getting things together

Seeing as how I only have 22 days (15 business days) till I take off for Korea, I'd better get my act together. I'm still waiting on my visa number to come through. Its getting down to the wire here. I need to have enough time to get to the consulate and have them process everything.

Some other things I need to do are:

• cancel my cell phone
• pay my credit card
• see if I can defer my student loans
• complete my loan exit interview
• get luggage
• figure out what to pack
• save money!

That's just what I could think of off the top of my head. I posted on the Yeosu Wayguk facebook group saying that I was coming in the 21st and if anyone had any tips for me. I also messaged the teacher that is at Jonggo MS right now asking him a few things. Its getting down to crunch time.

The last item on my list is proving to be the hardest. I got paid on friday. A little over $500. That same day I dropped $740 on my ticket. Ugh. Whats worse is that in my attempt to hang out with everyone before I leave, I end up spending money. There's nothing easier than grabbing a bite to eat with friends. If only I could order off the kids menu. Life would be easier haha.

Speaking of money, the Won is doing great right now. When I first applied for the job my salary of 2,000,000 Won equalled about $1,570. Now its upwards of $1,600! I know its not much, but every little bit counts when I have to send money home for student loans.

Sending the money home just got a little easier. KEB (Korea Exchange Bank) has a new type of account just for expats. It allows us to send money home over the internet and also issues us an international debit card. Score!

Now for some Korean flash cards.

Flight Status:

Officially booked!

Done.

$737.40 later, I have my one way ticket to Korea. The flight changed a little bit. I'm leaving Boston at 6:10pm now, so my layover at LAX is a little longer, but I still get to Incheon at 5:00am.

Speaking of $737.40...I really need to step up my game on saving money. I've been doing alright this summer, but in the 2 weeks or so after my birthday I pretty much ran out of food. Which means that I've been spending around $20/day on meals instead of $70 for about two weeks worth of food. FML. I've since gone grocery shopping and stopped spending money on things when I can.

The official countdown is 23 days until I'm airborne. Crazy. I emailed Carrie my flight info last night. She replied saying that she thinks I have to prepare many things. That got me thinking, I haven't really prepared all that much. Now I'm dissecting every aspect of my life to figure out what I need to set up, cancel, or change in the next 23 days before I leave.

I'm going to be busier than I thought.

Red Eye to Incheon

I'm buying my ticket to Korea tomorrow.

My one way ticket.

Weird.

Its a good thing tomorrow is also payday. From the looks of it now, my ticket will be about $758. That's including taxes, fees, and flight insurance. Normally I'd say screw the insurance, but this isn't just some vacation that I'm taking. Plus, with the insurance I'm covered up to $1,000 if my luggage gets lost. I'd rather eat $40 from not using the insurance than eat a $700 ticket.

I need to arrive at Seoul Incheon Airport by 2pm on Friday August 21st. Luckily there are quite a few flights that will get me there before 2pm. Way before 2pm. How bout 5am? Most of the flights I found have me leaving Boston at around 7pm, leaving LAX at 12am, and arriving at Incheon at 5am. Looks like I'll have some time to kill before my ride to Kimpo and connector to Yeosu. Hopefully Korean airports are a little more fun than American airports.

I START WHEN??????

My two day long awaited email just came!!!

I START AUGUST 21ST AT YEOSU JONGGO MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!

I don't think I could be more excited.

It really hasn't hit me yet that in less than 1 month I will be living outside the US for a whole year. Unreal. I don't have my visa number yet but I'm not worried about that. All I have to do once I get it is make an appointment at the Korean Consulate in Boston. At least I know what and where I'm teaching.

I went to the Yeosu Education website to find information about my school. The only part in English was the location on a map. pretty much smack dab in the middle of Yeosu. Can't complain there. I like being centrally located. There is also an email address, but I'll save that for tomorrow or something. Baby steps.

Mr. Sammarco the middle school teacher. Has a certain ring to it. I'm definitely OK with teaching middle school. Hopefully the kids have at least a little background of English so I'm not teaching them from scratch. I was able to find an English teacher list through the Yeosu Wayguk facebook group. On it I found the name of the teacher that was at Yeosu Jonggo Middle School this past year. I facebook messaged him asking what he thought of the school and if he had any tips...etc.

More great news, my flight situation is going to be WAY easier than I anticipated. Instead of flying from Boston or New York to LAX to Incheon, then taking a bus or train or something to Kimpo Airport and flying from there to Yeosu all on my own dime until I get reimbursed, I just found out that the school takes care of everything once I land in Incheon. They bring me from Incheon to Kimpo in a car and buy my ticket from Kimpo to Yeosu. All I have to do is buy my ticket from the US to Incheon, which I get reimbursed for. That cuts down the cost a bit. About $100 on the Kimpo-Yeosu flight and a few bucks and all the stress of finding a way to Kimpo from Incheon.

