First of all, my self-esteem has increased a lot! And I gained confidence in English too! My skills are still lacking, but I just say it and see what happens haha. Also, I learned a little how to overcome loneliness while away from home, so when I came here I didn''t fall into depression!! I''m so proud of how I''ve changed and I feel great!!!!!" Let''s not stress over English anymore! Learn English while enjoying yourself in Cebu! Yoo Hyowon, gap-year member, gapper (23, university student) / 4-week gap year |
# Deeply reflecting on self-esteem and trying to overcome it
Hello! I''m Yoo Hyowon, a university student living in Jeju Island. I could never have imagined taking a leave of absence during my third year of university, but after discovering the gap year I became certain about taking a leave, and I participated in a program to study language for one month in the Philippines after taking the leave. I''m still on leave from school even now!
I''ve always studied English, but I had the mindset that "English = stress." I could feel my skills improving, but when asked "Are you good at English?" I always answered, "No, I''m not." And for the next program I needed conversational English skills, but I didn''t have that level, so...They recommended a program that could raise my skills as much as possible in a short period, so I chose it. I trusted the gap year''s recommendation, and I also felt I needed an English training.That''s it!
First of all, my number one goal was to improve my English skills! My initial mindset was that I''d do the inner-growth gap year in the next project, so here I''d just study English hard! But on second thought, my gap year had already started from the Philippines, and my biggest problem was...The goal of this gap year was to deeply reflect on my self-esteem and try to overcome itIt was!
# A day in the Philippines
There were always classes on weekdays from 8:00 to 5:00 local time! Breakfast was at 7:20, lunch at 12:00, and dinner at 5:30! On weekdays (not holidays) it''s actually always the same,After classes on Wednesday there was Zumba, and on Fridays there were other activities, so it wasn''t boring!
My routine was always different but similar; on weekdays I would make plans with friends and go out after classes for a simple dinner, and sometimes take a taxi to go a little farther out.
Right next door there was a pub-like restaurant so we often had a beer!! On days I wanted to study, I''d have a beer and then come back by curfew at 10 and study in the study hall!
Also, on days when I was too lazy to go out but bored, I swam in the school''s pool. The water was about 1.5m deep and I used to be afraid of water so I couldn''t swim, but this time I learned to swim. On weekends I''d go on 1-night-2-day trips, and on holidays 2-night-3-day trips, or day trips around Cebu enjoying marine activities or visiting malls in Cebu City.
# "After meeting you, my image of Korea changed for the better"
First of all, the best thing was that daily life was English practice! The biggest advantage of this language school is that there are very few Koreans. I only met 8 Koreans hehe. Of course, since it''s abroad Koreans did hang out together, but
I liked spending time with other foreign friends too, so I would go up to them first, always start conversations, and go out to eat and hang out. What I liked most was that I could study English even while making memories and having fun like that!
What moved me was that many friends told me, "After meeting you, my image of Korea changed for the better."I knew that anyone can have prejudices about other countries and those prejudices aren''t always favorable. So I sometimes worried that the image of Korea might be negative when meeting foreign friends.
But I was touched by friends who said such kind things, as if they recognized my approach without prejudice, and although I didn''t speak English perfectly, I shared a lot emotionally with friends and cried my eyes out on the last day because I didn''t want to part, and it''s so moving that I still keep in touch with those friends!
What I learned is that language isn''t what''s most important, and the people in the Philippines were really all hardworking! Seeing them I thought I should also give my best to everything hehe
And by meeting many people from various countries and with different thoughts, I learned an open mindset that can consider different perspectives.I once again felt that Korea is a country very focused on appearance, and learning that it''s okay to think about things more easily and lightly meant I had almost no stress while in the Philippines.
Bringing that mindset back to Korea greatly reduced my stress here too!!
Finally, what I realized is similar to what I learned!I realized that having prejudices about everything is really foolish, and thanks to meeting good people I realized that it''s okay to love myself more.
# Believe the words of those who praise you — sister, praise yourself too!
I met so many wonderful people that it would probably take five A4 pages to write about them all. Among them were Sharon, a younger sibling from Busan; my buddy teacher Gina and my close friend Teacher Joan; my Vietnamese friend Jamie who liked me a lot; the cute Japanese younger sisters Kyoka and Saori; Hota, with whom I only talked for five hours but really connected; and the Korean friends I lived with there!
