About Candice

I am a Canadian doctoral candidate who has been teaching at the universty level in my field of linguistics in Korea for the past 2 years. Working at Korean universities and getting to know my students has been a positive CV-building experience as well as a positive cultural experience.

Like many Canadians, I have always had a passion for travelling, and learning about languages and culture. I learned French from the time I was 2 years old and picked up Spanish at 19, and did all of my undergraduate and graduate studies in those languages. I started travelling when I was very young (8 months old!) with family trips to the US and the Caribbean. In 2000 and 2006, I lived and studied in Mexico, obtaining credits that would be applied to my Canadian degrees. Living in Mexico was an amazing experience and I enjoyed the vibrant culture and the warm people. I travelled extensively through the country and learned that ‘visitation’ to a country is quite different from ‘immigration’.

After becoming quite comfortable in Latin America, I decided to try something completely different, and moved to Korea to teach and finish my dissertation. Upon arrival in Korea, I quickly learned that the culture was not nearly as overtly warm as I was used to, and that everything was entirely different from anywhere else I had travelled to. Korean culture is highly traditional and greatly respected, and it was a challenge for me to try to ‘fit the mold’ especially being from such a diverse country. I have, however, made a life for myself here. I’ve learned so much about being a minority “foreigner” here, and I’ve tried my best to integrate myself into the culture as much as possible by making Korean friends, trying Korean food and travelling to all parts of this country. At times it has been a struggle, but I have made it 2 years here, and am contemplating another.

Probably the most attractive thing for me about Korea, other than being able to be gainfully employed with ample free time, is that it is so easy to travel to other countries from here. I have found myself on the Great Wall in Beijing, China, mingling with the locals on the world renowned White Beach of Boracay, Phillipines, and in the Phi Phi  Islands of Thailand. You can easily and economically hit any of these destinations (and more!) for a weekend or longer if you have the time. Amazing.

I have a wonderful travel partner (Jermil!) who I met at the beginning of my second year here, and he is the reason I am writing this, and the reason I have had so many cool experiences. Having someone to go places with and share in the experiences/frustrations/good times, makes it all worthwhile. Get a cool travel partner; it makes life here so much better!

Get in touch with me at candice@justenoughkorean.com.