Goodbye New York!

Today was a very very bittersweet day. I’ve never had this feeling of leaving something and being completely ready to leave it, but knowing that its still going to continue on the same way without me. Sure, I’ll be missed (who wouldn’t miss me?) and of course I’ll keep in touch with so many people, but in the grand scheme of things my friends will continue to hang out, and go to cool things, and meet amazing people. Not that I won’t, but there’s something I truly enjoyed about going through all of the motions with the people I keep closest to me.

All of that comes out of my head at 11:40pm when I sit alone in the Jet Blue Terminal at JFK airport awaiting what was supposed to be a 10:55pm flight to Syracuse. Not only will I be leaving at the exact time I should have been landing, but once I get to Syracuse at like 1:15am, then there’s that great 45 minute drive in darkness to Auburn. At least my brother and his fiancé are nice enough to pick me up and do the driving.

Overall I’m just so ready to get back to CNY. I wish I had more time there, but I’m kind of glad I don’t. I’ll enjoy it more that way. I work well under pressure, and this will force me to get some stuff done and visit some people. The best part is the sleeping in on Friday.

My last day at WMA went way too fast. How is that I spent however many days there where time would just tick by ever so slowly, but today just FLEW? I sent out my reports at 930, had my exit interview at 11am, sent out my goodbye email around 1130 and then the rest of the day was spent replying to some of the nicest emails I’ve ever gotten from people I have come to call good friends, and some I barely even know, hell haven’t even met (in other offices). I wanted to leave around 515, but honestly couldn’t tear myself away from the place until 630. Overall a crappy place to work after a year or two of being there, but I’m ever so thankful for it as it really was a transition from College to Entertainment Business.

**Anyway, I wrote most of that in the airport at that time, but the flight didn’t end up leaving until 115am, and I got into Cuse at 2, and was home and in bed dead asleep by 330. Overall an extremely long trip for no real reason, but its nice to be home, and I’ll be out to South Korea on Wednesday. Time flies… and I’ll miss you New York.

Visa Fun

Stuff has kind of taken off since I got the job in Korea, and basically I have just been hammering out details, and just enjoying the last remaining weeks in NYC:

(the group of us before a River Rafting trip down the Delaware in early July)

Aside from all the fun, I've managed to move 98% of everything I own up to Central New York (the homelands). I'm currently crashing on what used to be my living room couch in New York City, and will be finishing up work on August 16th. Then off to Korea on August 21st by flying out of Syracuse, to Chicago, and then that looooong flight to Seoul.

Everything with my Visa is all taken care of and was pretty simple in all honesty. I sent my Visa materials off to the SLP school in Seoul in early July. The school requested my original diploma, transcripts, 2 pictures, signed contract, copy of my passport, my first born child, and a resume to be Fed Ex'ed to them instead of using the US Postal Service. Well, after going to Fed Ex and realizing that it would cost $100 to send - I opted not to. By going to the Post Office and sending the same exact package that weighed .3lb to get there in 4 days (same as Fed Ex offered) it was $25 and gave me a tracking number, just like Fed Ex would have. *So a tip from me to any of you who are thinking about mailing stuff internationally, do not go to Fed Ex first.

Anyway, it was just a waiting game after that. The school issued me a visa confirmation number last week (about 3 weeks in total waiting time), and I went to the Korean Consulate here in New York City this week. After giving them more passport pictures (the people at the Walgreen's photo department and I are now on a first name basis), my passport, my transcripts, the confirmation number, my second born child, $45, and a copy of my contract, I was told to come back the following day to pick it up. The first thing to ever enter my passport is now a really fun looking huge sticker that says the Republic of Korea on it. Not too shabby.

Other than that, I'm just wrapping up life in New York. It's so hard for me to believe that I've been here for 3 full years, at the same job, and that I'll be leaving it within a matter of days. BUT the way I look at it... is if you don't go big, you might as well go home. And I think I did a pretty good job of coming up with something bigger than New York.

