Guest Post: Volunteering in Western Kenya

My good friend visited Kenya a few years ago, and when I asked her to tell me all about it, before anything else, she grinned and replied "you'll have to see it for yourself."

Since that conversation, Kenya has become somewhere I want to go and stay for a while. The way of living, the food, the natural landscape, and the music allure me. Though I have visited other countries through which the equator passes, I have still yet to set foot in the African continent. Lucky for us, former English teacher in Korea turned blogger Natalie over at Live Teach Alaska has written up a guest post all about her time in Kenya. Here she shares her stories from her time volunteering in the Muhuru Bay area in Western Kenya. Take us into the bush, Natalie...

After six hours of driving over the uneven dirt roads of the Great Rift Valley, my team and I arrived in Muhuru Bay, Kenya, in the dark of night. Our van pulled into a tiny compound with three mud huts on the shore of Lake Victoria. Sleepily, I grabbed my suitcase and headed into my designated hut. I turned on the light, which was but a small, dim bulb at the apex of the triangular straw ceiling, and watched in horror as a carpet of insects scattered towards the walls. Shooting towards me was a creature several inches in length that closely resembled a white scorpion (though I still don’t know what it was). I screamed, my husband raced in, shouted, “Oh my God!”, and attempted to squash the Godzilla bug with a broom.

This was my first experience in the Eastern African Bush. After finally settling in that night, I was destined for one week of plastic bag showers, second degree sunburns, and toilet troubles. However, I can confidently say it was all worth it. My trip to Muhuru Bay truly changed my life.

I traveled to Kenya with eight family members and family friends to volunteer at Mama Maria, a fledgling clinic in Muhuru Bay. On our second day in the village, we were unexpectedly invited to a funeral. Despite our protests, we were seated as guests of honor and watched as family members of the deceased mourned by openly wailing.

After the funeral, we sat down at the feasting table and shared a plate of ugali with the people of the village. Children hid behind trees and rocks, staring and smiling at us.

A plate of ugali: maize cooked with water

The next day, we took a small fishing boat to visit a village on the other side of the lake. Despite the very poor living conditions, the villagers flocked over to greet us and show us around. A little girl took my hand as we were shown inside the huts of several of the village people who proudly showed off their pots and pans.

Later that week, we traveled to the only school in Muhuru Bay to teach a lesson about dental hygiene. Because the people in Muhuru Bay brush their teeth with tree bark, standard dental care was foreign knowledge. We passed out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss and showed them how to properly clean their teeth with a toothbrush.

A few days before the end of our trip, we heard about two girls who had fled Tanzania with their father to live in Muhuru Bay. The two girls we met had albinism and were forced to escape from their home because witch doctors were hunting them for their arms and legs. In Tanzania, it is a widespread belief that albino limbs have magical healing powers. The two little girls, ages 3 and 5, were scabbing all over their bodies due to terrible sunburns. We drove out to meet them and brought hats, sunscreen, and two goats for their family.

Although my first trip to Kenya wasn’t glamorous, it was extremely eye-opening and has changed me in so many ways. Witnessing a different culture, getting out of my comfort zone, volunteering, and giving to others made for a trip I’ll never forget. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to the African Bush, I would highly recommend it. I assure you, you will walk out of the experience a different person. 

You can follow Natalie’s adventures in a native Alaskan village at: http://www.liveteachalaska.com/

Or join the conversation at: https://www.facebook.com/LiveTeachAlaska  

Guest Post: The Ten Best Resources to Launch Your Life Abroad

The Open Road, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

 

It's not easy to pick up your life and move to a new country for work. You might be scared to quit your job at home and not feel ready to follow the little voice inside you, telling you the world is out there, waiting for you. You might not be sure how to make your dreams of a life abroad a sustainable reality. Leaving home and moving abroad can be confusing, difficult, and may present challenges which seem insurmountable.

However, once you are out there in the world, living the life abroad you wanted for yourself, it could be the best decision you ever made in your life.

