My Time Here So Far...

Ok so it's been about 3 weeks since I arrived in South Korea and it has been quite a ride so far! So many things have happened and there is so much to write about because I've been a little lax on keeping my blog updated. I will start at the beginning...

When I first arrived here, it was probably one of the hardest weeks I have ever faced in my life. It was a completely new country, I didn't know anything about the language, and I had really no idea what I was going into with the school I was going to be working for. I met my director after riding a 4 hour bus ride and then I was put in a motel at about 12am. I was then asked to come into work the next morning (not fun). It was a hard day of traveling and being expected to function properly the next day was a lot to ask for I felt...

My first work day consisted of me watching and then I would teach a class while a previous teacher would observe and comment on my performance. This was how the first week went and it was so much to learn! I was so stressed out, but the other English teachers kept saying that it would eventually get easier once I learned everything I needed to know.

Also during this week I moved into my apartment. This was simply another stressor to be added to my list. I was expected to get settled and organized, start teaching, finish up my visa process, make friends, and somehow still maintain my sanity.

This is now all in the past! After that first week I wanted to go home so badly, but I stuck with it and everything is coming together really well and I've really started to enjoy my time here. I've been on quite a few trips so far and I hope to keep going on more to see all that South Korea has to offer. I had a very negative view of South Korea when I first arrived here, but I am beginning to see the good side and I feel like I can now start to appreciate the culture and the people here.

More soon to come on what I've done so far!!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Lots of exciting things have happened over the summer!

I officially have a job in South Korea! Yay that all worked out! I will be living in Daegu, South Korea which is a city of 2.5 million people... yikes! I am currently waiting to get my work visa and then I head out on the 23rd of August, which is in like 6 days! Time has gone by so fast and I can't believe I'm leaving already!

Deciding what to pack has been really difficult (for those of you who know me, I don't like packing light!) but I've read things online for what to pack: lots of deoderant, tampons, and razors! Apparently they don't sell very much of these things or they are really expensive. Best to be prepared... And also I can't pack too much because I was looking at pictures of studio apartments online and they're pretty small. South Korea is one of the most densely populated a

reas and so space is limited. Oh and the bathrooms! Here is an example of a typical South Korean bathroom which I expect I will have also:

Should be interesting! Oh and they don't have driers either... everything gets hung to dry! I'm glad I looked all of this up so now I know what to expect and I don't get shocked for when I first arrive.

Well that's all for now! Wish me luck on the rest of my packing! Hopefully I can get everything I need for a year in a few suitcases haha!

What this blog is for...

Hey everyone! I am a beginner when it comes to blogging, but I thought I would start one to tell my story about living and teaching in South Korea starting in September! The process has only just begun and I am so excited and nervous for the huge journey ahead of me. Right now, I just applied for my passport and now I need to go through the visa process for working in South Korea. It's going to take a while but I'll keep everyone posted on how the process is going :)

I decided I wanted to go somewhere exciting after I'm done with college at the University of Minnesota... With my major in child psychology and my hopes for going to graduate school in the future, I wanted to fill this year with meaning and discovery. I started looking into AmeriCorps and other EFL programs and decided I wanted to go to South Korea!

Once again I'm really excited to be sharing this journey with everyone! More information and pictures to come! Ta ta for now!