Catching My Breath

I have finally made it to my apartment and my city.  In a few short days I will officially begin my new career as a teacher.  While I learned a lot during orientation, I am still nervous for these first coming weeks as I try to gain my footing as an English teacher.  I know tomorrow (29 August) I am going to be meeting my principal, signing a new contract, and my co-teacher will be taking me shopping for the larger items I need for setting up my house.

My co-teacher, Ann, is very nice and I am looking forward to working with her this year.  The school is small so I will only be teaching 18 classes then another 4 after-school programs.  I hope to find out the details this week before classes start on Thursday.  I know my students will be in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade and that the school is in a very poor neighborhood.  My co-teacher has told me not to expect too much from the students on the first day since even the 6th graders English is very low, which is attributed to their poor economic situation.  I also know that they have not had a native English teacher for 6 months.  My gut feeling is that the kid's English isn't as bad as she makes it sound but I will prepare myself for the worst case scenario - that the students comprehend no English.  I could tell my co-teacher was a little disappointed to find out I didn't have any real teaching experience.  I think she feels these kids are already disadvantaged that I may not get them up to speed as quickly as a more seasoned teacher would. This just makes me want to work harder for the kids.

View from my front door.

And now for something completely different, and perhaps less worrisome - my apartment!  So far I have been in my apartment for 2-1/2 days and have managed to do some small exploring and getting things settled and cleaned.  Apparently in Korea if your apartment is dirty when you move in then you should consider yourself lucky - that is what I told myself as I gave my apartment a good cleaning yesterday.  I have found that I truly am only a 10 minute walk from my school and I will get a good workout everyday coming home since I live near the top of a hill.  There is a beautiful park across the way from me on the next hill over and a lovely Buddhist temple just out my front door.  I am basically living in a spacious studio but I do have a            lovely balcony that overlooks the city.  I don't quite have my bearings yet but I have at least found the nearest Dunkin' Donuts!  When I found this earlier today I knew it was a sign and I was in the right place.  I look forward to continuing to explore my new city and hopefully learn hangul and Korean quickly so I don't feel illiterate as I walk around.  Next thing on my to-do list until I get my smartphone is that I must get a map!

View from my balcony.  In those trees is a wonderful park that is around the ruins of a castle.  Not much of the castle is left but the park is beautiful!

From within the bubble: 1st Impressions of Korea during EPIK Orientation

I am going to just jump right into it... I am enjoying my time here at the orientation and I am learning a lot but I am very anxious to get out to my city where I feel I might begin to experience what Korea is actually like.  In some ways this orientation is a way for me to ease into Korea.  I am enjoying Korean food, and learning about Korea culture with a bunch of other people that are in the same boat.  The problem is that in a few short days we are no longer going to be in the same boat but in our own boats in our respective cities with our schools and our co-teachers.  The connections we made here are invaluable and my fellow teachers have quickly become friends as well as resources and colleagues.

So here are a few things I have learned about Korea so far:

1. Kimchi and rice go with everything.  Stop.  If you think they don't, you're wrong.  They do. Now move on.

2. Never underestimate the power of pantomime and gesture for communicating.

3. Just because it is called toilet paper doesn't mean it should always go in the toilet.

4. Korean's have got to be in general some of the most adorable people you will ever meet.

These are merely a few of the things I have picked up during the orientation, I am certain to add much more to this list once I get out of the bubble and into my city.

The End of an Era: To my dearest sister, Angie!

A post dedicated to my best friend, flatmate, and soul sister Angie Funk!

I wanted to post this before/right as I was leaving for South Korea but so much was going on that I wasn't able to truly digest everything.  Things here is Korea have been almost non-stop since I got here.  I have talked about my sister, Angie Funk, so often that people are starting to wonder where she is at, and I am wondering that as well.  The best news I received this afternoon, when I finally figured out how to connect to the internet, was that Angie is truly right behind me and will be in Korea next week.

While I am excited that my best friend will join me on this adventure soon, it doesn't diminish the fact that we have truly come to the end of the era of us living together.  It was 11 years ago that I met Angie and if anyone would have told me then that she and I would one day consider each other sisters, I probably would not have scoffed but I definitely would have doubted it; I had heard that from friends in the past all too often and then as time went by the friendships faded like a photograph left in the sun.

While at first it was our mutual love of ice hockey and really most other sport that brought us together and solidified our friendship, the fact that we have seen each other through the toughest of rough times that has made our friendship into something special.  It is easy to have friends when times are good, but those that stick by you when times are tough are the friends you know are true and everlasting.  Through love and loss, unemployment, poverty and then better than decent income, amazing parties (oh yes those New Year's parties in San Diego, Legend-ary!), travel and traditions we have been there for each other.

I have to admit I enjoy describing our relationship to strangers and the uncomprehending looks and questions we receive.  "Wait.  You guys have lived together for how long?  And your just friends?"  People may not understand our friendship, but it is not for them to understand.  You are the Ethel to my Lucy, the Christina to my Meredith, and definitely the Felix to my Oscar.  While the end of one era of our friendship has come, the beginning to the next adventure in our friendship is upon us.  In some ways we will share the experience of teaching English in South Korea, we will also face this experience on our own and yet we will never be alone.  No matter where we are in life, I know Angie is only a phone call or car/train/plane ride away.  I can't wait to see what the next chapter of our friendship will bring and what new and exciting adventures I will have with my sister!  Will you just get here now already?

