together, have fun, and take lots of photos—we really look out for each other. Once a week at ''volunteers'' night'' we talk and share food, which is nice, but when it comes to work it''s more of an individual effort."
Q.I''m curious what changes happened after taking a gap year.
Yoonju"I think my mindset became more positive. While I was in Thailand I traveled around Asia and went to Singapore.
I had been to Singapore. After working in Thailand and visiting Singapore, working abroad no longer seemed like such a bad idea,
and my cousin who lives in Singapore—kind of jaded by the city—kept saying, ''Isn''t Singapore great? I don''t understand what''s good about Thailand at all,''
so I immediately said no."
Soyeon"There I stopped wearing makeup and wore elastic-waist ''grandma'' pants, so I felt increasingly distant from civilization.
Riding a motorbike, I would be moved just by looking at the sky—things like that happened. In my case, while riding a motorbike I even took pictures with a camera,
so I started taking landscape photos and gradually became a country girl.
Having lived in the city and then staying in the countryside for a long time for the first time, my mindset changed. I liked the countryside people''s
innocence. Thai culture is different, and because it''s a Buddhist country there are rules like women shouldn''t stand in front of monks,
and the children at the institution were kind, so I actually became closer with Thai people rather than just the volunteers. So my personality
changed—I used to not like children in Korea, but that seems to have changed. And I started to think that hardships aren''t a big deal."
Yoonju"Even if something is a little hard, I think, ''It''s nothing compared to what I went through,''
and when my cousin in Singapore asked, ''How can you stay in a dorm for accommodation?'' I would reply, ''Can''t you?''
and I ended up questioning him back."
Soyeon"I think I''ve become grateful even for small things. I was thankful even to have TV, and I was grateful just to eat a hamburger."
I think I''ve changed a lot in a positive way. When I''m in Korea, I get angry if a restaurant is even a little dirty, and...
Subways and tall buildings are taken for granted, but there they don''t have buildings higher than two stories.
So I feel grateful just to be living in Korea. And I also gained confidence, because...
Because I had many run-ins with people, doing sales gave me a lot more confidence.
I started randomly approaching and pushing myself on people I almost didn''t know, which boosted my confidence a lot and felt good.
Q.If an opportunity like this comes up in the future, would you be willing to do it again?
Soyeon : Yes, I would.
Yoonju : Yes, I would. My mother told me that if I can''t find a job later, I should devote myself to volunteering and go around living with NGOs.
Soyeon : The volunteers who participated with us are friends who, after earning a lot of money, spend the rest of their lives going around NGOs.
Q.Who do you think would be a good fit for the program ''Harvard Professor Leaves for Thailand to Brighten the World''?
Yoonju: When making a project there, you need to be able to create a project yourself. I think you should have the ability to develop and push forward a project that fits your major.
Soyeon: I think you also need creativity. Since I had two majors, I wanted to do the work I wanted to do.
I paid to go (laughs), but the time spent in the office was idle. I didn''t know what I was supposed to do there.
I had applied for marketing and sales, and I even thought, ''Why do I have to go do English teaching volunteer work and look after grandmothers?''
I made a presentation and, in a one-on-one meeting with the manager, told them I wanted to do that kind of work.
So when the manager chose a broad topic suited to my major, I prepared specific plans and carried out the work.
(Project, it must have been difficult) Doing a large project entirely by myself was difficult. There wasn''t a foundation there...
It wasn''t an established place; it was just students who had learned their major for only 1–2 years, so we didn''t know much.
Still, I did presentations and received a lot of feedback. The manager praised the good points and encouraged me, so I gained confidence.
People who have lived in the city their whole lives probably won''t adapt easily.
Because in that environment cows graze near the office, and there are seven dogs wandering around the office,
There are also ants. I think people who are very urban would find it hard to live there.
You also need to be perceptive. Because it''s not just us living in the lodging; all the volunteers live in the same house.
Then, because of foreign cultural differences, misunderstandings can occur that are different from what was intended. Since English isn''t our native language
it''s hard to understand, but you can understand through facial expressions, actions, tone, and reactions.
So you need the sensitivity to understand that. And it''s good if the person seems like someone who could do well anywhere.
Q.Among the participants you were the youngest — was there a big age gap?
Yunju: But abroad there''s not that much hierarchy based on age, so we were like friends.
Soyeon: And there we were students and they were working adults. In my case, my partner was Chinese and worked at an international company
They worked there. So when I worried about getting a job and my future, my Chinese friend gave me a lot of advice.
Because they worked in marketing, I received a lot of feedback from my Chinese friend.
Evelyn (the manager) is so perceptive that she senses the volunteers'' condition and, even without saying anything, subtly looks after them.
She asks if there''s anything they need. And if it''s really hard, you can go to the manager and ask her to give you some time,
If you have concerns about employment and career paths, Manager Evelyn will give you a ride, sit in the front passenger seat, and talk with you.
Because they were much older than us.
Q.It was a time when you could build so-called ''specs'' (résumé credentials). Did you ever feel you were delayed because of the gap year?
Soyeon: I didn''t feel behind at all. After all, I interned with a volunteer organization — volunteering, interning, and traveling,
so Korean friends were actually jealous. Even when you intern in Korea you only do the tasks assigned, but there
you do things on your own, so I think I did things there that I couldn''t have done in Korea, so I don''t think I''m behind.
Yunju: But at the time three months felt very long; when I came back to Korea, a month flew by.
But back then I thought I was there for a year. It feels like I was there for about a year.
Q. You had a good gap year and returned. What are your plans going forward?
Soyeon : We made plans to go to Thailand again. Now that I''m back in Korea, memories of being in Thailand come back, and I even find myself missing foods that I thought were unappetizing at the time. While I was in Thailand I even thought about taking another leave of absence from school. I wanted to try something like that once more. I''ve applied to return to school now, but if I really wanted to, I would attend only one semester and take a leave for the remaining semesters and leave.
Capturing the growth journeys
of our participants.
