My Significantly Unexpected Journey

February 18th

4 am -woke up after only about 3 hours of sleep. Finished packing.

~6 am - Journey to airport after hugging my mom goodbye.

7 am - Arrived at airport, hugged my dad goodbye, breezed through check in and security.

8:30 am - Boarded flight with Southwest to SFO.

10:00 am - Got off plane (wait for it) without departing because we needed to switch planes.

10:20 am - Re-boarded new plane. 

11:00 am - Finally took off.

12:20 pm (California time) - Arrival in San Francisco, missed my next flight.

12:35 pm - Baggage claim.

~2:00 pm and the rest of the evening - Awesome parents helped me out by getting me a hotel room for the night. I cried a little. Discovered pretty much all my jewelry was missing from my checked in luggage, which made me cry some more because those things had sentimental value. Made a lot of phone calls, got re-booked, ate because I hadn't eaten anything except pretzels and a piece of beef jerky since 8 am, posted like crazy on Facebook and went to bed.

*Time Skip*

19th - 20th

8:30 am - 12:30 pm - Made it back to SFO to check-in with Singapore Airlines, get through security and boarded my plane. 

12:55 pm - Take off. No one sitting next to me, which means both armrests are MINE! There's a cute baby in front of me. Pretty quiet as well as his fellow baby passenger (a girl). The baby boy keeps peeking between the seats to smile at me and reach out, so overall actually a better seating arrangement than my last flight and what I would have originally been assigned to had I made it in time for my original flight with Singapore Air.

Meals

We got snacks, lunch, and a light meal. I asked for the gluten free meal because you get a rice cake instead of a roll, which I thought would be better for my stomach on the flight. This turned out to be true, but not how I thought. I got queasy about 6-7 hours in and the rice cake was the only thing I could stomach during the light meal. I almost gagged when I opened the tin foil to discover chicken
and broccoli.

Note: Special diet meals get served first, so you can eat a lot sooner if you ask for one of those. 

Entertainment

The entertainment system had lots of options available. I played some games, used the language learning program to learn Korean numbers and watched 3 movies because I had a hard time sleeping sitting up. I got to watch Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, Windstorm (Ostwind) and The Face Reader (Favorite Korean actor was in this one!)














Overall Service

Soooo much better than Southwest. They offered plenty of drinks, there was more space and the flight attendants were decent. The seats are smaller compared to Southwest, but that was fine for me. The Southwest seats hit the back of my knees when I'm seated, but I have a couple inches in Singapore's seats. They were also slightly more comfortable than Southwest's, especially since I had a pillow and blanket.

6:45 pm 20th - Arrived in Incheon Airport. Followed the crowd through to the train, immigration, baggage and customs. Got some money exchanged, and pushed my heavy load towards the other end of the airport. I heard someone call my name when I was about halfway there, which turned out to be my recruiter! She gave me a hug. I was sweating like a pig from lugging all my heavy stuff, and I was exhausted, but sooo relieved to see a familiar face and to learn that I was in time for the last shuttle!

10:30 pm - Arrived in Daejeon at the orientation location. I was fully prepared to lug my stuff to the dorms, but I must have looked so pitiful with my rolling luggage that wouldn't roll straight and bag that kept slipping off my shoulder because one the EPIK coordinators ended up helping me. I then was asked by another guy later when I just had my duffle bag in hand if I needed help so, yeah, I'm just a damsel in distress here apparently.

Note to self: Start weight lifting, try to pack only one bag next time, and get all rollers instead of just one and a duffle bag.

We only get one key per room, which is to be left at the front desk when both roommates have left the dorms. My roommate finally got into bed around midnight, and I'll tell you all about the next day as soon as I get a chance to type that all up.

Oh, and surprisingly not as cold as I thought it would be when I got here. Other than the foreign words, Daejeon at night almost feels like Flagstaff, Arizona. No snow so far and no rain (thank goodness). I'll keep you posted! Thanks for reading! And sorry there aren't really any pictures on here. I will add some later!

Double-Check The Inbox

I checked my spam folder last night, so I guess you could say I'm getting pretty anxious to hear something.

They said they'd mail stuff out this week so... fingers crossed because it's already Wednesday!

Meanwhile...

Work, EPIK pre-orientation, nervous pacing... I have been stretching out my time watching the pre-orientation videos because I know that if I finish them all before I get my email from Korvia, I'm probably going to listlessly wander around with no motivation to do anything else. THAT would be bad, especially since I needs mon-ay.