Hot Dogs & Fireworks & Asians

This past week, America & I celebrated its independence in a number of ways. Most notably though for both of us, would have to be the 2007 Hot Dog Eating Competition at Coney Island, where Joey Chestnut took back the championship trophy for all American Fat Asses to be proud of by eating 66 slimey hot dogs.




Not that I had a great view, but it was an entertaining time even though I was cheering for Kobayashi.

The whole thing made me wonder if SoKo (street term for South Korea that I'm trying out) has a comparable holiday. And after an immediate stop over at wikipedia I found out that there really is not. The basic listing of holidays include New Year's, Korean New Year, Independence Movement Day (which celebrates a movement against the Japanese in 1919), Children's Day, Buddha Day (apparently a gigantic festival, which I'm very excited for), Memorial Day, Constitution Day, Liberation Day, Harvest Festival, National Foundation Day, and Christmas. Which that last one amuses me, because only 25% of the country is Christian. There are a few others as well, like Labour Day, Parent's Day, and Teacher's Day, but they're not national holidays. Although I really wonder what Teacher's Day will be like since I'll be one. It's probably like Administrative Assistants Day here, where you get some flowers and a free lunch or something.

Korea stopped being occupied by Japan in 1945, but then had to endure the Korean War from 1950-1953. And then apparently had 5 constitutional changes, and a number of inconsistent presidential elections. I guess it wasn't until 1987 when they really got their act together. So low and behold, there's no benchmark moment for their country like ours & the fourth. The question is I guess, will I become completely unattached to this country and not care next year, or will be so homesick by that point, you'll hear about some little redheaded chick running around the streets of Seoul wearing red, white, and blue and sparklers?

So... I'm Going to Asia...

Well, its taken a few days, but I've come to grips with the scope of this whole thing. Obviously I knew this was coming, and I've been preparing for it, but there's something to be said for when this kind of thing officially happens. Reality sets in and a '!!' becomes a '...'.


I signed my contract today, which was 7 pages long, and faxed it back to the recruiter. Figuring out how to work a fax to send something internationally took me a minute, but I added in a few extra numbers and it seemed to have worked. When in doubt, push extra buttons - if it doesn't explode, you win.

I thought for a second that I'd scan it to show you, but there's really no point to that since its pretty basic. I will be paid 2.0 Million Won each month (whoo hoo I'm a millionaire!) which works out to be about $2,000 USD, 10 vacation days, free roundtrip tickets, 50% health insurance, a pension plan that SHOULD get refunded to me at the end of the contract, a month's bonus at the end of the 12 months, an orientation/training time of 3-10 days and be paid 40,000 won each day during that time, and be set up with my own studio apartment which they will pay for. My expenses will be minimal, as it consists of electricity/gas/water/phone/tv (if i want it, and I probably won't) which should, rumor has it, come out to be $100-150 total per month. I'll also be using Skype as well (more information to come).

I will be working for the SLP school in Suji Gu, Yong In Si which is about 25-30 minutes from downtown Seoul. My leave date is August 20th and the details are still a little fuzzy as far as if I will be flying out of Syracuse, NY or if I will be flying out of Newark, NJ. Syracuse is easiest since I'll be home, but Newark will allow me to spend my last night in New York, have less connections, and meet up with my friend to fly out together from the beginning. It's up to the recruiter/school at this point to figure all of that out. More on that as things develop.


So what happens next? The visa process. I will be receiving an E2 visa, but generally E4's are what is needed to travel in and out of an asian country, but for some reason Korea is exempt from this. I now have to Fed-Ex all of the following materials to the school in Korea:

- My Original Diploma (I'm assured I will get this very expensive piece of paper back)
- A sealed copy of my official university transcripts
- A copy of my resume
- A copy of my passport picture page (copy only)
- Signed contract
- 2 passport-sized photos

After I take care of that this week, basically all there's left to do is wait, pack, and go. I'll be researching more things like Banking, Phones, US Tax information (like, do I have to pay any?), and then making lists of everything I'll need to bring and such.

