My first morning in Seoul

Faced with jetlagged insomnia I have decided to be productive about it and write my first blog in Korea. Im sitting at my desk in the Milano motel, which is a love motel. Korea has love motels all over the place, which are cheesy 197o's-esk honeymoon hotels, basicaly people go to them to... be alone, and thats where I'm living for the next week or until I find housing. My room is complete with bed, tv, internet (so happy, my coworkers internet doesn't work) a shower, and little table for two, and of course: perfume, body lotion, neon pink "Am aroma essence hair gel", brushes with someone else's hair in them (no thanks) and condoms. Luckily I packed my own bedsheets!
The flight over wasn't so bad, I got to sit in the emergency exit row which is actually pretty sweet for tall people becuase there was no one in front of me, leg room on a plane=awesome. I was feeling a little sad when I first got on the plane so I distratced myself with hours and hours of free movies on the plane.
At the airport I met another newby for my program (though we won't actually be working together, we're at separate branches) and he was really cool. It was definitely nice to have another person around who was going through the same thing. Neither of us have been to Korea before. Someone from the company picked us up from the airport and drove us to Gangnam where our training will be, the drive was quite long, though the airport is right outside of Soeul it took us around an hour to get to the motel.
We were both exhausted when we got to our rooms but it was only 7:30 and we wanted to attempt to have a regular night of sleep so we went out and walked around the downtown gangnam area. It didn't look a whole lot different than Market street except for the fact that I couldn't read anything. Pictures are going to be so helpful over here. We didn't stay out that long because it was snowing and my new friend was wearing converse (not snow friendly). There are alot of underground tunnels instead of crosswalks and they are like underground mini malls. One weird thing (well maybe expected, but I was still surprised) I didn't see any other foreingers the entire time we walked around!
Today I have job training and then I go house hunting, it's going to be another long day. I hope I find a good place quickly, then I can start getting settled. Well, I'm off! Also, no spell check, so sorry if my writing is ridic.

4 days until I leave for Seoul

The last month has flown by and my emotions have been a roller coaster of fear, anticipation, excitement, worry, second thoughts, and open-mindedness. After hearing some not-so-stellar, and questionable things about my future employer from past employees I started to get nervous. This year will most definitely be the hardest year I will have worked at this point in my life. I mean, I worked hard at times in college; midterms, finals, and doing applications, but all of those times were intense and far between with weeks of downtime before another rush. In Seoul I will be working essentially from 7am until 9:30pm, one worker wrote an ominous email, "get as much sleep as you can before you get here". Many people can attest that I can be quite grouchy when I don't get my preferred eight (or many ten) hours of sleep, so that will be an adjustment I will have to make.
I still have so many things to sort out before I leave, I have a room full of crap that looks like my closet threw up all over my bed and floor. Everything needs to either be packed, stored or thrown away. Woe is my inner pack rat! I feel pretty confidant with what I packed, I planned for any sort of medical "emergency" I might encounter (because apparently my job does not honor sick days), I have a mini medicine cabinet in my suitcase; pepto, EmergenC, vitamins, advil, sleep aid, earplugs, and the list goes on. I'm sure that if I looked hard enough I would be able to find these items in Seoul, but I also know that if I wake up feeling less than 100% I will be very grateful that what I need is in my room and not on the other end of a treasure hunt through a city I don't know.
My wonderful mother bought me a netbook the other day so that I wouldn't have to get a camera for my incredibly old laptop, and I immediately downloaded skype (which is awesome!) and tried it out with my friend Chris. We talked for over an hour and it was so much better than talking on the phone, I was able to carry my netbook all around the house and show him different things, much more interactive and it'll be great for keeping in touch with people.
Last night as I was seeing some people for the last time, my friend Joshua was talking about his recent adventure to Australia for a job over the summer, and how watching movies and tv shows online was key. He offered to send me some links for good websites to watch videos, to which I remarked, "Oh, I have a hulu account, I'll be watching that all the time."
"It doesn't work outside the U.S." He stated. I was stunned. I had never occurred to me that certain sites were location sensitive. I took the news in a manner similar to a child who had just been informed that Santa did not exist. I have the naivete of an unenlightened computer user when it comes to my knowledge of the internet and its limitations and possibilities.
I have also been successfully procrastinating the packing process, for example: this very moment. I'm off. I'm excited for what my next post will bring!

