What to bring?

This is it, this is where I will put as many of my most valuable life possessions to depend on for the next year or possibly many more years in Korea. I have one carry on then one pretty large suitcase which is very very little space, so I may go buy another suitcase from a thrift store but that would make things more difficult. Also to be noted, these beautiful suitcases were generous gifts from my parents for my graduation.

So I really could use your help in deciding what to bring, if you just want to leave your idea's in the comments section at the bottom of the post that would work best, or if you prefer you can facebook or email me too.

Here is what i plan on brining:

• 1 business suit and 3 pairs of business professional attire.
• A fine supply of my own underwear
• Towel
• 1 Winter Jacket which I am in the process of buying
• As many of my normal casual clothes as I can fit
• My awesome Camera!
• My laptop computer (I probably will have to buy 220v to 120v converter in Korea)
• A good supply of Korean money
• Ipod nano full of 2 gigs of my favorite music
• Loads and loads of photo's of my family and whoever elses I can get a hold of to show off in Korea and keep the culture shock at bay
  
• 6 new deodorants, and shaving supplies (why couldn't we all be more like Koreans with little BO and little facial hair)
  
• All my important documents (it would suck to forget my passport... someone better call and remind me!)
• Books... this one is hard. I have many I want to bring but space is limited. I need suggestions! there is a long plane flight involved so right now i am thinking of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy because it will keep me in good humor.
• I may bring a movie or 2, probably some epic gory movie like Saving Private Ryan or 300.
  

Well those are all my idea's for now. I will start making a list of your ideas when I get them. I will be daily checking my blog to update the post with your suggestions.

Some Great suggestions!

• water bottle and snacks on the plane! great idea, thanks amber.
  
• Hmm yeah the audio books are great ideas too! I think I want to bring as many clothes as I can still in Korea just to have some more attachment to home but I will have to fit in a few extra books too.
• Extra battery and and memory card for my camera is a great idea, I almost filled my regular 1 gig card up in a week vacation so I will have to bring my 4 gig card. Thanks again amber!
• Great advice about waiting to convert my money until i get in Korea Daniel!
• I have this sweet little book given to me by a friend with a bunch of pictures to point at to communicate but I will also grab a Korean - English dictionary. Thanks Daniel and Jonny
• hmm ninja stars and computers good ideas, yes, yes. Unfortunately I will have to find those when I get there.
• Yeah I dont know how current most my information is but I hear there is deoderant and shaving supplies but they are very expensive, I will have to look into that. The coat idea sounds great too! Thanks Anne-marie.
• Very nice suprise Andy it had me laughing for 5 whole minutes
  

Anticipation!

Yes, that must be what this feeling is: anticipation. After months of work and a long waiting period I think everything is almost ready, including me.

A month or so ago I asked my recruiter a question something like this, "I am sure when I arrive in Korea I will have millions of questions and very few resources to answer those millions of questions, any ideas?" She told me one of the best things to do is to is buy some books and then recommended some. I read Culture Shock: Korea 2009 and not only do I think it will be very helpful but I also found it very interesting and and a good read. Honestly, when I read the books I thought my own attitude toward things resembles Korean culture in many ways. I'm not in Korea yet so I cant verify these as the truth yet but this book seems like a very legitimate source.

Here are some things I liked or found interesting:

• Korean's are very shy and normally wont speak to anybody they haven't been introduced to by a mutual friend. Funny example from the book: If you are standing on a bus or train and feel someone pulling on one of your bags, it isn't because they want to steal it, it is because they are offering to hold it for you without words.
• Introductions are very important. Normally consisting of a little bowing, handshaking and exchanging of name cards so you can see each other respective social rank or status.
• Social status and Rank are also important. In the USA we respect people with Ph.d level of education by calling them dr. instead of mr. In Korea anybody of somewhat respectable rank is addressed by their title. For example my schools director should be called Director then his name and I have to show great respect by doing things like when I am handing him anything I should use both hands.
  
• Confucianism played a large role in Korea. Education is held in the highest regards and so are teachers. A foreign teacher like myself has to earn that respect before it is given but I do like how education is given the highest priority in Korean society. I am not sure how I feel about the way confucian society treats women but thankfully Christianity is helping that.
  
