I'm Going On An Adventure!

Bilbo and I have a few things in common. We're both short in stature, we both enjoy food and we've both been content to just sit in our comfortable homes until someone or something came along to remind us that we're adventurers at heart. I've dreamed of traveling, but most of my trips have been short and far between. A while back, however, I decided that I was going to do something a bit crazy -- go to South Korea and teach English for a year.

Yes, a year.

I may not be facing goblins, orcs, giant spiders (let's REALLY hope there won't be any giant spiders) or dragons, but I will be facing culture shock, a language I can barely understand and children who speak said language I can't understand.   And, let's not forget co-workers who I may or may not understand either.

There are a number of reasons why I decided to do this. First, I want to see more of the world and its cultures. Travel Channel can only show me so much. Second, I want to share my own culture with others. In order to better understand another language, understanding its culture is required, after all. Third, South Korea is intriguing. I'm not just talking about Kdramas and Kpop, here. There are symbols, customs and foods I'm itching to experience.  

I could probably keep listing reasons, but this post would get exceptionally long...

So, what have I done so far?

• Researched agencies
• Researched TEFL courses
• Registered for a TEFL course 
• Started to get up-to-date on vaccinations (Can I just say -- Ow!)
• Started passport renewal process

The TEFL course is through International TEFL Academy (ITA) and takes 3 months to finish. They have job guidance and the admissions advisor has been pretty helpful in answering my questions. She even helped set up an installment payment plan so that I could register now and simply pay in 3 installments.

I'll be starting my course in about 2 months. It's an exciting and nerve-wrecking experience. Meanwhile, I have a few things to attend to, like funding and getting paperwork together. Anyone who is willing to help me out, I'm coming up with some fundraising ideas right now.

I'll keep you posted.   

What is strange?

Strange. Foreign. Unfamiliar. Outside the norm.

This blog is not about the weird and wacky (not always). If you are expecting me to talk about a two-headed calf, alien abductions or conspiracy theories, you've probably stumbled upon this site by mistake and should hurry along your way... or subscribe. Up to you.

So, why is the theme strangeness? Well, I am strange and I am a stranger to many out there in the world. It's as simple as that. I'm not living under any delusions that I'm entirely normal. Normal does not technically exist. As the world shrinks, we are encountering more and more people who are significantly different from us. We have our similarities, which are amazing to discover, but the differences are what we often step out of our comfort zone to understand.

So, I decided to call my new blog "Only Getting Stranger" for that reason. Plus, it's kind of fun to call myself "Emily the Stranger". I'll probably be the only one doing that, though...

Moving along, this is all pretty new to me. I am a writer, mainly writing for others at the moment, so writing a blog to share with friends, family, colleagues and the random Internet Surfer is definitely a different experience. I don't really allow such a direct line into my mind. That's usually reserved for password protected journal writing, which I plan to take to me grave or ask my children to burn after reading.

The time has come, however, where blogging has become necessary. I'm making changes in my life. I plan on going abroad some time in the near future, procrastinating working on my novel and experiencing new things. While Facebook status updates have been enough for the occasional sharing-time, it's now time for something a little different.

Bear with me, Readers. We're both journeying into unfamiliar places.