Quick First Impressions

Busan is crowded and noisy. At night, everything is lit up brightly--fluorescent lights, strobes, the whole nine yards. People walk where ever they please, as in straight into you. Every once in a while a strong waft of stale water offends your nose. The culture is conservative, but the people are curious.

I Can Sleep on the Plane

It's the night before I leave for Pusan. I can't sleep. Let's see--I'm looking at 23 hours of travel. it's not that I'm not nervous...I just want to savor the moment. I have had a wonderful week and a half with my brother's family and my parents, Including two rips to Chicago. I called all the relatives tonight to say goodbye and packed. I am going to be the best instructor Pagoda Foreign Language Institute has ever hired. This is it. Don't get scared now.

Woo Hoo!

I'm Going on Thursday!

Friday, Tim and I went to the Korean Consulate and I had my first ever work-visa interview. Located on the 27th floor of the NBC building, downtown Chicago, the Consulate has an incredible view of Lake Michigan. The two ladies in front of me seemed nervous, and their interviews took a little over fifteen minutes apiece. Luckily I had read the guidebook twice, and had fellowship with a few Korean natives. Fully prepared, my interview took only five minutes.

Tim and my stomachs were growling so we decided to get a quick bite to eat before braving the road construction on I94. Tim said cheeseburgers sounded good. Ah, comfort food. We went to the Billy Goat Tavern (spoofed by SNL). FUn TimES! SO, Wednesday I have to pick up the Visa, what a pain.

I just received my flight tickets, and I am ecstatic! In less than a week I will be on the other side of the world. Then it is all about immersion. I am going to jump into it head first. Teaching to the best of my ability and learning as much as I can as fast as I can is the name of the game. WOO! Danny Woo my new manager will pick me up in Busan after my 22 hr trip. I can't wait!

Becoming Real

The move went smoothly. I fit almost all of my belongings into Carly's jetta station wagon.I brought the rest in a guy's, from my mom's church, truck.  Although the weekend brought a mix of snow and freezing rain, Josh, Carly and my mom made the journey from Minneapolis MN to Omro WI without a hitch. Sunday, it took forever to get on the road. The tarp covering my mattress continuously blew loose. The truck had to be returned before morning; so by the time we made it to Omro, unloaded everything, and dropped that weak machine off it was 2:30am. 

Monday was all about rest. 

Tuesday, Shi my nieces and I went to a nature center in Monona. While the kids learned about native dancing and the significance of wildlife, I went shopping. I found a nice MSR water filtration pump on sale--40% off! Anyways, no waterborne illness for this guy. I finally received my visa number, but the visa application website is so confusing and tedious. Two lists with overlapping items, none of which I will actually need are listed in different places. So, I called Wednesday morning to set up an appointment and interview. This will take place Friday in Chicago--what a huge pain in the ass. After riding On The Road in my father-in-law's 49 Hudson I became entirely too restless to hang around my brother's commune, so I road Shi's bike to the mall and bought some sweet professional attire (at highly discounted prices) for the new job. This is going to be great! PS. Please Feel Free To Post Comments, Questions, and Snide Remarks

The Low Down

I had a nice going away party last weekend and drank entirely too much. Now that I have re-established my limits I am ready to start a new life on the other side of the world. I am moving my stuff to my parent's house this weekend. I am excited. Networking through the line at starbucks really paid off. I have made a few friends from South Korea and have been learning the language and culture. I have the alphabet and phonetics down, as well as the numbers and a few common phrases. I leave at the end of this month to start working in Busan, South Korea. On the water and located on the south-eastern tip of the peninsula, Busan is the second largest city in the country with a population of 2.66 million. Half my classes will be intensive programs and half will be general english learning. It is about time all this comes together. After several vague emails, I was able to glean enough information to begin asking the right questions to get the answers I needed. They are giving me the hook-up. Now, I am all about it. I just want to thank my family and my friends for their support and patience through this process. I'll miss everyone, but feel free to shoot me an email or call me on skype. Peace and Love everybody, I'm Out!