Other than that, all that's left to do is officially tell work I will no longer be an employee here. As exciting as it is (I've had dreams of running into the HR office, jumping up and down, and saying, "PEACE OUT SUCKAS!") , it really is bittersweet.

I'M GOING TO ASIA!!!!

As of 10:51pm tonight I got a job offer for South Korea!!!!

I'm thoroughly freaked out and excited and nervous and happy and so many other words that I can't even remember.

I have a contract in hand, and well, you'll hear all about that in detail later.

Also, my co-traveler has received one too, so this is just beyond exciting!

The Ebs & Flows of Interviewing

Well, *we are finally in the beginning of our actual interviewing stages, and I've had two. I am slightly concerned about it all, but won't become truly nervous until around July 1 as that's my "OH MY GOD, WHAT IF I DON'T GET A SCHOOL" date. Up until this point, we've been told "It's too early to interview, wait til late June, don't worry." Now that its late June I feel like everything is going to pass me by and somehow wind up on the other side without a job. This is probably not the case, as I can be kind of a worrier at the last minute. I also have this annoying of habit of believing everything will work itself out on its own, so I'm trusting in that right now.

Allow me to explain what the process so far has been like... Everyone knows that when you want a job here, you get your resume together, mail it out to about 100 places right off the bat and just wait for the interviews to come rolling in. When they do, you try and juggle them all. You schedule them, and you research them, and keep all of the paperwork you collect in order and try to be as organized as possible. Well... that's not really the case here. Basically when one school is interested, we will get a form letter email from the recruiter giving us the details of the school (hours, pay, what they offer, type of school, location, etc.). They hold all interviews at 11am Korea Time, which corresponds to 10pm New York time. In the email they ask for 3 days worth of availability for the school to call you and we only have one interview at a time to interview with, as to not get anything confused. Sounds kind of efficient right?

Wrong. I'd rather not devote every 3-4 days to only one interview, and if I could, get a bidding war going between multiple schools, but that's just cuz 'I'm a business, man'. Anyway, last week I had my first official interview with a school called Kae Tae Wong. Everything was all set. I had a confirmation email that the school would call me at 10pm, and I was in my apartment by 10, all ready to go, in a quiet room, with the information up on my computer screen just in case. 10pm, 10:15pm, 10:45pm, 11pm goes by, and no ringing of the phone. I email my recruiter, they apologize, and ask if they can still call. I'm a bit of a night owl, so they call me at 1am. The Korean woman on the other end of the phone was as sweet as could be, but very broken english. We talk for 10 minutes, she tells me a bit about the school, we laugh for a second, I thought I had this in the bag. She says she likes me, and was gonna have an english speaking teacher call me back the next night so I could get more information. Well, no such call. They went with someone else. Ah well, no big deal, onto the next interview. I give my availability for 3 more days, and no phone call. School choose someone else before even calling. But fortunately, the recruiter had another school all set to go.

At 11:450pm last night, I received a call from an extremely nice woman at a school called SLP. SLP happens to be a franchised school, which means that there are 30 campuses or so throughout the country, and its attached to a University. We spoke for an hour, and I would like to think that this is the one. Stephanie, the woman I spoke with, actually spent some time in Manhattan and we chatted about that for a bit. Hopefully within a few days I'll be writing about accepting a position, but I don't want to get my hopes up, or too ahead of myself.

Time will tell... but so far, its been a very slow unpredictable process. And for the next so many nights until I finally sign a contract, you can expect that I'll be waiting by a phone at 10pm every night waiting for Asia's call.


*Also, I say "We" because I have found a willing participant to travel with, but I choose not to disclose that information at this time.

