The Beginning of a Journey

Wow what an adventure so far.  It was a 13 hour flight from Chicago, having to take an hour flight from Toronto first, and I have had only one hour of sleep so far.  The reason for this is because just like my friend Stephanie informed me, there was an entertainment station at my seat.  I tolyed with the idea of sleeping in order not to encounter any jet lag yet with five movies and two documentaries I wanted to watch, I could not refuse my little screen.  For anyone who believes North America is ahead in technology and modern day buildings they have to visit at least Korea.  I am currently in Inechon Airport in Seoul, Korea and there were three things I immediately realized about my new country, at least for the next year.  First of all it is hot,  it is only April yet it is very humid.  And yet I love the feel of this place.  There is a second terminal at this airport.  I took countless pictures of this terminal, which is honestly, out of this world.  It is very quiet and everything is automated in this new terminal.  When I mean everything, I mean everything.  The escalators and the walking sidewalks only activate when you step on them.  Then there is the conservation area called a star garden,  it is a great place to relax between flights.  But this is trip is amazing.  I haven't left the airport yet or even gotten to my final destination and yet I am already on an adventure.

The concern I had of not being able to speak with Koreans was misplaced.  Their second language seemed to be English and many Koreans I come in contact with are able to communicate with me.  Finally the last two things to note today.  The Korean stewardesses, wow I think I am in love.  Very polite, gorgeous smiles, they all look like supermodels.  I called for assistance several times in the plane just to be able to speak with them.

My final note and the best part of my trip so far.  It seems the travel curse I carried for so many years has not left me.  Although all flights so far have been uneventful, both my bags were broken from transportation between Toronto and Chicago.  The wiring on one of them is ripped out and the other bag has one wheel completely obliterated.  It was really fun dragging the bags, which both weigh at least 70 lbs around the airport without wheels.

This was my first blog.  I have written twelve so far and they will all be posted here in the next couple of days.

The Beginning of the Next Stage

Fighting Limbo

So it is all set.  After moving my life, consisting of roughly ten boxes, out of Ottawa, my journey to Korea has commenced.  Now here is where it gets tricky because I am not actually on the plane yet.  In fact I have not even received my visa to allow me to get on the plane and yet this is the next step, the next job I will have.  It is hard to be patient for my journey to begin but unfortunately I have to.

I have sent over all the documents needed for my employment to be finalized and for me to receive my visa however it only arrived in the hands of my employer yesterday.  After they sign the contract which I have already signed, they sent it in to the local Immigration office.  The processing will take up to a week from yesterday before they submit a visa number to the Embassy in Ottawa.  Then I have to go back to Ottawa, hopefully it will be around my birthday, and go through an interview with the consular to get my visa finalized.  After all of this I will then be ready to go to Korea but the delays do not stop there.

I plan to be away from Ottawa and family for at least two years so I have decided to celebrate my mother's birthday for the first time in 5 years before I go.  So the countdown is 32 days.

Also I have to put a big thank you for my friends in Ottawa especially a Mr. Murdoch, for throwing me a great farewell party.  It meant alot as this particular group of friends have become very close to my heart.

Continuation from on the road again

So I might want to be a teacher and yet there is a side of me who will not be content with the American stereotype of success.  I don't think I can hold down a job for five years at the same company.  I don't think my addresses can only include one country.  I want to explore the world before I decide to settle down.  I look at my friends who are married or already have jobs they plan to stay in for 2-3 years and I don't envy their stability, I feel as if they have limited themselves. 

 I truly hope my adventures in Korea last longer than a year.  After choosing a contract with a new school in Changwon, a southern coastal city bordering Pusan, the second largest city, I believe I have at least found a temporary home.  After all with weekends off, I can travel throughout the country and to neighbouring countries for very little money.  

The journalist in me is not dead though.  I plan to explore several Asian issues while I am in Korea.  For example many Canadians are looking to China with a look of confusion.  What is really happening there.  Its success threatens North America's trade dominance but how is it happening?  Can it continue due to the fact the country seems to owe a lot of its success to its huge populace.  With that same populace strangling the country's natural resources, it seems two things are happening.  The State issued a limit to the populace, decreasing the previous advantage and the Red Dragon has to look to major exporters of natural resources like Canada to provide it with fuel for its industrial fire.

But then again all of this is pretty common knowledge.  I want to see what happens to nations like Korea who share borders with this firey Red Dragon.  A westerner who has been over to Asia for the last twelve years mentioned to me recently that Korea will not be greatly affected by the North American recession.  Upon asking why, she told me the new Korean president, who our Foreign Minister just visited, was going to commit to stronger economic ties to China.

But does these ties to this new international player diminish the strength of a former Asian tiger, Japan?

All of these questions will be addressed, hopefully in a couple of feature stories, at worst on this blog.

Oh by the way, did I mention I will be doing a master's in international studies after my adventures.  You can probably guess the specialization.

On the road again

So I guess I am going.  I just mailed the last of my documentation around the world.  Now I know many of my friends are not sure why I am doing this, and all I can say is I need an adventure which makes a difference.  The ability to be paid to live overseas and learn about a different culture is too big to pass up.  

Who can say they taught and traveled throughout  Asia while making money for their future and learning about things not a priority in Canada.

Ironically quite a few Canadians can claim this yet I hope to be different in my endeavors.  Although I just spend the last two weeks taking late night interviews with directors of schools, then running around Ottawa getting documents notarized, I feel it will be worth it in the end.  I have always been interested in being a teacher.

More to follow after sleep.

Addicted to Gmail

So I am officially addicted to checking my email.  As soon as I get home from the gym or work, I check my gmail.  When I go over to friend's homes I rudely inquire if I can use their computer to check my email.  Most people who know me and read this confession will probably be puzzled by this strange addiction.  After all it is not as if I really have any reason to be expecting any emails.

I don't have a job, yet.  I am single.  My parents are not over protective or needy and my one brother is all the way in Vancouver, and he is not the emailing type.  And yet over the course of the last month I have received more emails than ever before.  

This is quite a large claim because I have been a journalist, amateur and professional for the last four years, and I have been a political staffer with a "crack" berry attached at the hip.  And yet somehow I am more popular than ever before.

The answer is quite simple.  I am a university graduate, who speaks english and am interested in going over to Korea to teach english as a second language.  When I first started my quest to find a teaching position in Korea I thought it would be challenging.  Having been through the interview circuit twice since graduation I mentally prepared myself for a couple of rejections, a couple of no replies etc.

But what I got instead was somewhat unexpected.  After three weeks, 50 plus emails, and several gmail messenger conversations at 3 am EST, I have four different contract offers sitting in front of me.  I admit I was probably a little ambitious in recruiting agencies to get me interviews, (at count right now I have five different ones looking on my behalf.)  Yet, having needed to put out several feelers for jobs in Canada I didn't expect this type of response.

In the end, if there is one piece of advise I would pass on to any interested graduate.  You really only need one recruiter, because they seem to need you more than you need them.  Be picky and don't accept the answer that "that was all they can find."  

There are literally thousands upon thousands of jobs in south east Asia that need to be filled.

Ironically as I say this I am still waiting anxiously for the one contract I want.  So for the next couple of days I will still be addicted to Gmail, apologizes in advance.