Korea 5 month reflection: You only get out of it what you put into it.

“You only get out of it what you put into it.” As a student this phrase haunted me for years.  One of my teachers and mentors Jay Jagim used to state this over and over again when ever any of us asked him specifics regarding what we needed to turn into him.  His response was always, “You only get out of it what you put into it.”  Over the years I realized that it wasn’t just the assignments he was referring to but it was life in general.  I have tried to remember these words and adopt them as sort of my own mantra in life.  While I may have forgotten to head their wisdom at times, I have never forgotten them.  And here in Korea, I feel is where I have finally incorporated them into my person permanently.

Since being in Korea for the past 5 months I have come to realize that there are many things here I like, I love, and that annoy me like no other.  I have a choice.  I can choose to dwell on those things that annoy me, but if I do that then I am merely putting into my experience here nothing but negative thoughts and energies and what I will get out will inevitably be a negative experience.  I know for some of my fellow Guest English Teachers Korea hasn’t lived up to their expectations and they are simply marking time until they finish their contract.  Every utterance is full of negative connotations and for them and their students I feel bad for, because remember, “You only get out of it what you put into it.”  If you only put fear and dread into your work, you will only get fear and dread out of your work.

Is Korea everything I expected it to be?  In some ways No.  There are many things here that drive me nuts – The pace in which most Koreans walk, let’s pick it up a bit shall we; Taxi drivers not understanding me if my pronunciation is off, Ajumma deciding to stand right next to me when there is plenty of space around me, co-workers laughing at my attempts to speak Korean, etc. 

However, in other ways Korea has far exceeded anything I could have expected.  Most of the people go out of there way here to help me and generally every native Korean I have met is extraordinarily nice and helpful.  Most Koreans I encounter are eager to practice their English with me.  I love it when young kids stop me and greet me just to talk to me.  Like all jobs, teaching has it’s ups and downs on the bad days I remind myself that some lessons take longer to absorb than others and on the good days I fly higher than any kite knowing my kids have learned something.  The friends I have made here are some of the most amazing people I have ever encountered in my life.  Over the months I have learned who among these amazing people I will keep with me for the rest of my life, because it is those relationships that we put our energies into that we get the most out of and that last the longest.  There is a reason why Angie, Kim, Lance and Ywe are still such a large part of my life.  These people make everyday occurrences into memorable adventures and have reminded me that you only get out of life what you put into it… so dance and laugh at every possible moment.

My hope is that whatever my future holds for me that I take what I have learned about myself here in Korea and never forget, “You only get out of it what you put into it.”

Photos: Angie and I Sledding during Christmas (top left); Christmas with amazing friends Howard, Nancy, Angie, Danielle, Huy, me, Jang, James, Scottie, Josh and photographer extraordinaire Ray (top right), Celebrating Hanukkah with Conrad, Keenan, James, Iryna, Hannah, Janna, me, Rachel, and Scottie (lower left) and Kicking off Rachel and James' birthdays with Keenan, Carrick, Rachel, Tom, James, Jin, Caitlin, Jinwon (lower right... I'm taking the photo)