Adding to the Resume

As I woke up this morning realizing that I am once again unemployed, I began to reflect on the many, many, many jobs I have held in the past and the new job I am about to embark upon.  Those of you that know me also know about my extensive work history.  Starting at the age of 12 when I worked and helped train horses in exchange for free riding lessons, my job as a ride operator, then a costumed character, a extra for movies and television, a dancer (NOT exotic), a pizza delivery driver, a photographer, a bartender, a waitress, and an actor/performer, just to name a few.  I have also worked retail, fast food (sort of, it was IN-N-OUT so it's fast food but AWESOME fast food), and various office jobs.  Come to think of it WOW that's a lot of jobs and that isn't all of them.  Whenever I think on my work history I always wonder if my bouncing around was part of normal adolescence or if it was a sign of something deeper like a fear of commitment or something stupid like that.

In the past few years I have settled down a bit and have kept several long term positions within the same company.  Through maturing, at least on some levels, I realized that my bouncing around wasn't so much a sign that something was wrong with me but rather my desire to have as many experiences in this life as I possibly can; I don't want to miss anything.  I don't want to just read about the fantastic adventures and lives in the books I cherish, I want to experience all of that (except for the scurvy).  In my desire to truly soak in all life has to offer, I will admit there are some things I have unintentionally sacrificed along the way, including relationships.  However, I firmly believe that a person can have it all and that is my intention, it might not be on the traditional life schedule, but eventually I will have it all.  It is my goal to look back on my life with only the one regret (which is a story for a different blog).

So bring on the next addition to my resume, teaching English in South Korea! Like all other jobs in the past, I look forward to the adventures, challenges, and people that will influence my life in ways I never imagined.

How I got here: a brief (relatively speaking) introduction.

So it hit me this morning at about 3am in a panic that in a mere 7 days I will be abandoning the life I know for a career and experience I never imagined before... teaching English in Korea.  When I stop to think about how this exciting adventure that I am about to embark upon was never part of "The Plan", I begin to giggle a bit since at this point in my life I should know better than to plan anything.  Life does not go according to a plan, or if it does it is rarely Plan A or Plan B but more like Plan L or Plan S.  I'm not sure what plan letter or number I'm currently on and at this point I don't think it matters anymore, however it is good to reflect a bit on how I got to this point.

After graduating with a 2nd Bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology, the plan was that I would work for a year in my field then apply to graduate school to obtain my Master's then eventually my PhD.  Eventually the plan was to become a university professor and conduct research while teaching the next generation.  Initially things seemed to be working out according to that plan.  I was working as a wildlife technician for the US Forest Service, while obtaining grants to conduct independent research on my own, and work on a soil incubation project for a lab at CU.  I was applying to graduate school and chugging right along.  Then everything fell apart.  All my research jobs ended leaving me with no money until the next field season and in this economy finding even a part-time job was proving to be difficult.  I fell behind in my finances and have been playing catch up ever since.  Graduate school responses were coming in and they were all rejections.  Broke and dejected I didn't know what to do.  My best friend and sister, Angie, was looking into teaching English in Korea.  She described to me the fantastic opportunities and experiences along with the amazing compensation package and I was sold!  I always wanted to live in another country and I always eventually wanted to be a teacher, this opportunity seemed perfect.  To top it all off I would get to share this amazing experience with my best friend, what other reason could I possibly need.

And so it began.  I got my documents together and submitted my application in late April.  Once documents were submitted I finally received a positive response from graduate school.  I had finally be accepted to my top choice.  The only problem was that they were not able to offer me a stipend that would cover the basics.  After a long discussion with my future advisor, I decided to continue with the plan to go to Korea.  In Korea I will be able to save enough money that will help offset the financial aid package my school can offer me.  Korea was still not a sure thing and I was a bit concerned since I knew the program in Korea was going to be competitive and I wasn't exactly one of the first people out of the gate... Angie was.  This was the biggest gamble with my future I had ever undertaken and nerves were mounting.  By mid-May I was scheduled and passed my interview at this point the Korea option seemed more certain.  I sent off my documents and then I waited... and waited... and waited to hear where I was going to be placed.  July began and from forums and Facebook groups, people began to post that they received their notifications and contracts.  Where was mine?  Everyday that went by seemed like a week.  Fears about being rejected at the last minute were mounting.  Did I just screw my future up again?  Each time a new post about another batch of contracts and NOA's that went out, I wondered where is mine? where is Angie's? What about us?

Finally on July 18th, I got notice! I received the email from my recruiter.  I am placed in Ulsan, my first choice city.  I hurriedly called Angie, prepared to give her grief that she didn't call me or send me a message regarding her placement.  I called her and found out why - she had not received a similar email. We both chalked it up to the fact that Seoul was her first choice and not many people had heard about Seoul.  It was more competitive and they had more applications to sift through.  I received my contract and mailed off my visa documents.  I've received my visa and booked my flight.  As of this posting I leave in 6 days and 9 hours!  We are still waiting to hear about Angie!  When will she be placed?  Will she just be late to orientation or will she have a late start date altogether?  As my excitement builds, so does her frustration!  This wasn't how it was supposed to go! We are supposed to embark on this adventure together.  Have a friendly face around when we get homesick, have someone to help take photos of the places we'll go, things we'll see, foods we'll eat.  Korea won't be the same without her but I am not losing hope!  It does however continue to create a mind divided - excited for me and anxious and nervous for my friend.