I recently came to know Alexa Hart, founder of Atlas Sliced. Her website is a collection of the experiences and success stories of expats living, working, and travelling around the world. With her access to so many expats, I asked her to compile a list of resources for those looking to start a life abroad. She agreed, and I'm proud to share this comprehensive list with you here.

Take us to the nearest airport, Alexa...

Alexa Hart

If you’re looking to live or work abroad long-term, look no further. As the founder and host of Atlas Sliced, I have had the privilege of interviewing inspirational people who have held incredibly unique positions all over the globe. From location-independent jobs (like writing) to in-country jobs (like teaching) to “hustler” jobs (like working as a waiter or in sales), my guests have fulfilled their passions for traveling and experiencing the world in new surroundings.

Here, I have listed in alphabetical order my top resources and recommendations for launching your life abroad.

1) Around the World in 80 Jobs – Turner Barr is the man behind this site. He has done some very unconventional work, like harvesting agave in Mexico and selling gluhwein in Germany. While his posts may be controversial and are sometimes riddled with bad words, he shows that you can find work just about anywhere. All it takes is perseverance and entrepreneurial creativity.

2) Go Overseas – If you’re thinking of traveling with an organization, Go Overseas is a one-stop shop for finding volunteer organizations, teach abroad opportunities, study abroad programs, and internships overseas. What I like about Go Overseas is that real people review their own experiences, and there’s no backlash for writing negative reviews. What also drew me to them is their team of talented writers and guest writers, who provide accurate, unbiased, and useful information about living abroad.

3) Grassroots Volunteering – Not digging paid programs? Understandable. Grassroots Volunteering is a relatively new site that lists FREE volunteer programs (some are paid) and opportunities around the world. I’m excited to see the site develop even further, as there are already quite a few meaningful organizations listed.

4) Idealist – Idealist is a fantastic website that lists jobs, volunteer work, and internships all over the world. Most organizations on the site revolve around some form of civil service and giving back to society.

5) InterNations – InterNations is a site that connects expats with each other. It’s a great way to meet new people when you move to a foreign country, as they hold regular events in various cities for people to network and mingle. Another feature they have on their site is their forums. People can post questions or comments about job openings, housing, or any other inquiries they might have to the community.

6) Leslie Forman – Leslie Forman is a gem! She is a California native who has lived abroad extensively, mostly in China and Chile. She created a free, month-long course titled “How to Create Your International Career.” The course is packed with fantastic content and resources to get started. She’s also in the process of writing a book on this topic.

7) Meet Plan Go – Meet Plan Go is an excellent site for inspiration and how-to advice about taking a career break or traveling long-term in general. Their national and local events are also a great way to meet like-minded individuals who have already lived abroad or who want to spend time overseas.

8) Stacie Berdan – Stacie is an “international career expert” and an accomplished author who makes the case that you can get ahead in life by going abroad. She writes and speaks frequently about how international experience will help people succeed in the ever-changing “globalized world.”

9) Teaching Traveling – Want a teaching job overseas, but you’re not sure where to start? You’ve come to the right place. Teacher Lillie Marshall, founder of the site, interviews people who have taught all over the world. What I love most about Teaching Traveling is the first-hand accounts of people’s experiences abroad.

10) Thrilling Heroics – If location independence is the way you like to roll, Thrilling Heroics is the place to be. Founder Cody McKibben is a digital nomad who is living a pretty exciting international life, as he is able to work from anywhere. He helps people build location-independent businesses online, and he has a slew of great articles on his site about how to get started.

Any other sites you like or recommend?

Guest Post: Eating My Way Around Korea

My first meal in Korea was bibimbap. My friend who I was with at the time told me to stir up all the veggies and rice with the red sauce, or else the lady would come over and stir it for me. In disbelief, I took a bite of the unstirred rice, and like clockwork the lady came over, grabbed my bowl, and stirred it up for me with a grunt. I learned right then that I was in a special place, where meal time is serious business.

