Korea 2 Months and Counting....with gifs!

When I saw how expensive my flight to Korea Was

When I found out I had to renew my passport

When my Korean teacher hands out snacks and another person reaches for mine!

When I randomly comment during a serious Korea skype conversation

When I'm considering work clothing for Korea

Every time I hear  "Oh Yeah" by MBLAQ

Korean Classes

A silly cartoon I found! I think the best part will be when I can actually pronounce things the way they should sound! :)

So in preparation for my big move to Korea, I thought it would be a good idea to take some Korean lessons. I signed up for an outreach program through the University, determined to learn something before I arrived. Despite how much I love traveling and being immersed in new cultures, I have never been great with languages. My French teacher said I sounded like I was speaking Italian, my German teacher constantly shook his head and frowned when it was my turn to read aloud in class and my Spanish teacher always gave me a very blank stare, patted my head and smiled, saying "maybe Spanish is not for you." So my experience with Korean clearly has to be much better!

Progress Report: Every time I speak, my lovely teacher smiles and says "Oh, we have long way to go with you." She has also just sent me an email addressed to: "Silly Pretty Girl."  Hmmm, that's not a bad start...right? I'll keep you updated!

Negativity? Not in My Classroom!

I'm sure this applies elsewhere and not just in the ESL world....but what's with all the Debbie Downers trying to intimidate new teachers out of a truly fantastic experience?  Over the past few weeks, especially as we get closer to Orientation, I have encountered people who have spent time teaching in South Korea. Some of them are lovely and energized, some have given up talking about their teaching experience, but are genuinely enjoying their time in Korea and others have been so horribly negative that I wonder why they were sent to Korea in the first place. Constructive comments are always appreciated, but I don't respond well to being told I can't achieve something. I have made a life career out of doing things people say I can't. A few things to remember:

1) Teaching will be unique for every single person.We all deal with our successes and failures differently, and some of us are positive and very resourceful.

2) One person's experience does not dictate everyone's. Just because someone told me they hated teaching, doesn't convince me I shouldn't do it. In fact, I see it as a challenge to succeed in areas where they were incapable.

3)Teachers around the 3/4 month mark, in a new country, will be more likely to feel homesick or focus on the negative things they experience.This is not inclusive of all teachers!

4) POSITIVITY goes a very, very, long way in the ESL world. This is true whether you've never taught or you've been teaching for 40 years. Heck, positivity goes a long way in life!

5) Life's an adventure! Why take everyone else's word for how you will feel when you arrive? Pave your own path, experience things outside of what people have told you and NEVER enter into a new country with a negative outlook. It will determine your experience there and predetermine your interactions with the people. After all, what would be the point of traveling if we knew everything about every culture that ever existed.

6) That being said, rose colored glasses may not be the best approach either, but accepting that all countries have faults and failures makes the experience more balanced and makes your expectations more realistic.

7) Set yourself up for success! I firmly believe every one of these. 6 Traits of Successful Teachers

8) Don't limit yourself.

9) Don't worry about the folks drinking Haterade! Let it slide off like silk, baby! :)

I'm a Seoul Sista

Last night I woke up from a ridiculous and very unattractive Plague-ish coughing fit, A La Game of Thrones, to find I had an email from my coordinator that said "placement results."  So, after a very long process, months of collecting documents and weeks of stressing, I opened the email and  found out my EPIK teaching placement is in Seoul! I am ecstatic, although, I'm not sure it will feel real until I have my NOA and contract along with my visa, in hand! Big props to my awesome coordinator for keeping me up to date, organized and fierce! I'm smizing right now. Can you tell? So in honor of my pending departure (pretend I wrote honor with a "U" if you're British) I thought I would take some time to point out some of the awesome highlights of Seoul!

1. Seoul truly is the city that never sleeps...well unless it happens to be folks on the subway. Cafés, PC bangs, restaurants, spas, shopping centers and fast food chains are open any hour of any night. Which means I can totally feed my late night Kimchi cravings.

