August

So I just found out that a few things will be happening in August that I simply cannot miss.

My friend, who I met in first grade, is getting married.

And I just realized that my parents are celebrating 25 years of marriage.

Those are pretty big things to miss.

So I'm planning on letting ASK Now know that I will not be looking to leave until September, after all. It just makes sense.

Fellowship

Once I get over (or if I ever get over) to Korea, one of the most important things for me is finding a church. I've been attending the same church here in Canada since I was six years old, and many folks in the congregation are like family to me; it's going to be just as hard leaving them as it is leaving my own flesh and blood.

Woah, melodramatic much, eh?*

In any case, it will be a difficult adjustment. But it thrills me to no end that God will be just as close to me in Korea as He is right here, in my living room in my little house in Canada. And I am super excited to fellowship with people who are having the same experiences I am.

I have been looking into churches that offer worship services in English, but it's impossible to do any serious thinking about visiting until I find out where I'll be living. Still, I don't think I'll have any trouble finding one near me (unless I'm in a tiny little town that only has bus services twice a week). Here are some of my findings.

Yoido Full Gospel Church (in Seoul) is, according to the amazing Wikipedia, "the largest Christian congregation in South Korea", and has about 830,000 members throughout South Korea. English worship, yes, but I think I'd feel absolutely lost in a congregation that huge! I think it would be amazing to visit though.

Youngnak Church is in Seoul as well, and offers International Worship in English (IWE). A much smaller congregation, and they seem very closely knit. They have Bible studies in English, too, which rocks.

I found SaRang Community Church as well, but I can't tell you much about the right now because their website seems to be down...

And after poking around on Dave's ESL Cafe I found a couple of threads dedicated to church hunting, which is wonderful. I'm glad there seem to be so many folks in Korea searching for fellowship** in English - this will make my job a whole bunch easier once I get down to business!


*Yes, I'm Canadian, and I say "eh". Giggle if you must.
**Okay, whenever I type the word "fellowship", my fingers just automatically want to continue on with "of the ring"... I'm such a nerddd...

They made it!

I found out a few weeks ago that Darrell - who I had worked with at a camp the summer before last - and his wife Shannon were themselves headed to Korea. They left Canada in the wee hours of Monday morning, arriving exhausted 14 hours later.

But they made it!!!

I'm not going to lie, I'm excited to have contacts over there who I actually know in another context, other than through Internetland, for example.

They're pretty good with keeping up with their blog, The Nevers' Adventures, if you're interested in following along. Darrell also does these constant updates via Twitter... I don't even know what that is, really. Like status updates on Facebook. Or something. Yeah. :)

I'm so, so glad that they made it over safely. Their apartment - from the photos I've seen - has plenty of space, and their school looks great, too.

I can't wait to hear what happens next for them! :D

Kickin' it in Geumchon, oh oh!

I had found this video posted on two different blogs, and I thought I'd repost it here. I pretty much died laughing when I first watched it... Hope you find it as amazing as I do! :)

Uhhh...

So, yesterday I went to church. Nothing new - I do that most every Sunday morning. Several folks came up and congratulated me on my future as an ESL teacher.

And one lovely, dear, sweet little old lady asked me, and I quote: "Which one are you going to, dear? North Korea or South?"

My response? "Uhhh..."

At least it's better than,

"Oh, well, not North Korea, because it just happens to be run by Communists."

ECSTATIC

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I just had my phone interview, and it went AWESOME. I spoke with a lovely girl named Jennifer, and she asked me some questions, and it was all over in less than 10 minutes. She sent my info off to the job hunting folks, and they'll contact me in May with a possible position. I. Am. So. SO. EXCITED.

She said that I made their job super easy. Why? Well, for starters, I don't really care where I get placed, whether in a small, quiet town or a huge, sprawling city. Either way, I'll have an amazing adventure - I'll just leave that up to fate, as it were. Secondly, I said I'd be free to go in September. She said that if I'd be up to leaving in August, that would open up many public school positions, as well as positions in hagwons*. So basically, I don't care where I live, and I'm leaving at the perfect time. Apparently, this means I am a perfect candidate**.

This means I will probably be leaving the country in August, 2009.

BAHHHHH SO EXCITINGGGGG :D

Since May's still a really long ways off (unfortunately), I won't be updating this as often. Well I might. I don't know. I may just write about interesting stuff pertaining to Korea. Yeah. That's what I'll do.

