In about 6 hours I have to catch a bus from Madison to Chicago, and in 13 hours I'll be on a plane to Seoul!
We'll see how this all goes, stay tuned!
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Showing posts with label Preparations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preparations. Show all posts
Right now it's noon, Monday August 17th, 2009.
Short post today.
Yesterday one of my friends asked me if it's sunk in that I'll be in Korea in a few days.
And the answer is a definitive no.
I really don't expect it to hit me until the plane starts flying over to land in Incheon. I had the same experience when I landed in Narita, Japan last year. It wasn't until the plane was landing that I started thinking "Oh crap, I'm gonna be in Japan for half a year".
It's not that I haven't been thinking about it; I've definitely been doing that. It's just that it doesn't feel "real" right now, and emotionally speaking that's how I'm acting. If you talked to me right now, you'd have no idea that I'm leaving the country for a year or more in 3 days.
I think the biggest difference in my mental preparation for this adventure compared to Japan is my expectations. Before I went to Japan, I had the idea that it was some kind of magical wonderland that would fulfill all of my hopes and dreams. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I had basically listened to all of the good things my friends told me and combined them into one glorious picture. Japan was good, but there pretty much no way it could've lived up to my expectations.
And thus, my expectations for Korea are positive, but probably much closer to where they should be. Also, this time around I have a better idea of what to expect as a foreigner dealing with a new environment. Whether that helps me adapt or not remains to be seen.
Oh, and I still haven't packed! I'm going to be busy most of tomorrow with a wedding, so packing may be put off mostly until Sunday...I guess it's just how I do things. Everything seems to work out somehow or another.
That's all, peace out!
Yesterday one of my friends asked me if it's sunk in that I'll be in Korea in a few days.
And the answer is a definitive no.
I really don't expect it to hit me until the plane starts flying over to land in Incheon. I had the same experience when I landed in Narita, Japan last year. It wasn't until the plane was landing that I started thinking "Oh crap, I'm gonna be in Japan for half a year".
It's not that I haven't been thinking about it; I've definitely been doing that. It's just that it doesn't feel "real" right now, and emotionally speaking that's how I'm acting. If you talked to me right now, you'd have no idea that I'm leaving the country for a year or more in 3 days.
I think the biggest difference in my mental preparation for this adventure compared to Japan is my expectations. Before I went to Japan, I had the idea that it was some kind of magical wonderland that would fulfill all of my hopes and dreams. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I had basically listened to all of the good things my friends told me and combined them into one glorious picture. Japan was good, but there pretty much no way it could've lived up to my expectations.
And thus, my expectations for Korea are positive, but probably much closer to where they should be. Also, this time around I have a better idea of what to expect as a foreigner dealing with a new environment. Whether that helps me adapt or not remains to be seen.
Oh, and I still haven't packed! I'm going to be busy most of tomorrow with a wedding, so packing may be put off mostly until Sunday...I guess it's just how I do things. Everything seems to work out somehow or another.
That's all, peace out!
Right now it's Thursday, and my flight leaves at 1am Tuesday morning from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. I'm taking a bus from Madison to O'Hare though, so I'll essentially be leaving Monday night. This means I leave in about 100 hours! EGADDDDDSSSS!
I haven't really started packing yet, but I have been doing a lot of "prepacking". That is, making sure I have everything I'll need. Once I actually decide to pack, it shouldn't take too long. For the most part, I'm only going to bring clothes, a supply of toiletries, a few electronics and some souvenirs. Am I forgetting anything?
Speaking of electronics, I got 2 adapters today that will let me plug things into Korean power outlets. They were $3 a piece. Here are some pictures!
Notice that the prongs are round instead of flat, and that there is no third "ground" prong like in a US outlet.
Korea does use a different power standard than the US, so some things you bring from the US may fry if you try to use them in Korea without a power converter, but all of the things I'm bringing are already designed to handle the differences. So all I need are these little nubs! I'll probably want to find a few more once I get there, but the two I have will suffice for my PC and external hard drive, and I can always unplug one of those two things to charge my camera or whatever else when necessary.
That's all, just a little heads update on how my preparations are coming. Like I said, I leave in 4 days, so things should get more interesting soon! Hopefully I'll have enough time and energy to continue blogging regularly once I actually arrive in Korea. Cheers!
I haven't really started packing yet, but I have been doing a lot of "prepacking". That is, making sure I have everything I'll need. Once I actually decide to pack, it shouldn't take too long. For the most part, I'm only going to bring clothes, a supply of toiletries, a few electronics and some souvenirs. Am I forgetting anything?
Speaking of electronics, I got 2 adapters today that will let me plug things into Korean power outlets. They were $3 a piece. Here are some pictures!
Notice that the prongs are round instead of flat, and that there is no third "ground" prong like in a US outlet.
Korea does use a different power standard than the US, so some things you bring from the US may fry if you try to use them in Korea without a power converter, but all of the things I'm bringing are already designed to handle the differences. So all I need are these little nubs! I'll probably want to find a few more once I get there, but the two I have will suffice for my PC and external hard drive, and I can always unplug one of those two things to charge my camera or whatever else when necessary.
That's all, just a little heads update on how my preparations are coming. Like I said, I leave in 4 days, so things should get more interesting soon! Hopefully I'll have enough time and energy to continue blogging regularly once I actually arrive in Korea. Cheers!
Hello faithful readers!
Just thought I'd say that I got my passport back in the mail today from the Korean Consulate in Chicago, with my visa stamped in.
So, I now have my visa and my plane ticket. There shouldn't be any more barriers preventing me from leaving for Korea.
That means this is for realz. And I leave in less than a month. Good thing I have some stuff to keep me busy until then (more on that later though).
