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#Improved self-esteem, increased belief in oneself #Volunteering with disabled children in Vietnam, overcoming prejudice, understanding others #A sense of accomplishment, meaningful time
The way I adapt well while going abroad for the first time, the way I act confidently, Seeing myself successfully complete the challenges in Vietnam over a month without incident gave me confidence in myself and helped raise my self-esteem. Also, by having many experiences such as travel, I liked having time to get to know myself better. Volunteer work with disabled children in Vietnam that brings hope to hurt children Na-hyeon Lee, gap-year gapper (21, university student) / 4-week gap year |
# I wanted to see myself grow through various experiences.
I am 21-year-old Na-hyeon Lee. Currently a sophomore in university, I felt it was such a pity that I hadn''t had overseas experience, and I resolved to have at least one overseas experience before graduating. At a young age I wanted to quickly get closer to a slightly wider world, and I wanted to see myself grow through various experiences.
While looking into options, I discovered this project through Gap Year.It offered many opportunities to interact with foreign friends and was a chance to fulfill one of my bucket list items, ''living abroad for an extended period.''Volunteering with disabled children in Vietnam — where there are many disabled children due to the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War — seemed more meaningful than other volunteer work, and I wanted to test my ability to adapt abroad.
Also, since it was my first trip abroad and I would be going alone for a month, I thought it would be a big challenge, which is why I chose this project.
* For Na-hyeon Lee, who wanted to explore her career path and new experiences, daily personalized 1:1 missions were provided — missions for self-reflection, career exploration, and unique challenges and thoughts — and a gap-year notebook was also provided to reflect on herself and make plans.
# Through this gap year, I first and foremost thought I wanted to boost my self-esteem.
Before leaving, family and people around me often said worrying things like, ''You''ll only have a hard time, how are you going to manage for a month?'' But even though I''d never been abroad, for some reason I wasn''t very worried — I had confidence from somewhere. I think I thought I could adapt well because I''m not particularly difficult in personality. However, a few days before departure it started to feel real and I did get worried haha.
While attending school I didn''t have much time, so I only roughly prepared the basics, and as soon as classes ended I had to learn about Vietnam, prepare to go abroad, and sort out my mindset — preparing all that in ten days was very hard. For preparation I went through the materials sent by Gap Year one by one and prepared what was necessary! As a first-time traveler abroad, the materials Gap Year sent were very helpful.
I first and foremost wanted to raise my self-esteem through this gap year.Because I believe that to live you must know how to love yourself and be able to accomplish what you want. I wanted to be someone who can trust herself, who can assert herself and follow her own path without worrying about others. In addition, I also tried to develop the ability to understand others by meeting various people.
# A day''s routine in Vietnam
Generally, I volunteered on weekdays and traveled on weekends. On weekdays I left my accommodation at 8 a.m. and volunteered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a long enough lunch break during which I spent personal time or took a nap. After volunteering I returned to the accommodation, ate, and then either stayed at the accommodation or went out to chat and hang out with foreign and Korean friends.
On the weekend I traveled to Vietnam''s Hanoi famous main streets, Ha Long Bay, and Sapa.
# Don''t try to be perfect from the start; it''s important to just speak confidently.
Don''t worry about others; just live true to yourself.
"Don''t blame myself for my shortcomings; accept and love myself as I am. Believe in and love myself"
1) Besides volunteering
1. Communication
At first it was hard to start conversations with foreign friends, but thinking of it as a challenge I mustered the courage to keep speaking with them; later I saw myself carrying on conversations confidently even when my grammar was wrong.I think it''s important not to try to be perfect from the start, but to just speak confidently!
2. Effort to understand others
I have been making a lot of effort to be understanding of others. While meeting many people in Vietnam, even when someone was different from me I tried hard to understand them. I made a big effort to first try to understand the other person, thinking ''there are people like this and people like that.''
3. Expressing opinions
Seeing my foreign friends, I realized that it''s better to express your own opinion than to always say that everything is fine.I''m still working on it, but I felt I should make an effort to stop saying everything is fine and instead organize my thoughts and be able to express my own opinion.
4. Discovering a new side of myself
In Korea I was a homebody who liked being at home, but in Vietnam I always wanted to go out, and with foreign and Korean friends Seeing myself wanting to do things together, I discovered a different side of me that likes meeting people and going out.Also, through this project I was able to feel once again that I like to take on new challenges.
# I felt that I could give and receive love.
2) Volunteering
- The power of care and effort
At first there were children who showed no reaction to me and always avoided me when I approached, but by continuously showing interest and playing beside them, they gradually opened up,Around the last week, seeing children playfully teasing me, holding my hand and smiling made me so proud; I felt that even children with mental difficulties can give and receive love.
I also paid attention to children feeling isolated and helped them participate well in activities like games.Many Vietnamese children like Korea, and I felt most proud of teaching them Korean — something other volunteers couldn''t do.
- Prejudice
The children sometimes do cross-stitch at the institution. I was quite shocked when they were doing cross-stitch because all the children were so good at it. I hadn''t done it since five years ago (my first year of high school), so I wasn''t very good, but every time...Seeing a child teach me made me realize that I had prejudices about children with disabilities.I felt sorry that I had thought it was so difficult — that learning might not be possible — even if these children have mental or physical challenges.
# Traveling with foreign friends left a strong impression on me because it feels like an opportunity that''s hard to have again.
I''ve wanted to have foreign friends since I was a child. There were a few foreign friends who really liked Korea; although we could only be together for a month and will have few opportunities to meet again, I grew very attached to them.They were my first foreign friends and we spent meaningful time together, so they are friends I will never forget.
Also, talking with the Korean older girls made me feel that I still have a long way to grow. Before this project, I thought I was someone who overthinks a lot, but after talking with an older girl who really overthinks, I realized that I''m not as much of an overthinker as I had worried.
There was also a Korean friend with a personality completely opposite to mine. Watching this friend know clearly what they like and simply pursue what they want made me feel I should take more time to figure out what I like.I remember being called the always-happy, always-smiling kid by my foreign friends because I would always smile whenever I met them.
Having a lot of time to interact with foreign friends was very meaningful to me, and going on trips together was really fun. Looking back now...Traveling with foreign friends was an opportunity that''s hard to have again, so it remains very memorable.
Also, at first I felt burdened by Vietnamese people staring whenever I passed by and I was very wary, fearing I might be scammed, but as time went on I felt proud to see myself adapting — not being bothered or anxious.
# After the gap year
Honestly, most people would agree that a person can''t change drastically in just a month.But during that month I was able to take a step toward becoming someone who knows how to love myself.
Adapting well in my first trip abroad, acting with confidence,Seeing myself complete Vietnam''s challenges over the month without major problems gave me belief in myself and helped raise my self-esteem.Also, through many experiences such as traveling,I liked having time to learn more about myself.I was also able to feel once again that I enjoy communicating with friends from other countries.
# For prospective participants
I didn''t have an in-person consultation; I long consulted via KakaoTalk about what kind of volunteer work would be good, and I decided on the project by myself.If you''re doing a project longer than a month, I recommend proceeding after having a consultation.You could end up regretting making a hasty decision based solely on your simple thoughts!
And don’t avoid it just because you’re not good at English (speaking)! Remember that English isn’t our native language, so it’s natural not to be fluent — be confident. Just (most importantly) believe in yourself!
- Packing TIP
There are so many motorbikes and you never know what might happen, so it’s a good idea to have insurance!Also, the air pollution is so bad that I recommend bringing a mask. On the last day, a simple...It might be good to bring something like snacks to give to the children on the last day-!
# My personal travel TIP
Capturing the growth journeys
of our participants.