Getting Learned With New Books

I did one post in May. One. Some would call it laziness (me) and some would just say that there's absolutely nothing going on at the moment (also me), but that will change soon. Basically what I'd like to think is that I spent that time really researching the crazy thing I'm about to do in two months, and that's somewhat true. Although what would be closer to the truth, is I have gotten a bit lazy as the weather has warmed up, and have been making good use of the little time I've got left in New York (concerts, a Rolling Stone Mag Birthday Party, summer movies, outside drinking, etc. etc.). Ya know, I complain, but this city has been home for almost three years, and in the grand scheme of things it has provided me with an insurmountable amount of entertainment, and that's really all I'm out for. Perhaps I'm becoming a bit more nostalgic as the weeks wind down, and am romanticizing everything as time ticks away, but I think that there is a strong chance I'll return to New York after my stint in Asia. With that being said, I'm really in no place to make any predictions as I want to keep a completely open mind.

Anyway.... .... I wasn't kidding about the research thing. I have managed to pick up two books recently that I think have really enhanced my understanding of Korea and will continue to be useful throughout my stay there.

The first being Lonely Planet's Guide to Korea. I bought the most recent edition (which is currently sold out in most places such as Barnes & Noble) online at Amazon's marketplace, used, for $9 and it was in perfect condition.

Now, I've been needing an excuse to buy a Lonely Planet book, b/c they're so damn good. They give you a brief history in the beginning, some paragraphs on the culture and daily life, and then they break up the rest of the book into different areas and suggest every place imaginable to visit. I broke out the highlighter for things to remember and also got a pretty great history of Korea as far as their place as China's little brother, and a better understanding into their dislike for Japan. It also suggested some places in North Korea, which piqued my interest so now THAT is in the back of my mind.

Also, it talked a bit about Hangul, Korea's written language, which I'm slowly but surely becoming fascinated with. Expect a separate post in the coming weeks as I get a better understanding of the written script which is said to be so easy 2 year old Korean babies understand it. Korea does have a 99% literacy rate, so maybe they're onto something.

The second book I have yet to really crack open (maybe I'm a bit premature in writing about it then) but it can't be anything BUT useful. I bought Korean, At a Glance for $8 at a local Barnes & Noble. This book is no bigger than my hand and about two inches thick, and even comes with a removable plastic cover so it will most likely become a staple in my purse/bag for the next year.

The cover boasts that it has over 1500 phrases and expressions for everyday use, and is as well a useful dictionary. What I liked about it was the fact that it has a food section specifically to help decode menus, because that's not something found in most and will be something I will need in order to find sustenance.

Just from reading the first few pages, it gives an introduction into Hangul and uses English to sound out a word. Once I get further into this, I hope to at least go to Korea with SOME kind of understanding of how to speak, and/or read.

Maybe next I'll find some sort of Korean Fiction, or maybe Korean Lore, or something. Although maybe the next thing I should try and find are some teaching books, THOSE might come in handy. Keep a look out in my new BOOKS label on the sidebar.

Stuff & Things & Needles

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot to report, other than little tidbits of information. I really thought that I'd be knee deep in research when moving to a new country, but you'd be surprised how little I actually have to do at this very moment. I mean my leave date isn't until August so realistically nothing should be happening in May, and I've got a pretty great Recruiting Agency that I'm depending on. Also, I've joined a number of Facebook groups that focus on Korea and getting an idea of how cool the people are over there, so all is going well.

I did recently have my annual physical (good to keep on top of these things you know), and had them throw in a tetanus shot for good measure. I think the statute of limitations on those is about 10 years, and I haven't had one since I did cheerleading freshman year of high school. Anyway, after a clean bill of health, and a sore left shoulder I was curious if I'd have to endure being a human pincushion in the future. Fortunately, Ask Now (my recruiting agency) told me that there are no requirements for immunizations, and I do not have to get any shots if I choose not to. (And I definitely choose not to).

