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#Developed a positive mindset #Learned about diverse cultures and perspectives #Happiness; change possible through effort
Even though European friends tend to stick together, when we invited them to hang out there wasn''t a single friend who said no.Depending on your effort, the length of a gap year—one month or longer—can really change. Great value! Learn English safely in Malta in the Mediterranean, Europe! Yu Sanghyuk, gapper (27, freelancer) / 8-week gap year |
# I think I joined with the mindset of ''let''s try to change myself.''
Hello, I''m 26 years old. I''m Yu Sanghyuk, a positive young man living in Incheon. I live in Incheon and spend a lot on entertainment like watching movies and listening to music. I''m currently a freelancer. Since I''ve worked as a planner, when others need my help I assist with various planning tasks such as brand planning.
At first I vaguely wanted to go to Europe. One item on my bucket list was to set foot in Europe. Then I happened to find the gap year project ''Malta'' and after much deliberation I went.
At that time I was working at a company, but I felt a sense of disillusionment while working there. I wanted to travel to Europe, and...meet various people. Study English too! I think I joined with the mindset of ''let''s try to change myself.''
* For Yu Sanghyuk, who had a strong desire to change himself, daily personalized 1:1 missions related to change and new perspectives were provided, and a gap year notebook to reflect on himself and make plans was also provided.
#If you carefully pack your things following the orientation materials provided by the gap year program, there''s no better preparation than that.
Actually, I had a lot of worries before leaving. I have quite a bit of overseas travel experience and have traveled alone a lot, but I had never stayed abroad for more than 20 days. There would be times I needed to be contacted from Korea, and when I quit my job...
I had changed my job to become a freelancer, and there were many meetings and other miscellaneous matters that came up in Korea.
So at first I was extremely worried... but Korea kept running fine even without me. ^^ I hadn''t really prepared much before leaving. Honestly, even until the day before departure I couldn''t really believe I was going on a gap year and it didn''t feel real.
But as soon as I landed in Germany, I realized, ''Ah, I''m going to be away from Korea for two months.''If you carefully pack your things following the orientation materials provided by the gap year program, there''s no better preparation than that.And also by watching a few simple everyday conversation videos on YouTube.
#I wanted to learn their culture and their way of thinking.
My goal for this gap year was, first of all, to meet more diverse people.Instead of the same old routine and the same predictable friends in Korea,I wanted to communicate and share a lot with Europeans and people from other countries, learning their culture and their perspectives.
I thought learning English would come later, but after going to Malta I felt that learning English might need to come first. You have to be able to converse in order to hear their thoughts and opinions.
#There seem to be so many good things to talk about.
I wake up at 7:30 a.m. and take a shower. After showering, I have a simple breakfast and check email/messenger, then around 8:10 I leave home. It was about a 10-minute walk from home to the bus stop. Then a 20-minute bus ride gets me to the school station, and I drink an Americano with friends from my accommodation at the coffee shop in front of the school and enter school at 9.
The first class is from 9:00 to 10:30, followed by a 30-minute break, and the second class runs from 11:00 to 12:30.After that, I didn''t sign up for afternoon classes, so from 12:30 it''s free time.You can go to the beach after lunch, or take a nap after lunch and go to a club in the evening.
While doing the gap year project There are so many good things to say that it would be too much,I''ll write down just a few of them.
Good points
1. You can experience a variety of foreign cultures.
2. You can communicate with a variety of people.
3. You can learn English.
4. You can travel around Europe at a low cost.
Things that moved me
I realized there are more warm-hearted people than I thought. They help others more than I expected and even make dinner every day without complaining.There is really a lot to learn from Europeans as well.
What I learned
Let''s become warm people.
Let''s become people who can convey warmth to everyone. And, Life is most beautiful when shared.
What I realized
There aren''t as many Westerners who belittle Asians as I had thought. Europeans are kinder and more fun than I expected. Also, Korea''s transportation and wireless communication systems are the best in the world.
# People I remember during my gap year
There were many people, but the one I remember most is probably my flatmate "Luca." He always made dinner and tried to spend a lot of time with me during the gap year.
As for Korean friends: Ji-hye and Ju-hyung, and even Hee-jung who came through the gap year. Japanese friends are Saki and Kumiko and my to my best classmate Yuko. I met a lot of really great people and we''re still in touch after returning home. I especially want to see my Asian friends often. / I''ll meet Luca again in Italy in December.
# Personally, my thinking has changed very positively.
I haven''t arrived in Korea yet, so I can''t see exactly how I''ve changed, but Personally, my thinking has changed very positively.I already had a positive mindset, but my flatmate Luca was such an extremely positive guy that spending two months with him taught me a lot. (Of all things, we are the same age...)
Worrying isn''t absent just because it''s Europe — people still have job worries and relationship worries — and from seeing people be cheerful and get along well with others even in that environment, I learned a lot. Also, I thought that if I have an opinion, I should express it clearly.
