And the Adventure Begins

Ok, so I will let you all in on a little secret...I don't think I really thought it would happen.  I mean how else can I explain the incredible feeling that swept my body during take off from San Francisco.  The feeling that was so strong as to completely overcome the total exhaustion that had bogged me down after changing my plans at the last minute and leaving Chicago the night before I had planned, sleeping in the L.A. airport (for a total of 3.5) hours, the tension of not knowing whether I would make the San Fran to Seoul flight and finally hearing I would probably be sitting coach.  This feeling fought through all of that to make me want to jump up and shout "YES, I am actually going, this is really going to happen!"  Luckily I remembered where I was and just did a squirmy little happy dance in my seat.  This apparently made the flight attendant think I needed the restroom becuase she told me I would be able to get up for the restroom shortly. 
There is not much I can say about the flight, it was comfortable and long.  I watched a movie, ate, talked, slept, watched a movie and ate and talked some more.  I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable way to spend 12 hours in the air but there is no more to say about that.
 When I arrived at the airport I was expecting to be met by an employee from the recruitment agency who would get me to the correct bus with clear instructions as to where I was going and what to do when I got there.  I must admit I was a little nervous about this because I wasn't sure how clear his "clear" directions would be when I was in a country where I could neither read nor speak the language. I was a little wary of taking a bus nearly two hours across a foreign country and showing up in a town I was unfamiliar with, to let myself into an apartment I was unfamiliar with, to await further instructions from someone else I was unfamiliar with.  Alas, this was not a problem.  When A'Drayis(my 18 year old nephew for those of you who don't know) and I came through customs we located not someone holding my name on a card but my name on a card taped to the railing and no one who would own up to putting it there.  Hmmm.  So after having brief conversations with happily smiling people holding similar signs we decided to put the sign back up facing the opporsite directions and wait.  After what seemed like half and hour(I was very tired) a man came up and grabbed the sign looking a bit confused.  We jumped to get his attention but no bother because the ladies we had spoken to earlier descended upon the poor man like he was a perve on a playground and practically dragged him over to us.  Turns out he was in the restroom, turns out he did not work for the school he was a taxi driver, turns out he spoke no English except "hip hop"(you have to ask Dray about that) and turns out, thank god, we didn't have to pay the fare because man it really wasn't pretty.  It also turns out this was the answer to all of my prayers because he took us from the airport straight to my apartment building in Namyangju City.  Then he helped carry my bags to my apartment door and took off before I could even consider a tip.
At my apartment we were met by my Korean co-teacher Jong Hyun Park, I decided that I liked him instantly.  This could be because after introducing himself he handed me a wad of Korean won, my settlement bonus, but I'm sure it was his sparkling personality.  I've heard a lot of teachers say that they don't get there bonus for a couple of weeks.  In addition he'd done a good job of making sure my place was well stocked with water, milk toilet paper, kleenex, soap, bread, muffins, bananas, jam and garbage bags. I mean I won't have to buy soap all year nor toilet paper for at least a month or two.   After a quick tour and some instructions he waited while Dray showered and then took us out for fried chicken for dinner.  It was awesome, my first night in Korea and I ate fried chicken and coca cola.  Of course it also came with cabbage salad and pickled radishes but hey.  We then went to the bedding store where I purchased a bedding set for 120,000 won (yes, I wanted to cry) and Dray got a free Winnie the Pooh Pillow ( yes, I did laugh).  We went back to the apartment said good-bye to Jong, I took a shower and we both crashed only to get up at like 4am after what seeed like hours of trying to stay asleep.
Saturday we explored the grocery store across the street, buying a few necesities but mostly just seeing all that there was to see.  Then Jong came by at noon to take us to Seoul.  We went to the center of that huge city to an area (they call them towns) called Namsang and up the famous Namsang Tower from where you can see all of Seoul.  It is crazy huge and I've never seen so many apartments ever. When you are driving in to the city the apartments are so numerous they form walls all around the city that can be seen for miles.  There was so much to see, on the way in and out Jong pointed out many famous and interesting areas that I can't wait to explore.  I plan to spend many weekends just exploring different parts of the city. 
Upon arriving back in Namyangju, I asked and discovered the "town" I live in is Maseok, and that there are about 4 or 5 such towns in Namyangju city.  It really is quite the nice sized little city with everything I need in walking distance. For the next blog I will try to upload video of my city and my apartment.  I am writing this from an internet cafe or PC bang(PC 뻥), so I can't really upload anything yet but I will figure it out soon.  Well thanks for reading along and I hope I haven't bored you out of coming back next time. 

Korean Trivia #1:  Knives are not normally used as eating utensils, instead Koreans typically use two forks to tear apart their food.

Ready, Set, VISA!

                                                                                                          
Hello Everyone,

If you are reading this then chances are you know me and know what this is about and all that jazz.
Of course there is the chance that like me, you decided to look up the blogs of random people teaching English in Korea as a method of research before your trip.  So I guess I should offer a bit of background.

My name is Tomirika and I decided due to reasons known to everyone (just because, or why not?) to move to South Korea and teach English for the foreseeable future (at least a year).  I love to travel, love to learn new languages, love to explore and love to eat new foods from all over the world. It just seemed like time to have my next adventure.  I spent a few months earning my TEFL certificate and preparing my documents for the job search (not so much of the latter) before leaving my job in PA and moving back home to MI to await my any day now job offer.  Well as it turns out I really should have been doing a lot more of the documents gathering thing because you can't begin the job search without ALL of them.  So to make a long story short my couple of weeks back home turned into 3 months but finally it all came through, I was offered a job, I accepted and I began the VISA process.  Just yesterday I finished the last part of that process when I went to the Korean Consulate General in Chicago for my scheduled interview.  For all of you who know me I will be honest, I was a little nervous (you all know my tendency to worry) but it was all for naught.  They weren't even individual interviews.  They took four of us back at a time, we sat around and table where a nice young lady asked us a few getting to know you questions and we all took turns answering before she returned us our paperwork and told us to give them back to our VISA agent in the outer office.  I did and was told I could pick it up in 2-3 days and Ya Esta! (Spanish for that's it).  So now I have my expected date of departure, next Thursday and I am ready to go, or am I?
As you all know I worry (no mom I can't stop) and now that I am packed and have a date in mind I can't help but worry.  Did I pack everything, am I forgetting something vital,  Do I have all my documents that I need to take with me.  Do I have enough money (ha ha).  I hope I don't forget my toothbrush.  This and many more things keep running through my head, causing sleepless night and days filled with checking my suitcase and lists over and over again.  And then the days seem to be speeding by and slowing down at the same time.  Well I guess I am as ready as I'll ever be.
Keep an eye out on this blog and I will try to update it at least once a week perhaps more so in the beginning.  I shall endeavor to use this as a means of sharing my experiences abroad with all of you that I love and cherish, and those of you that I only told about it to increase my blogs popularity (jk, jk, jk).  I shall post pics and interesting facts that I learn along the way.  Please feel free to leave comments, in fact I would love it if you would do so.