With that being said, I'm sure my mother (who works in medicine as a profession, and reminded me of this today when I called to wish her a Happy Mother's Day) will not agree with my choice to take a risk and see if I wind up getting anything abroad, and I did some more digging around. According to MDtravelhealth.com South Korea RECOMMENDS that you be vaccinated for Hepatitis A & B, Typhoid, Rabies, Measles Mumps & Rubella (MMR), Tetanus, & Japanese Encephalitis. Do I think its a good idea not to get Typhoid? Sure. Am I too lazy to get these shots? Your guess is as good as mine, I guess we'll see in time how convincing my mother can be after she reads this.

I do plan on visiting various countries though, and I figured I'd see if there was anything anywhere that had pressing "YOU MUST GET THIS SHOT TO SURVIVE" requirements. After checking Hong Kong/China, Japan, Australia, India, & Taiwan they all recommend the same things. The only difference being Yellow Fever and Malaria in India (but I doubt I'll get there anyway). Even the CDC echoes MDTravelhealth.com so I think everything will work out. Either way with my luck, I'd get all the shots and still wind up getting SARS or the now more trendy Bird Flu.

My First Job Offer!

People better start getting in line, the offers are flooding in!

Well OK not really, but I did get one offer and its still very very early. I woke up this morning to see an email from my British Recruiting Agency, Flying Cows Consulting, outlining a job offer and a contract. By the end of this post I'll have made my decision.

If I could post up word documents, I probably would, but here are some of the basics from the 5 page contract:

Location: Daegu
Salary: 2 million won per month (~$2000 USD) w/ overtime of 20,000 KRW per hour (~$20USD)
Vacation: 10 Vacation Days (4 fixed in summer/winter)
Student Level: Kindergarten to Middle School
Class Size: 7-12
Schedule: 10am-8pm
Classes per day: 5-7
Length of Classes: 40-50min
Teaching hours per week: 30
Housing: 2 bedroom/single
Furnishing: Fully Furnished
Distance from Work: 5-10 min
Airfare: Round trip Return Offered
Completion Bonus: One Month's Pay
Health Insurance: Offered
Training Program: Offered
Materials: Provided
Number of Foreign Teachers: 4
Number of Teachers: 1

The positives include that there seems to be more Foreign teachers, the late 10am hour is nice, the class size, round trip airfare, and the training program included. On the flip side - very young children (kindergarten), the late 8pm end time (think about traveling somewhere on a Friday night... 8pm isn't conducive), and the 4 fixed vacation days are not something I like either.

According to Wikipedia, Daegu sits in a basin in the center of South Korea, and collects a lot of humid hot air during the summer, and its drier throughout the year than the rest of the peninsula. I am not looking for that. Although, Daegu IS home to the Samsung Lions in Korean Baseball, which I hear to be a pretty decent team.

Today, after telling a friend about my good news and my trepidation, he said to me, "It might be better than Seoul, because I'd rather go to Denver than New York City." Which is a valid point (especially after having lived in NYC for a few years), but as we all know, there's nothing in the world quite like New York, so there can't be a comparison positively or negatively. Initially one of my main reasons for shying away from Daegu WAS the fact that it doesn't have an airport. BUT after some research I did learn that it does in fact have an airport. I guess being the 4th largest city in a country there would be one, but it mainly only flies to China from what I can tell, and I'm looking for a broader range of flying options.

Basically what it all boils down to, is if I'm going to be moving across the world to live on a peninsula, then I want to make damn sure I see water. I also believe that I can get more from an offer either in Seoul or Busan.

The verdict? Sorry Daegu, but you're out!

Vvrrooomm!

According to the U.S. Department of State website, international drivers licenses get handed out like candy even though "1.17 million deaths occur each year worldwide" due to vehicular accidents (primarily in other countries), or b/c of morons who can't drive, or for innocent bystanders who just happen to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyway, with my stellar driving record (I've successfully managed to weasle my way out of getting 3 speeding tickets in my lifetime even if they were deserved or not), I will be in possession of one of these international permits after going through the necessary steps.