2)Beautiful Men! Even though it may take them longer to get ready than me....I'm cool with that and I can totally get over the fact that they all wear BB cream :)

3)Desserts- Seoul is famous for it's plethora of amazing and ridiculously delectable desserts! For example, green tea tiramisu

4) K-Pop- It's addictive! Korean pop music is like crack! Not to mention, the girl groups are completely dominating the global market at the moment. Seoul is the center of it all, producing polished, pop princesses with perfect hair (check out that alliteration!)

5) Bio recognition- Many homes in Seoul are equipped with technology that's security  is dependent on a persons eye or fingerprint. Some apartments can even be completely operated using a cellphone. Imagine all of the lights in your apartment shutting off the second your stalker ex tried to call you? It could happen!

6)Palaces of the Morning Calm- Just stunning! Where would I ever see this in Wisconsin?

7) Coex- Asia's largest underground mall and it even has a Kimchi museum!!

8) Seoul Metro- Anyone who has ever braved the subway of NYC or the dregs of Boston or even the London tube, knows that you meet some crazy characters there. Seoul is no exception and with a city so packed you are bound to get up close and personal!

9) Being a Badass- Seoul offers the opportunity to devour a semi-live octopus and nothing makes me feel more powerful than a tongue battle with octopus tentacles!

Okay so it won't look quite like this scene out of "Old Boy" where he devours a whole live oct

10) Lotte world- The Guinness World Record largest theme park.It's magical

11) FC Seoul- Korea's professional soccer team and lets be honest, Lee Eul-yong is a total stud! Sadly, he's retired...but he paved the way for even more fantastic players!

12) Rugby-Seoul is home to the "Seoul Survivors" and the "Seoul Sisters," two awesomely talented teams!

13) Hiking on Mount Bukhan

14) World Comic Convention-Twice a month the SETIC convention center hosts Seoul's World Comic con Festival. Loads of Korean teenage dress up as the anime characters, which for me, screams nerdy "PHOTO-OP!" Love it!

15) Spas, Saunas and Massage Rooms-Korea is pamper heaven!Some saunas also include sleeping areas for overnight stay. These are known as 찜질방, or jimjilbang, and can be a cheap alternative to hotels when you're just passing through an area. Seoul literally has thousands!

More life before Korea....in gif form

When West Virginia is taking forever to return my background check

When I was first writing my cover letter for Korea

When I get assigned some writing at work, while I'm trying to surf the net about Korea

Me: Everytime I hear a K-Pop song

 Renewing my passport just before I'm about to apply for my Visa

When people ask me what day I'm leaving for Korea and I don't know yet

When someone says I should have picked Japan over Korea

My friends that don't want me to go to Korea

Alrighty, suppose I should get some work done today, but it was a nice little distraction!

Korean Foods to Try

So it's no secret that Korean cuisine is pretty unique and delicious. In many departments, I am a very adventurous person...when it's comes to food I often stick to a few things that I know I enjoy. My goal is try as many of these as I can, while in Korea.

1)Seolleongtang (ox bone soup)

2)Dakjuk (chicken porridge)

3)Bulgogi (BBQ Beef)

4)Bogeo (blowfish)

5)Makgeolli

6)Nakjii Bokkeum (stir fried octopus)

7)Sundae (blood and noodle sausage)

8)BulDalk (ridiculously spicy chicken-"fire chicken")

 9)DalkBal (spicy chicken feet)

I was told to add Boshingtang (dog soup) and San Nakjii (semi-live octopus)Hmmm...we'll see about that.

How I Feel About The Process..

Since everyone in the process seems to be stressing a bit, I thought I'd put together/collect some memes to make you smile! :)

When You Start Discussing Kimchi

When People Are Panicking About The Process

When Applicants Make You Paranoid By Telling You Horror Stories About The Process

When One Applicant Repeatedly Reminds You How Far Ahead Of You They Are in The Process!

When I Finally Received My Apostilled CRC

When I Was Done With My Application and Documents

Waiting For News On My Epik Placement

When I Found Out I Passed My EPIK interview

When You Find Out One Of Your Documents Is Done Incorrectly And Has To Be Sent Back

When People Tell Me Korea is Dangerous

When My Documents Safely Arrived in South Korea

Thanks to When Obama Endorsed  and Great Day To Be An Athlete for the awesome memes!