We got our flight itinerary! We are leaving on Wednesday the 17th at 8:00 that evening from the Indianapolis airport. From there, we go to Chicago and then straight to Seoul! From Incheon airport in Seoul we then have to get to the Gimpo airport to fly straight to Gwangju. I'm very happy about this, since our recruiter originally told us we would probably take a bus from Seoul to Gwangju, a 4-hour journey. Now it will only take 50 minutes on a plane. We will then arrive on Friday the 19th at about 11 AM.
We are also currently talking about living arrangements, and it looks like we will have two studio apartments next to each other in a building with the other teachers. My understanding is that if we were adamant about sharing a room, they would have to find us a bigger one in another area. I think being around the other teachers would be much more helpful to get acquainted with the new culture. Though we currently live together and having the living situation change will take some getting used to, I think it will all work out just fine once we adapt.
This is going to be such an experience. I'm getting more excited everyday!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
2
New Pet Peeve
Andrew and I got our visas! But that's not the point of this post! I wanted to share one of my developing pet peeves with you today.
It seems that when someone finds out I'm about to go to South Korea to teach English, the reactions I get are not "Oh wow, that's such an incredible opportunity! I wish you the best of luck!" It's more like: "Oh...really? Well...good luck with the food and alphabet" or "Is that the good one or the bad one?" or "Wow, that's scary. Aren't you nervous?" or a very odd "Well I'll think about (pray for) you while you're there".
If we were going someone in Europe, you know the reactions would be far different. Americans seem to be afraid that North Korea is going to come storming the border at any moment or drop a nuclear bomb on the lower part of the peninsula. And as far as I have learned, the South does not live in fear of the North.
It just seems like an unfair stereotype to me. I'm very excited about this, and it dampens my spirits when people make it out to be another Iraq. If SOK was so unsafe, it would not be the top TESOL destination, would it?
It seems that when someone finds out I'm about to go to South Korea to teach English, the reactions I get are not "Oh wow, that's such an incredible opportunity! I wish you the best of luck!" It's more like: "Oh...really? Well...good luck with the food and alphabet" or "Is that the good one or the bad one?" or "Wow, that's scary. Aren't you nervous?" or a very odd "Well I'll think about (pray for) you while you're there".
If we were going someone in Europe, you know the reactions would be far different. Americans seem to be afraid that North Korea is going to come storming the border at any moment or drop a nuclear bomb on the lower part of the peninsula. And as far as I have learned, the South does not live in fear of the North.
It just seems like an unfair stereotype to me. I'm very excited about this, and it dampens my spirits when people make it out to be another Iraq. If SOK was so unsafe, it would not be the top TESOL destination, would it?
Sunday, January 10, 2010
1 comments
The Visa
This past Wednesday, Andrew and I drove up to Chicago (a 3-4 hour drive from where we live) in order to interview at the Korean Consulate for our visas. Our journey was uneventful and long, but thankfully we JUST missed a major winter storm that hit that night.
I'm still not exactly sure what the interview is for, since one has already acquired a job, signed a contract, and paid for the visa. I don't know what someone could possibly do to screw up the interview and get denied a visa into Korea.
Anyway, we met some people in the lobby waiting for their interviews. One girl was going to be teaching in the same city with another school. Another girl was Asian and laughed about how difficult it had been for her to get a position teaching English in Korea because she wasn't white. She was also completely baffled about how Andrew and I and another guy in the lobby had gotten jobs without being completely TESOL certified. We told her it was because we graduated with the great old English degree. They were all nice besides the quiet anti-social one sitting next to me, and I hope my coteachers in Korea will be the same.
We are currently waiting on our visas to arrive (with our passports, plz). And we have been told the school wants us to arrive in Korea on the 19th of February. So I finally let my landlord know our last day will be the 17th, and he's only making us pay two weeks rent :)
I'm excitedly counting down the days until I get to quit my job at the bookstore. My last day is the 29th, the same day as our going away party, and I hope that goes well. Andrew and I are slowly going through our books deciding which ones to store for a year and which to sell. Goodbye my beloved books.
I'm getting more and more nervous as the time approaches. I hope this experience will be as amazing as I'm hoping.
I'm still not exactly sure what the interview is for, since one has already acquired a job, signed a contract, and paid for the visa. I don't know what someone could possibly do to screw up the interview and get denied a visa into Korea.
Anyway, we met some people in the lobby waiting for their interviews. One girl was going to be teaching in the same city with another school. Another girl was Asian and laughed about how difficult it had been for her to get a position teaching English in Korea because she wasn't white. She was also completely baffled about how Andrew and I and another guy in the lobby had gotten jobs without being completely TESOL certified. We told her it was because we graduated with the great old English degree. They were all nice besides the quiet anti-social one sitting next to me, and I hope my coteachers in Korea will be the same.
We are currently waiting on our visas to arrive (with our passports, plz). And we have been told the school wants us to arrive in Korea on the 19th of February. So I finally let my landlord know our last day will be the 17th, and he's only making us pay two weeks rent :)
I'm excitedly counting down the days until I get to quit my job at the bookstore. My last day is the 29th, the same day as our going away party, and I hope that goes well. Andrew and I are slowly going through our books deciding which ones to store for a year and which to sell. Goodbye my beloved books.
I'm getting more and more nervous as the time approaches. I hope this experience will be as amazing as I'm hoping.
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