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#My complexion brightened and I now lead a more relaxed daily life #A place where I could focus on myself #My worry-prone personality became more positive
"Before I participated, I was actually burned out. I had been nonstop busy for years, tied up with all kinds of tasks and relationships, and life wasn’t enjoyable. I felt like I was living forcibly. These days my family and friends in Korea say my face looks different—they say I seem much brighter. I feel that way too."
A special Nordic working holiday to learn about the world and protect the environment Ki Eun-hwan, gap year traveler (31, after resigning) / 12-month gap year
* This project has ended and is no longer ongoing.
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# Thirty-one: a life spent walking a tightrope between extremes wherever I am
Hello! I’m ''Thirty-one'' Ki Eun-hwan. I thought a long time about what descriptor to put before my name and eventually I attached my age. It’s not that I want to talk about being older or younger—I just find it amazing to think, “I’ve already lived thirty-one years.”
When I was very young I was so shy on the first day of kindergarten that I stayed on the hallway wall and couldn’t even enter the classroom. But once I opened up, I became so mischievous that in early elementary school I teased the boys so much older girls would come to me asking me to stop bothering their brothers.
Wherever I’ve been and whatever I’ve done, I’ve lived standing on extremes like a precarious tightrope walker. Sometimes I’d fall flat to the ground, sometimes I’d soar into the sky, and I often made those around me anxious.Now, dreaming of my own total art on the tightrope(!), I sometimes walk and run, sometimes pause and pray, and slowly keep moving forward. However I live, I’ll live my life happily and joyfully.
I’d vaguely thought “I want to go abroad” for a few years before I joined the gap year project. I told my friends “I’m going overseas.” Everything around me seemed perfect: a good family and friends, a salary that was enough to live on though not large, and a daily life with more pleasant things than unpleasant ones.
But cracks kept forming inside me. The sounds of cracks—creak, creak—were so noisy in my chest I couldn’t stand them. I think I was feeling anxious.Can I live like this? Is this really okay? Going abroad wouldn’t immediately make me who I want to be, but I needed at least a place to be alone and concentrate on myself.
Yet I was blocked for a long time by the barrier called money, only hoping and hoping. Then, as the saying goes, effort meets opportunity: one day the gap year <Nordic Working Holiday> project suddenly appeared in front of me.Thanks to the gap year, I’m staying in my own place and living a relaxed, precious, and enriched daily life. :)
I used to be a real worrywart. Even before leaving I worried about so many things. What if I can’t adapt and have to come back (I can’t even speak English…), what if life abroad suits me too well and I want to stay (but people are waiting for me…), what if something happens at home while I’m away (that absolutely can’t happen…), what if a robber steals my wallet…? (eek gross..) I worried about every imaginable thing.
For the first two months it felt like a dream that I was overseas, and I even worried “what if I wake up from this dream.” But as you can see, none of those worries were of any use, right?The Tibetan proverb ‘If worrying could remove worries, there would be no worries’ is the truth. If you worry in advance, the worry really sticks to you. Now I live filled with positive and joyful feelings.
# A one-year project: love yourself whether this way or that!
The <Nordic Working Holiday> is a one-year project. For the main project of three months of travel (from the U.S. to Costa Rica), beforehandyou save travel expenses for six months in Denmark, prepare for the trip for two months in Norway, then travel for three months, return, and spend the final month in Norway wrapping up the trip.It is structured that way.
Currently I’m working at a small school in Denmark. Before the holidays, school work starts at 8:30 a.m. I mainly do gardening, school cleaning, and kitchen work. Then I return home around 3 p.m. and have free time, and I mostly rest on weekends. After the holidays, I help with household chores where I live for about five hours.
Work hours are fixed and the rest of the time is mine to use as I like, so compared with working in Korea, a very manageable level of work and leisure is guaranteed.
My gap year goals kept changing. Some days I wanted to do everything! Other days I’d think let’s just stay healthy and get through it! I’d make tight, detailed plans and when I couldn’t keep them I’d get stressed, binge eat, and lie in bed for two to three days staring at the ceiling.
On days I spent watching funny YouTube videos all day, I’d think, “Even having come this far, I’m doing this,” and then, “So what if I do?” Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I went back and forth—sometimes so miserable I cried.
So now my goal is:‘Love myself whether this way or that.’ Be my own staunchest supporter. Explore what I truly want. A gap year of one year is a gift to myself. This time is entirely mine. Live for myself, and live together with those beside me.Is that grand or modest? A year from now I’ll be someone who loves myself much more than I do now. :)
# Days of living, learning, and forming new relationships among a truly diverse group of people
First, our teammates Jaeri and Yehee. Friends I met in Norway, the friends and students who work with me at the Danish school, my household family, the German friend who slept with me at London Heathrow, and the countless connections I met and crossed paths with here and there.
I''m really living among such a variety of people, forming new relationships and learning. And to the Gap Year coordinators: thank you so much for creating a great project, for checking in on us from time to time, and for helping us find the courage to try various challenges through the Gap Year missions. :)
Because Denmark borders Germany, I visited Bremen, Germany during the Easter holiday.Bremen is small but truly a beautiful city. It''s modest and traditional yet full of modern beauty—definitely visit Bremen at least once!Compared to major German cities like Berlin and Hamburg, prices are cheaper, so it''s perfect for travel. :)
<How to travel in Bremen>
1. First, go to Bremen.
2. Go to the tourist information office to get a map and an overview of the city.
3. The city isn''t large, and many attractions are clustered close together. If you have the time and energy, take a leisurely walk; if not, buy a transport pass valid for the length of your stay.
4. See, hear, feel, and enjoy Bremen. (Be sure to go to Schnoor! :) )
