Thursday, February 23, 2012

YESSS

This post is more for people who I am not friends with on Facebook, but who do follow this blog.

Today my passport came back, Korean Visa and all! :D And under 'Entries' I have a beautiful 'M'. You can either have a S or a M, with S standing for Single and M standing for Multiple. This means that on breaks I can leave Korea and visit Japan, Thailand, wherever, and still get back into the country. If I had a single entry visa, I would not be able to leave if I wanted to come back without applying for a whole new visa.

What's really great is that I thought I would need to apply for a multiple entry visa once I got into Korea, and pay an additional amount. I didn't request a multiple entry visa, but since I wanted one, I am really glad I have one!

And so here I am, less than a week away from leaving the States for South Korea. I am packed, going to sleep at seven in the morning (next week it will be eight!), and as prepared as I think I can be right now. All I am waiting on is my Form 8802 response, which just exempts me from paying Korean taxes because I will be paying taxes on my earnings in the States. They sent me a letter stating they received my request early January and that within 30 days from February 21 I would get the letter that I actually need to bring to Korea. I hope it gets here before I leave. If it doesn't, I will have to have it sent to my address in Korea. Thankfully I just need to bring it to my school within the first month. I don't understand why it is taking so long, though, because the maximum time they said it should take for a response is 45 days. Ah, oh well...

I'm really excited, and in a really good place, mentally. I absolutely cannot wait for this new chapter in my life :) Things are looking good!

I'm about to have my dad weigh my suitcase. It's wider than our scale, and I don't want to try to lift it while standing on the scale. So here we go. Wish me luck!


**UPDATE** We believe the suitcase weighs 49.5 lbs. Also, this is the most helpful website I have come across in a long time: WAYGOOK.ORG has forums with people who sincerely know what they are talking about, and offer help and answers on topics ranging from life in Korea to vacation time at your school.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Oh Boy

With 13 days left until my departure date I am no longer able to avoid thinking about packing... :(

Yesterday I went out with my momma and got a suitcase. It's purple! And is right at the 62 linear inches mark, so I hope that they don't come up with some larger number if they measure it by hand. It's a hardcover suitcase, so it's completely open and free to fill on both sides. Which is awesome for all of my clothes and shoes, but totally terrible for my weight limit! ..I am also a professional clothes-roller. I have managed to fit almost everything that I would like to take with me, and after some swapping between my carry-on I think I've worked it out so that I'm just within the weight limit.

Going through my shoes was so difficult! I felt like a real girl last night as I was picking through them all, weeping. (Not really. But almost.) I have too many pairs! I kept thinking, "Man, Kyleigh and I really are sisters."

But before packing I researched what others who've made the same trip had brought, and combed through lists my recruiter was kind enough to give me. It's really interesting what they tell you to bring and what they tell you to leave behind. Deodorant, for example, is somewhat difficult to find in South Korea and terribly expensive compared to what we're used to paying. I've heard that half the size is twice the price. Woah! And for all of you ladies, if you will ever want to wear tampons you should bring them. Also, if you wear a size C or larger, bring enough bras to last you, because you won't be able to find any. (So I've heard. If I find it to be otherwise, I'll try to inconspicuously mention it in a future post.)


Here is a list of what I recommend bringing:
1. Reese's. -for eating, sharing, and saving for later.
2. Deodorant!! -shampoo/conditioner/razors are readily found, so don't worry about it unless you want to pack a little in your carry-on (minus the razor) like I'm doing :)
3. Towel(s) -towels in Korea aren't as large as what we're accustomed to. So if having a smaller towel won't bother you, then you won't have to waste luggage space :)
4. Sheet set(s) -Korea uses a slightly different type of bedding.
5. Coats for winter and monsoon season.
6. Comfy shoes, dressy shoes, and monsoon shoes. -I don't know what the largest size available is, but I'm fairly certain that if you wear larger than an 8 (women, I don't know about men), you will not have much luck in purchasing any.
7. Enough sweaters to not need to heat your house into oblivion in colder months.
8a. Clothes for your body type -having never been there, I don't know the largest/smallest sizes available, or what their average inseams are.
8b. Clothing for teaching, going out with friends/co-teachers, exercising, sleeping, and bumming around the house.
9. Your favorite vitamins, pain killers, and any medication you need.
10. Mac n' cheese, taco seasoning, any sauce packets or snacks you may miss. -this is one I've seen on a lot of lists!
11. Multiple things to do on the airplane.
12. Photographs -for your living space and your students.
13. A little gift for the director of your school and the co-teacher -it lets them know that you appreciate the opportunity to work with and for them, and is a simple and polite gesture that will help set you off on the right foot :)

**A side note, I would recommend arriving at least with the ability to read the Korean alphabet, Hangul, with an open and adventurous spirit, and with enough of certain articles so that the fact that you do not have access to a dryer for your clothes doesn't affect you.


It feels kind of strange, though, to be packing for a year in advance. It puts all of this into perspective. I know it's going to be tough at times to be so far from my friends and family. Your support means so much to me, and I am incredibly thankful for everyone who has been a part of this journey with me, even though it hasn't really begun yet. I'll make sure to keep everything updated!

As always, feel free to leave any questions or comments. If there is anything you would add to the list, let me know!

