That Old, Familiar Feeling

The first thing I have noticed is just how silly I feel! I spent so much time worrying about so many things, and really, I should have just known that it would be great. Of course it is great! How could it not have been great?!  

On the streets of Seoul (Financial District)

My training roommate is an absolute peach. I mean, literally she is a peach- she is from Georgia. There is a group of about 20 of us all getting trained this week. Mostly, we are from the states, but there are a few from the great UK and one girl from Canada. So far, everyone seems very nice.

By far the most amusing part of today was the medical exam that we all had to undergo. In a way, it acted as one big huge icebreaker. We were all taken to a medical center, and made to wear very silly looking tops, and then basically went through a medical obstacle course at warp speed. The eye test was done while the woman administering it was walking away from me, and I had to trot behind her to take the exam. Then, in rapid succession they took xrays, did a hearing test, a urine test, and a blood test. Not ready to have a needle in your arm? Too bad! Never have I ever seen a more efficient phlebotomist. We chatted, we laughed, we peed in a cup. I think it was a good time for all involved.

There are two native Koreans in my training group and one darling lady took a few of us under her wing for the afternoon, which was great. She found us an excellent restaurant for lunch (and only cost 10,000 won/ 10 dollars per person). I had my very first kimchi, and I hate to say-I am not sold on it yet. I wanted to love it so badly, so I am not giving up on it. Kimchi and I are in an 'it's complicated' relationship, but I am sure we will reconcile.

Don't know what it was called except DELICIOUS
 (someday the kimchi will be delicious too...)

Finally, I am excited to report that I am feeling that 'being abroad thrill' once more. You know, when you are doing something seemingly rudimentary, like walking down the street, and then you look up and remember where you are. On the other side of the world. I am in a place that is so, so different from any that I have ever seen before, and I think I forgot how amazing that is. For months I was so nervous about making this jump, but after just two days I am so glad to be here.

Airport Musings

Well, I made it! I am sitting comfortably in a surprisingly nice hotel room (complete with a kitchenette, washing machine, and small smoking porch). While I venture off to dream land, here are some musings from JFK.

1.     Packing was a somewhat stressful experience. For a while, I did the age old dance of adding some things to my bags, and weighing them, and taking stuff out, rearranging, reweighing, and deciding which items were really superfluous (I am an English teacher, remember?!). I could not come up with an arrangement where my bags were both full of everything that I wanted, and underweight. So, to the Internet I turned to check out the fee situation. Only a lump fee of $50 whether your bag is 1 pound over or 20 pounds over? I can do that. So, the plan was to over pack one bag, and have that be overweight, and another that was underweight. Such a good plan! However, my efforts were bested by the weight of my stuff, and both bags ended up being overweight. I knew it, and the woman checking me in knew it. I held my breath for a moment, she handed over my boarding pass, and I was on my way! I did not get charged one penny. “You should have packed more stuff!” said my mom as my already bursting bags rolled away on the conveyor belt. Something tells me that I have enough stuff. Who am I kidding? You can never have enough stuff.

2.     Security. Yikes! I went through a terminal that must deal with the majority of the Asia bound flights, so most of the passengers around me were Asian. Like, I was the only blonde person in sight and I hadn’t even stepped off of the continent yet. So, with that came a majority of people with imperfect English, who were making the TSA agents, to say it gently, frustrated. (Some might call them RACIST, but that is an ugly word, right? No, they were definitely racist.) Apparently there are a lot of idiot passengers out today because no one was listening to the TSA orders. (They were not idiots, they did not speak English. But as we all know, speaking louder and slower to someone who does not speak your language should solve the problem RIGHT?!) But for me, the best part was when one particular TSA man kept trying out his limited Spanish to see if that helped. He was trying to tell one woman to take off her jacket, and when she didn’t get it, he just started shouting “CHAQUETA” at her. One guy didn’t put his laptop in its own tray, and he tried “LAPTOP SOLO.” When will people learn?

3.     There is a kinder chocolate store in the airport. Fresh Bueno Bars will really go a long in easing my nerves. But really, at this point, who is nervous? Not me! That is what I keep telling myself anyway…

4.     I see a cute Korean kid sitting across the way. MAYBE HE WILL BE IN MY CLASS.

5.     The airline keeps making announcements in Korean, which I do not speak…YET. They are probably not that important…

GOOGLE THIS

Wow- for a little bit there I was just teeming with information and the urge to start blogging, and then it seems as though the urge was quieted for a time. Maybe because I got busy, maybe because I realized that Im not quite that interesting yet. BUT I WILL SAY THIS:

Google should not be allowed for people who are about to take a leap of faith. Every disgruntled employee that ever existed used to just slink into the darkness after an unhappy experience in the workplace. But now, every one of them has a new medium to express their unhappiness. Be it YouTube, the Blogosphere, or any small time newspaper willing to print their story, all the bad experiences are out there for innocent people to find by accident. Cut to: Liz harmlessly searching for people who have taught abroad, and finding at least three or four bad experiences tied to South Korea and teaching, and one tied to my organization specifically. Let me just say, it has made for more than one sleepless night.

However, when the light of day dawns once more, I realize that I am nothing like those disgruntled employees. I do not enjoy standing under dark clouds. I am quite sure that my experience abroad will be great. It probably won’t be great everyday, but overall, it will be great. I will find the greatness in it. I found the greatness in London (like that was hard), in Boston, and in Madrid, and I am sure I can find it in Seoul and beyond.

SO TAKE THAT GOOGLE.