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#Saying 'no' and living for myself #Overcame fear, gained stability, broadened perspective #Took time to reflect on myself
Originally, when I felt something was ''no'' I couldn''t say so, but after going I began to clearly express when something was not okay,I became able to live a little more relaxed and for myself. -Learning classic English cheaply in London, UK / Im Minji''s gap year (gapper) / 12-week gap year |
# It was unfamiliar, difficult, and scary.
Hello. I''m 25-year-old university student Im Minji. :) I came to the UK after participating in a language-study project in the Philippines.During the Philippines project I felt and did many things, so it was easy to organize and post about them, but for the London project writing felt a bit different.
For me, the UK was an environment where I had to handle everything on my own from A to Z; it was unfamiliar, difficult, and scary. Since I went thinking I was fairly good at English, the British English I heard for the first time was very hard to understand, and in the process I think I ended up making several people uncomfortable.
So the confidence I had built up in the Philippines dropped, and self-disgust returned and I began to shrink back. It was hard to make friends at the language school, and everything—adjusting, the way people spoke, the weather, transportation, the homestay—was overwhelming, and with homesickness on top of that I think I spent the first two weeks crying.
# ''No one will solve it for you.''
There were times I didn''t want to go anywhere and just shut myself in my room.What I felt then was, ''No one will solve it for you. In the end, you have to face things and move forward on your own.''It was. As soon as I had that thought, I started going back to the language school I had been taking a break from, and by giving back the same attitude to classmates who ignored me, my stress decreased.
When I got home, I started by taking walks near the accommodation and began going out.''If native speakers get annoyed or make unpleasant faces because I don''t understand, they''re the strange ones, not me.''I felt that, and from then on I went out confidently.
Also, at the language school I moved up one level at the recommendation of the teacher, and thinking ''Ah, the people in my old class were the strange ones; I''m not strange after all,'' about a month before my course ended I began to enjoy the school and became close with my classmates.
As I started going out, new things began to catch my eye. Seeing scenes that don''t exist in Korea—queues, festivals, galleries, museums—made me realize ''I''m in London.'' Because I had companions, I couldn''t keep my own time and pace, so I was a bit stressed, butI found more ease and stability.
# A day in the UK
I wake up at 6, wash up and get ready, and go to school by 8:30.After three hours of class divided into two parts, it''s 12:00, and I usually buy food nearby and eat alone or take it home. For about a month and a half I stayed cooped up at home and was obsessed with contacting Korea, but
After that, starting around the area near the language schoolI started wandering around here and there and spent my free time.
# My gap year tips
(Language)
EngWhen studying in London, UK, I think listening practice for British English is necessary. The ''t'' pronunciation is different from American English, and when I met someone who used authentic British English I would often freeze. It can feel especially more difficult during phone calls.
(Food)
British food wasn''t as delicious as its reputation. Eating out is expensive, and ingredients are cheap, so I recommend cooking for yourself.At my homestay they mostly gave ready meals, but for the remaining two months I bought ingredients and cooked my own food.
(Supplies)
For daily necessities, I recommend bringing only a small amount of items you immediately need and buying the rest locally (to save weight and space).
(To prospective participants)
This is something I really want to say to people who are very timid and easily intimidated like me.Don''t be intimidated. English is, after all, just a language, and they would react the same way when learning Korean for the first time.(In my case I had a hard time because I couldn''t understand them... hehe)
# My personal London spots
Early in my life in London it was so hard that rather than following a sightseeing route I wandered around near my homestay, and what I remember most is Arsenal''s football stadium. On match days, scenes you can''t see in Korea would unfold.
# It was leisure, rest, and learning.
When I think of the London project, I strongly think of it as a ''failed project'' and the memories were so difficult I didn''t want to recall them. But as I carefully revisited my thoughts and memories to write this review,the London project was, for me, leisure, rest, and learning.
I had a lot of time alone to reflect on and feel myself, and I also tried confronting things without fear.It was a time free from other people''s gaze.I realized that Korea, the place I''m from, is very small, and I don''t need to shape myself to fit into it.
I used to be afraid of crowded places and avoided them. But in London the version of me I saw was ''me among many people.'' That gave me a strange sense of stability. Even now, when I''m in a quiet place, I feel an inexplicable unease.
Finally, I hope no one blames themselves and shrinks just because they can''t adapt to the project. I still can''t accept others'' criticism and I''m afraid of people. But as I look back and write this review, while the project itself may be important,isn''t what matters more the things I tried and felt?That''s what I felt.I hope timid, easily withdrawn people like me won''t hurt themselves.
I used to be unable to say ''no'' when I felt something wasn''t right, but after coming back I began to clearly express myself and say no, and I became able to live a little more relaxed and for myself.