:)

Monday, February 13, 2012

A Way To Learn

I've been bumming around on Dave's ESL trying to learn information about Bucheon-si and my school (no luck on my school!). It's a helpful site where you can get honest opinions on really any ESL topic- not just those related to Korea! Forums for each location are further broken down into sub-forums about jobs, living, general, etc. One post I was reading was about how many new vocabulary words people found that they could successfully learn per day. Amidst all of the numbers and explanations that were posted in response, I found a beautiful link. It was to a project called Mnemosyne. It's a flash card-based learning software that allows you to imput/import Q&A information. It even allows you to do image and title cards! (This would have been helpful for all of those art history courses, yeah?) The coolest part about this project, though, is that it allows you to rank the ease at which you remembered the question/image/phrase (0-5). Using the ranking that you provide, it then judges how frequently it needs to bring the card back in front of you so that you remember it well. If you rank it a 0 or 1, the card will resurface very soon. If you rank it between 2 and 5, the card will appear less often and sort of on a sliding scale with 5 being the least often.

Please go to their site and read all about it if you're curious. It's so interesting! They even have "cards" on the site that you can download and import into the program. The "cards" they have available span far beyond languages and each category is further broken down. I downloaded this 3000-words-in-Korean package. Intense! But I want to build my vocabulary, so it's perfect.

This image is their logo, and the caption is a link to their site. I've been having a pretty nice time with this software. :)

mnemosyne

Thanks for reading! May you enjoy this gem as much as I am.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Oops!

A friend pointed out that my comment settings prohibited anyone without a user ID from leaving me any feedback. I'm sorry! I didn't know.

But I changed it! So now anyone can comment, user or not.


:) Thanks!

Flight Booked!

I have my date of arrival from my school! They would like me in March 1st. It's a little later than I was hoping for, but the current ESL teacher isn't even evacuating until then. I'll be moving in later that day. I feel bad for the people who will attempt to clean the apartment in such a short amount of time!

Buut, I just booked my flight. I found one where the total travel time is only 17.5 hours! It's not a cheap ticket, but it's by no means one of the more expensive ones, either. After taxes it cost me about $998 one way. A round-trip may have been cheaper in the long run, but they would have only refunded half of the RT ticket at first and I don't have the funds for that. I am also open to the idea that I may want to stay another year. It's nice, though, because I thought I would need to book with a certain travel agent to have airport pick-up, but my recruiter told me that she would arrange for it regardless of where I booked my flight :)

The flight I chose ended up being with Delta Airlines. The cheapest and most direct flight carrier depended on which day I checked for flights out. I booked through Expedia.com, and they had this really great chart listing carry-on and checked baggage rules. I copied it and removed a few that I have never heard of. It's longer than I'd like so it's at the bottom of this post.

When I got to Delta's website, it said that the checked baggage may weigh up to 50 lbs (23 kg) and be no more than 62" (157 cm) total between the width, height, and length. Carry-on is standard, and needs to be no more than 45" (115 cm) between the width, height, and length.

Here is the baggage chart. It may help you make a better decision if you are looking at flights of similar price and duration.






Over and out!

Monday, February 6, 2012

E-2 Visa

Today I sent in my E-2 visa application. One of the last things I needed to do! Like many other application processes, it involved a bigger envelope, application papers, and a return envelope inside. This time, though, I included a padded return envelope because it's my passport they will be returning. I am a little nervous to have sent my passport out, but since I need the visa to be stamped inside it I can't really do anything about that.

Because the Chicago Korean Consulate General covers Michigan, I guess that I could have gone to Chicago instead of sending it via mail. But it takes a few days to process the application and then stamp the visa, so I'd rather not spend my precious airfare money on hotels.

One thing that still confuses me is that the Consulate website and my recruiter had both stated that since I was a first-time E-2 visa applicant, I would need to have an interview and that they may request additional documents. I called the Consulate to see what documents they would need for my interview, and the lady I spoke to (both times) said that I would not need an interview or any additional documents. I will probably still call to make sure that my documents arrived okay, and my phone number is on the application just in case I do end up needing an interview. I hope this works out alright, though! I haven't heard anything as to why I am getting contradictory replies regarding the interview, so if anyone knows please let me in on it! I'm curious. Of course, I'll post the reason, too, if I hear...

Here is what I sent:
-A cover letter with my name, visa issuance number, phone number, and home address. (The visa issuance number was given to me by my recruiter after my documents went through immigration over in Korea.)
-Visa application form with passport quality photo attached.
-Consul's Checklist (Essentially a questionnaire that asks about your criminal record, health, college degree, and basic information.)
-Passport (Yes! My real passport.)
-A photocopy of the passport info/picture page.
-Self-addressed return envelope. (PREPAID W/ POSTAGE)
-$45 MONEY ORDER made out to the Korean Consulate General ***(NO PERSONAL CHECKS ACCEPTED.) ***

Helpful websites:
Chicago Korean Consulate  -search "English instructor" to jump to E-2 information
APC's E-2 Visa Instructions


Once you've been approved for a visa, it will take 2-3 days to have your visa entered into your passport.


Again, thanks for reading and feel free to post any questions or even any topics you would like me to talk about.

:) Kaitlin