Visa

Just after dinner tonight, I received a long awaited phone call. My visa paperwork arrived in Korea! But….

Visa + Shipping + Travel to PDX = $154. My bank balance = $102

Background Check Update

I'm fairly sure I did an impression of Neil Gaiman on the way back from the mailbox today. A short version of this:




Why? Because my notarized FBI background check came in the mail. I also received my apostilled degree as well. With the longest part of the process done (I'm fairly sure) I only have a few more steps before I'm finally off to Korea!

Another thing I got today: a new suitcase! Well, it's new to me anyway and it's in nice condition. It's plenty big and it's on wheels. Couldn't ask for better. Thank goodness for thrift stores.

Contract!

Really short but...

Happy dance! I got my contract today! Basically explained everything I already knew. All I had to do was print and sign the last page, then scan it and send it back. I'm still waiting on my background check to come back, but I'm hoping it's soon.

Eat Your Kimchi

Just a blurb about one website that is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Aptly named Eat Your Kimchi, it covers a variety of topics South Korea related.

Martina and Simon -
Crazy Awesome Canadians

Simon and Martina are a crazy Canadian couple who live with their dog, Spudgy, in Bucheon. They moved there originally to teach English but now are the Gepik Representatives for Bucheon City - meaning if you're a Gepik in the Bucheon area and have questions about dealing with your school, you contact them and they help you figure it out. But what I know them for their amazing website.

They've got general Korea and Culture. Just some of the things they cover are Christmas, Valentine's Day, White Day, and Pepero Day - That's an entire day devoted to pepero aka pocky!!!

A huge section call Music Mondays where they review K-Pop videos. I've rediscovered my love of Asian music thanks to them. I look forward to every week and adding new music to my collection.

They did a series entitled WTF - Wonderful Treasure Find. There were so many hilarious things you won't find in North America. Mouth stretchers, ear picks, Winnie the Pooh sandwich press, spike ball hand massagers (which hurt, according to Martina and Simon), and circle contact lenses that are supposed to make your eyes cute. Watching them play around and try to figure out what these strange contraptions/inventions are for is hilarious.

Wednesdays are W.A.N.K. days - that's Wonderful Adventure Now Korea. They go different places and share the awesomeness. Namsan Tower, Shopping in Myeongdong, Arcades, and whatever else they or their followers can come up with. Each week isn't just a wander around, they have three things they have to do. 1) Find a K-Pop idol and get a picture with them. 2) Find the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) example of Engrish. And 3) Complete a random challenge. Loser gets a punishment of some kind - dancing in the street, embarrassing stuff. Though there is a 1 in 6 chance of escaping punishment.

Every once in a while, a video on Korean food pops up. Tteokbokki (dok bok ki) - a spicy rice cake, meat, egg dish sold at Pojangmacha (street vendors). Mandu - grilled, fried, boiled, or steamed dumplings (probably the street food I'm looking to most). Naengmyeon - cold noodles with or without broth. And the amusing convenience store raid; they raided the nearby convenience store, regardless that they had no idea what they bought and tried all of it in a 4 part series.

There's a How-To section that I will probably use heavily. Appliances in Korean (washing machines and rice cookers), the subway/bus system, ordering food, and, possibly most importantly, paying bills.

Since Simon and Martina both taught English when they first moved to Bucheon, there are ESL tips, ideas, and games. Awesome stuff to use for any teacher.

And then there's the FAQ and TL:DR section. They go together. The FAQ answers some questions and then the TL:DR Thursday videos answer some of those same questions and more. Some are relevant - being a foreigner in Korea. Some are hilarious - Most Awkward Thing Your Students Ever Asked. And not relevant to us, but awesome anyway - like how Simon proposed to Martina.

The Spudgy sporting his awesome blue do.

And there is Spudgy. Spudgy is the pekingese they adopted from a shelter. He's an adorable little thing with his colored mohawk - yes, Spudgy has a mohawk that is currently blue. There are lots of Spudgy cameos - especially in Music Mondays where he has a dancing solo. Because Spudgy travels back and forth between Korea and Toronto, Canada (where they're from), Simon and Martina know a thing or two about transporting pets. I hope to get a pet (if I plan on staying more than, say, a year) and it will be helpful to know how to bring them home.

So that's my blog on the awesomeness that is Eat Your Kimchi. Go check them out!

Becoming an ESL Teacher

Yesterday I mentioned paperwork, and boy is there a ton of it. I don't know if all of it is required for everyone, I just went on what I've been told and what I could find via internets.

