Aiken native makes second home in South Korean city
Telisa Bryant shook her head, smiling at the memory of her kindergarten students picking up some of her classically Southern expressions.
These children live in the South Korean city of Gwangju, and Bryant was certain their parents and the other teachers might be mystified by the kids' use of the word, "y'all."
An Aiken native, Bryant is back in the community visiting family after spending a year as a teacher in Gwangju. She is helping her sister Takiyah plan an April wedding, but then Bryant is heading back to South Korea on another one-year contract.
"I loved the laid-back aspect of everything there," she said. "It's not the normal hustle and bustle you see here. For once, I feel I'm really happy with where I am."
The youngest daughter of John and Gisle Bryant, Telisa graduated from South Aiken High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of South Carolina but wound up teaching English in Charlotte. After leaving the profession for a short period, she returned in 2007, only to lose her job early in 2008 due to budget cuts.
Her oldest sister was in the Army and stationed in South Korea at the time. She enjoyed the experiences, and Bryant decided to try it. She signed with an agency and in November 2008, was assigned to the private K-8 school in Gwangju.
Other than the soldiers on military bases in the area, Bryant estimates there were no more than 50 African-American foreigners in a city of more than 1.4 million. But she was warmly received at the school, although the small children were fascinated and wanted to touch her face and hair.
"This was an English language school, but the language issue wasn't a problem," Bryant said. "The children were expected to start speaking English at 3. What impressed me was that these kids were poor but were speaking English very well."
Her sister had returned to the United States by then, but Bryant had a cousin stationed at the Army base in Seoul. She also found a chapter of her Delta Sigma Theta service organization and, in that role, helped counsel high school kids at the base. She and her friends even staged a debutante ball for the teenagers.
Bryant enjoyed the culture and got used to the food, especially galbi, a marinated, grilled beef or pork dish. Pizza could be served with squid or octopus, but she balked at a dried fish with its eyes staring back at her. It became a running joke among all of the students if Bryant would ever try it. She did not, she said cheerfully.
After an adjustment period, it didn't really matter that her apartment was smaller than the bedroom of her Charlotte house. She liked the Korean teachers at her school and became good friends with a wide variety of Americans in Korea that she never would have met back home.
Bryant returned to America before Thanksgiving last fall. She has enjoyed spending time with her family but is looking forward to returning overseas. Bryant was tempted to teach in another country but still has friends in South Korea. She finds that nation comfortable to her now and hopes to land a job teaching English at the university level.
"From this experience, I feel I can do anything now," Bryant said. "I want to travel to China and Japan. We're very diverse in America, but there's so much we don't know until we visit other countries."
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.