Well, I've done it. I have landed a public school, high school, position. The job is in the outskirts of Ansan and is 10 minutes walking distance from Banwol Station. Which puts me at about 45 minutes away from central Seoul. The problem? I have to begin Dec. 1. Which means, getting everything together, getting my Visa, flying out and saying goodbye in 1 month. YIKES. That also means, no more Christmas with the family, no going to see the nutcracker, no nothing :-( bummer. but really, what it came down to was giving up location for job environment or giving up job environment for location. You can see which one won. Now i'm incredibly nervous that I've made a wrong decision in trying to leave so soon, and to somewhere I know NOTHING about the area. Partially, because there isn't anything post on the web... lol. So yup. Encouragement, advice, info on Ansan, anything would be appreciated at this point! :-)

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

P.S. As soon as i'm there, I want to have a huge movie marathon at my new place! Anyone interested, let me know! and any movie requests are welcomed. I'm trying to decide what to bring! lol.

What to do, What to Do. that seems to be the question of the week(s).

Ever since my "epik failure" I've been really confused and my family hasn't been much help. They all really don't want me going overseas in the first place, so needless to say, they weren't too crushed to hear that I hadn't been accepted into the program. they don't understand why I want to live in a different culture and especially one that is in such a "dangerous" location. Everyone really wants me to go straight into grad school. Well, you know what? I'm not ready to go to grad school yet. I'm ready to get out there, expand my boundaries and live life for a while. I just spent the last two years of my life taking double credit hours, busting my butt, having no life, in school, no time for fun, family or friends, no breaks, just work and school. period. So yes, I earned my bachelors degree in two years. now I want to do something else for a while. Grad school is NOT something I want to just right into. I can see the appeal. Get my Masters degree at the age of 22. Yes, that would be fabulous but I don't know exactly what I want to get my masters in, I don't have the money for grad school right now and quite frankly a little bit of change would be nice.

Anyways... My real problem here is that I'm so upset over not getting into EPIK that I can't even begin to focus on other options. I can't get excited about the potential of a private school position because I just spent the last 6 months pumping myselfup on all the reasons public school is better than private schools. Not to mention all of the hagwon horror stories.

Now I'm to the point where I an second guessing everything. Do I want to teach in a private school? Do I really want to teach at all? Do I really want to take a whole year out of my life for this adventure? Do I even have any options at this point? I mean, here are my options (so I feel) 1)Grad School 2) Full time Position at Hallmark 3) Private School position.

NOT that anything is wrong with any of these options. They are all great options actually. my problem is that I have become discouraged and now I just feel like I'm stuck in a hole andi'm never going to be able to get out. ARGH.

Right now I feel like I have no direction, no plan, no nothing and it's KILLING me. I always have a plan. that is the type of person I am. I have always had direction because it has always been school. getting through, getting done. well, now I'm DONE and that is that and now I'm totally left with no direction, no plan and i'm totally freaking out. Why? I don't know. this is all really stupid really but it doesn't help to have my whole family going against what I want to do and trying to push me in another direction. No one seems to understand what I'm going through or how I feel or what is that I want and I'm just totally and completely frustrated.

and now that I have totally bored you with my totally meaningless rant, I'm going to go to bed and hope for a better mood and fresh perspective tomorrow.

K.C.

P.S. I want to thank everyone who has been reading/commenting on my blog. you have all been SO supportive and that really means the world to me. Thank you SO much! you have no idea :-)

Well, sad news folks. incredibly sad but hey, it happens. Just got off the phone with my recruiter and my application for teaching in a public school has been denied. they never interviewed, looked at my paperwork, nothing. Apparently, they are saturated with applications and my lack of teaching experience just doesn't measure up? I'll never know for sure, it is now EPIK's policy not to inform you why exactly they have denied your application. the rushing feeling of tears hit first. then anger. then depression and now? determination. I am now going to be looking at private school positions. I'm still hoping for the Busan area, however, it looks like I may be in Seoul. It's really hard to say at this point. with my luck, i'll be denied from all of those schools too. :-S argh. MAJOR bummer. MAJOR sadness. time for a new episode of "You're Beautiful" and whatever sweets I can find in the kitchen...and I was doing so well with keeping them at bay. lol.

So, cross your fingers, keep me in your prayers. I'm going to need it!

K.C.

I don't know if I've mentioned this or not but I'm addicted to asian dramas. Taiwanese Dramas have always been my favorite but Korean dramas come in at a close (very close) second. In fact, my very first asian drama was the korean drama Coffee Prince. My favorite Korean dramas include Full House, Really Really Like You and Boys before flowers. and my all time favorite Taiwanese Dramas include My Lucky Star, Calling Love, ToGetHer, Smiling Pasta and Easy Fortune, Happy Life.

Anyways, now getting to my point, lol. I stumbled across a new series (thanks to PopSeoul) and am in LOVE. it has SO much potential. Now, I've only watched the very first episode but I think I'm going to LOVE it and I have to share. So, if you watch asian drama at all, take a peek!

http://www.mysoju.com/youre-beautiful/

enjoy!

K.C.

My first batch of Photos :-)

Stickers! yes, yes those ARE scratch off stickers! I don't even know what age group I'm going to be working with yet but I don't care! it doesn't matter if I'm working with Adults, they're getting stickers! lol.



My box of stuff i'm preparing to take with me. lol.



Luggage! the pictures really don't do them justice in regards to how big they really are! lol.





So yup. that's it for now! Still waiting to hear back from EPIK, when I do i'll let you know!

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Happy October! isn't it just amazing how when october rolls around the weather seems to instantly cool, the air gets crisp, the leaves start to change color and fall and everything just screams fall? I SO want to buy a pumpkin soon. I'm hoping to go and actually pick one out of a pumpkin patch but we'll see. lol.

Anywho...on to the Music!

Question: Who is the largest Boy Band in the World????

Answer: Korea's Super Junior! (13 members!)

I LOVE their song "Sorry, Sorry" Check it out. you won't be sorry! (no pun intended. lol) Their dance moves rock :-)



Dance Version mv!



On a side note, there are actually several other "junior" groups or sub units as SM calls them, handled by SM entertainment company. While super junior is the most popular (and I believe largest?) Super Junior M (for Mandarin) is also very popular. Their latest hit Super Girl is very good and is very similar to Sorry Sorry. Check it out:




Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.