So much to do in so little time!

waiting kills.

I need a life.

Really.

I do.

As soon as it hits 8pm and is 9am over in Korea, I compulsively check my email in hopes of getting my placement. About every 5 minutes. Even when i KNOW that its going to be about a week until I hear anything. And before its 8pm...I sit there and count down the time until it is 8pm. I need to stop. But at this point, there's not much going on in my life to distract me. When I'm working I'm either sitting in an office at a computer...checking my email every 3 seconds, or I'm on dispatch where I have to be on campus...aka in my room checking my email every 3 seconds. Help.

I also feel like I've run into a roadblock with my research about Yeosu. Most of what I can find I've already read, or it just talks about the 2012 World Expo. There are only so many articles you can read about kimchi or why its NEVER ok to write someone's name in red. I guess I could focus all of this time and energy into actually learning how to speak Korean.

Don't get me wrong, I'm wicked excited to learn the language, as you can tell from my other post. You just need to take it with a grain of salt. Its really hard. Plus there is no teacher to help me and its way too easy to look in the back of the book at the answers. Not to mention I study at my computer so I can listen to the dialogues on CD, and guess how often I take a break to check my email for the message that I KNOW won't be there. Yup, approximately every minute or so.

I'M SO UNPRODUCTIVE.

Even right now. Tonight. I've been sitting in the office since 6pm. What have I done? The usual facebook, twitter, fmylife, textsfromlastnight, 59 games of bubble spinner, watched Knowing...oh yeah, and I checked my email 209438762093486 times! All while if I turn my head slightly to the right I see my Korean book. Mocking me. I even brought index cards to the office so I could practice vocabulary. I guess in the last 15 minutes of my shift I can pull it together enough to make a few flash cards instead of ranting and raging like this.

Ok. I can do this.

Here I go.






Right after I check my email.

Brain Fart

Major brain fart. I can't believe I didn't mention my discovery today. Well...its not really a discovery. More like I found something really helpful to me that had been there all along. Lately I've been pretty concerned with my social network, or lack thereof that I would have when I arrive in Yeosu. I was on a message board about Yeosu expat networks when I saw a posting about the Yeosu Wayguk facebook group. Facebook??? Carrie did mention that I could find other native teachers using the book.

My first 3 seconds on the group were a flood of information. There were postings on just about every topic I was wondering about. What to pack, where to hang out, what to do, health insurance, vacation time...the list goes on and on. What I liked the most was one post that a soon to be expat started. She said how she was coming in August and just wanted to say hi to everyone. The other expats seemed so welcoming and interested in helping this girl even before she arrived. I found a lot of comfort in knowing that the Yeosu expat community was easy to find and easy to break into.

Delivery!

I just checked the status for my documents....

As of 9:42AM Monday the 20th (8:42PM Sunday the 19th in RI) my package was loaded onto the FedEx vehicle for delivery! I should be expecting an email from Carrie saying that she received it. Placement here I come!

My bucket list is going great. Charlsey and I got fondue yesterday at the Melting Pot. Two words: Cheesey Goodness. One of the best meals I've had in a long time. The dinner menu tonight consisted of a Philly Cheesesteak and some fries. Definitely American, definitely delicious.

More importantly, I hit the Korean book hard today. My Teach Yourself book had me writing some dialogues, translating sentences then structuring them into the Korean form...even reading a waiter's note slip and translating the order from Hangul script to romanized from to English. The next chapter dealth with introductions and some nitty gritty grammar. I forsee this being the hardest part. That and the vocabulary. So I guess basically everything. Learning a language by yourself with just a book and a couple of CD's is a HUGE challenge. A challenge that I embrace with open arms. Just learning a language is a big deal, but being self taught how to communicate with an entire population of people is mind blowing. As hard as it is to press on, the outcome will be extremely worth it.

Out of My Hands

My visa documents are officially in transit to Seoul. In fact, the package is hanging out in Anchorage, Alaska at this very moment (thanks fedex.com tracking).

It feels like such a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders now that I mailed everything. No more running around to state offices before closing, making copies or anything like that! I feel way more at ease knowing that there is no deadline looming or step in the process I need to get done. The package should arrive on Monday the 20th by 6pm. I think that is EST however, so Tuesday morning Korean time. From here I wait to get my visa number and make an appointment with the Korean Consulate in Boston for the final step. I also find out my school and start date when the documents arrive! That's what I'm most excited about. Soon I'll be able to tell people exactly where I will be teaching, what age level, and when I'm starting. This is so exciting.

