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#A changed awareness of environmental protection; a more relaxed mindset #Self-sufficient living in Patagonia; the feeling of being 'alive' #A sense of stability from nature; an unbiased perspective
There I ate what was available, sorted my recycling properly, used things that could last as long as possible, and there were no disposable items. Seeing people live like that changed my way of thinking. I realized you can live with that kind of contentment. I used to hate touching soil, but that feeling was really pleasant. I felt "alive."
- Chile internship / Park Dalhae, gap-year traveler (gapper) / 4 months of gap year |
Currently, South Korea is,
each year 60,000 middle and high school students drop out, 346,000 people in their 20s are just idling because they have no dreams, and the turnover rate within one year of employment has entered the 40% range,75% of university students are not satisfied with campus life, and over 80% of office workers say they do not feel happy.
Many people tell others to dream, but to address this problem that lacks practical methods and support,we want to introduce the ''gap year'' to South Korea.
''Gap year'' refers to a period when one pauses or balances study and work to engage in various activities such as volunteering, travel, internships, education, or entrepreneurship,a time to set the direction for the future — a culture encouraged in the US, Europe, Japan, and elsewhere.
*Check out various experiential opportunities on the Gap Year website!
#Fulfilling my wish to go to South America.
Hello. My name is Park Dalhae.
I''m a student very interested in South America. To learn Spanish and experience Latin culture, I went to the Patagonia region in southern Chile,and did a four-month internship in environmental work like tree-protection activities and small tasks (planting seeds, harvesting, caring for sheep, etc.).
From high school until before taking a gap year, I had never properly rested, and I was also worn out from relationships, so I often felt a desperate need to rest in a quiet place.
While looking for ways to go to South America during my leave of absence, I found the Gap Year website. There are many rumors that South America is dangerous for Koreans, so internships were hard to find, but the Gap Year site had quite a few South American programs. I chose an internship where I could learn the language and culture.
#Preparation: Learning Spanish
I studied the basics of Spanish before I went..I was already someone who was very interested in foreign languages, and after friends returned from the Camino pilgrimage and said they liked Spain, I really wanted to go. Spain was getting popular at the time, and since I would use Spanish there, I thought I should study it somewhat, so I studied it with enthusiasm.
#With no cell phone, I read books and wrote.
Although Patagonia was somewhere I really wanted to go, my first impression wasn''t that good. The place I visited in August was very cold. When I arrived in Patagonia the weather was cloudy and rainy, and since I already dislike rain, I wasn''t in a good mood. Also, there aren''t many East Asians in Patagonia, so people stared at me with curiosity and asked me questions... I was exhausted, so the place I thought would be nice felt like nothing at first.
I arrived tired; the place was so quiet and even the Wi‑Fi was poor. I had been glued to my phone my whole life, so there was nothing to do. We heated with firewood without a boiler, and the bare environment felt overwhelming at first.
However,the longer I stayed, the more I loved the calm that nature gave me and the self-sufficient way of life in that bare environment.With no cell phone, I read books or wrote at night, and sometimes visited friends'' houses. The feeling of boredom gradually disappeared, and in the end I was sad to leave.
#Days in Patagonia
There isn''t even a single supermarket in Patagonia. You have to take a 7–8 hour bus ride to go out and buy supplies.
So on the one day off a month, I would buy and store a month''s worth of food and eat from that.
At first I thought, ''How can they live like this? Is this possible?'' but everyone was doing fine.
If I saw something edible while walking along the road, I would dig it up and eat it, or pick it and eat it.I tried it once and it was really delicious. We drank water melted from glaciers, showered with it, and used it for everything. After drinking that water, I went to Buenos Aires and the water tasted different. I wondered, ''How can people buy this?'' I was amazed—glacial meltwater tasted that good.
In the morning we would gather in a warehouse-like place and, until about 8:00–8:30, move with the person in charge. The daily tasks varied. In the morning we checked the sheep''s condition, put name tags on the ears of newborn lambs, helped with injections, trimmed hooves, and in the afternoons we went to look at trees or visit the sheep.
When the sheep had eaten all the grass in one area, we would move the fence to avoid that spot — we did that every day.
