"In the end, as a person, my empty heart was filled through other people. I gained conviction about the value of life and what I should pursue. And I found the courage to dream." Volunteer work in Bangkok, Thailand, a warm city where NGOs from around the world gather Kim Da-bin, gap year participant (20, university student) / 8-week gap year |
# The anticipation I felt remembering the time there was so fresh and I was very grateful.
Hello, I''m Kim Da-bin, now twenty years old. Taking this space,I want to share the emotions, values, and aspects of myself that have changed and grown through my own gap year.
Last summer, I spent my gap year for two months affiliated with an NGO in Bangkok as an English teacher for children, in other words as an NGO volunteer.
Just from that brief introduction you might think I did something big and uncommon to try. But I want to say that''s not the case at all. I encountered Korea Gap Year for a trivial reason.
In 2016, while participating in a public exchange student program in the United States, I was worrying about the long American summer vacation ahead. At that time, my parents, who have always been interested in and concerned about young people''s passion and who want to live a youthful life themselves, gave me something to consider and told me to think for myself.
What was given to me was ''Korea Gap Year.'' A gap year. Not wanting to drift during the long break in the U.S., I actively gathered information.
The excitement I felt when choosing the Bangkok English education volunteer program, imagining that in a few weeks I would be giving myself deep meaning and precious connections, was so fresh and I was very grateful for the anticipation I had remembering the time there.
And with that grateful feeling, as I searched for programs with the purpose of using my time well, I decided and clarified my goal: ''As an English teacher for the children, I will take responsibility and enjoy it, and create an experience I will never have again.''
# I realized I needed my own teaching method.
I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. Unlike when I had entered it on a family trip, the air in the airport felt a bit intimidating and novel.First, the Korean older sister already spending her gap year in Bangkok, the organization''s coordinator, and the students came to meet me. Since it was late, I felt sorry, but more than that I felt reassured and grateful.
The next day, things proceeded rapidly. I spent time getting to know who worked at the organization, talking with them and adjusting schedules. I felt a bit more at ease. Above all, I was grateful to be able to rely on the Korean sister who stayed in the same place with me.
For me, who couldn''t ride a motorcycle, teaching at a distant school was a huge hurdle. So I had many conversations with various people to coordinate with the school and schedules. Then came the official first class. It was a format where I planned and ran lessons and games myself, and I thought hard about what activities would capture the children''s attention and encourage active participation.
So I thought I had produced a satisfying result, but apparently the child education officer who observed the class did not think so at all. ^^; Their criticisms and advice shook me, but they became lessons I internalized.
I felt I needed my own teaching method.I wanted to teach what I wanted to convey, what I hoped the children would know, and things that the children and I could learn while communicating joyfully.
# The children needed love.
The children liked games and songs. For kids used to word-centered learning, I rewrote song lyrics so they could apply them and ran games they would enjoy.
When I looked into the pure, unspoiled eyes of the children, when I heard their cheerful laughter, I was so grateful for the time spent teaching them and being with them.The image of the children trailing after me after class, calling ''Teacher, teacher!'' in clear voices to high-five or take photos, is still vivid in my mind.
I also received small but very warm hugs. The children needed love — small attention and affection. Even the small love shown to them made them very happy, and they returned an even greater love than they were given.
# I was so grateful and felt it precious to have people around me who communicated with their eyes and hearts.
Besides the time teaching the children, I spent really happy and grateful times with meaningful people. At first I was shy and dependent, butAs affection for the organization grew and, as time passed, my regrets increased, I began to make local friends.
There were peers my age who had been trained at the organization and who later taught the children. Hanging out with those friends gave me opportunities to introduce aspects of Korea, and when they already knew a lot about Korea, we''d joke and chat together.
After the Korean older sister who had been spending the gap year with me left, when I had to stay alone at the accommodation, friends stayed with me. We ate market foods only available in Bangkok together, and I was invited home to share delicious homemade meals.
The way they accepted and loved foreign volunteers of different nationalities and languages like hometown friends and even family was so warm. I was so grateful and felt it was precious to have people around me who communicated with me through their eyes and hearts.
I also made good use of the weekends in Bangkok. I chose tourist spots I wanted to visit again, planned the budget and route, and enjoyed the "solo trip" I had always dreamed of. Always aware that I was alone, I avoided risks as much as possible while traveling. I also didn''t forget to record and check my expenses. :-)
I also met a Thai friend I had met in the United States and that friend''s other friends. We had a pleasant time. I was so happy and grateful. They might have been people I would only meet once, but I cherished every single encounter with new people. Through meeting them, I reflected on the direction of my life. I also gained the courage to face the world on my own.
On Sundays I went to a Korean church and met more precious connections. I met teenagers and young adults who were studying at local schools or working. Although it was a short period, they treated me with love as if we were church family who had been together.
# I gained the courage to dream.
During my gap year, wherever I went I always encountered people. They were all living diverse lives in different ways. I also realized that the happiness each individual seeks in life exists in many different forms.
This period spent meeting people taught me that the range of meaning and happiness I can find in life is vast and truly exists.When I was nine, my homeroom teacher said, "I will give you the gift of ''time.''"
Finally, I gave that gift to myself. Through ''time,'' I became convinced that I should be someone who seeks meaning and happiness in life, not just someone prepared for college entrance and employment.
I gained greater courage. It reminded me that life''s meaning grows when I shine my own light on someone else and they, too, begin to shine.
In the end, as a person, my empty heart was filled through others. I gained conviction about the values of life and what I should pursue. And I gained the courage to dream.
To those considering a gap year, those struggling with dreams, life goals, and values, and those living intensely in the present: I hope you take a moment to look around, meet other people who live alongside you, summon the courage, and seek and pursue life''s meaning and happiness.
