Korea

From chicken tenders and fries to tentacles and eyes It first hit me when I saw an octopus, still squirming, served on the large, shared dish in front of me. It was my first work dinner as an English teacher in South Korea. Just two weeks prior, I touched down in Seoul, excited to absorb…

Small word, big impact Since moving to Korea in August, I’ve learned that absolutely nothing comes from sitting around and waiting for life to happen to you. Zilch. Rather, you’ll grow complacent, lazy, and stagnant. I know, because this happened to me. When I arrived in South Korea, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I was in store…

Send it. Choosing to quit your job and move abroad is a huge decision. I know —  I’ve been there. To make this choice is to risk giving up the good in pursuit of something great. Personally, I feared that I may be making a mistake by leaving the lucrative finance job I had worked so…

It’s about time I met a local For the three of you that keep up with my blog posts (whatup Mom! ) on a daily basis, you may know that I recently downloaded the “Tinder for languages”. HelloTalk, the actual name of the app, allows foreigners like myself to connect with locals in Korea. Last…

2019: A fairly non-eventful year 2019 was a crazy year for me. A year that started in San Francisco working in finance ended in South Korea teaching English. After a roller coaster 2019, I am looking forward to a 2020 full of travel, self-improvement, and noraebangs…   1. Traveling to Taiwan — My family and I are…

Where did the mugs go? Lately, I’ve been having an internal debate as to where I should take The Loaded Local. As many of you know, I created the website to be the one-stop shop for study abroad students to find the best bars and clubs abroad. To be clear, that is still the focus…

My Journey Learning Korean Turbulence Ahead   When arriving in Korea, the language barrier smacked me square in the face. Before leaving the States, my family, friends, and acquaintances had all asked me, “Stephen, do you know any Korean?” “None,” I would answer with a grin, oblivious to just how a big of a problem…

Easily a top-12 day in Seonghwan When writing these journal entries, I like to focus on emotions that I’m feeling in the moment. When I am energized about a certain topic, the writing flows much easier. Yesterday it was my search for friendship on HelloTalk, and today it is the highs and lows of adjusting…

The struggle to make friends in a foreign country As many of you know, I pretty much live in the middle of nowhere. It’s as if whoever was in charge decided to build a school and a five-story apartment building in the middle of a field. I’m not sure why that’s where they have me…

My 3 reasons for starting a journal Over the last few months, while settling into my life in South Korea, I’ve been seeking a creative outlet. I thought about making videos about my time here or recording a podcast. Well, @jacobonahill and I actually did record a podcast… but the audio was unbearable. Perhaps that…