Moving forward!

I attended my sister's high school graduation today, and it felt like my own had not been that long ago...Ok, it was seven years ago, but it does sit fresh in my mind. The excitement, confusion, anxiety, and the need to break free from everything I knew. So, reflecting on all those feelings I came to a conclusion. I think that the Alex walking across that stage seven years ago would be pretty pleased with Alex today. My plans to teach in Korea are in full swing. One of the few things I ever had my mind set on was to travel the world. Even during my senior year I obsessed over planning an impossible trip to Thailand. While that trip never came to be, it is something I never lost sight of and now I am confident in my decision to make it happen.

I have been informed that my application has been sent to a school in Daegu (Taegu), South Korea. I am expecting an email this week from Barry at the St. Louis Academy to set up a time for a phone interview. Corinne and I have had our passport pictures taken and I will submit the paperwork later this week after payday (the passport runs about $100). From there I have to gather several sets of sealed transcripts, criminal background checks, health records, and probably a hundred other things I haven't even thought about yet.

While preparation for the trip seems overwhelming, there are other things that add to any anxiety. Like North Korea for example. The recent breakdown in political communication seems to be the worst yet and it could lead to some serious situations. While the entire Korean peninsula has been in an official state of war since the 50's, there has been fairly effective dialogue that has maintained a state of peace. So, where am I going with all this info? The point is of course I'm slightly nervous, but I refuse to let it deter me from making what could be the most amazing decision of my life. I have decided to take each day in at a time and not to worry about what may happen. It is important to be prepared and I have already taken in much information from this helpful link -http://seoul.usembassy.gov/emergency_evacuation.html

And that's that.

First blog ever

As my first offical blog, I must admit I'm nervous. Everybody will be reading what I write, mistakes and all. However, I expect it will get easier with time. So, to offically document my steps towards teaching in South Korea, I will attempt to keep this as up to date as possible!

Corinne and I have offically applied through www.teacheslkorea.com and have already been contacted by our teacher rep, Dan Henrickson. We spent almost two hours on the applications, trying to pick the perfect pictures, write the perfect little blurbs about ourselves, etc. While the process is still very long and we have much to do, it felt amazing to do that first step. After much discussion, we decided to put our arrival date in October. I initially wanted to leave right away but October feels perfect now. We'll enjoy the summer and spend lots of time with friends and family, many of whom still need some convincing that Korea is a good idea!

I am so excited and ready for this experience I can hardly stand it!