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#Developed a clear sense of purpose #A life purpose; habits of independence #Sincerity connects with people anytime and anywhere
There isn''t a single wrong thing in those sayings. I''ve personally experienced the meanings of phrases like ''sincerity reaches people anytime and anywhere,'' ''knowing and doing are different,'' and ''everything depends on your mindset.''
-Make Your Heart Beat with Music! Cambodia Cultural and Arts Volunteer Work / Kim Taeri — Gap Year Participant / 4-week Gap Year |
Hello~ I''m Kim Taeri, and I''m a high school senior this year!
Why I took a gap year
I''ve always been interested in volunteer work, so I had high expectations for this Cambodia volunteer program.
Also, even though I was about to enter university, I hadn''t clarified what I truly wanted or how I should live, so I needed something to give me confidence in my thinking. While searching the internet, I found a gap year program.
Gap year goals
I wanted to have a purpose in life. I''ve long thought a lot about life — it started abstractly as ''I want to live a happy life'' and then developed further. I reflected on many aspects: how to live a happy life, where I find happiness, who I am, and so on.
But I realized it was time to not only think but to put those thoughts into action, and the gap year was the first step. Also, since I''m soon to be an adult and must take charge of my life, I wanted to cultivate the habit of achieving things in a planned and independent way.
Activities during the gap year
After arriving in Cambodia, I stayed at the organization for a few days and toured around Phnom Penh.
I visited many places like Wat Phnom, the Killing Fields, Toul Tom Poung market, and the National Museum — took photos, was deeply moved, and had many impressions.
About four days later I went straight to the school, met the principal, and received the schedule for the classes I would be leading.
At first it was hard. We had to get up early to clean, eat, and arrive at school by around 7 to start preparing for classes. And as the timetable above shows, first period starts at 8:30 or 9:20. Back in Korea, I was...a high school studentbut in Cambodia...a teacherso I taught all three class sections. It was really more packed than my school schedule when I was a student.
From David class''s English lesson to Solomon class''s Korean lesson and Isaac class''s art lesson, we taught regular classes straight through, then after a short break started after-school classes like piano lessons and Korean lessons for outside children. After finishing the day''s classes, I immediately went home to eat and prepared for the next day''s lessons.
What I liked about the gap year
I experienced things my peers rarely get to, learned a lot, realized many things, and overall it was great.
There isn''t a single wrong thing in those famous sayings.''Sincerity reaches people anytime, anywhere'', ''Knowing and doing are different'', ''Everything depends on your mindset''I''ve personally experienced the meanings of those sayings.
Especially when I teach young children, you learn about the tiniest little things. Even though we don’t speak the same language, the kids come to me saying “nakkur, nakkur” (meaning “teacher”), hug me, touch my hair, and even run up and tackle me so I fall down—everyone clings to me like that. In those moments I truly felt happier than anyone else in the world.
I wanted to give the children more love, teach them more things, and let others know how precious, lovable, and valuable the children are. Every moment was moving, but to share a few anecdotes: there was a boy at the school who normally never smiled and would just bow his head when asked to present. Not long after he started my class, he would run to me with a big smile whenever he saw me—it was really touching. I felt my efforts had paid off; this child had opened his heart to me. There were about four other similar kids who said they started smiling after taking my class. I was so happy.
On the day I left, the children from the Solomon, Isaac, and David classes drew pictures for me to see me off.
Of course the teachers probably instructed them to do it, but how cute it was that they wrote my name in Korean as “Taeri”… The Solomon class, which was the oldest group and spent the most time with me,“Teacher Taeri, don’t forget me”they wrote. Any teacher seeing that would not be able to hold back tears.
Before and after the gap year
The most important things are that I developed a clear sense of purpose and learned what makes me happiest.
I also realized again that you have to make an effort to get what you want. Before participating in the gap year program, I did everything—studies, school life, etc.—passively without really knowing why, but now everything has a reason. I think that’s the biggest change haha.
People I met during the gap year
I’m very grateful to Joo Hae-deun from Korea Gap Year, who helped me a lot from the interview with the Cambodian organization through life on site, and to Professor Ryu Gi-ryong, the professor’s wife, and their daughter Iseul. I’m also thankful to the local teacher Mom who served as my tour guide, the principal who inspired me greatly, and the lovely school children.♥
For participants considering a gap year
First of all! Don’t go without thinking. A gap year is not meant to be an escape or just for simple fun. So you should really think about why you’re taking a gap year. Think carefully about what you will do there and how you will spend each day. And no matter how perfectly you plan in Korea, once you arrive things often don’t go as planned depending on the situation, and you may end up drifting along.
Renew your mindset each day as if you’re starting anew. Then you will surely gain at least something.
In my case, every single dayI wrote activity reportsas if writing a diary. Writing in diary form lets you look back on what you did that day and discover many things—points to reflect on, lessons learned, things you enjoyed, and so on. Also, if you keep a diary and look back later, you can get motivated by your past self thinking, “Oh, I was like that then; I had this passion.”
As a practical tip: always take care of your own body and stay cautious, but at the same time it’s important to get close to the local people. If you become close, you’ll find they have gentle hearts. They show affection, empathize well, and have many similarities with Koreans ^^ If you approach them with a sincere heart, they will respond just as sincerely.
Also, it’s always important to meet people at their level. Whether they’re children or adults, don’t force English on them. Cambodia is their country and we are just foreigners. We should adapt to them. Make an effort to learn and memorize even basic words—there’s nothing to lose, haha.
My personal travel route discovered during the gap year
In my case, my gap year was only one month, so I went intending to devote myself to volunteering, but for about three days after arriving I was able to walk around Phnom Penh. I went with a staff member from the organization; be sure to visit the Central Market (Phsar Thmei), Toul Tom Poung Market, and the night market, and definitely see the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields. Sharing in Cambodia’s painful history will give you a lot to reflect on. Wat Phnom and the National Museum are also nice—you can appreciate the delicacy of sculptures influenced by Theravada Buddhism.
And you should also visit the Royal Palace. It’s really ornate and spacious. Aeon Mall is similar to a department store in our country. That’s nice too, and it’s pleasant to take a walk along the riverside. You’ll find bars and restaurants influenced by the French nearby.
Capturing the growth journeys
of our participants.