Annnnnnnd end babble. Babblebabblebabble.

*Hagwon: a private insitution where Korean parents send their kids to learn more English after public school is over for the day. Kind of like sending your kid to extra dance classes if you want them to grow up to be a ballerina.
**Okay, she didn't actually say precisely that, but that's what I gathered from the conversation.

NOTE: The following exchange took place...
Jennifer: What got you interested in teaching in South Korea?
Sarah: Well, I, uh... actually started watching...Korean...dramas....
J:...AHAHAHAHAHA
S:...
J: *cough* Haha...hahaha... I'm just laughing because so many people get hooked on those once they get over to South Korea, and here you're watching them already. A lot of my friends watch them. You'll fit right in!
S:....hahahahaha

Phone interview!

So I got an email back this afternoon about scheduling a phone interview! It would be the first of two - the second would be with the actual school. Hopefully, the interview will happen by the end of the week. I'll keep you posted! :)

Headshot

I've spent about a month researching different ESL teacher-placement companies, and the one I decided to go with is ASK Now, which stands for "Access South Korea Now". They're a Canada-based agency, started by three guys who, between them, have 10 years of experience teaching in Korea. If you're thinking about going over to teach, you should check them out.

But. When they say their application will only take "ten minutes" to fill out - DON'T LISTEN. Block out a couple of hours. At least, that's how long it took me. From start to finish, about two hours. But I really wanted to make sure I did it to the best of my ability - I'm serious about this! And I want them to know it.

At this point, I've filled out the pre-application (to get on file) and the actual application (to apply for a job), and have taken a headshot. Yes, a headshot. Schools usually ask for a picture of the applicant, because they won't get to meet them in person until they get off the plane at the other end. Interesting. Here's mine:

What do you think? Would you hire me? :)

Drama, much?

Well, since I just spent the last, you know, hour, messing with the layout and learning how to actually use Blogger, I thought I'd write another post. Let's talk about Asian dramas some more, that's fun :)

According to Wikipedia*, "Korean drama refers to televised dramas, similar to Western miniseries, produced in the Korean language for Korean audiences."

Dramas are a HUGE deal in Asian countries, which makes sense. But what you didn't know, I'll bet, is that they're actually huge deals on the North American branch of the internet, too. Not to mention the South American branch.

Wikipedia says that "Korean dramas have recently become popular in the United States as many see these dramas as an alternative to the violent and racy content of American soap operas."

Silent Regrets is the fabulous website that introduced me to the Asian drama experience. They have a smorgasbord of them to choose from, complete with subtitle files! Two of my favorites are Goong and The Vineyard Man, both of which star Yoon Eun-Hye. If I had to pick a favorite actress, I'd pick Eun-Hye, hands down.

*I absolutely adore Wikipedia. I'll probably quote it a lot.

Things are about to get interesting

About a year and a half ago, I fell in love with Korea. I had stumbled across the phenomenon known as the 'K-Drama'*. Whilst perusing YouTube videos, I discovered something called Goong. Scenes of royal palaces, crowded streets, and towering mountains. Lovely clothes, intricate hairstyles, and fascinating foods. A handsome prince and a beautiful princess.

I was hooked before I had ever watched the thing.

After some investigative internet research, I had discovered that Goong is an Asian drama, which is less like a TV show and more like a miniseries. Goong spans 24 episodes, each an hour long, and I watched them all (via the magic of Internetland) in less than two weeks.

Long story short, this series is what started my love of Korea. Weird? Maybe. Do I care? Not a mite. I do realize that it probably romanticizes life in Korea quite a bit, but how would I know? I've never been there.**

But here's the thing. I'm planning on going there. To live there. As I write this, I'm currently in the middle of applying to teach for a year at a school in South Korea. I am hopefully going to be over there as of September 30, 2009.

I will be using this blog to document my experiences both prior and during my stay in South Korea, as I go through the application, interview, and visa processes, travelling and actually living in another country. Expect to see rants, ramblings, lists, and many exclaimation points of excitment.

Hold onto your hats, folks - we're off and running!!!

*As opposed to the T-Drama, J-Drama, C-Drama, etc. (Taiwan, Japan, China...)
** Okay, I do know that Korea is not a monarchy, I'm not that ridiculous. But it's just so lovely to think about, isn't it?