Originally, when I felt something was ''no'' I couldn''t say so, but after going I began to clearly express when something was not okay,I became able to live a little more relaxed and for myself. -Learning classic English cheaply in London, UK / Im Minji''s gap year (gapper) / 12-week gap year |
# It was unfamiliar, difficult, and scary.
Hello. I''m 25-year-old university student Im Minji. :) I came to the UK after participating in a language-study project in the Philippines.During the Philippines project I felt and did many things, so it was easy to organize and post about them, but for the London project writing felt a bit different.
For me, the UK was an environment where I had to handle everything on my own from A to Z; it was unfamiliar, difficult, and scary. Since I went thinking I was fairly good at English, the British English I heard for the first time was very hard to understand, and in the process I think I ended up making several people uncomfortable.
So the confidence I had built up in the Philippines dropped, and self-disgust returned and I began to shrink back. It was hard to make friends at the language school, and everything—adjusting, the way people spoke, the weather, transportation, the homestay—was overwhelming, and with homesickness on top of that I think I spent the first two weeks crying.
# ''No one will solve it for you.''
There were times I didn''t want to go anywhere and just shut myself in my room.What I felt then was, ''No one will solve it for you. In the end, you have to face things and move forward on your own.''It was. As soon as I had that thought, I started going back to the language school I had been taking a break from, and by giving back the same attitude to classmates who ignored me, my stress decreased.
When I got home, I started by taking walks near the accommodation and began going out.''If native speakers get annoyed or make unpleasant faces because I don''t understand, they''re the strange ones, not me.''I felt that, and from then on I went out confidently.
Also, at the language school I moved up one level at the recommendation of the teacher, and thinking ''Ah, the people in my old class were the strange ones; I''m not strange after all,'' about a month before my course ended I began to enjoy the school and became close with my classmates.
As I started going out, new things began to catch my eye. Seeing scenes that don''t exist in Korea—queues, festivals, galleries, museums—made me realize ''I''m in London.'' Because I had companions, I couldn''t keep my own time and pace, so I was a bit stressed, butI found more ease and stability.
# A day in the UK
I wake up at 6, wash up and get ready, and go to school by 8:30.After three hours of class divided into two parts, it''s 12:00, and I usually buy food nearby and eat alone or take it home. For about a month and a half I stayed cooped up at home and was obsessed with contacting Korea, but
After that, starting around the area near the language schoolI started wandering around here and there and spent my free time.
# My gap year tips
(Language)
EngWhen studying in London, UK, I think listening practice for British English is necessary. The ''t'' pronunciation is different from American English, and when I met someone who used authentic British English I would often freeze. It can feel especially more difficult during phone calls.
(Food)
British food wasn''t as delicious as its reputation. Eating out is expensive, and ingredients are cheap, so I recommend cooking for yourself.At my homestay they mostly gave ready meals, but for the remaining two months I bought ingredients and cooked my own food.
(Supplies)
For daily necessities, I recommend bringing only a small amount of items you immediately need and buying the rest locally (to save weight and space).
(To prospective participants)
This is something I really want to say to people who are very timid and easily intimidated like me.Don''t be intimidated. English is, after all, just a language, and they would react the same way when learning Korean for the first time.(In my case I had a hard time because I couldn''t understand them... hehe)
# My personal London spots
Early in my life in London it was so hard that rather than following a sightseeing route I wandered around near my homestay, and what I remember most is Arsenal''s football stadium. On match days, scenes you can''t see in Korea would unfold.
# It was leisure, rest, and learning.
When I think of the London project, I strongly think of it as a ''failed project'' and the memories were so difficult I didn''t want to recall them. But as I carefully revisited my thoughts and memories to write this review,the London project was, for me, leisure, rest, and learning.
I had a lot of time alone to reflect on and feel myself, and I also tried confronting things without fear.It was a time free from other people''s gaze.I realized that Korea, the place I''m from, is very small, and I don''t need to shape myself to fit into it.
I used to be afraid of crowded places and avoided them. But in London the version of me I saw was ''me among many people.'' That gave me a strange sense of stability. Even now, when I''m in a quiet place, I feel an inexplicable unease.
Finally, I hope no one blames themselves and shrinks just because they can''t adapt to the project. I still can''t accept others'' criticism and I''m afraid of people. But as I look back and write this review, while the project itself may be important,isn''t what matters more the things I tried and felt?That''s what I felt.I hope timid, easily withdrawn people like me won''t hurt themselves.
I used to be unable to say ''no'' when I felt something wasn''t right, but after coming back I began to clearly express myself and say no, and I became able to live a little more relaxed and for myself.
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