I have invited my friend and fellow Korea-ite Audrey of ThatBackpacker to share her impressions of the great variety of foods this peninsula has to offer. Read along as she explains her adjustment to regularly overloading on rice and eating squid with beer.

Make us hungry, Audrey...

 

 

Eating My Way Around Korea

Six months into my stint as an expat in Korea, I have learned a thing or two about the country’s cuisine. It wasn’t an easy start; the first time I went to a restaurant I mixed my soup, rice, and side dishes all in one bowl thinking that’s the way Korean’s did it… Nope, not quite.

During my time here I have eaten more cabbage and radishes than ever before in my life, I have mastered the art of grilling a slippery eel, I have burned my lips with metal chopsticks, and I have unknowingly devoured a dish that contained coagulated ox blood and loved it! Here’s a look at my highs and lows of dining in Korea:

The One I Tried And Liked: Dolsot Bibimbap

Before coming to Korea, rice was not a part of my diet; I found it bland and boring. Over the past few months, however, my attitude towards rice has changed. Not only has it become a staple item at every meal, it has also become one of my favourite dishes. Dolsot bibimbap is a meal served in a stone hot pot that contains rice, a raw egg, red chili paste, cucumbers, zucchini, soybean sprouts, and a bunch of other vegetables that I still don’t know by name. You can hear the pot sizzle as it is brought out to the table. I like to grab a spoon and press the rice down allowing it to get golden and crispy before mixing the assortment of ingredients together. What you are left with is a warm filling dish that is perfect anytime of year. I like it so much that I sometimes eat it twice a day!

The One I Have Gotten Used To: Samgyeopsal

Samgyeopsal is a traditional Korean meal, which consists of thick, extra fatty slices of pork belly cooked over a grill. You then place these pieces of meat in a lettuce leaf along with some garlic and red chili paste, wrap it into a little wad, and pop them in your mouth. Sounds fun, right? This may not seem like a strange meal, but having been raised in Argentina where the quality of beef is second to none, I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to eat fatty chunks of pork! My first attempt at the meal consisted of me trying to pick the fat off of whatever little meat there was; that proved futile. After a few more unsuccessful meals I decided to… embrace the fat! It’s still not my first choice for dinner, but I can handle it.

The One I Won’t Be Repeating: Dry Squid

At most Korean bars, you are often expected to purchase some kind of snack to go along with your beer. Dry squid happens to be a popular choice and so I thought I would give it a go. Maybe it’s because I had been drinking some kiwi infused soju, but at that moment the squid was one of the foulest tasting things I have ever put in my mouth. It was chewier than rubber and smelled worse than a fish market at high noon. I gnawed at the piece and pushed it around my mouth trying to get it down as fast as possible. At that I was unsuccessful; most of it ended up on my napkin… I like to think I’m mildly adventurous since I did try eel on a previous occasion, but the squid and I shall keep our distance for the remainder of my time here.

The One I Refuse to Try: Dog Meat

I remember asking one of my students what they did over the weekend. The student smiled back at me and proudly stated that they ate dog meat. I was so shocked by their answer that I stared wide-eyed for a few seconds not knowing how to respond. Up until then, I hadn’t realized dog meat was consumed in Korea. I soon learned that dog stew is considered quite the delicacy by some; those who have tried it tell me it’s one of the tastiest and sweetest meats out there. I, however, cannot bring myself to sample it; even if it is considered a cultural aspect. I grew up with dogs as family pets and have a sweet little Lhasapoo back at home that I really miss snuggling with. This is one item on the menu I will not be trying. Ever.

I have tried lots of new meals over the past six months, some that I wanted to and some that I never imagined I would. I have sat at bars, tables, and on floors. My palate has enjoyed sweet, hot and spicy concoctions, and I’m looking forward to the new flavours that the next six months will bring.

What are your favourite Korean meals?


