From Tampa to Seoul

I finally arrived in South Korea... after years of planning, I'm actually here.

The day of traveling was a long one, primarily because I was nervous about all of my luggage. I had 2 large suitcases checked and a roll on plus an over-packed backpack and pillow as my carry-ons... My carry-on suitcase was so full that it wouldn't fit in the overhead bin on the Delta TPA-ALT flight, so the lady gave me a bag to put stuff in. I also couldn't fit my backpack under the seat in front of me, so I had to remove some stuff from that too... But in the end, I made it to ATL, just with one shopping bag more...

When I got to ATL, I had to change terminals via the train, which was simple, then headed to the ticket counter at my gate to print off my boarding pass. I was assigned an aisle seat, which at first I considered changing to a window seat, but I had decided that I kind of didn't want to sleep much on the plane, so I kept the aisle. I ventured up to Starbucks, struggled getting everything back to the gate with one of my hands being dedicated to my coffee, then waited to board.

The plane wasn't as big as I had expected, but much roomier. The overhead bins were much bigger than the ones on the Delta plane (so I took up an entire one with all of my belongings), and pushed up into the ceiling of the plane, leaving A TON of overhead space. I was quite impressed by how nice the plane was, though I quickly realized that it was HOT, and there was no AC vent, so I was uncomfortable for most of the flight.

I ended up not sleeping very much, which was the plan. I napped probably for about 3-4 hours, on and off. Watched movies (Pitch Perfect, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Hope Springs), played games and listened to music. I also wrote in my journal and read the lovely cards and letters I was given for the plane ride, and scoffed at the two that I'm not yet allowed to read... why, just why would you do that to me!?

The food was OK. I had beef with noodles, mozzarella balls in pesto, a roll and brownie as my first meal almost immediately after departure (had requested chicken, but they were out). They gave us a snack about 5 hours in (choice of brownie, roll with meat inside and a bag of chip looking things), then our second meal (I had chicken with rice, a roll, a cake-like thing and some sort of pasta/potatoe/fruit salad thing) about 8 hours in, which was started with a hot, damp washcloth (very nice and refreshing). Then we had another little serving of juice (and maybe a snack, I can't remember) about an hour before we landed.

When I arrived at the airport, I gathered my belongings and headed through Immigration where the lines were extremely long, but I got through in about 20-30 minutes. They didn't ask me any questions, which I thought they always do, they just took my fingerprints, my picture, and stamped my passport.

Once I then moved on to baggage claim, where I finally found a cart to help with my bags, picked my checked luggage up from next to the conveyor belt (it had already stopped), then went right through customs with no problem! YAY for all of my stuff making it to Seoul! Once I got out to the waiting area, I started hunting down HaylieRae, who was supposed to have arrived about half an hour before me, but we finally connected through Facebook and realized that her plane was late, mine was early, and she hadn't come through customs yet. We then hung around for a while to wait for 3 other girls to arrive, then put some of their luggage in storage and exchanged money. Once we were all ready to go, we headed outside, grabbed a taxi bus (instead of the public bus), had an hour and a half ride to our hostel, struggled with all of our luggage (thankfully I'm only on the second floor), then checked in and met all of the people that were already waiting for us!

After getting settled and taking showers, we all decided we were too pumped to go to bed, so Adam (a guy that has lived and taught here before) took us out to Hongdae, a district in Seoul with foreigner-friendly bars. Since HaylieRae and I hadn't eaten yet, we stopped at a kebab place and grabbed food before going to the bars. The first place (Gold bar?) was a no-go. Very loud, packed, and full of drunk, pompous military guys. So we decided to relocate to Hollywood, which was a pub on the second floor of the same building. I immediately realized this was much more my style, laid back, tables and chairs everywhere, and DART BOARDS. We spent the night having a few drinks, playing a few rounds of darts, and hanging out while getting to know one another. A few girls left around 1, then Kerri and I decided we were ready to turn in as well around 2 or 2:30, so we grabbed some street food (a few roasted potatoes that were delicious, though not what I thought I was ordering) before we grabbed a cab (that totally ripped us off) and headed back to the hostel.

It was a wonderful first night.