First, and probably longest, is getting an FBI background check. I sent the form and $18 money order out the week between Christmas and New Years. Nearly a month later, I'm still waiting. I forgot when I sent it out that I would need it notarized. Sometimes they do it automatically, sometimes they don't. I'm hoping that because I put "Teaching English Abroad" as my reason for needing it, they will do it automatically. Otherwise I will be sending it back and getting it notarized (which can take two weeks) before turning around and sending it to be apostilled, or authorized for international use, a process which can take another four weeks. Oh boy. I'm hoping it comes back soon and notarized so I can be on my way.

Second is getting a apostilled copy of your diploma. I had to send my degree back to Berea to be notarized and apostilled there. Yes, it has to be in the city you obtained it in. Makes it hard when you're across the country. I'm also a derp that forgot to include the $5 the Madison County Court House charges to apostille the degree. Thankfully I have wonderful friends in Berea that are going to loan me the money and let me pay the back in some way, including awesome Korean birthday presents. This will probably be the easiest and shortest send-out work I have.

Then I have the contract! Yay! But then I have to send a bunch of things off again, including:

• The contract
• The apostilled background check
• The apostilled diploma
• A sealed official copy of your transcript
• A copy of your resume
• A copy of the photo page of your passport
• 2-3 passport sized photos

All those I send of to South Korea and my school there. They do somethings and then I get a confirmation of visa issuance.

Then I mail the confirmation, a letter of purpose, my passport, and a self addressed stamped envelope to the nearest Korean consulate; for me this is Seattle, WA. When I get it back, I will be legal to teach in South Korea and I can leave!

There are some other things I have to do when I get there, but I'll have Leandra and my school to help out. At this point, though, it's just a waiting game with the FBI.

Student to Teacher

L-R: Ashley, Holly, Katie, and Me at
Berea's December 2011 Graduation.

Less than a year ago, I was this person -->

A happy-go-lucky student only interested in friends, food, and passing grades. Little did I know the events that would follow would change my life.

With May came graduation. That "Yes! No more school!" feeling but also the "Wait! I don't want to leave yet!" sensation. There were tearful goodbyes and lots of hugs and promises to keep in touch (which I've at least mostly kept!) It was a joyful flight home, my thoughts on my lovely new degree, the things I could do, and the places I could go.

That amazing week start quickly turned into the worst week of my life. No one wants to get the fateful news their parent has passed away. Exactly one week after graduation, this was indeed the news I received. I must say I was lucky, though, that my granny and older brother were in town visiting that weekend and my younger brother and I didn't have to go through it alone or make all the phone calls.

Since finding about my impending employment abroad, people have been asking what my mom would think. I honestly think she'd be happy and sad, but ultimately proud of me. She'd be sad I'm leaving for a year or more, but happy and proud I've found a way to follow my dreams. I've wanted to be a teacher since first grade. That desire hasn't wavered, though the desired grade has changed though the predominate one is high school, maybe some early college. For most places in the US, it requires and education degree of some kind. To get a Masters around here, I have to have classroom time and money - neither of which I have.

When Leandra offered the knowledge of a position near here, I grabbed at it. I was low on options, living off my friends and family's generosity. This was something for me to do on my own, to finally get on the path I wanted to be on. I don't know how you would go about finding and contacting a school normally since I had Leandra as my go-between, but the paperwork is the same.

And that I'll go into tomorrow.

Going to South Korea

What's that? Why yes, I am going to South Korea.

So after much waiting around, I had a Skype interview with my dear friend Leandra and one of her teacher friends from a different hogwan, that is, after-school English school. They liked me and so I, once I do paperwork and wait more, will be teaching English at Keynes English School in Gimhae (I think it's Gimhae), South Korea. My intended leave date is currently sometime in March. I've very excited!

This is my attempt at letting people know what's going on while I'm gone (or getting ready to go). When I get there I'm going to be (hopefully) doing some videos and showing what life's like in South Korea. I'll be taking ideas from Simon and Martina at Eat Your Kimchi (with proper credit of course). So far I've got a long packing list (with only one suitcase to speak as of now) and a long wait for paperwork to come back before being sent off again. Posts will be spread out until I get closer to leaving, but I'll post things I learn or want to share.

P.S. If you want to laugh, even if you're not interested in Korean culture, check out Simon and Martina. They're awesome and hilarious and they've got a Spudgy!