• When Koreans eat they generally don't talk much at all. When eating together it is time to enjoy the food to the fullest. I find that I do this on accident often or just feel awkward when trying to balance between eating and talking.
• Drinking in Korea is very important between men whether it be for a business deal or getting to know someone. The book suggested that Koreans feel they can truly get to know someone after they dropped some liquor down the hatch. I don't know if it is really the only way to get to know someone but it sounds reasonable to me. The funniest thing is that Koreans sing when they are having big drinking party's and everybody takes a turn... ah well with a few drinks down it will be fun, I have a few good songs up my sleeve.
  

I am sure I will feel culture shock to a great degree but I believe with this book making me aware of it I should be able to handle. The cure is simple but difficult: keeping of good humor, accepting things the way they are, never giving up and never secluding myself. I am sure there will be many bummers along the way but I find most of life is about what you focus on. I am going to focus on all the awesome and amazing things that happen and are going to happen.

The loooong process

Becoming an English teacher in Korea isn't just a phone call away... Infact I would say it's closer to 150 emails away. Despite my whining I think I got through it pretty clean and without much difficulty. But the point remains, it is a very long process and it takes a lot of time but I am sure it will be worth it. If you want to hear about it keep reading, otherwise I am sure you could find more interesting posts.

I started seriously thinking about teaching in Korea November 2008 and my first goal was to find out if it is a good decision. Over the next few months I was finding many different people who I met through friends of friends or just very distantly knew them that also had formerly taught English in Korea and I asked them for any advice they could give and if they found it to be a good experience. Everyone I met said it was a life changing, wonderful experience and of course there are many hardships along the way and bummers but overall the advice was to take the opportunity if I can.

Next i started researching how to go about it. I was told all sorts of different methods from former English teachers and I tried to look into them all but in the end I decided I needed a recruiter because there are so many required documents and things that I really needed someone to show me the way. After a month of more of research I found one recruiter website that stood out above the rest because it was very personable and seemed very positive.

http://www.teacheslkorea.com/

Originally I planned on using multiple recruiters but the recruiter I spoke with on the phone named Michelle Laarissa was very kind and seemed to understand my position very clearly so I just went with her company.

Then things started to get rolling, I sent of resume's and photo's and started working on getting my Criminal Background Check. Korean Hagwons don't like to hire too much in advance so I had to wait until Mid April for my first interview. It was very interesting because even though the Koreans are speaking English it is still rather difficult to understand (although I must say, I am very impressed with any Korean who can learn our langauge). I did my interview with the schools director and it was difficult because I had to use the smallest words I could to convey complex idea's. The director was very nice and this was my favorite question:
Director: "What do parents think of you come Korea?" (she had to ask this a few different ways for me to understand)
Dustin: "Oh! (i finally understood), they.. are .. very.. sad.. to.. see.. me.. leave.. but.. happy.. I.. found.. something.. I.. like."

They wanted to hire me in the end and sent a contract but I didn't end up accepting that job because I couldn't speak to another foreign English teacher to learn more about the Hagwon.

A few months later I recieved another job interview which I almost totally blew because it was set for the 21st of may at noon korea time. I did a little research and found the time difference to be 8 hours so I prepared for the phone call on the evening of May 21st right? NOPE; WRONG! There is this thing called the international Date line that puts Korea a day earlier than us. OOps! Oh well it all worked out. I was at a friends house helping him move then I decided to stop of in his bedroom and have a job interview on the phone. I was a little baffled at first but I pulled it together and got the job teaching Elementary/Middle school kids in Ilsan, Korea (little North west of Seoul).

Anyways the hard part is the E-2 Visa for English teachers. Lots of documents and forms are required with an interview at the Korean Consulate. I am soooooo thankful to my recruiters because without them I would be totally lost in this process.

The biggest bummer came in May when I learned of a new Korean Law that requires all E-2 Visa applicants to send their college diploma to the Korean Immigration Office, whereas before a letter from the school and transcripts could suffice. If not for this new law I would have been in Korea by early June. This works out though, I decided I would live at my parents place and enjoy life as much as possible while waiting for my diploma. This is the first summer I haven't worked since I was 15 years old (i may have found some work then too) so it is a very nice little leasurily spell before I enter a completely foreign place.

I hope to get my diploma this week and send it to Korea so i can finalize my E-2 Visa and hopefully get to Korea on or before August 5th. I didn't even try to express all the stress and emotions that goes along with finding the right job and more because they are impossible to express unless you have felt them yourself. The best way to put it is... Tiring. The emotions and stress are very tiring. I am not a very emotional person and I am normally very relaxed but I will say that this was very, very draining.

Despite all that I am still excited beyond measure to get on that plane to Korea. Forgive the long post >.<