I'm leavin' on a jet plane

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Here I sit. Tampa International Airport. Waiting for my flight to Atlanta, then a quick layover before my flight to Seoul. Its finally here, SOUTH KOREA... After wrestling with my luggage, I did the best I could with what I was allowed. I ended up paying for a second bag (which was always expected) and for it to be overweight, so another $150 for 2 bags weighing 50 lbs and 70 lbs. But that is OK. I also have my rolling carry-on (that is "too bulky" so I had to remove some items and put them in my jacket pockets, etc.), my HUGE backpack (aka my "personal item") with my teddy bear attached to it, my pillow with a blanket folded inside the case, my sweatshirt and my 2 shell Northface jacket. A LOT of stuff... AND I had to leave a bunch of stuff for my parents to ship to me later. Oh well... I just have to keep telling myself that it isn't just for one year, it is for multiple years... and it isn't just a trip, I'm moving... My entire life...

But all of that is water under the bridge at this point... I'm at the airport... flying halfway across the world...

So I sit here, trying to keep it together, trying not to cry... MOM AND DAD on the other hand DID NOT KEEP IT TOGETHER... making it just that much harder for me to, so I blame them ;) I've gotten some great texts and Facebook comments this morning wishing me the best... I love my friends and family...

Anyway, I'm super excited to meet everyone in Seoul... If I have counted correctly, there will be 12 of us at the airport tomorrow night, that means probably around 36 bags of luggage... Oh wow, the shuttle driver is going to HATE us... I'm excited to get this adventure started though, very excited... Let's get this show on the road!

The FAQ of my trip to Korea

Since this journey began so long ago, I've done tons of research. I've read the blogs. I've watched (some) YouTube videos. I've been active on the Facebook pages. I feel like I know what I'm getting myself into, but who really knows. There are still questions that I don't know the answers to, some questions I know part of the answer to and some questions that I can only speculate the answers. Also, since I haven't actually lived in Korea, or started teaching there, I really don't know. I'm taking everyone else's word for it, so I could be wrong. Since everyone seems to be asking some of the same questions, I'll start by answering some of the most frequent ones now...

1. You're moving to Korea? North or South?- South, of course! I'll be safe, I promise. Though I might visit the DMZ (the border).

2. Where in Korea?- You don't know in the beginning, you have to wait to be placed. Luckily, I got placed in the city I asked for, Daegu! You can read all about it in my blog post here.

3. When do you leave?- The EPIK semester starts the first of March, orientation starts the middle to end of February. Fortunately I've been getting to know some people that are going to be with EPIK through Facebook and we have all decided to arrive a few days early to get to know one another, get over jet lag and have fun! I'm leaving on February 14th and arriving on February 15th. We are all waiting to meet up at the airport and taking the shuttle into the city to stay at the hostel. We will all be staying at the Kimchee Guesthouse in DongDaeMun (www.kimcheeguesthouse.com). The pictures look so fun, they have luggage storage, lockers, linens, internet and a rooftop cafe. There are several of us checking in the day I get there, several the next, and a LOT the next day. At the end of it all, I think there will be nearly 25-30 of us! We are taking Seoul by storm!

4. So you are staying in Seoul until you start teaching?- That's what I thought at first, however we found out that there will be two orientation sites and we will be split up in two teams. Team 1 will be going to Jeonju and Team 2 (my team) will be going to Daejeon. We will be at our orientation site for 8 days taking classes and doing survival Korean. After that, we are all split up and we go to our separate cities where our "handler" picks us up, takes us to our schools and our apartments.

5. What age will you be teaching?- We don't find this out until we get to orientation. Or at least we aren't supposed to find out. However, I was lucky enough to find out that I will be teaching high school students. Other people don't know if they will be teaching elementary, middle or high school students. You can read more about how I found out my students here.

6. Do you speak Korean?- Nope. I've started to try to learn the alphabet, but I haven't gotten much farther than that. We have Survival Korean during our orientation, then once I get there and get settled in, I'll start learning more Korean. I've heard that they offer Korean classes at the YMCA in Daegu, so I might start there.

7. How are you going to talk to the kids if you don't know Korean?- We have Korean co-teachers in the class with us that help with translating things that I don't understand or am having a hard time teaching, but for the most part, I'll be lucky to have most students that can understand pretty well.

8. Do they pay you?- Yes. I get paid a monthly salary, and they also pay for our apartment and flight there and back, as well as half of our health insurance.

9. Are you nervous?- Not really. I've been looking forward to this for years, so I feel pretty prepared.

10. Why Korea?- I originally wanted to move to Europe to teach, however I spoke with some people that lived there and taught and they said it was very hard to make ends meet with only teaching, which forced them to get a second job. I would really like to only have to juggle one job, and Korea offers such great benefits. Not only that, but they have a very interesting culture and the EPIK program has a great reputation.

