Rugby and Requests

Woop! My CRC finally arrived from West Virginia this afternoon, big ups to Tammy Baldwin and her office for all of their help. This was possibly the icing on the cake for today, after a very tough rugby match in new position (Lock and Flanker). I can honestly say I have never been so sore in my life, feels like I was in a car wreck or something. Sometimes I wonder why I do this to myself. Haha, yet I have started doing some research into playing rugby in Korea. Don't know where I'll be placed yet, but I found a  video by these lovely ladies. "The Seoul Sisters" It made me smile!

BBoys and Business

So close to having all of my documents completed! Exciting! CRC is on it's way back and will be sent overnight to be apostilled through Pro-Ex, My masters degree (which I had to send to the UK) is already on it's way back to me and should be here thursday  Also, my final set of UK transcripts arrived! Woo Hoo! Looks like I should have everything I need here by Friday.

So in the meantime I'm gonna lay back and enjoy some Korean BBoy Action!

 

Jinjo Crew. I'm pretty much in love!

And then there's north Korea...

Wow....nutty as a fruitcake. Still a bit worrying, though as North Korea threatens to reduce South Korea to ashes.

FBI Frustrations

Tammy in action! :)

So after a 4th day of nagging the FBI records request, I called this morning to find out that the 3 representatives I had spoken with previously, had lied to me. The man admitted that my record check hadn't been started...or completed and I could expect to wait a few weeks. I've been waiting since February 21st, mind you. So I found the contact of my local congresswoman and sent a request to have her speed up the process. She had a special form, just for this type of issue. Big Ups, Tammy! Hope it's smooth sailing from here on out!

UPDATE 2:16 P.M
My congresswoman just called to let me know she has spoken with the FBI and they will be sending out my request by Wednesday! :) What a baller. Very excited!

Goals Before Korea

Alright, I figured it might be wise to set a few goals before Korea.
1) Learn how to use chopsticks much more proficiently, start eating with them regularly

Otherwise I'll be stuck using these

2)Stick to my Korean class and learn basic conversational Korean....I may even get Rosetta Stone

3) Never in my life thought I would say this, but- lose 10 pounds so I can actually find and fit into Korean clothing.I'm an advocate for the thick ladies, but I think the average size in Korea is a size 2...wow.

4) Get a head start on paying my student loans

welcome to the real world!

5)Get used to paying with cash

6)Acquire more dress clothes/blazers (although my friend Sammy says the shoulder pads are gross, haha)

7)Get a good quality camera like the Nikon 1, J1 for traveling

8) Get some sample lesson plays together

9) Start phasing out good Wisconsin cheese because it will be harder to find

Not quite the same, is it?

10)Become more adventurous with trying new foods

Not sure I'm brave enough for the blind taste test, platter yet

My Great Love Affair (hatred) for WV Records Request

And so I continue my great dislike for the state of West Virginia, this time I had a lovely experience with their FBI records request.I sent in my background check on February 11th. Today, I call to confirm that my completed CRC has been sent as I have already been charged for their services. The lady tells me "Oh, we actually updated your application on April 1st so that will take another couple of weeks before we send it out" Angrily, I hang up, and realize that was probably a bad idea. So I call back to clarify, "Hello, I called a moment ago  and I  don't think I explained myself well. My name is Maggie Smith and I sent in a background check February 11th, in March, I was contacted -saying I needed to pay with a credit card instead of a debit card (which wasn't mentioned on the form) I did so. I was just now told my application was updated on April 1st. Does this mean I need to wait the full 8 weeks again, before I receive my background check?" She sighed and said "No, only 3 weeks from the date." So if  it was updated on April first like they said, I'd be looking at April 22nd.  I'm assuming I will wait another week or week and a half after that, until it is sent out. In the mean time, I will just wait, complain and sulk, and if I don't receive it by may 10th I may look into contacting senators and congressmen. The last time I had to do that was to expedite my visa for Scotland! Fun Stuff! :) But mark my words West Virginia FBI records request...if I end up placed in a tiny fishing village, with no electricity and 3 students because of you, instead of Seoul or another metropolitan city.....you will have some bad juju coming your way! Hahaha!  Okay, rant over and I feel so much better. Now back to collecting the rest of my documents!

K-POP

Yes, already pretty obsessed with K-pop! One of my favorites "Russian Roulette" by Spica. Enjoy!

EPIK Results

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! After my interview last night and an extremely long and anxious day, I woke up 20 minutes ago to find out that I had passed my EPIK interview!  Korea is so close that I can taste the Kimchi. So the next step is to send in all of my documents, find out where I've been placed(fingers crossed), start training in August and begin teaching September. Looks like I am being recommended for Seoul. I can't even believe I passed, it's a bit surreal. I just need to remind myself to stop stressing out and get all of my documents in as soon as I can.