Audrey is the girl behind That Backpacker. She was born in Canada, raised in Argentina, and now finds herself teaching English to a mischievous bunch in Korea. When she's not on the hunt for authentic Indian curries, she can be found exploring her current home base, and plotting her upcoming travels around the globe. You can follow Audrey on her blog, her Facebook page, and her Twitter for even more adventures!

Guest Post: How we are Learning Korean

Realizing we're both navigating the same territory, I've invited Tom from waegook-tom to share insight into the mulitple ways he's been learning Korean over the past 3 years. I'm proud to share this insightful and informative post with all of you! Tell us all your secrets, Tom... 

It’s common courtesy that when you go to a foreign country on vacation, you pick up a few basics of the language. Hello, thank you, good bye, it’s delicious. Standard fare that’ll get you a few smiles from the locals, maybe an impressed gasp or two.

What about when you’re moving to a foreign country? It helps to know more than a few phrases in the local lingo and if we strain hard enough, most of us can probably remember at least a few basics in Spanish, French or German from secondary school.

But, what if you’re moving to a country where the language isn’t taught in schools in your home country? That’s an issue facing the growing number of expats moving abroad to teach English in ESL Asian hotspots such as South Korea, China, Japan and Thailand.

Whilst I can’t speak for the latter three countries and the ease – or lack thereof – of learning their mother tongues, I can offer you up some advice on Korean. You may well need it, too – Korean is one of the hardest languages in the world for people with English as their first language to learn.

So, you may ask, who on earth am I to give you advice on learning Korean? Granted, I’m not fluent. I’ve been living in Korea for almost three years now, but I’ve only been studying the language at more than a moderate output of effort since December 2010. At that point, the grammar I knew amounted to zero, and my vocabulary consisted of less than a thousand words.

Many of those words were inappropriate things that I’d gleaned from my elementary school students.

Four months later, in April 2011, I took the TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) and passed at a level 2 – upper beginner. Not bad considering I’d only been studying properly for a third of a year.

I’m pretty sure you won’t come across the word “술고래” in any government Korean tests.

Am I fluent in Korean? You’re right to wonder. No, I’m not. Right now, I’m studying in order to take the intermediate test and obtain a level four.

My purpose here isn’t to teach you Korean, but rather to guide you towards places and resources that will help you improve your language skills. Let me guide you, friend…

Talk To Me In Korean

Without a doubt, the best resource online for Korean learners at a beginner and intermediate level is the Talk To Me In Korean website, or TTMIK as it’s more commonly known. Run by polyglot Sun Hyunwoo and a few regular contributors, the site is a fun, user-friendly base for those wishing to learn the language.

You can start off at the very bottom – with the alphabet – and work your way up through the grammar lessons, which start with the basics and progressively get harder in difficulty. For intermediate learners, the site has a series of “Iyagi” – conversations between native Korean speakers on a variety of interesting topics.

I still visit the site on a regular basis – there’s always something new to learn. TTMIK’s sister site, Haru Korean, is also a great site where you can practice writing Korean and get feedback and corrections from native Korean speakers.

I have notebooks scrawled with stuff that I’ve learned from the site, even forming my own dirty sentences which shall remain secret.

Quizlet

Every language learner should have a good vocabulary book and be referring to it regularly in order to memorise new words. I mean, there’s no point knowing a whole bunch of grammar but only knowing a handful of words to form sentences with, right?

The problem a lot of foreign language users have with vocabulary is retention. You can sit and memorize words, but if you’re not using them in speaking or writing, it’s very easy for them to slip out of your memory.

This is where Quizlet comes in. Quizlet is an online resource that helps language learners make their own online flashcards. You can create your own cards, or search for ones that other users have already created. They have a smartphone app that you can download, too.

Being productive on Quizlet. Or not judging from the other open tabs.

In preparing for the TOPIK Intermediate test, I’ve been using Quizlet a lot. In addition to the flashcard feature on the site, they also have a few fun games and an audio option so that you can hear how the word sounds. For any intermediate learners, my username on the site is waegooktom – feel free to browse my sets. The site is absolutely free, so no worries about paying to download anything.