11. How long are you staying there?- This is tough. My contract is for one year, however you can renew after the first year. I find it hard to believe that I won't be having the time of my life once I get there, so I'd say probably several years.

12. What will your living situation be like?- I'll be living my myself in a studio-style apartment, but that's really all I'm supposed to know. However, I was lucky again and found out that I'll be living in an apartment that is a 7 minute walk from my school, it will be a little small, but it will be by myself! Again, you can find some more information about my apartment here.

13. Will you be able to come home to visit?- Yes. And no. Yes, I have time off, which I can spend coming home to visit friends and family, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I will probably spend my vacation time visiting other Asian countries- Japan and Thailand are the top on my list.

I'm sure there are a few others that have been asked, but these are the most prevalent. if you have any other questions type them in the comments.

Seongsan High School

This will be my school... MY SCHOOL... ALL FOR MEEEEE!!! Well, not really, but I will be the only English teacher in the building...

So how do I know this you ask? Because I came home from work the other day to a Facebook message from the girl that I will be replacing when I get to Daegu! I was so exhausted from the past two days of work (bartending for Buffalo Wild Wings on a UFC fight night and on Super Bowl Sunday)... after work, we went out for some celebratory drinks (because Super Bowl was my last day)... then I get home at like 3:30am and decide to check my email... and BAM an email from my NET (Native English Teacher)... she seems really nice and started telling me about my school and my apartment.... so here is what I found out...

• I will be teaching High School. 
• Some classes will be all boys, some will be all girls, some will be mixed.
• I have an "English Zone" on the top (4th) floor of my school with my own desk and computer. It is brand new, so it has a smart board, nice desks for the students, and a podium computer as well. 
• Classes begin at 8:30 and end at 4:10 (I have to be there around 8-8:10 though), Monday through Friday
• I'll have a mixed level of low to high level students, so I'll need to lesson plan for somewhere in the middle
• I'll be teaching anywhere between 18-22 classes per week per semester. Classes are 50 minutes long, with a 10 minute break in between.
• I'll be seeing all 12 of the "first graders" which are the freshman and half of the "second graders" (the sophomores (classes 1-7 in the spring, classes 8-12 in the fall). Each class I teach once per week, meaning I teach one of my lessons 12 times a week, the other about 8 times per week.
• My classes will range from 35-40ish students (wow). They are also in other English classes with Korean teachers during their normal school day, so my class is pretty much a supplementary speaking and conversation class. My class will follow the coursebook that the students use during their normal classes (this is also why it is OK to have only half of the second graders- they are learning the entire semester, and the fall semester we will just pick up where we left off!)
• I teach an average of 3-5 classes a day (there are 7 periods total). I saw a picture of her schedule for one semester, one day she only taught 2 classes, another she taught 6! 
• I oversee the newspaper club and a teacher conversation class. The newspaper club is comprised of about 22 top level first and second grade students (all with very high English skills). The conversation class is offered, teachers then sign up, and they tend to forget about coming as the year goes on. 
• I have 6 co-teachers, one being my main co-teacher, or "handler". My handler is responsible for picking me up, introducing me to my school and apartment, helping me set things up, and making sure I'm doing OK. The other 5 are teachers that are in the classroom with me during my classes, but aren't "responsible" for me.
• My apartment is a 7 minute walk to school, which is awesome. It is about 10 minutes from a main bus station and 30 minutes from the closest subway station though. However you can take a cab to the subway or take the bus part of the way, both options would be pretty cheap I believe. 
• My apartment is on the 3rd floor, but not too big. It is in an older building, but has a new AC unit (yay!). It is a studio type apartment, you walk in the front door and you are standing in the one room that has your armoire, bed and sitting area (I think it is too small for a couch). The bathroom is off to the right, which has a door to close, and the kitchen is also off to the right with sliding doors to close it off as well. In the kitchen is a small sink, table top stove and a mini fridge. It also has some cabinets and my washing machine for clothes. 
• My landlord is also the school grounds caretaker, so if I ever need anything I can talk to him there. He speaks a little English and is apparently really nice.
• My NET is leaving me some things for the apartment too: dishes, silverware, cups, toaster, french press coffee maker, Brita filter pitcher, pillows, bedding, a lamp and 2 rugs. How nice!

