My Korean Journey - Part 1: Before Korea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Gillian Olivia Witter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In case you hadn’t heard…

I’ve taken a one-year (or more) teaching contract in Korea.

 

This past winter in Toronto was rough for me, emotionally and spiritually. I was fortunate to have people around me who gave me the space and support I needed to help me figure out my next steps. For years, I’ve wanted to teach and travel abroad. The timing was never right. The first spark of desire arouse when I graduated from university and wanted to teach in Japan. My boyfriend at the time gave me an ultimatum between our relationship and my desire to travel. I chose to stay in that relationship. The travel bug stayed dormant for five years. After that relationship ended, I attempted again to get a teaching gig in Japan. I was ready to proceed when the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 hit the country. Another four years have gone by and this past February, after coming out of a dark place, the desire surfaced again. This was the right time.

 

I wanted to travel. I needed to have my own space, and to earn money while travelling. I didn’t know how I was going to prepare for a trip when I wasn’t working and had no income, but DESIRE + TIMING + FAITH = ALIGNMENT, SYNCHRONICITIES, and BLESSINGS. I found a creative outlet and poured all my love and energy into my travel website.

 

Please explore http://gillianwitter.wix.com/thesoulfulwanderlust

 

This site became my live vision board. I spent hours designing, creating, and envisioning my future travels. I started living and preparing as if I was leaving. At this point, I did not know how I would make this work. I got advice from different people saying, “Come to China, we will find the right position for you,” “Go to Thailand, you’ll have beautiful weather,” and, “Go to Malaysia, they are looking for people like you.” All the opportunities sounded tempting, but the decision came down to whether I’d earn enough money to save, so I could travel, and live well.

 

I connected to the right recruiter for teaching in Korea through a basic Google search. The contract available included a fair salary and also travel allowances, an apartment, medical coverage, and reasonable hours. I wanted to be in a peaceful rural area. I wasn’t interested in being in a busy fast-paced city like Seoul. I needed to be surrounded by nature and a calm peaceful atmosphere. I found the perfect job. This was my DESIRE.

 

Around the end of April, this desire became real. I had an interview and was hired by the Chungcheongbuk-do Foreign Language Institute for Students (CFLIS) in Munbaek-myeon, Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do (province), South Korea. From there, everything went into overdrive. I worked with a recruiter to get everything I needed ready for my big courageous step. I went to the Korean Consulate at least seven times to get stamps, forms, and information. I needed a police reference check, university transcripts, my flight, and to visit a travel doctor. Among all these activities, I visited friends for the last time, picked up items for the trip, sold my car (done in a record 72 hours, by posting on Facebook!), found a loving home for my cat Missy (thank you, Downtown Jackie Brown!), and saw my clients one last time. The month of May was a whirlwind of activity.

 

The TIMING was perfect. It was very different from my attempts to work in Japan. I kept my FAITH and connection to my High Self. I had flustered moments of stress and worry. The combination of DESIRE and TIMING was too powerful for me to deny this next step in my life story. Everything worked in my favour:

• A great contract with perks.

• A location in a calm, peaceful city, in nature.

• Documents (transcripts, police reference check, visa) arrived in faster-than-average time.

 

The ALIGNMENT of all these details happened so quickly. I believe that was because I paid attention to SYNCHRONICITIES.

 

There was no denying it, now. I was going to Korea!

 

 

 

 

NEXT: My Korean Journey Part 2: I AM IN KOREA!!!  <-CLICK HERE

 

 

 

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