I''ll probably never forget these people! The best thing about meeting them was that my self-esteem increased a lot.Especially Sharon — the day before I left she held my hand and told me: ''Realize more that you are worthy of being loved. When you take the initiative to speak to foreigners, your constant smiling and considerate attitude toward others doesn''t feel fake and looks so lovely. Believe the people who compliment you and praise yourself too!''
I cried my eyes out when I heard that. I was so thankful! Haha, andEvery time other friends said they liked me, missed me, or felt better because of me, I was so happy.
So I think the last day felt even sadder. They''re people I don''t know when I''ll see again. But we''ve decided to meet soon in Japan!!!!! Hahaha
# My gap year tips
(Language)
In my case, I had practiced English speaking in advance with a Filipino teacher through phone lessons, so I didn''t have much difficulty making simple sentences and having conversations!
But my grammar and vocabulary were really, really at a middle-school level, so even when I confidently spoke sentences, most of the words or grammar were wrong. So I took extra grammar classes for a month and kept asking the teachers whether the grammar of the sentences I made was correct and whether my pronunciation was accurate!
Speaking and listening improve quite naturally, but grammar was a bit difficult because grammar is taught in English! I recommend learning grammar beforehand or bringing a grammar book in Korean!!
(Accommodation)
If you''re sensitive about cleanliness, you might be taken aback when you first arrive at the accommodation haha... They clean roughly once a week, but it''ll be a gap year living with ants..If you''re sensitive, I also recommend buying ant repellent in advance!
Also medicine to put on insect bites~~The air conditioning was stronger than I expected, so it was cold when sleeping at night, but the water pressure... is really weak so a shower that should take 10 minutes can take 30 minutes haha. But hot water comes out fine, so there''s no problem washing — don''t worry!!!!
Also, for triple rooms you might feel the room is smaller than expected haha. If you''re sensitive to noise or light at night, it''s good to bring an eye mask and earplugs! In my case I was sensitive to light, so bringing an eye mask let me sleep well regardless of my roommates'' phone lights haha.
(Meals)
There was no separate space for cooking, so I could only eat at the school cafeteria, eat out, or have cup noodles ㅠㅠ haha. You can buy canned Korean perilla leaves or Korean cup noodles, but the Korean cup noodles taste different soI recommend bringing things like cup noodles in advance ㅠㅠ
(What to bring)
I thought I''d just study, so I packed only tracksuits ㅠㅠ But when I wanted to dress up to go out with friends I had no suitable clothes or accessories and felt disappointed. It wasn''t a big problem, but I wish I had brought one or two nicer outfits!!!
Actually, people''s places are all the same, so if you need something you can buy it or borrow it — just check the gap year checklist well~~~
# For prospective participants
The thing I felt most sorry about during this activity was seeing another gap year participant at the language school who was so stressed because her English didn''t seem to improve. From my perspective she had improved a lot, but because the progress wasn''t visible she was stressed and couldn''t enjoy the moment, which made me very sad!
Of course this activity is to learn English, but your English improves without you even noticing, and desk study can be done plenty in Korea, soI hope you don''t stress too much and make sure to enjoy and take advantage of all the activities you can only do in the Philippines!!
And if I were to recommend my own Cebu travel spots,I really liked Kawasan Falls!It''s not very safe, so you need to be a bit careful. If you go through a Filipino company, you can go for a cheap price and have really exciting marine experiences!
And there''s a restaurant called ''Lantau''—one over the sea and one on a hill, with various concepts! The food is delicious and the scenery is so beautiful, I highly recommend it!!!!!! haha
# I''m so proud of how I''ve changed and it feels great!!!!!
First of all, my self-esteem has increased a lot! And I''ve also gained confidence in my English! My skills are still lacking, but I just say it anyway haha
I also picked up some ways to overcome loneliness while living away from home, so I didn''t fall into depression when I came here!! The habit of using my time efficiently in the Philippines from morning to night is still ingrained, so I—who always used to oversleep—now wake up early, clean before work, prepare something to eat, and leave feeling good!
I''m so proud of how I''ve changed and it feels great!!!!!
My gap year is
Experience★★★★★
Learning★★★★★
Environment★★★☆☆
Safety★★★★☆
Leisure★★★★★