It was hard work so I couldn''t do it at first, but as I kept doing it it became easier later on :)
Almost everything was outdoor activity. I went to the garden to water, plant seeds, and I even did field-tending work.
#Feeling "alive" in Patagonia
I was actually a bit uptight before. I really disliked discomfort. If it was about environmental protection, I thought I would have to become an important person and create policies to change people.In Patagonia, environmental protection wasn''t such a grand or lofty thing.There they don''t trim or cut trees like we do; they just leave them alone. They let nature take its course.
They ate what grew there, sorted their trash well, used things that could last a long time whenever possible, and there were no single-use items.
Seeing people live that way changed my thinking. I saw that it''s possible to live like that and be satisfied.
I originally didn''t even like touching dirt, but that feeling was really pleasant. I felt ''alive.''
#I think about them every day — that family.
No lie, I think about everyone I lived with in Patagonia every single day.There are no buildings to block the view there. What I liked about them was that their conversation topics were different. When I talk with my friends back home, I often hear ''life is so hard these days.'' I really hated that.
They surely have children and probably worry about finding jobs, but they don''t share those hard worries within the family.Every night they ate together and shared very trivial stories — things they saw on TV, events that happened on the farm, and so on.I used to go plant seeds with the woman of that family, and because she loved that work so much, while eating we would talk about things like, ''When will the fruits bloom? We''ll need a lot of rain...'' and so on.
I enjoyed every night there.
They don''t vent anger or curse while discussing complicated political issues like people do in our country. I felt they focused more on their own lives. Their wages aren''t high, but because the environment allows them to live, they seem content. I''ve never once seen them worry about money.
I kept a daily diary while I was there, and that''s what I wrote.
"The reason these people are happy is that everything is provided." In our country, there isn''t an immediate ''space'' to live.To prepare a place for me to live...It costs so much money. There, workers live in dormitory-style housing so it doesn''t cost a lot. Also, they don''t use gas, so they don''t spend that money either.
They don''t have many clothes. Five families live there and there was only one six-drawer chest. They live with the bare minimum.
So I think they''re happy.I also lived with the absolute minimum there. Still, it was livable. It was fine.
#The people who were "together"
There were two mechanics who worked there and one older brother from the family — the three of them were close. One day I saw the three of them out in the distance. I thought nothing of it, but later that evening I went out briefly and met the older brother. He told me to come over there later. That day the three of them looked haggard. When I asked why, he said the three of them had been fishing at sea but hadn''t noticed the tide coming in; while they were fishing the water suddenly rushed in and they became stranded. It was such a sad situation, but I remember it was so funny that I just laughed.
There were also lots of events. Since it was the season when the farm owner was changing, we had farewell parties, celebrated national holidays, and had many parties.Compared to Korea, even when many people gathered there it wasn''t the cliquish culture like in our country.
In our country, when people sit in one place they usually talk with the people sitting on the same side.
We had a barbecue party where people lined up, took their portion of barbecue when it was their turn, and then went around talking with this person and that person.I was impressed by the culture where everyone — regardless of age or gender — played games together and enjoyed things together.
#To me, a gap year is ''colored pencils''.
To me, a gap year is''colored pencils,'' I think.Because I could color the blank canvas of my life with many colors.
Whereas before I only knew red and blue, now I can see green too. I realized red is not just red — there are shades like crimson and scarlet.
Living a relaxed life made me more laid-back and not stressed by small things — that''s the good part of the change. While having plenty of time for myself I learned what kind of person I am and what I''m good at, and by meeting many different people I stopped categorizing people. I think categorization is where prejudice begins.
When I saw the homeless people and hippies there, they were very confident and got along well with others.
At first I was really scared to talk with those people, but as time passed I found myself simply talking with ''people.''You could say I came to respect the diversity of life.
My gap year is..
Experience★★★★★It was nice to be able to be with nature.
Learning★★★★★These are things you can''t learn anywhere else.
Environment★★★★★The environment couldn''t have been better.
Safety★★★★★It''s very safe because everyone knows one another :)
Leisure★★★★☆There didn''t seem to be much variety in leisure activities, either spatially or otherwise. Life itself seemed to be the leisure.
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