Documents, documents, documents

As promised, I am going to keep you updated on the goings on with my journey to South Korea...  here's what has been happening lately:

To actually get to South Korea apparently one needs all sorts of documents, and then when you have those documents you have to get them signed by importnat people, who then pass them on to other people to have them stamped and signed, and round and round it goes.  The stage I am at now is that I have to send some of my documents to the South Korean consulate in Vancouver, BC for the Korean government to put their stamp of approval on my degree and my criminal records check.  When they return that to me, I send my entire package of things to my recruiter in South Korea, who then helps me get my VISA and books my flight.  Last night when talking to her she informed me that if all goes well with the consulate I will probably have my flight booked to South Korea sometime September 13-17.

So there is a good possibility that I will be in South Korea in less than three weeks from now!  Of course, that's being a bit optimistic, but the fact that this is actually happening, and soon nonetheless, is so very exciting to me.  For those of you who know me well, patience has never been a virtue I readily possess.  With that in mind, and the decision made to go, I just want to hop on a plane! 

While we are waiting for me to actually get to Korea and tell you all sorts of wonderful things of my time there, how about we learn a bit of where I will be living for at least a year of my life?  I will live in the city of Osan, South Korea, approximately 35 km south of Seoul (the capital city).  And Osan is famous for one of the largest markets in South Korea, open since 1792 (thank you Wikipedia...).

This is a photo of mudfish soup with plain noodles at a restaurant in Osan... just a little bit of a teaser of some of the food I will be eating (but probably photographed better than I can).

Hope you enjoy my little teaching corner on Osan.  Keep checking the blog for updates as they come!  I'll make sure to keep it as updated as I can!  And again, I'm sure things will become even more exciting when I actually go (and can take my own photos)!

Thanks everyone!

The journey begins... (well, kind of)

I think if someone would have told me even two months ago that I was going to move to South Korea to teach ESL I would have have literally laughed out loud.  But yet the journey beings...

I decided to start this blog to document my travels and experiences as I embark on this new adventure.  I guess I should start by indicating that I do not officially know when I will board a plane to Korea.  What I can tell you is that I have signed a contract with E. Bo-Young's Talking Club in Osan, South Korea.  You can check out their website: http://eng.talkingclub.co.kr/.  It's an after school program for kindergarten to high school aged students to learn English.  The idea is that I will start at the school whenever my documents come together.  In terms of the documentation process I am currently waiting on my police background check to come to me so I can send that with a copy of my degree to the Korean consulate to be notarized.  When that is completed the school helps me apply for an E2 Visa.  And finally, the school then books a ticket for me to fly to South Korea.  It looks like I am anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 weeks away from being in Korea.

And really, anything can happen.  I may end up having to get a different contract if the documents take too long (which is apparently a normal thing to happen, especially when you're trying to get all your stuff together) or it could happen sooner than I think.

I'm sure many of you are wondering how in the world I decided to teach ESL in South Korea and, like I mentioned, I'm as surprised as the next person.  As more and more doors closed and my level of frustration rose, I turned to paths that I never would have considered previously because I was so focused on a certain direction.  The past few months in particular have been one of the hardest periods in my life.  I feel like I'm floundering a little bit.  I can't tell you why South Korea is the place for me, other than God has not closed any doors yet.  Also, there is never going to be a better time in my life to go and do something like this.  I have no mortgage, I'm not leaving a relationship behind, I do not have my dream job, and I'm not getting any younger! 

I feel like I will not regret this decision.  I think it will help me gain perspective, increase my reliance on God, give me an adventure, and get me out of my box.  Even if I hate it, at least I tried.  Of course, I hope I do not hate it!  I'm looking forward to seeing another country, eating Korean food, traveling around to other Asian countries close to Korea, and satisfying my independent spirit.  Also I get to be a part of teaching young minds!  That's always a cool thing!

I want to especially thank my friend Courtney for helping me with the ins and outs of ESL in South Korea.  I'm sure she is near sick with all the incessant questions I send her way.  I also want to thank Grace for helping me read the Korean parts of my contract so I know for sure what I'm signing up for.  And I want to thank everyone who is praying, supporting, and basically just being available to me during this new change.  I feel a strange mixture of excited and scared.  This is going to be different than anything I thought I would ever do.

I'll update this blog as developments happen.  I've never had a blog before, so this is also a new experience for me.  Thanks for checking it out and I hope you enjoy my journey with me!