What are these steps? Well it is apparently very quick and simple. Most countries do not believe the US drivers license to be adequate, so they have decided an extra piece of paper called an International Drivers Permit (IDP), which is to be kept with your actual license at all times, suggests you are an OK driver and is accepted almost anywhere. It doesn't replace your driver's license, it just supplements it. The IDP can be requested through AAA (American Autombile Association) by filling out this handy little form, and paying $15. You could also go through the AATA (American Automobile Touring Alliance), but who has ever really heard of them before? At least AAA gives you a discount at various places if you have one of their nifty little cards. Anyway, jump through those simple hoops, and within no time you'll have an IDP and be ready for some foreign cruising.

Do I really expect to be driving over there? In short, no. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, Seoul has more than 3 million registered vehicles for its 605 sq. kilometers which is smaller than New York City - so traffic congestion is a pretty common problem over there. My purpose for having an IDP is two fold - 1) I want to add another license to my list just for fun (car, boat, soon to be motorcycle), - and 2) I have read in multiple places that people will rent cars while visiting the island of Jeju, an island off the southern coast of Korea that's a very popular vacation spot full of beaches and subtropical weather.

Whenever I get it in the mail, I'll make sure to scan a copy to show you all here.


***Added after this was posted***
A recent article on CNN about the statistics of Americans involved in Foreign Car Crashes

The State of Things

I've done a bit of tweaking to the site to jazz it up a bit recently - streamlined it, added in some color, moved some stuff around, and added You Tube videos (that yours truly has taken). Granted, the videos are primarily of concerts (I do still work in Music), but it is only a matter of time before they become very focused on Asian matters. Oh, and yea, I sold out to the man and added Google AdSense so we'll see if I ever actually generate some money with this (that's not my purpose or anything ;).

The next month or two will be pretty slow as far as my Korea updates. I have decided to work with Ask Now Inc. to secure a position primarily, but I'm still keeping Flying Cows Consulting (based out the UK) as a backup just in case. I probably could go through any of the number of recruiters that email me daily, but they don't seem 100% legit. I'm entertaining their information, but I believe the safest bet is with Ask Now, plus they just seem like a fun tight knit group. I get a few emails a week from them with various information about moving to Korea, and I really do look forward to getting to know everyone involved. They have guaranteed me that I will have a job by August as long as I don't forget how to speak English and as long as I'm patient... so here's hoping.

Stuff that I will be looking into in the upcoming weeks will be getting an international driver's license (couldn't hurt right?), storage units for stuff here, packing info (stuff to bring, what not to forget, luggage tips, etc,), learning the language, actually teaching EFL, my lists of things to visit, etc etc. Basically, I'm so incredibly bored and this is all I've got to focus on. ;)

Unfortunate Mark in History

I've had this post drafted for a few days now, mainly because I've been composing my thoughts on the tragedy probably heard round the world by now: The Virginia Tech Massacre that happened on Monday, April 16th that was the worst slaughter in US History. It was an unnecessary and unwarranted day of bloodshed from which the events and details are still unfolding. The basics are such however, that during the 7am hour in Blacksburg, VA Cho Seung-Hui, a Korean born 23 year old male who had been living in the United States for the past 14 years went on a rampage killing 33 people including himself. First killing two people in a dormitory before heading back to his room to reload, gather materials, send a package to NBC including an 1800 word Manifesto, pictures, and video, before heading back to the Virginia Tech Campus to kill more innocent people.

There are no words to say here that haven't been said in a million other ways and places. However, I do think that it is important to stress the message that this was an isolated event that was carefully constructed and thought up by the ideas of a madman, and it should not cause any backlash as the Asian Community, or to South Korea itself. South Korea has sent its condolences and support to the area, and a number of international newspapers have reported on many occurences of the same.

