From Madison to Seoul: A Fed-Ex Love Story

Woo Hoo! Woke up to a message from my awesome coordinator, saying my documents arrived and were in perfect order! Haha, that must mean the new photos I included of my ugly mug weren't too bad. Some of the stress is off, but now I have to send my passport to be renewed, as I don't have many pages left..due to my ridiculous undergrad study abroad shenanigans- booking flights to countries that cost less than 10 pounds on RyanAir. If I send it off by the 15th, I should have it back by June 26th (in theory). Which should leave me enough time to get crackin' on the South Korean Visa process in Chicago. Might even make it a day long event...get a greyhound down to Chicago, get myself some Churches Chicken and chase the pigeons in the park. The only thing I hate more than Pigeons....is sending my passport off, I get so nervous that I won't get it back or that it will randomly disappear! So here goes nothing. Fingers crossed. I can smell the Kimchi already!

Oh Snap, Son: Mailing My Documents!

Woo hoo! After an extremely ridiculous day that started with me leaving some of my docs at home, the woman at USPS telling me I had purchased the wrong envelope and not being able to fit my documents inside, I headed to fed ex. It took everything in me to restrain myself from going Bon Qui Qui on this lady, but I did! $38 down the drain on USPS I hoped for greater success with fed ex. As I put everything in the package my hands were shaking, it was pretty embarrassing. I just kept thinking, these are all the documents I have been working on and collecting for months! What if somethings wrong? What if I forgot something? I checked and double checked...I think I even smudged my application photos a bit! Yikes! It felt amazing to finally mail everything off and know that it's out of my hands...my stomach is still turning a bit and my head is kind of reeling, but I'm really hoping for a placement in an awesome location and a smooth process from here on out! So now I wait for my official contract and start my visa process! Sorry for all the exclamation points, but it seems pretty necessary at this point. I decided to try to work out the total cost:

2 sets of American transcripts $10.00

2 sets of UK transcripts seal   $15.00

Bachelors Degree/Apostille-In house (Ohio)    $75.00

Masters Degree/Apostille and expedited from the UK $120

FBI Check 18.00

FBI Check Rush Apostilled $43.00

Postage wasted on USPS $38.00

Mailing to Korea $93.00

For a whopping total of: $412.00

This is by no means indicative of what everyone pays, in fact many people get away paying far less. I had a few crazy circumstances. For Example: getting my degree out of state and having to pay for in house apostilling, getting a masters out of country and paying for expedited shipping and rushing my already late FBI check! I have to say a big thanks to my mom for helping me with some of the cost, but man this process got pricey! Thank God this part is over!

And this is how I feel about having my documents turned in! :)

And for those of you who didn't get the Bon Qui Qui reference, you don't know what you're missing! Check it out!

South Korea seizes capsules containing powdered flesh of dead babies

It isn't often that I feel compelled to share news articles/horror stories...but I found this one on yahoo news. 

"The South Korean government revealed Monday that it recently seized thousands of capsules filled with the powdered flesh of dead babies. Reportedly, some people believe the powder has medicinal purposes and was created in northeastern China.

South Korea has reportedly been reluctant to criticize China directly over the incident, out of fears of creating diplomatic friction with the country. But the process by which the powder is allegedly created is one of the most disturbing stories imaginable.

According to the Korea Customs Service, the bodies of dead babies are chopped into small pieces and dried on stoves before being turned into powder. The customs officials have refused to say exactly where the babies come from or who is responsible for making the capsules.

China has already been in the spotlight over activist Chen Guangcheng, whose work involves protesting the government's sterilization and forced abortion policies. It was recently reported that China is working to "soften" its one-child policy slogans, though not the actual policy itself.

Last year, Chinese officials ordered an investigation into the manufacturing of drugs made from dead fetuses or newborn babies. Nonetheless, South Korean officials said in a statement they have discovered 35 smuggling attempts since last August, during which 17,450 capsules labeled as "stamina boosters" were discovered. Rather than containing any inherent medicinal properties, the capsules are said to contain dangerous bacteria and other harmful, unspecified ingredients.

Amazingly, none of the smugglers have been arrested in the various confiscations because the South Korean customs officials said the amounts of human flesh contained in the capsules were too small and were not intended for direct sale. The smugglers claimed to have no knowledge of the human flesh content, saying they believed the capsules were ordinary stamina-boosting pills."

-http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/south-korea-seizes-capsules-containing-powdered-flesh-dead-190306280.html

Korean Mythology: And then I accidentally ate my mother

So anyone who knows me, knows that I love mythology! I live for it! Especially myths of creation. Korea has such a fantastic background in mythology and pretty amazing stories. One of my favorites being, the JeJu Island Myth of Grandmother Seulmundae.