Again, fingers crossed! 

Update:

Just like magic, I've been notified that my packet is on its way. I got the tracking number and it looks like it's either at the airport or on its way out of Korea as I type this. Yay!

Now I just have to make sure the visa form is filled out correctly, which means calling the consulate. Wish me luck!

Do's and Don't's of EPIK Interviews

I passed!




I'm super excited and happy to say that I have officially been notified that I passed the EPIK interview. That means I'm moving on to the next stage, and then hopefully the next. I'm not really sure how many more steps I have left. Send documents, wait for them to verify and review, sign a contract, get hired, get a visa and buy a plane ticket... something like that.

So, what did I do to successfully pass?

The answer is kind of difficult to give. Part of it is luck, but most of it is preparation. Let's go over the preparation part:

1. Have a professional appearance: This tip applies to pretty much all interviews. If you're a girl, make sure your top is conservative and simple. Avoid red -- blue is the typical go-to color for interviews. Keep makeup simple, and your hair nice. No need to get elaborate. I definitely didn't.

2. Look at the camera: My interview was through Skype, and while I thought it would be hard to look into the camera rather than at my interviewers face, it was actually easier than I thought. I put a sticker next to the camera, but it turned out I didn't really need it. When I'm thinking about what I want to say, I like to sometimes look to the side rather than directly at someone and so it ultimately worked to my advantage.

3. Smile and be friendly: Okay, so your interviewer might not look up at you much or respond that well to what you're saying -- Don't worry! Personally, my interviewer was friendly, but some people have crashed and burned because they felt like they needed a positive response from the EPIK interviewer. Keep your smile on as much as you can, and say thank you at the end of the interview.

4. Have a simple background: Not sure how much this affects the outcome of your interview, but I just had a plain white wall behind me. Some say too many objects in the background can be distracting, but a messy room or naked roommate (someone failed an interview because of a naked boyfriend wandering past near the end) might be deal-breakers. Who knows.

5. Talk slow (not too slow) and clearly: Pretty simple. Nerves can make you mutter or ramble, but just keep in mind that your interviewer might not be able to understand you that well if you do so, which equals a bad outcome. 

Interview Questions?

I can't give you any specifics, and everyone gets different questions, but I can tell you a few things. (Disclaimer: A lot of this is personal opinion. I have no way of knowing exactly what works, but this is just what worked for me.)

1. They WILL review your EPIK application information, so make sure you remember what you wrote down.

2. Make sure you know what EPIK stands for. If you don't and you fail as a result, it's your own fault. Read EPIK's website info while you're at it.

3. Keep your questions to a minimum and general. EPIK doesn't like it when you ask tons of questions, especially if they are questions that could be answered by your recruiter or are best answered later. They can't tell you about the school you're going to be hired by because it's likely they don't know where you're going to be placed yet. I asked my interviewer if there was anything that I should know or might not expect as a foreign teacher in Korea, which was a good move for me because it really got her talking and allowed for me to slip in one more positive blurb to show that I was hire-able.


Okay, there it is. Some basic info and advice. I'm so excited about all of this!

If you have any questions, comments or maybe want to make a contribution to my adventure, please feel free. Comment below, click on the gofundme button on the left... whatever you feel like.

Thanks for reading!

EPIK Applicants Kill Trees

I think half my brain is already in Korea. This has to explain my tendency to begin a thought and then have it peter out before I even figure out... yeah.

I think that I have just been distracted while focusing on getting things DONE. I've had editing to do, my EPIK application to send, gathering proper paperwork and more. Meanwhile, I'm anxiously awaiting the start of my TEFL course (starting next week!) and then this picture shows up on EPIK's Twitter and Facebook:

See full tweet here.

Do you know what that stack is? THAT is a stack of already processed applications sent in directly to EPIK. Yowza! I know that each application consists of at least 10 pages -- hopefully more, because they ask for quite a few things to be included -- but that is a mighty tall stack. And how many of those applicants have more experience than me, a higher GPA, or know how to charm an interviewer better than me?

I have been told that I am a decent applicant, but I still feel nervous. Another part of me, the part I really should not be listening to, secretly hopes that half the applicants are super picky about their placement and don't want to go where I put as my preference. But, let's face it, the city I want to go to is pretty awesome. The more and more I learn about it, the more I want to at least take a trip there if not live there for a year.