What is important now is finding a reason as to what specifically made him result to this tragic behavior, not to attack the entertainment industry because he susposedly was copycating a violent film, review gun control (they don't need to be taken away, but stricter rules and guidelines should be created and enforced), and in my opinion the state of Mental Care and preventative measures need to be reevaluated and overhauled (people like Cho that were declared an "imminent danger to himself because of mental illness" should have had proper care, and no access to purchase traditional weapons).

And I say this next statement in response to a few of you asking if I'm still hoping to go abroad; of course I am - America is the place with the violence problem, so now is a PERFECT time to get the hell outta dodge.

Keep 'em Comin'

Half way (ish) through April and I've made significant headway. Remember when I said that I didn't like Dave's ESL Cafe? Well, so far its proved incredibly helpful. Leave it to me to be completely against something that would have aided in my goals from day one. Eh, there's a learning curve in this whole process, right?

Let me set the scene for you:
-Whatever day it was, Tuesday or so, I was complaining to current coworkers that I'm not gonna get a job, or that my timing won't work out, b/c nothing can be as easy as these websites are making it out to be. Free Housing? Free Airfare? Great pay? Riiiight.
-I posted my letter of interest and my resume up on Dave's site Thursday afternoon almost as a joke (again, b/c the site looks so sketchy), and within the next 24 hours I had 23 inquiries, 7 job offers, and 2 impromptu phone interviews. Not bad eh?
-Thursday night, Jenn is as giddy as a 6 year old with a new toy b/c things are looking up.

Over the course of the next few days I weed out the seemingly legit from the completely crap emails and find one from a company called Access Korea, which I believe I mentioned in the previous post. Jason (head of the company) emailed me, and it was one of the most eloquent, caring, exciting letters I've ever received. It was something from someone who's been through this whole process before personally, and is just out to make sure that people now get the same if not better experience than he had. He sent videos, and audio clips, and quotes from people that have used his agency, and asked for my resume/photo (which is customary in Korea so the schools can get some idea of who they're hiring). After sending this to him, he then asks for a phone interview, which I did on Thursday. On Sunday I received an email from him with the subject, "Looks like Jennifer is going to Korea" and a 50 page guidebook on what to expect. Basically, I'll have job offers coming to me in late June to choose from, as apparently I'm an excellent candidate. yay!

Now, it will remain to be seen if I actually go through Access Korea, because in my opinion due to my personal time table, I want a job secured as soon as possible. However, if worse comes to worse, its nice to know that there are options and that something will come from all of this. If I can hold out, I think I'd really like to work with this company. Apparently they take ski trips and have christmas parties for all of the ESL teachers. Now that's something I can get behind...

It Figures...

I didn't expect to write another post so soon after the creation (yesterday) but I've got time to kill and some new information to share.

The new information being that I found a blog that has more information than I could have ever asked for. I don't know why it never popped up on any of my searches before (it looks to be about a year old), but low and behold today, it was atop my google search results. Now, when you click on the link I'm about to give you, you may notice how familiar it looks, and I swear to you I have never seen it before today. That being said, there really are only so many graphic options one can choose when using blogspot, but still. And honestly, he's doing some of the things with it that I was hoping to do with mine. I guess now I will just have to be a bit more creative.

So anyway, I spent the entire day reading his blog. I started in June of 06, and made it up until about October I think. He spends a lot of time talking about Korean Food, but underneath it all he had some really insightful things to say, and an abundance of pictures which I've been having trouble finding elsewhere. The one thing I noticed is that he doesn't go into too much detail about the beginning, but does give a link to Dave's ESL Cafe - something my own searches have kept bringing me back to. Today I finally gave in and for about an hour perused the Korean Job Board. (I don't particular like Dave's ESL Cafe website... there's something very basic and old about the whole setup - like someone created it using the old Geocities cut and paste HTML program. It comes off as a sketchier craigslist.com for the international teaching world)