• FBI Check (on the way back to me)-or is it?
• Bachelors Degree and Apostille✓
• 1 sealed set of undergrad transcripts✓
• Masters Degree and Apostille (on the way back from the UK)
• 1 sealed set of postgraduate transcripts (sent back to me today)
• 2 Letters of Recommendation✓
• TEFL certificate (Passed course, just waiting for official certificate)
• signed copy of SMOE contract✓
• signed copy of SMOE appendum✓
• scanned photocopy of information page✓
• signed copy of EPIK application✓

In the meantime

Didn't sleep so well last night! Still feeling a bit nervous about the outcome of my EPIK interview. I've considered looking into GEPIK and Hagwons a bit, but I think I will wait until I hear back from EPIK. So today I decided to lighten my mood by looking up some fun and random facts about South Korea.

1) Saying Hello!
Annyeong haseyo is a greeting used any time of day and translates, "Are you at peace?

2) The number 4 is extremely unlucky! This is the equivalent to the number 13 in American culture. Bad Juju! As a result, most buildings in Korea do not have a 4th floor.

3) Writing a person's name in red ink is the same as saying they will pass on soon or they are already dead.

4)It is illegal to know the sex of your baby before it is born.

5)Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog (Afghan Hound), was created at Seoul National University (SNU) in South Korea.

6) Taxis in Korea are color coded. If you hail a white or gray taxi you will get a basic car with a less experienced (though still qualified) driver. If you hail a black cab, you can expect luxury!

7)Soju is South Korea's most popular drink, a rice wine. When your glass is empty the host will quickly refill it and it is impolite to refuse.

8) Taekwondo is South Korea's national sport.

9)Around 50% of people in South Korea are atheists. The other 50% comprises Buddhists and Christians.

10)When the first night of the new year comes, everybody hides their shoes. This is because there is a belief that a ghost will come down and try on everyone's shoes. If the ghost finds a pair it likes it will take it. It is thought that the owner of the shoes will then have bad luck for the whole year.

After Interview Jitters!

So I just finished my EPIK interview and I'm not sure how it went! I think I may have spent some time over-prepping myself, but it definitely made me more confident for the actual interview. My interviewer was quite nice and provided me with all of the answers I needed. I will find out in 2 to 3 business days, whether I have been passed on or not! This will be the longest 2-3 days of my life, but I am excited for my Korean lessons to start next week!

Here are a few interview suggestions:
1) Make sure you have your EPIK application in front of you

2) Seriously consider your motivation for applying and express this as passionately as you can

3) During a skype interview: When you speak, look into the camera instead of the screen and when you receive information look at the screen. I know this sounds basic...but nerves will can the best of you.

4) Consciously make sure you slow down when you speak and avoid using slang.

5) Smile, present yourself well (nice shirt) and remember you are selling yourself! You are your greatest product, they want you! If they didn't, you would not have been passed through to this stage. So be confident!

6) Don't feel like you need to answer right away, slow things down, think about your answer and answer honestly.

7)Brush up on your history of Korea as well as current affairs.

8) Consider your strengths and weaknesses-seriously! Not just saying "I'm a perfectionist"

9) Consider things like: your co-teacher, classroom management, your teaching style and your teaching philosophy

10)If you get nervous think about youtube kittens battling toddlers...it really helps me to smile!

EPIK Interview!!

Yes! I landed an interview with EPIK. I woke up this morning to an email that said I had been passed on to the next round.

Two hours later I received another message confirming my interview time and date as April 18th, 10:10 A.M KST or Tuesday April 17th 8:10 CST.

I found the Time Zone Converter really helpful in scheduling interviews!!
Ahh, so nervous, time to do some prep work!

Picking a Recruiter

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this process is picking a reputable recruiter to go with. It can be difficult separating the great, from the imposters. A friend reminded me to never ever pay for a recruiters service, if they request payment it is probably a scam. To begin my search, I looked at recruiters who worked directly with EPIK (The English Program in Korea), the biggest recruiter of ESL teachers with a fantastic benefits package and good reputation. Unfortunately, not all recruiters are as effective.  The application, being 10 pages and full of time sensitive documents, you want to make sure you are working with a helpful recruiter who responds in a timely manner. I started first with Foot Prints Recruiting, who came highly recommended. After spending much time on the application process, my recruiter stopped responding to questions and provided little guidance. As a result, I dropped him and moved on to another recruiter. This time I applied through Korvia. I was given an interview almost immediately and assured that the process would be stress free and full of guidance. I became anxious when I stopped receiving information about EPIK from my recruiter. At this point, I realized it was best to apply on my own. I cancelled my submission through my recruiter and quickly sent in my application directly to EPIK! Thank God I did, as I just received a message this saying that EPIK was no longer taking applications through recruiters.Now I wait!