Package Mailed....now what ??

I have taken all of my happy little Apostilled documents, paperwork and such to the local Fed-Ex office and spent $47 to mail it to S. Korea in hopes of getting my Visa. My recruiter seems to think I should have no problem and advised me to get my affairs in order to make the trek to a nice little school on the east coast near Pohang, S. Korea. Okay!! :-)

So, what do I need to do to get my affairs in order? Well, I already have the boys taken care of, so that would be the biggest issue and it is already done! Yay! I went to Wal-Mart last night and they had storage tubs on sale for $4.00 each. I bought ten so I can start packing things up to go to storage. Oh, I suppose I should find a storage unit. lol I will look into that today. I am selling my Jeep and quite a bit of my furniture. Almost all of it is second-hand stuff anyway, so I always try to make sure it goes to someone who really needs it whenever I get rid of things. My mother is interested in buying my Jeep, so I won't have to worry about storing it. I was going to buy a new car next year anyway, so now I just get to live without one for a year!I suppose other than packing and moving things to storage, I am pretty well set!

I visited the CAM Cincinnati Asian Market last night to see what kind of goodies I could find so I could have a tasty treat upon arriving in Korea. I found some cookies, some peanut candy and aloe water. I have only tried the cookies so far, and they were quite good. I think I will have to pack some Pop-Tarts and granola bars initially until I can figure out what to eat!



I pulled out the two largest suitcases I own and started packing some sweaters and other cold weather gear in the giant suitcase along with some pictures and "home" things I want to be sure to have. I am realizing I don't wear many of the clothes in my closet, so this is not much of a challenge to pull out my favorite warm fuzzies that still fit! lol Although, with all the walking and veggies I will be eating over there, I am counting on losing quite a bit of weight! I also packed several sticks of Secret, as I am told deodorant is hard to find over there. I am hoping with my Veteran status I will be able to shop at the PX on the Army base for any American goodies I may need.

Today will be spent trying to organize and sort and label all of my belongings. It's really hard to pack for a year. The only time I ever had to do that was when I was in the Army and they gave me clothes to wear! lol Regardless, I am very much looking forward to this grand adventure. Now it is just a waiting game to see if the Visa comes through. Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers a'comin'! Stay tuned....

I need to get a "what"???

This morning was spent scurrying from the police department for a notarized background check, to the Secretary of State office for an Apostille, to the County Clerk's office for notarization of the notary signatures, then back to the Secretary of State office to get everything stamped with an Apostille (since we did not get the notary's signature notarized by the county before going the first time) in order to get a Visa permitting me to work in S. Korea. Whew!! Oh! What's an Apostille, you ask? Hmmm...good question! I didn't even know until last week!

According to http://definitions.uslegal.com/a/apostille/, and apostille is defined as "a means of authenticating a signature on a document that is recognized by an international body." Hmph! Who knew such a thing existed? (Ok, so all of you international workers out there knew; I didn't. lol) Anyway, you can click on the link for more details, but maybe you learned a fun new word today that no one can really seem to agree on how to pronounce.

Aside from running to Walgreens later to get a couple of passport sized pictures, all of my other paperwork is in order to be sent to S. Korea via Fed-Ex to apply for the Visa. Rumor has it that sometimes a Visa can be denied for really no apparent reason. I sure hope that is not the case with me. So far everything has been pretty smooth sailing. I just hope that continues! Cross your fingers and say a prayer for quick turnaround of this step. Stay tuned for more from...Adventures by Angela!

First Offer!

Well, the 1 am interview went well and I have my first offer on the table from Korea. It sounds like a lovely school in a good location on the east coast. There is another English teacher there who is around my age, so I would have someone to talk to in English! :-) I am so excited about the offer! I would head to Korea just after Labor Day, so things would have to move along quickly. Can you imagine living near the ocean year round? The fall and spring are supposed to be simply wonderful there. The pictures of the area are beautiful. I hope to make a final decision by Friday, as I have two more interviews in different areas of the country tonight.

Concerns: What the heck am I going to eat?? What if the kids don't like me?? What if I hate it? What if my apartment is crappy? What am I going to do with all my stuff here?

Exciting things: Experience with another culture! Living somewhere totally different for a year! I get to TEACH!! The schools in Korea want foreign teachers to teach English! I could go to the ocean all the time! Fresh seafood! mmmm....

I guess I will keep my prayer of asking God to open the door wide for where I am supposed to go and close the others. On with the adventure!!

The Beginning...

Over the past few weeks, there have been many changes in my life. My oldest son, Brandon, left home last year after graduation and now has his own place, a job, a car...basically his own life. Bryan, my youngest, just turned 15 and decided to go live with his dad. This leaves me 40 years old, single, and an empty nest. While some would welcome this and others fear, I find myself somewhere in between.

For many years, I have been a teacher. Even when I am not teaching as a profession, I am still a teacher. It is part of who I am. I love to watch when student's have an "aha" moment and actually get a concept that had one time been a struggle. To watch a child grow and blossom is indescribable and it is one of the things that I find most rewarding. For this reason, I am researching teaching English as a Foreign Language.

I have applied to several schools and posted my resume on TEFL job boards. My inbox currently has four offers with contracts from China and numerous opportunity leads for Korea. For some reason, I find myself being drawn to Korea; specifically the east coast. I'm not sure why, but that seems to be where I am focused. Even at this late hour, I am still up actually awaiting a call from a school north of Ulsan on the east coast that is interested in hiring me as an English teacher. I'm so excited about the many possibilities! Yet, the thought of going halfway around the globe is terrifying at the same time. How can that be? I'm not sure, but I do know I feel it is the right direction and I am supposed to go.

So, you may be wondering (if you are still reading) why I would start a blog. Good question! I'm not really sure why other than to document this grand adventure in my 40th year on this earth. Once I get a job in Korea, I want to be able to post stories about my experiences for my family and friends back home to read. I want to take them on my adventure and let them experience all the little silly, fun, happy, sad, crazy, scary, and downright insane things through my little blog.

One thing my mother has always said is to live life without regrets. She says when she goes, she wants to "slide in" and say, "whew! what a ride"! I suppose I am like her in that respect. I wnat to see the world! I want to experience all that life has to offer! I want to taste foods from other countries and see the world through someone else's eyes. We only have one life to live and I am so done with the woulda, shoulda, coulda stuff. Thankfully, my dad is a bit more levelheaded and reminds me to read the small print and make sure I think things through before I go jumping into things. Ahhh, Dad...the older I get, the smarter he has always been! His advice is always worth listening to!

Although I will miss everyone, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to even explore the possibilities of spending a year teaching abroad. In 26 minutes, I will have another interview. Who knows? This could be the one! Regardless, I keep praying for God to shut doors that are not for me and open the one He has prepared for me. I guess that is why I feel so peaceful when an opportunity does not pan out.

Keep coming back for the latest on my grand adventure. Hopefully, I will keep you intrigued and entertained throughout my adventures. I cannot wait to get back into the classroom!! :-)