"In days of yore, a legendary goddess named Seolmundae, who was large enough to use Mt. Halla as her pillow, was making a cauldron of soup for her 500 sons. The mythological grandmother of Jeju must have grown quite drowsy, as she somehow toppled into the broth and perished. Returning home, her sons wondered where their mother was, but tucked into their dinner nonetheless, noting its unusually delicious taste.

The youngest son, who was always the last to eat, came to the pot and discovered his mother’s bones in the dregs at the bottom. Upon realizing what had happened he became distraught and angry with his brothers. Beside themselves with grief, the sons were petrified into stone. These stones, known as the 500 Generals, are the outcropping rocks at Yeongsil on Mt. Halla; while the youngest brother stands on Chagwi-do, forever following his elder brothers.

The spirit of this myth lives on in the very structure of the Jeju Stone Park, as its director Baek Woon-cheol explained: “Visiting the park is intended to be a journey through the mythology of the island, entering through the ear of Seolmundae, progressing through the body and exiting at the feet. It represents the journey of life and death,” He said.

An aerial view of the park reveals how Seolmundae lives on in the very structure of the park. The layout is suggestive of the goddess lying on her back looking to the sky, with entrances at the ears and exits at her hands and feet. The first monument to greet visitors as they enter is a gracious pool of shimmering water- the Sky Pond, the water of which cascades over its rim. This is the bowl of soup from which the Jeju Grandmother’s returning sons ate."- http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/

 I can't wait to visit JeJu, who knows, maybe I'll even be placed there. But with views like this who is complaining?

My Butt is Too Big For Korea

Comparison Chart

The more research I do, the more I wonder...will I pass the Korean sales lady eye scan of shame? Meaning, am I entirely too big to shop in Korean stores? Don't get me wrong, I am not a large lady, but I am not small by anyone's standards, and especially not Korea. I had to do a bit of demystifying to find out about Korean clothing sizes. The standard size for women in Korea is a size "55" which would be the equivalent of  a U.S size 4-6.Anything over a "66" is rather hard to come by in "trendy stores." No problem, right? Wrong. The majority of women in the U.S fall somewhere around a size 10/12 and being from Wisconsin, that would be a very generous assumption. We have hips, we have butts...but most of all, we have thighs! Well, I know I do! I can wear anywhere between a 10-14 and sometimes 9 in stretchy pants, on a very good day, and I do mean VERY good day. The thighs always present themselves as a problem: fitting into rugby shorts, skirts and when I go jean shopping. Unfortunately I am a sucker for skinny(oh the irony) jeans and boots.

I would have to starve something stupid to fit in these...and I love cheese curds entirely too much

I love shoes that look like candy!

Shoes, it seems may be a bit easier to come by, assuming again that you wear something smaller than a size 9. Fortunately, there are plenty of custom order shoe stores and if you're willing to shell out a little bit of extra money you can find some really funky stuff!

Lastly, BRAS! Don't even get me started on bras. A word to the wise...if you are a "bustier" woman, stock up before you arrive, unless you want to fork over a fortune paying for imported, overpriced lingerie. So C-Cup or above... Stock up!

My ESL teacher told me she was going to give me the most important advice I would ever hear. And that is.. "If you can't find it anywhere else, Go to Itaewon, they like big butts"

Federal Background Check-Expediting

So if you are having trouble with your federal background check. For example: The process is taking to long, your information/fingerprints were lost or you are having trouble getting a straight answer about your expected date to receive the check, you have the option of contacting your local congress person. This can make the process much smoother and often expedite your documents. When I sent my CRC in February I was not expecting to be waiting until mid April to hear back. I called numerous times and was given different information each time. Finally, I contacted my congress women. Here's how.

1) Go to your local congress person's website
2) Search for an area that talks about "Help with a federal agency" For Wisconsin that's located here
3) Fill out form, often you can email it or fax it to make the process easier. Provide all information about the process: the day you sent it, the day it was said to have been received and all interaction with the FBI office in West Virginia.
4) You should receive a call from your local representative in 1 to 2 business. Mine called the same day, within 2 hours. She had checked on the process, asked for a solution and assured me it would be sent out within two days. It was!
5) Send a nice little thank you for all of their help!

Sending EPIK Your Documents

Sorry the sound is a bit off...such is life! :)
A few things I should have noted in the video:
-Make sure you have 2 sets of Transcripts for each degree
-Make sure your application includes a passport quality photo
-Don't be afraid to attach additional resources onto the lesson plan in your application, to demonstrate your teaching style
-Make an extra copy of every document you have, just for your own personal use