Living alone has basically forced me to grow up.
By ‘alone’ I really mean without my parents, since I’m not really alone – I have an awesome roommate who’s fun to hang out with and who occasionally takes care of me too, and a lot of my friends live in the same building as me. But still, I’ve learned to take care of myself. It really feels like on TV, when kids move out of their parents’ homes and they start living on their own. Then they realize how much work living actually is.
I think the biggest changes that happened while living in South Korea are budgeting and cooking. Yes, I do manage my own money at home, but not to the extent that I’m doing here in Seoul. Back at home, I knew (approximately) how much I spent and earned, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it. Meaning, I did keep track, but didn’t really take notice of where my money was going and how often it was leaving my wallet. On exchange, I realized that I’d have to create a budget for myself logging how much I’d need to spend so that I could a) control myself and b) know how much more money I’d need. I’ve also started keeping all my receipts and writing down what I’ve purchased, so that I can actually remember what I’m using my money on. I might not be majoring in accounting or be good at numbers, but I think being able to do this by myself is a really great life skill to learn. Even if I might not be doing it in the most efficient way.
Cooking is something I don’t really do at home. I mean, I can boil frozen dumplings, cook instant noodles and rice, and fry eggs.. but that’s really the extent of it. I do go grocery shopping with my mom back at home, but I never pay attention to the prices – I basically go to pick out snacks and help carry the bags to the car. But here in Korea, I have to buy my own groceries and make my own food. Meaning that at the grocery stores, I have to compare prices (I’ve gotten good enough to know where they give the cheapest plastic bags, because I need them as garbage bags) and I have to remember what’s about to go bad in the communal fridge. I’ve also gotten a little better at cooking. I’m still at elementary level, like fried rice and simple things like that, but I personally feel that being able to cook rice without a rice cooker is a life skill that people should have. Because not every place you’re going to go to has a rice cooker, even though it is a staple in most Asian f. homes.
Another thing: cleaning. At home we have carpet, so my parents vacuum the house every one or two months. But here, the floor is hardwood, and it’s so dry and dusty in Korea and 2 girls in 1 room equals a lot of hair on the floor. I’m naturally a neat person so I can’t stand how dirty the floor is… so I force myself to clean it every once in a while. At home, my mom has tasked me to clean the hair on the bathroom floor and I really hate it since I have to pick it up with a dustpan. But here I can use a mop and the dust catching disposable clothes, so it’s a lot easier for me. It’s a really drastic change between here and back at home – I will actively clean our room here, but I really hate cleaning the bathroom at home.
I’m thankful that my parents have embedded in me all these good habits and work ethics, because I really feel like these have made it a lot easier for me to take care of myself. Being on exchange has given me a good midway between being totally independent and being totally dependent, and it gives me just a little bit more reassurance that I really am an adult and I’m ready to step out into the world on my own.
PS. Just a note – I’m going to be pretty busy these next two weeks, so I won’t have a steady schedule of blog posts.. I do have things I want to write about though so stay tuned!
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