She has given me great advice on how to handle the students and the co-teachers too, which I think is wonderful. She is also giving me advice on how to get in good with everyone (how to address the principal, eating lunches, etc) and trying to prepare me for being center of attention (they ask you all kinds of questions all the time and just drop in to say hello and see what you are doing A LOT). She has been wonderful so far, answering all of my questions and actually explaining things (you should see how long some of her messages are, which is WONDERFUL- it isn't some 3 word response).

When I first found out I would be teaching High School, I wasn't too excited, but rather nervous. But the more I talk to her, the better I think it sounds. The kids will be more mature, they will have a higher level of English knowledge so I'll be able to communicate with them a little more, and I think they will be just overall more fun!

Now that I can see where I am (and there has been a map on the FB page showing us all where we are in Daegu) it is really becoming real. 9 more days... just 9 more days!

Things I'm going to miss

People keep asking me if I'm nervous about moving to Korea... and I can honestly say (for the most part) not really... I've been looking forward to this for years, and it is finally here... I'm leaving in 11 days... WOW... ELEVEN days... and I have so much to do (actually not really, I think I've done pretty good at getting my stuff done)...

But what I have started to become "nervous" about is missing some things from home... I have begun to realize that there are things that I'm going to miss quite a bit... aside from friends and family of course... because I'll definitely miss all of you, but I'll also get to talk to you so that will definitely help...

So for a list of things that I've come to realize that I'm really going to miss...

1. Friends and Family- yes I said "aside" from you guys, but you will always be #1 on my list...

2. My dog Charlie- I've started to realize that I'm REALLY going to miss her (even though she isn't "mine", but I won't get to talk to her, or give her hugs or kisses while I'm gone, and that's sad....

3. My electric blanket- I've been sleeping with my electric blanket on for the past week or so, and I've got to say, I seriously considered trying to figure out how to bring it with me... I like to stay VERY warm while I sleep and I know that Korean winters are notoriously cold, so I'm nervous that I'm going to be freezing while sleeping... which will not make for a happy Allie... hopefully I'm wrong, or I can at least find one when I get there...

4. My comfort food- I've realized recently that I really like fried foods... particularly fried chicken... I CRAVE breaded chicken (patties, strips, nuggets-- or BWW boneless chicken wings)... A LOT... I also like all kinds of pasta, and cheese, and bread... and I'm concerned that I won't be able to get my fill of these things when I'm in Korea...

5. My favorite Buffalo Wild Wings sauces- what am I going to do without Spicy Garlic, Parmesan Garlic, Honey BBQ and Asian Zing? I've been eating them non stop recently, but what will I do once I'm gone? I've considered bringing them with me, but I'm not sure if I will be cooking anything that would require (or be compatible with) any of the sauces... so I'll save the luggage space, and if I find that I can and would use them, I'll be asking one of my lovely friends or family members to send me some :)

6. Things being easy to accomplish- the first few months in Germany, any time I wanted to eat, cook, buy something in particular, or I got sick, everything was very difficult to figure out... I can only imagine how difficult it is going to be in a country where I can't even read the alphabet! This is definitely going to be a time of frustration and test of patience, and I might have to call on a few of my new friends to help, but I'll get through! (though I might have to rant and rave sometimes)

7. Darts and games- I love to play games. Board games, card games, you name it... I LOVE GAMES. I play darts all the time with my friends when we go out, and I play card games with my family... I'm going to miss playing games... kind of like I miss my game nights I used to have in college with my close circle of friends (and I guess I kind of miss the friends too)

8. Movie theaters- I wonder if I'll be able to find English movies playing in cinemas in Korea? Daegu is a decent size city... hummm.... I love going to the movie theater...

I'm sure there are a few other things I'll miss, but these were the ones off the top of my head (I might edit and add a few more- along with pictures of the ones I've posted now- but I have to go at the moment).... now that I've been all negative, I feel like I should write a post about things I'm looking forward to... humm, I'll have to take that into serious consideration...

Ready to roll!!

I can finally say, that if push came to shove, I'd be able to hop on a plane and head to Korea at any point forward. I FINALLY GOT MY VISA!!!

It came this morning, which surprised me because I checked the USPS tracking site last night and it said there was no activity... NOW it says that it was processed through the sorting facility in Atlanta last night at 8pm, departed this morning, and arrived in Tampa at 8am. So I'm glad that I was still sipping on coffee and in my pajamas at 12:45 this afternoon because I would've been very upset had I not been here (which would be the case if I had decided to wake up and be productive like I had every intention of doing this morning) to sign for the package... 

BUT all is well, I have my visa and am ready to go.... Now to cross everything else off of my "To Do" list...