Shopping Day

Time is running out til my departure and I still have a lot to do and buy. Packing for an entire year is odd because I know that it's inevitable that I will forget at least one crucial thing, and furthermore, how can I predict everything I will want for the next twelve months.
I was hoping that my purchases would not exceed $150, but after buying 3 sticks of deodorant (I need 5) and one opcon eyedropper for $26 (!!) Im starting to second guess my estimate. I still have quite the extensive laundry list of bathroom necessities, and business attire I need. Today Im hoping to find a lot of my list of sale (crossing fingers). I can't believe that I'm leaving so soon.
I'm excited and nervous for the new challenge I'm about to face, the first couple days that I'm in Seoul will be spent house hunting in a city that I don't speak the language. Someone advised me to find my own housing and to not go through my employer because I can save a lot more money, but it will also be much more difficult. I was picking through Craigslist Seoul today and found quite a few cheap places, one was a dorm but I have to share the kitchen and I'm not sure if I can have guests.
I really wanted to get my own place so that I have free range to have people over and get a pet, but getting a room is much much cheaper. I guess I'll see what happens when I get there.

A little Advice For Future Teachers :)

It's been a while, and I need to get myself into the habit of updating this blog more often so here goes my update... I finally got all my documents in order, sent them over to my employer and now I'm waiting for my visa number to come (14 business days).

I have some advice for anyone else who is planning on going to SK to teach, hopefully my experience will help your process run smoother. First, the documents that you will need to get your visa;

Your diploma - not a copy of it, the physical diploma.

Criminal Background Check with an apostille

A photocopy of your passport picture page

5 passport photos

A signed health form - your employer will send it to you

2 signed contracts - your employer will send it to you

The diploma: if you went to one of the UCs, like I did, you will not get your diploma until four months after your graduation, and the registrar does not offer rush deliveries anymore (thanks UC!!). This is problematic if you wanted to go to SK sooner, because unfortunately you must send them your diploma in the mail, no exceptions. It sounds a little sketchy to send your diploma overseas but I just insured my package at the post office and it worked out fine, and well, you don't really have a choice ...

Criminal background check: I went to a local livescan place and got my fingerprints done, it took a couple minutes and ten dollars, then a couple of days for the report. After I got my results I had to get an apostille from the secretary of state. I don't that far from Sacramento, so I just drove to the Secretary of State building to get the apostille, and it was really quick and easy and the people were really nice. If you can go in person, the process is a lot faster than mailing it in.

Passport: make sure you have a current passport, or you'll have to get a new one. Do NOT send your passport to your employer, just photocopy the page that has your passport number and your photo on it.

Photos: since passport photos come in sets of two, getting five can be a bit pricey, the cheapest place to get the photos that I found was Costco, 4.99 a set, as opposed to 15.55 a set at FedEx or UPS.

For more info: http://www.koreainsider.com/korea-visa.html

My job is scheduled to start Jan 3, 2010-Jan 3 2011. I will likely fly out right after Christmas, which is exciting and also a little scary. I'm glad that I'm going to be able to spend the holidays with my family, especially because I probably won't see them for an entire year!

I'm turning into a bit of a beer snob, and apparently SK is no Belgium, so I've been doing some research to try to find cool pubs in Seoul. The most promising pub is one called Three Alley Pub in Itaewon-Dong, it looks really cool. travel.yahoo.com gave it a 6/6 stars, and the reviews said it has; pool tables, great english speaking staff, dart boards, and TVs for watching sports.

Right now I just want to make a few solid connections before I leave so I'll know a couple people when I get there, wish me luck!

Passport Day

Today I'm going in to get my passport. I need two forms of ID (Driver's license and birth certificate), U.S. Department of State application for a U.S. passport, two color passport pictures, and money (the fees will come out to a little over $100, but that's because I'm having a rush delivery).

Last week I went to an old high school friend's band show, the performance was great and the entire night turned into a great mini-reunion, I saw quite a few people that I haven't seen in years, all of whom I genuinely like. One of my old buddies, Paul, told me that he is about to embark on his own journey to teach english in Mexico City. Since I have been getting a bit nervous as my departure date is rapidly approaching I thought it would be nice to get together with Paul and talk to him about leaving the comfort of the bay and heading to a place where we knew no one.

