Its really happening...I'm going to Korea!

After last week's disappointing news that the jobs were filling quickly, I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my email on Monday.

The title of the email: We got for you a placement!

Ha, English teachers are still in demand.

Almost immediately, I sprung into crisis mode wondering if now that I had a job, would I take it? There were suddenly a million reasons why I wanted to stay home, comfortably miserable: Trouble, my super rad apartment, meeting new people and potential love interests, nothing has to change. Though there are a million reasons to stay, there are two million reasons to go.

I consulted friends, the Buddha and myself for answers. All resounded in the same answer: you have to experience life, not wonder about it. So, I signed my contracts, FedEx'd them today, and that's all she wrote. This train has left the station, and its plowing into Incheon City on Feb. 28th 2010.

Holy shit.

When I arrive, I have no idea what to expect. Will there be anyone at the airport to meet me? Will I immediately start teaching? What is safe to eat? NO IDEA.

I am beginning to look forward to inspiring the youth of Sinha Elementary in any way I can. Until now, I had never considered teaching elementary school kids, but I find myself thinking about language as a child again--and its fun! Remember all the word games we played as children, never quite realizing how much we gain from simple tasks?

It will be a grand adventure to be in Korea, almost alone. In a suburb of 2.5 million people, and a bus ride away from one of my closest friends, I don't think isolation will have an easy time creeping in. It will, but it doesn't have to stay long.

I now anxiously await my Visa number so the process can be complete. This involves the arduous drive to Seattle, which I am not pleased with. There, I will go to the Korean Consulate and become a real ex-pat.

Waiting for the phone to ring.....