Language Exchanges

If you’re in Korea, or in a city that has a large Korean population – hello London, Los Angeles, Toronto – then you can benefit from language exchanges. If you’ve never heard of it before, the concept is as simple as it sounds. Practice speaking in another language and make new friends while you’re at it. Check Facebook for local groups and ask for information about local language exchanges. If there isn’t one available, then be brave and consider setting one up yourself. All you need is a coffee shop and someone willing to talk!

You may well make a good friend out of a language exchange – someone you can hang out with regularly, and maybe go out for a few drinks with. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, and this is true of speaking a foreign language. I got a dear friend of mine who spoke zero Korean into bed with a Korean Olympic boxer after a few shots of soju when I decided to approach the guy after my friend kept gushing over how cute he was. 

New friends at a Daejeon language exchange that I haven’t pimped out…yet.

I can’t guarantee that I can do the same for you, however – nor do I recommend alcohol as an active part of any language learning process. You know, with the whole “kills brain cells” effect that the tipsy liquid has and all.

If you don’t have the ability to attend a language exchange physically, then try one online by joining a site like Interpals. The site connects people across the world as e-pals, with a large number of users looking for language exchange. If you feel comfortable enough with someone, you could have a cyber language exchange via Skype. Remember, with online personal sites, never reveal any information such as your address or financial details – stay smart, and have fun!

You don’t want your credit card information floating away into cyberspace.

Shimmy On Down

I’m a visual learner – if I see a word written down, I remember it – and I’m pretty lucky in that sense. I’m most definitely not, however, an aural learner – somebody who learns through sound. One of my closest friends, Gina, is an aural learner and picks up Korean through dramas and music. Whilst I’m pretty good with grammar and vocabulary, Gina’s pronunciation is impeccable and Korean people have no problem understanding her. Ever.

K-Pop is becoming pretty popular globally now, and there are countless videos of today’s K-Pop artists on Youtube for the world to see. Many of these come complete with Korean subtitles, English subtitles, and “Romanji” – the Korean pronunciation written in English.

See where it says 야동 비평? What I lack in natural speaking ability I apparently make up for in my ability to criticise erotic movies.

My own personal thoughts on Romanji are that it’s pretty useless – sometimes the translation is OK, other times it’s bad. There’s no official way of doing Romanji, so unless someone understands all of Korea’s pronunciation quirks and rules (there are a lot), the quality can vary wildly.

Back to the main idea though – K-Pop music videos (and dramas) with appropriate subtitles are a great way to learn if you’re not really a visual learner. Check out this latest video from the super funked-up Ulala Session if you want to see what I’m talking about.

Fighting!

Learning Korean and approaching anywhere near a level that allows you to have full, uninterrupted conversations with a Korean person requires a whole lot of dedication on the part of the learner. I’m nowhere near there yet, even as an intermediate learner – I need to tweak my listening skills and hone in on my pronunciation. Some people have a natural talent for it, whilst others have to work a lot harder – and hard work is the key here.

So don’t give up, try out the resources and tips for learning that I’ve mentioned here, and as they say here in Korea, “FIGHTING!” 화이팅!

Tom has been living in Korea since 2009, first in Daegu, and now in Daejeon. He blogs over at Waegook-Tom.com and enjoys exploring Korea and it’s many quirks, and shovelling a rather alarming amount of Korean food down his craw (yet he laments the lack of decent cheese). Tom will be going round the world in 2013, and you can keep up with him and his adventures by following @waegook_tom on Twitter.

All photos and words are Tom's, and were used with permission.

Kerri's Seoul

My best friend and lifelong travel partner Brenna recently offered me a chance to post as a guest blogger on her blog This Battered Suitcase. Her blog is a haven for travelers, wanderlusters, photo feinds and lovers of life.

My blog post features recommended spots to visit in Seoul "off the beaten path". You can read my article here.