We went to get frozen yogurt and he told me about his plans, he had bought a ticket to Mexico City (one way), has an interview but no solid job, and doesn't know where he's going to live yet and doesn't really know anyone that lives there. I was floored. Here I am, getting so nervous about going to a country with a concrete plan, and Paul is excited about his upcoming adventure. I started peppering him with questions, and finally asked, "aren't you worried about being lonely?" Paul shrugged, "I think it's more lonely here."

I was about to object when I thought about what he meant and realized how much an attitude can completely shape a person's experience. Here I was making myself completely worried about what might go wrong, while Paul was going in with low expectations and a laid back attitude. Also, in Korea, I'm expecting to have lonely moments, I mean it's inevitable that I'll have times where I miss home when I'm living in a country where I don't no anybody. When I'm at home, there are higher expectations that everything will be fun because a lot of my friends live around here and I know the area, so when life doesn't produce the fast paced excitement I am anticipating, then I get disappointed. In Korea, everything will be new so I don't really have any expectations yet. 

I have to run to the post office, I'll update again if anything crazy happens.

Getting Everything Together

Still in the States for a couple more months, about two months at this point. I have ordered my transcripts and I have an appointment with my local post office to get my passport next week. One of my friends from Berkeley just came back from a year teaching in Busan, another big city in South Korea. Seoul is usually compared to New York while Busan is compared to San Francisco. I will hopefully be getting together with him soon to chat about his year abroad. 

My company has offered to hold a job for me that starts Dec 1, which is exciting and a little scary at the same time. I feel like I go through waves of emotions when I think about going away for an entire year, some moments I can't wait to leave and other times I worry about how long a year can feel like if you aren't enjoying yourself. Its always reassuring to talk to people and they exclaim that "you'll have the time of you're life!" or "you're so lucky!"

Right now I'm going to start looking for a random job so I can save money for my first month in Seoul, unfortunately I'm in the same predicament that first drove me to find work overseas: the economy is bad and jobs are scarce.

I've been enjoying time with my friends and going out in the bay area. Trader Joes in currently having a deal on beer, 6 pack for $3, but only if you like Lagers, personally I am not a fan. 

Stuck and Aggrivated

I just got off the phone with my Universities registrar, I was inquiring about the rush or emergency diploma process when I was informed that they not only, "don't do that anymore" but my diploma won't be sent to me for at least another month. Now that means that I will have to wait an additional two-three weeks after the diploma is received (for processing and such) until I could leave. I emailed my contact at the Korean company and he told me what I already knew: they cannot hire me without the E2 Visa, and I cannot get the E2 without the physical diploma. I cannot get the diploma any quicker, even though I explained to them the time sensitive need, so basically I am shit out of luck.. gotta love those accommodating bureaucracies... I no longer bleed aggie blue!

So, now I am stuck in California for at least two more months, which would be fine if I had a temporary job, but I don't. So now I'm gonna go out and try to snag a job that I can work at until my diploma comes, whenever that is. Hopefully next time I'll have better news..

Music: some nostalgia here, I finally bought the Postal Service CD. I had forgotten how much I love that CD, brings me back to freshmen year of college :)

Some good news always brightens the day...

Im feeling pretty good about the latest recruiter I talked with. The job that he was offering was a one-on-one tutoring position, which is much more up my alley than a 30 student classroom. (I recently heard a horror story about an esl teacher who witnessed one kindergardener stab another with a pencil! I am NOT cutout for that) The hours are a little different than most of the other jobs, its early morning 7am-11am, followed by a break, and then I have to return to work at 5:30. I can't decide yet if that will be a perk or a drag. Here are the some of the advantages of the job: students are all university age or older, I get my own office (woot, woot) and the two locations they hold are in...wait for it....Gangnam (also known as Kangnam, yeah that's not confusing) and Shinchon! Now, the average Californian would look at those two districts and say, yeah, so what? Well, Gangnam is a huge tourist attraction, one of the top places to go, one of the "nicest places to live in Seoul", and Shinchon is a college town that is also known for being super fun. So, basically, Im gonna be living in an awesome area either way, so I don't want to lean in favor one way or the other because I don't have control over which one I go to. 

Since there is no "listening to" feature at the bottom, let me tell you that you MUST go listen to the Islands "Whitney, don' call me bobby", best song ever. I may or may not have listened to that song about thirty times in the last three weeks (sorry to everyone at CK), and I think number thirty one will do it (yeah right)