I'll talk about my preferred placement in more detail later -- maybe when I find out where I'm actually being placed. I feel like I shouldn't talk about it here just yet, just in case I jinx myself or something.

If anyone has questions or comments, please leave them. I will do my best to answer.

Toodles!

Getting things done... sort of...

How do I describe how I feel right now?

Let's see... I feel like I've just leaped off the diving board. I haven't hit the water yet, but there is no going back. And, depending on the trajectory, wind speed and possible freak accidents where I perhaps collide with fellow diver I didn't notice, I could be hitting that water a lot sooner or later than I anticipated.

Yeah, that's how I feel...

Now that I have confused you, I will explain why I feel like this today. I have my EPIK application filled out (hopefully correctly), I have a photocopy of one recommendation letter and the physical copy of another (both of which are missing one small element that they require, eek.).

So, now I'm waiting for a number of things to arrive in the mail, and for all I know they could have been sucked up into a black hole and will never actually get to me. That, or they could show up tomorrow and all my under-the-surface panic attacks would be for naught. 

Pray for me. Wish me luck. I think I need it this week.

*UPDATE*

All is well! I am such a worrier. Got what I was waiting for in the mail and all of my paperwork is in order.

Korvia Interview

First, I got my passport today. Yes! Only took about 2 weeks!

Second, after lots of thought and endless amounts of videos/posts/blogs, I decided to go with Korvia Consulting to help me find a job in South Korea as a teacher. I sent in my online application at the start of this week, and they contacted me soon after. I was surprised by the email, because they took the time to calculate my time zone for an interview time. They are in Korea, I'm in Arizona -- big time difference. They were an hour off, but the fact that they did that extra step made me feel pretty good about my decision.

For those who do not know what Korvia is, it is a consulting agency who works with some of the more common teaching programs in South Korea. They work with public schools, and they make sure that you get all of your paperwork in correctly. They also provide support, like helping you transition into a new culture, connect with other teachers who applied through Korvia and offer a free phone until you can get your own.

The interview I had with them Thursday night was my first of hopefully about two that I need to go through to hired. Korvia becomes a third recommendation when you apply through them. You need two recommendation letters from an academic or work related individual, but Korvia looks at your resume, asks you some questions and then sends off their impression of you and a recommendation to your potential employers.

I didn't really know what to expect from the interview before it happened but here's what did happen: We talked for about an hour, there was a lot of laughing, and we went off topic a LOT. So, hopefully that is a good thing. The agent I spoke to was very nice. She seemed impressed by a lot of my answers to her questions, but I'm not completely sure. She reassured me that she saw no reason why I shouldn't find be hired. I told her I was pretty flexible, adapted well and I was genuinely interested in learning a new culture. I also seem to have given the right answers to the questions concerning teaching children. Hopefully...

The Korvia agent talked about how competitive the job market was, especially for EPIK (the program I'm applying to). She saw no reason why I shouldn't be hired, but she did say that it was first come, first serve. She also suggested a few things, which I will be considering to improve my chances.
 

I marked on the questionnaire she sent me that I didn't have any Korean skills, because I really don't. I see being able to form a sentence as basic, which I can't do. What I do know are a few words here and there, and I know about half of the Korean writing system (Hangul) without having to stare blankly at it for a few minutes. Still learning how to read it faster, which is a good thing to learn so I don't look like a crazy foreigner, staring intensely at a sign and sounding out the letters like a 4-year-old.

When it came to that part of the interview, the Korvia agent told me that she was really surprised by pronunciation of a province I had mentioned earlier when asked about locations I might prefer. I realized later that I had no idea whether or not that was actually the correct pronunciation, since I'd never looked up the name in Hangul. I suppose I've become more familiar with it than I initially realized, and I might just be able to indicate that I have some Korean language skills on the application form.

What Korean words do I know? Well, I know a basic greeting, how to say thank you, sorry, ask for water. I know how to say tree and can name some fruits... So, if I ever need to apologize to a tree, I'm all set.

Now that I have done the interview with Korvia, I need to prepare my application to send in later this month.

Things I need to finish:

 - Application
 - Lesson plan (part of application)
 - Personal essay (also part of app)
 - Receive recommendation letters (expecting one very soon, yay!)


There is more to do, but much of it will be done later and would stress me out if I thought about it now. I'm also starting my TEFL course at the end of this month, and planning to volunteer to help tutor ESL students soon as part of my practicum experience. I think I have one location where I can do this, so things seem to be going well.

Fingers crossed!