Peace.
Just thought I'd say that I got my passport back in the mail today from the Korean Consulate in Chicago, with my visa stamped in.
So, I now have my visa and my plane ticket. There shouldn't be any more barriers preventing me from leaving for Korea.
That means this is for realz. And I leave in less than a month. Good thing I have some stuff to keep me busy until then (more on that later though).
Peace.
Alright, let's do these out of order.
First, minor update: When I received my contract in the mail, it was actually from the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education. So, despite what I said in my previous post, I will be going to Daejeon, assuming I have no unexpected problems.
I've already bought a plane ticket, and hopefully I'll have my passport back in possession from the Chicago Korean consulate this week. Once I get that, I'm basically 100% good to go.
Next, new title: I'm three posts in and already I've renamed my blog! Anyway, as you see there are two parts to it. "The Great Escape" is indicative of the fact that I'm "escaping" the U.S. of A. Now, don't misunderstand me; it's not that I have any huge issues with the United States or anything like that. It's just that right now, I'm young, I'm a little bored here, and going abroad sounds like a nice escape. I suppose only time will tell how this line of thinking works out.
As for the second part of the title, it's fairly self-evident. I still want this to be a blog about my experiences in Daejeon, and leaving that bit in the title should help my blog's marketability, so to speak. Anyway, I hope I didn't just bore you to death with overanalysis, and feel free to let me know what you think!
Lastly, random musings: I only know a few people in Korea, and they all live in Seoul. I don't know anybody who lives in Daejeon. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm worried, but I have been wondering how I'll make new friends. I won't be in a college environment anymore, so I'll have to be a bit more proactive perhaps. On one hand, I'm kind of introverted and shy, but on the other hand I feel like I somehow manage to meet cool people wherever I go. Anyway, more encouragement never hurts! (A shout out to my friend Fernanda for giving me some!)
That's all for now. I should probably proof read (I'm pretty tired), but I'm going to pass on that for now. I have another post planned for the near future though, so stay tuned! Until next time...
First, minor update: When I received my contract in the mail, it was actually from the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education. So, despite what I said in my previous post, I will be going to Daejeon, assuming I have no unexpected problems.
I've already bought a plane ticket, and hopefully I'll have my passport back in possession from the Chicago Korean consulate this week. Once I get that, I'm basically 100% good to go.
Next, new title: I'm three posts in and already I've renamed my blog! Anyway, as you see there are two parts to it. "The Great Escape" is indicative of the fact that I'm "escaping" the U.S. of A. Now, don't misunderstand me; it's not that I have any huge issues with the United States or anything like that. It's just that right now, I'm young, I'm a little bored here, and going abroad sounds like a nice escape. I suppose only time will tell how this line of thinking works out.
As for the second part of the title, it's fairly self-evident. I still want this to be a blog about my experiences in Daejeon, and leaving that bit in the title should help my blog's marketability, so to speak. Anyway, I hope I didn't just bore you to death with overanalysis, and feel free to let me know what you think!
Lastly, random musings: I only know a few people in Korea, and they all live in Seoul. I don't know anybody who lives in Daejeon. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm worried, but I have been wondering how I'll make new friends. I won't be in a college environment anymore, so I'll have to be a bit more proactive perhaps. On one hand, I'm kind of introverted and shy, but on the other hand I feel like I somehow manage to meet cool people wherever I go. Anyway, more encouragement never hurts! (A shout out to my friend Fernanda for giving me some!)
That's all for now. I should probably proof read (I'm pretty tired), but I'm going to pass on that for now. I have another post planned for the near future though, so stay tuned! Until next time...
Two big pieces of news today:
1) My recruiter recieved my contract. Hopefully he'll send it over to me soon. Anyway, this means that all my of visa paperwork went through with no problems, and I should be on my way to Korea in August. Exciting!
2) He also told me that my placement will be in my #1 choice, the city of Daejeon. Over the past couple weeks I've been debating whether I'd rather be in a city or in a more rural area. But now that I know, I'm pretty excited. It sounds like a nice medium/large city in it's own right, and it's only about $20 and an hour away from Seoul by high-speed rail. Sounds cool. You can read more about it here --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daejeon
That said, given some of the things I've heard about how EPIK works sometimes, I won't believe that I'm actually going to Daejeon until I'm actually there. I hear conflicting stories about how EPIK placements work. Desite that, I think it's pretty safe for me to start telling people that I'll be in Daejeon, South Korea starting in August.
Both of my posts so far have been pretty bland. Maybe I'll write about something more exciting in the future, like my study abroad experience in Japan and how I think that'll help me with this.
Well, there isn't a whole lot to say at this point, but I want to get the ball rolling with this.
Anyway, at this point I've been accepted to teach in South Korea through the EPIK program. EPIK stands for "English Program in Korea". I sent off all of my visa paperwork a couple of days ago, so assuming all is well with that, I'm good to go.
I requested to be placed in Daejeon, a medium sized city, but we'll see what happens. It'll depend on how fast all of my paperwork gets processed, because placement requests are dished out on a first-come, first-served basis.
Anyway, hopefully there will be more to say soon. For the time being, I just need to study myself some Korean and play wait and see.
Anyway, at this point I've been accepted to teach in South Korea through the EPIK program. EPIK stands for "English Program in Korea". I sent off all of my visa paperwork a couple of days ago, so assuming all is well with that, I'm good to go.
I requested to be placed in Daejeon, a medium sized city, but we'll see what happens. It'll depend on how fast all of my paperwork gets processed, because placement requests are dished out on a first-come, first-served basis.
Anyway, hopefully there will be more to say soon. For the time being, I just need to study myself some Korean and play wait and see.
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