South Korea - My next adventure!

I've been here for almost a week so I will post about that tomorrow however, here is a quick intro to exactly how I ended up here! 

So after being home and looking for work for about 2 1/2 months with no luck, that got old really fast and one day while job searching on the Johnson & Wales website I came across this company's ad for teaching English in South Korea. I applied, they called me within the next 2 weeks, and 2 months later, I'm living in South Korea!

Now, while I was abroad this last time, I ran into many people teaching english and I thought, hmm, that would be cool. The idea had crossed my mind a time or two and I thought, ''Add that to the list of things I want to do before I'm 30 or settle down." The economy is in a shit-hole right now, it's hard to find a job, and especially in my industry(the one I don't want to be in anymore!), the pay is just terrible for the amount of work you do either way you look at it when it comes to customer service/hospitality (at least starting out) so, i decided what the hell? I'll do it, and here I am! I would definitely put this up there with one of the craziest things that I have ever done but the more that I look at it, it's really not that crazy for someone like me! I mean, don't get me wrong, I was enjoying my 4 month sabbatical at my mom's tucked in the hills of west virginia. It was practically a vacation from my recent vacation! I read books, I slept in till 1 sometimes 2 o'clock everyday, I ate good, it was practically heaven. It gave me ample time to reflect on what my next move should be because I could do just about anything right now! I have no commitments, except for a car payment (which hopefully I won't have much longer!), and no serious real life responsibilities YET! However, the clock is ticking and my student loan payments are right around the corner PLUS, I haven't had a job since last August, TRUE STORY, and it's been great don't get me wrong but, I hate waking up everyday and thinking about the vast amount of debt that I owe to the government and Sallie Fucking Mae (I really hate them.) Wells Fargo and Chase are still cool with me but like Bank of America, I'm sure they'll screw that up soon enough. 

So anyways, one thing lead to another, one interview, then two, then lots of paperwork, I got a job offer, turned that one down, got another job offer, took that one, made a trip to DC to get my visa (where I got to see one of my good friends Mike Luu!), they booked me a flight, I packed my bags, said my goodbyes, and jumped on a plane to South Korea! Now, I've received a lot of skepticism and negative remarks from many different people that I thought really supported me. I've done my research and South Korea is actually a pretty good place to be. I will be teaching at a school called Hanvit Language Academy here in Daegu, South Korea. Daegu has about 2.5 million people (about the size of Barcelona) and the climate here is similar to that of West Virginia except that it has very hot, humid summers and less snowfall in the winter. It sits in a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides yet, it's about 1 hour on the train to the beach near Pusan or Busan!

So, this will be my adventure for the next year, I hope to travel to some other places in Asia and South Korea however, my first priority is to pay down the majority of my student loan debt. That is the goal! Therefore, I would like to invite everyone to read my blog while I am away. I started this almost 2 years ago while in Greece and I've found that it's a great way to keep in touch with me and read all about my daily life, as we all know, it can be pretty exciting at times! haha Feel free to send the link to anyone you may know who might be interested in a good laugh every once in a while! I love getting comments from my readers so please leave me as many as you would like, they can be pretty encouraging on days when I'm having "writer's block." 

Here is a copy of the link in case you would like to send it to anyone else.....honestly, send it to anyone!

http://www.anniesworldtravels.blogspot.com/

Thanks everyone, Happy Reading, and I look forward to your comments!! 

Annie