As Asians, we often endure injustice without speaking up, so seeing the opposite European culture made me a bit envious.
# My gap year tips
- Language
Because I was going to learn English, I thought it wouldn''t matter much if I didn''t study, but I was surprised at how much English was actually needed. Of course, I was shortsighted. English is used as the common language, and if you want to get close to foreign friends you obviously have to use English — I was foolish to go without thinking about that at all.
Also, when studying you should never focus mainly on grammar; it''s better to study everyday conversation by watching YouTube. Personally, the grammar-focused study method used in Korea didn''t help with communication.
- Accommodation
Traveling and actually living in a country are really very different. I had always only traveled abroad, so I thought a hotel or at least a guesthouse would be fine, but it was worse than I expected.
Of course, not everyone can have a nice apartment so you have to leave it to your luck... However, if you''re someone who sleeps poorly because the sleeping situation is uncomfortable, considering a single room might not be a bad idea… ^^ (Single rooms are expensive, but most have air conditioning and private bathrooms and are better equipped than you''d think.)
- Meals
This really varies by accommodation.
In our accommodation, dinner was a time when everyone gathered and ate together. (Our housemate Luca cooked dinner every night.)Lunch was mostly eaten near school with school friends, and dinner was mostly prepared and eaten together at home.There''s a huge gap between accommodations, so it''s best to follow the house rules and adapt accordingly.
- Packing list
Extra shoes (running shoes) / Why did I bring only one pair of shoes... Bring several pairs of shoes... (Comfortable sneakers like running shoes are a must.)
Hair dryer / I occasionally borrowed a friend''s, but it''s inconvenient when you don''t have one. Especially for women, it seems essential.
Aqua shoes / Most of Malta''s beaches are stone rather than sand, so flip-flops or slippers can be uncomfortable. Following the advice of a senior gapper, I brought aqua shoes and they were better than I expected.
Also, personally I think travel insurance is something you really should get.
Pack your things as carefully as if you were moving house.
# Depending on your effort, the one month or longer period of your gap year can really change.
And I really hope you don''t act passively after you arrive.The people who sometimes appear passive are mostly Asians. Of course, this is a European country so Europeans tend to adapt quickly, but there are people who don''t meet friends and just stay at home, which I strongly disagree with. Even though European friends tend to stick together, there wasn''t a single friend who said no when we asked to hang out.Depending on your effort, the duration you get out of a gap year can really vary.
# My Malta travel tips
For sunset spots in Malta, you can pick Golden Bay / Popeye Village / Dingli / Cafe del Mar.
Golden Bay and Popeye Village are next to each other so they''re convenient to visit together, but Cafe del Mar is on the exact opposite side, so for sunset spots it''s better to pick one place on a given day.
I recommend taking a day on the weekend to visit Comino. Many people visit with a Comino-Gozo itinerary, but personally I thought it was better to spend the whole day swimming on Comino.
Mdina, the old capital of Malta, is better to visit in the evening to see the night view rather than early in the morning, and it''s nice to watch the sunset at Dingli and then come over (they''re almost adjacent).
On Friday nights, if you like clubs, I recommend Paceville Havana or the Spanish club next to it.Also, the surprising fact is that entrance to all clubs in Malta is free!
Also, since flights within Europe are cheap, it''s good to visit nearby European destinations on weekends; I frequently searched Skyscanner to score cheap fares. In particular, my trip to Barcelona, Spain was unforgettable. Of course, nearby Sicily (Italy) was also nice, but it''s like an expanded version of Malta, so if I had to recommend one of the two I''d recommend Spain.
My gap year was
Experience★★★★★
I can''t imagine a better experience. You can visit nearby European countries on weekends, and it''s a great opportunity to meet friends from many different European countries. Talking with various European friends helped me understand aspects of European culture I hadn''t understood before, and made me realize how diverse the people here really are.
Learning★★★★★
Your everyday conversational skills can improve a lot.
Also, I came expecting British English to be used, but in practice quite a few Maltese teachers used American English, and thanks to Europeans'' distinctive accents, English sometimes even sounded like Italian.
Environment★★☆☆☆
I think this is a cultural characteristic of Malta. I understand people can be somewhat lazy... issues ranging from transportation to garbage problems, etc. Personally, transportation was the most inconvenient.
Safety★★★★☆
It''s not a country that''s dangerous to be out in at night. However, because so many different ethnicities are mixed together, dangerous situations can occasionally occur.
Leisure★★★★☆
Because Malta is a European country, flights to other parts of Europe are really cheap. In my case I went to Italy for 100,000 won (round trip) and Spain for 160,000 won (round trip). Also, the seawater is incredibly clean—Comino, the nearby island, is even cleaner. For people who enjoy swimming, leisure activities here are probably fantastic. But since I''m not good at swimming, I mostly just ate and drank...
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