Gained drive and confidence, Busan Gap-Year Stay Review: "I Came to Know Exactly What I Like"

#Gained drive and confidence #New experiences in Busan; confirmed my love for painting #No longer hesitate to pursue what I want to do

Author: An Ye-rin
Country / City: Asia/Indonesia/Bali
Views : 2492

The reason I went to Busan was that since high school I had wanted to participate in a gap-year stay when I became a university student, and even though I was only a freshman I felt like I had been restricting myself and living too busily, so I wanted to give myself a break.

The passionate second city, Busan Gap-Year Stay / Ahn Yerin — gap-year traveler/gapper / 4 weeks of gap year

#"…“Go ahead, go.”

“…“Go ahead, go.” Finally my mother gave her permission. When I first told her I would go to Busan by myself, and for a month at that, her reaction was negative. She said she couldn''t let her daughter stay in a guesthouse alone for a month. But a few days later she said she trusted me and that I could go.”

Even after getting permission, my mother''s worries didn''t end. What if something dangerous happens, what if the work is hard… Actually I wasn''t without anxiety either. I didn''t know a single person in Busan and had only been there once last year, and that was really short. Also, I had never worked a part-time job before.

Nevertheless, the reason I went to Busan was that since high school I had wanted to join a gap-year stay when I became a university studentand even though I was only a freshman, I felt I''d been confining myself and living too busily, so I wanted to give myself a rest.

# Busan, arrived in 6 hours

Thanks to the delayed train I spent about six hours on the train and was completely exhausted. There was no friend to chat with, the Wi‑Fi didn''t work, I couldn''t sleep... I think I spent the tedious six hours just staring out the window. I felt so worn out I even thought about going straight home.

When I arrived at Nampo Station dragging my heavy suitcase, a Christmas tree festival was in full swing in Nampo-dong. Seeing a festival I had only seen on Facebook right in front of me made me realize I had really arrived in Busan. On the first day, I went to the room I would be staying in and there was no one — the large eight-person room was all mine.

‘''Well, since I''m here anyway, I''ll do my best until the last day,'' I thought.

# A request to draw a picture

The next day I started work in earnest. I was being told what I would be doing whenthe owner looked at my resume and made a request. He said he''d like me to paint a picture on the glass at the entrance.I had written ''drawing'' in the hobbies/skills section of my resume, but I''m not an art major and only draw as a hobby — what if I mess it up, I''ve never painted somewhere that big...

I was worried, but the owner told me not to be burdened and that I would only need to fix it a little, so I decided to give it a try thinking, ''Let''s try it! It could be a good experience—when will I get to do this?''

ThenBut when I actually tried to draw, the manager told me not to just tweak it a bit but to erase everything and redraw it, which was surprising. So I ended up drawing the One Piece members one per day after finishing the room cleaning.

# I like drawing more than I thought

Guests coming and going and the managers would compliment me on my good drawing each time they saw it, which made me feel very good.

At first I thought, ''How am I going to do this?'' and felt burdened, but I was proud of myself for persevering and finishing, and seeing the completed work made me very proud. Buoyed by that, I also painted the guesthouse gate.

Seeing my drawing every time I went in and out felt somehow strange and proud.

My arm did hurt when I was painting, but it was enjoyable.

Seeing myself like that, I felt, ''I like drawing more than I thought I did.''

# And whenever I wanted to draw something, I took out my drawing book.

While traveling I drew a lot. Not just diary entries, but whenever a pretty scene caught my eye I would take out my drawing book and sketch with a ballpoint pen and then use a calligraphy pen to write the place name and the date.

At first, I hesitated to draw, worrying that other people might stare at me strangely while I was drawing.I hesitated to draw, thinking "What if someone laughs at my drawing?", but then I realized I didn''t really care, and from then on whenever I wanted to draw I didn''t hesitate to take out my drawing book.

#Introducing Busan

If I had spare time, I''d go to a small café in an alley and draw and write in my diary for a few hours.

I also went to bookstores to read books I wanted to read, and spending time like that felt so good and made me happy.

When friends came to visit, I would show them around here and there, and I would introduce places to visit and tell a same-age friend from Jeju about transportation, and seeing myself do thatI felt proud, thinking that I had come to know Busan quite well.

During the first to second weeks of the gap year, I overdid it because I was too ambitious and, working for the first time, became exhausted and even caught a cold. I also felt lonely being alone, but I was proud of myself for having accomplished almost all the items I had written down when planning the gap year stay, promising myself "I must do this here!", and I was so happy to have been able to gaze at the blue sea to my heart''s content for a month since I live in Incheon and don''t usually see it often.

#Gap Year Stay that Gave Me Drive and Confidence

At first I hesitated a lot about applying because I worried whether I could do the gap-year stay well, but after applying and successfully completing the program, I felt a sense of accomplishment and really thought I was glad I did it.From now on, when there is something I want to do, I''ve gained the drive to do it without hesitation and the confidence that I can.

Through the gap-year stay, I think I clearly discovered what I like.And I developed another dream.To spend a year living one month at a time in countries I desire.I am very grateful because this program seems to have given me the momentum to move toward a new goal.

My gap year is...

Experience★★★★★

Since everything from traveling alone, to working, to staying in a guesthouse was a first for me, this gap-year stay itself felt like a great experience.

LearningGrowth★★★☆☆

As someone doing a job for the first time, I learned how difficult working can be.

Environment★★★★★
They often check whether anything is inconvenient and have everything you might need. Also, it''s located in a busy area and there''s nothing missing around it.

Safety★★★☆☆
There isn''t a specific closing time and there are many bars nearby, so you''ll need to be somewhat careful—for example, by coming back early.

Leisure★★★★☆
You can use your time after work entirely as you wish, and since a month is not a short time, it seems you were able to do almost everything you wanted to during that period.