My "USA Bucket List" is coming along nicely. Last night I hung out with some old friends that I've been wanting to reconnect with before I left. Its amazing how you can go so long without talking to some people yet hanging out sporadically is one of the best nights you have in a while. I've also been eating a whole lot of Mexican food. Quesadillas, tacos, burritos...all the things that i won't be able to get (for a reasonable price and authentic taste) in Korea. I also had a Philly Cheesesteak the other night. You can't get more American than that.

On my way to mail my visa paperwork out to KOREA!

Home Stretch!

Finally got those apostilles.

For all the trouble that I went through getting things notarized and signed, I was in the Secretary of State office for all of 3 minutes. Whatever. Its done!

I scanned the documents at Staples and emailed them to Korea to make sure they check out.

THEY DO!

One drawback tho. They want me to scan my official transcript envelope and send that. That's fine with me, it just adds another day between now and when I can actually ship my stuff. I guess its not all that bad. I'm still waiting for one of my reference letters. Hopefully that comes in tomorrow.

I just want to get everything sent and done with.

Wait, What?

My Korean friend from the recruiting company emailed me last night. Just a check up to see how my visa paperwork is coming along. I told her that I'll be getting my documents apostilled tomorrow and am just waiting on my last reference letter. If everything goes on without a hitch, it should all be in the mail on Wednesday morning.

Her response?

If I mail on Wednesday then she said she could put me in a position that starts in the end of August.

WHAAAAAT? END OF AUGUST?

I basically have less than a month and a half left in the USA.

I need to get a few things accomplished:

• see as many friends as i can
• get my fill of Mexican, Italian, Pizza, American Food
  
• DRINK TIDAL WAVES
• go to the beach
• fondue
• drink my fill of coffee milk
• laps at the pool

Aaaand I think I should probably learn some Korean. I bought the Teach Yourself Korean book/cd set to learn with. So far its pretty good, I learned how to read and write in the Korean script, Hangul. If I really push myself then I think I can get enough down to not look like a total fool when I arrive.

Now that I realize that I don't have that much time left here, I can think of about a million things that I need to buy or get done before the big move.

How do I manage to pack for a year and pack light at the same time?

documents documents documents

Visa documents. aka one big headache.

I spent the day in Providence yesterday trying to get my visa documents all in order. Printing the contract and health form as well as getting passport size pictures taken and photocopying my actual passport were a breeze. The degree and background check were what stressed me out the most.

Obtaining my criminal record check was very easy. All it took was a $5 check and my driver's license. I took that along with a photocopy of my degree to the RI courthouse where my aunt works to get them notarized. The notary sent me to the Secretary of State's office saying that he had nothing to notarize because I wasn't signing anything. The lady at the Secretary of State's office said that in order to get the apostille stamp I first had to get the notary stamp on my degree and the Attorney General's signature on my background check. Also...everything closes in half an hour. FML. I was able to run back and get my background check signed but not my degree...and therefore no apostille. Now I have to go to Providence again on monday to get that taken care of.

Good news! I can go to any bank and get my degree notarized, right? Well...sort of. This morning I went to the bank to do that. After waiting for what seemed like forever to be seen, I hit another roadblock. The bank notary told me the same thing as the notary in Providence. I had to tell her my whole story before she realized what I was trying to do. 2 phone calls and a mini banker conference later, I finally got my degree stamped. Halleluja.

Now I'm just waiting on my letters of reference.

start of the adventure

So here goes.

I just got accepted to teach English in South Korea for a year! I really can't believe this is happening so fast. Less than a week has gone by and already I'm getting all the necessary documents together for my E-2 visa.

For anyone who is thinking of teaching in South Korea, you're going to have to get an E-2 visa. Which is specifically for foreign English instructors.

Lets start at the beginning.

Applying for the ESL position was one of the easiest job related things I've ever done. I used the Transitions Abroad website, but other sites such as Dave's ESL Cafe are great too. Once I found the posting that appealed to me most (in terms of salary, benefits, and location) all I had to do was send my resume and a photo. South Korea being 13 hours ahead of me emailed me back within 2 hours. It was about 9pm when I first sent my resume, so it was about 10am the next day there. After some email correspondence I had a quick phone call and before I knew it my name was being submitted to the Yeosu Board of Education while i was looking over a sample contract.

One day later I was confirmed to teach and was given the official contract and a list of documents to gather for my visa.

My official list is:

2 passport sized photos
a photocopy of my passport
2 signed copies of the contract
a notarized apostilled copy of my degree
a notarized apostilled criminal background check
a sealed official transcript
health statement
2 letters of recommendation

(i already have the transcript)

Apostilled documents are basically notarized documents which are recognized for international use. Which means I have to go to the Secretary of State office in Providence to get that taken care of.

More to come as I get closer to departure!