I found about 10 different recruiting agencies to contact, but the most promising has to be Ask Now. The intro alone hooked me:

"The year was 1999, and there I was, living in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. I was working in a job that I didn’t particularly like, and I had debts starting to accumulate. As a recent graduate, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. Then, I saw an ad in a newspaper that read, “Teach English in South Korea.” I was interested, so I called the guy. After chatting for a half hour, I was hooked. I couldn’t believe that this opportunity was possible, and that it actually applied to me. So, what started as a one-year contract led to another, and another, and eventually 5 years of teaching in Korea, with months of vacation and travel between contracts. It was a great lifestyle. " - Jason

Well yep, sign me up. I've already sent in an application, requested materials, and will watch the videos they have to offer a little bit later. I am bound and determined to get everything I want as soon as possible (mainly b/c the alternative is too scary to think about).

More on this stuff as it develops...

Step 1. Admit You Have a Problem.

The Setup:
I probably should have started this in October last year when I first thought about jumping ship, but it is probably better for everyone involved that I didn't. You would have read a LOT of "OMG, should I do this? is this legit? Am I crazy?" day after day after day. Now that I've had a few months to think about this, as crazy as it sounds, its the most sane decision I've made in years. That calm, cool, collected, and logical statement obviously comes after about 67 freakouts. The point of starting this now is three-fold - 1) I'm bored and excited, and still have quite a few months left to go before I actually leave 2) It'll get me organized and ready 3) It'll answer questions you've all been asking me and then inherently entertain you, and really - that's what I'm here for.

The Basics:
- I'm a 24 year old girl who graduated from Syracuse University and has been working in the music industry for the past 3 years full time. I've partied with the best of 'em in NYC (and 'Cuse), but I'm burnout and jaded and looking for a massive change.
- I received a shiney brand new passport in February of this year, and its burning a hole in my pocket.
-I'm hoping to go to South Korea to Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). I'm not entirely picky since its not like I'll know the difference, but I'm hoping for Seoul, Busan (Pusan), or Daegu. Mainly because I want to be near an airport for more traveling fun, and a big city with the opportunity to meet tons of people.

Timeline:
-NYC Lease is up: July 31.
-Last Day of work: ??
-BIG Home Friend Wedding in CNY: Aug 18th.
-Leave Date: Anytime After Aug 18th

What I've Done So Far:
- Got a Passport.
- Bought a new camera (this Asia thing was the excuse I used for buying it, so I suppose I should go, right?)
- Sign up for listservs on ESLbase.com, TEFL.com, and peruse sites like Dave's ESL Cafe, random blogs, etc.
- Contacted some recruiting agencies such as: Footprints Recruiting based out of Vancouver, Flying Cows Consultants based out of the UK (where you can see my bland picture and decent resume:
http://www.flying-cows.com/index.php/avail_teach.html).
- Talked to Cingular. Apparently I can pay what they call a 'Reduced Rate Suspension' which is $10 a month to keep my phone on while in foreign countries. Which will be very helpful for when I return to visit or to reintegrate.
-Start this blog. (Hey that's productive, right?)

What Has to Happen From Here:
A Lot. - I'm just now figuring out the Visa process (apparently Korea wants my original Diploma - which they'll have to pry that expensive piece of paper from my cold dead hands if they think that's happening), and of course I still need a job before I get too ahead of myself. After that it should be all downhill - signing of contracts, moving, ending work, getting a plane ticket, scheduling an obligatory Going Away party, and most importantly saying goodbye to everyone I've ever known for the unknown. Oh, and I should learn English.

In upcoming posts you will be regailed with my tales of dealing with the daunting task of finding a job, hopefully hearing about my prospects and interviews, and if all goes according to plan (fingers crossed) eventually the insanity of actually being in Asia. Be sure to expect a lot of information, and of course pictures. ;)

In Case you couldn't guess below is the South Korean Flag (an image I've fallen in love with):