Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been wanting to update this blog, but the idea is a bit daunting. Each time, I’d be overwhelmed with what I’ve wanted to say and end up putting it off. The issue then became that each time I put it off, I’d end up with more I wanted to say the next time, and then I’d be even more overwhelmed. I will try to express my experience over January through June, good and bad, in this post. I apologize if it’s obnoxiously long.

January: I spent New Years in Seoul with my friend Charlotte. We stayed near City Hall and it was a wonderful trip. The food was incredible. We visited a museum, did a lot of shopping, and started 2020 off on the right foot. At the time, we thought we were setting the tone for the year. Directly after, I had my two language camps. 5 four-hour days with first grade, and then 5 four-hour days with second grade. We learned about music. We played games, had snacks, and watched movies. First grade only had five students, and second grade only had three, but we made the most of it. It was a great time. The Saturday after my second grade trip, I went to Incheon and flew home to America, for a surprise visit with my family. They were so surprised and it was so good to see them. I again got to eat foods I missed, spend time with the people (and animals) I loved, and take a bath. The day I landed, the first case of Coronavirus was announced in Korea. I thought it was just a fluke, but I still had quite a bit of anxiety during my journey back to my home in Korea.

February: The first weekend after my trip to America, I went to Daegu. There is a social event held every few months in downtown Daegu called the Peace Party. I went in August and was so excited to go again in February. I dressed up. We watched dance battles and listened to competing DJs. The drinks that we had were delicious. The next weekend, I saw the K-Pop group ATEEZ in Seoul. I learned the member’s names in line. I was practically second row. I made a lot of friends in the merch line, and I’m so glad I went. I really like the group now. By this point, Covid tensions were rising. No one with a Chinese passport could enter. We had to wear masks for the entire concert. We had our temperatures checked on the way inside. Still, it was fun. The following weekend, I went back to Daegu with a few of my friends I don’t see often. We had brunch at Schoron in Banwoldang. We saw Little Women. We ate dinner at Casa Bianca and had a couple drinks. At the same time, Patient 31, the Daegu Superspreader, was on the move, setting the ball in motion to exponentially raise the number of Covid cases in Daegu. The following days had me filled with anxiety. Each day, sitting at my desk at work, waiting for winter vacation to end for the students, I would check the coronavirus map websites and see the cases jumping up. 31 cases became 200, which became 500, which became thousands. I remember thinking to myself over the next few weeks: I had moved to Korea at the wrong time.

March: School starting was postponed. I was on work-from-home. This was a bleak time for me, as there wasn’t much work for me to do at home. I spent most of my days sleeping or watching Netflix. Around this time, I considered breaking my contract and moving back to America. I was incredibly lonely. I would make the occasional trip to the grocery store or convenience store, and I would call my friends from time to time just to be able to speak out loud. However, being the only English-speaking foreigner in my town had never been more troubling than it was for me in this moment. The last two weekends of March I ended up going to Seoul. Once, for Charlotte’s birthday where we stayed in Hongdae with a few local friends, giving gifts and eating food together. I will openly brag about the arrangements I made. I worked hard to give Charlotte a good celebration in spite of the pandemic. The second time, we went mostly to say goodbye to a wonderful friend named Camille. We stayed in Gangnam and cried when she left. Camille, if you ever read this, you are a joy and I hope we will meet again.

April: The first few weeks of April I stayed home. I tried not to travel for anything besides special occasions during the height of Korea’s outbreak. I spent time (still doing work from home) playing Jackbox with my friends back in America and trying to make Dalgona coffee. Around this time, work from home ended, and I was finally back to desk-warming. Still, students were not back in school. I began making conversational Youtube videos for my students to watch and comment on for participation credits as online school began. The weekend of the 17th and 18th, I went to Hongdae with Charlotte to meet her and Sam (and Carlynn, briefly) to watch Bangbang Con (the one livestreamed on Youtube). We spent almost the entirety of this weekend just in our guesthouse. Then, the final week of April, was our spring vacation. We were allowed to travel, and Korea was planning on lifting many social distancing bans the following week. We went to Busan for the end of April to the start of May.

May (part 1): Busan was wonderful! While we had to physically distance, monitor our temperatures in many businesses, and wear a mask for almost the entirety of the trip, it felt good to be somewhere new. We visited Songdo, Gwangalli, and Haeundae beach. We also went to the Busan Shinsegae. My favorite part was Gamcheon Cultural Village. The hill on the way to the village was an absolute nightmare, but everything we experienced once we were there was beautiful and the most fun I’ve had in Korea yet. We had other great food like some local tacos, Shake Shack, and some chicken from a place called OutDark (or Outdalk?) that I really liked. We also had some weird nachos at a pub that came with whipped cream. I do not recommend those. We came home with a positive energy, remembering why we moved to this country and why we stayed.

May (part 2): Charlotte, Sam, and I went to Hongdae to visit Dean at The Days. Charlotte got a perm, while Sam and I got bleaching. Simultaneously, Korea’s plans to relax social distancing measures were cancelled because of the infamous Itaewon outbreak. When I returned from Hongdae, my school (not so gently) requested that I self-quarantine. I was sent home from work and unceremoniously later picked up and tested at a local health clinic. While I was, am, and will always be happy and willing to do whatever it takes to protect my health and the health of my coworkers and students, and also their peace of mind, this was a really difficult time for me mentally and emotionally. I felt quite dehumanized. I wanted to be included in the discussions that were being made about me, even if the outcome would have been the same. My test was negative, but I was required to stay home for two weeks regardless. I got a switch and began playing Animal Crossing. At the end of the two weeks, students came back to school. I did not resume teaching (and would not, until after midterms). I missed Carlynn’s birthday that happened almost immediately after my quarantine ended because of transportation issues. It was quite upsetting. But that was May.

June: After discussion with my coteacher, everyone pretty much agreed it was safe for me to see my friends again and travel, as long as I did so responsibly. However, I still try to be more discrete about my trips because I am a little uncomfortable with the entire workplace knowing my business and discussing my social life under the guise of it being for health reasons. In June, I began spending time with Maritza, a teacher I’ve befriended in another nearby town. I introduced her to a lot of my friends, and I also got to meet Ruwayda, the new teacher in Charlotte’s new town. We visited Casa Bianca again, as well as a couple of other restaurants in Daegu. This includes Hoagie Day, a burger place that sadly closed at the end of June 😦 For those of you who are curious, Hoagie Day was delicious. Even though there is now a Shake Shack in Daegu, I’ll miss Hoagie Day 😦 The last weekend of June, I went to Seoul with Charlotte, and our friends Keighley and Anila (and Sam again). We had brunch at the wonderful restaurant Grain in Hongdae, tried a yummy cafe next door to Grain that had watermelon juice, went to Arc N Book (and did a lot of cosmetics shopping in Myeongdong… those BanilaCo girls know how to get me to buy things), and did an escape room at Seoul Escape Room in Hongdae (Hongdae2, I believe). We did European Spy and it was super fun!! We escaped with 15 minutes remaining.

As for this month, July… I’ll make a separate post. I’m sorry this is so long, and includes names and places with no explanation. This is mostly for my own memories, but I will probably elaborate on some things at a later time, or if anyone who stumbles across this requests me to. Overall, 2020’s been a true roller coaster thus far.