The Tyranny of Information Act

*The following months I will be preparing as I leave the United States and travel to Korea (South Korea for all of you who are concerned that I will either be shot or am a card-carrying member of the communist party). I feel that my friends and family have a lot of questions regarding my trip/preparation so I figured I would pull back the curtain and give you some glimpses into my world.*

OK, Jason. You have made that big decision. You've talked about it and said, wouldn't it be cool to go across the globe to TEACH ENGLISH? Wouldn't it be cool to meet new people and experience something that you can not wrap your brain around? Great. Now all we need is that first step. Hmmmm. Which direction do I step? 

Gotta make sure I am doing this right. So where is a person who is interested in going to a foreign country go to get the most up-to-date and accurate information? The Internet of course. Let's see. When I GOOGLE "South Korea Teaching"...what do I find. Wow. SO. MUCH. INFORMATION.   Let's narrow this stuff down. OK half of this is in Korean so I can skip those for now. Great stories about how people have fun and get paid a lot. Hmm. A lot of interesting things to avoid. Horror story after horror story about the people that have been screwed over by shiest recruiters. Also a lot of former expats who are so angry with their experience that every seething word that comes out of their mouth makes me start to doubt everything. Are children really rude?? Am I just some ugly American who will be viewed as a conquistador?  AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Am I doing the right thing? I don't feel like me and North Korean prison jive well. Let me breathe. I need some saving grace, where do I turn? 

Relax. Here we go. Regis Philbin has pulled out my lifeline. Not phoning any friends, but rather reading the posts of fellow bloggers. Thought I was going to get swallowed up by recruiters. The information they are providing is so nice. Like a sharp machete, I take their words to heart and chop down the low-lying negativity and start getting to work.

For those of you who are interested in following my footsteps, let me save you the time and trouble  and provide you with some of the best sites when it comes to the paperwork portion of this process.

http://www.gone2korea.com/esl-korea-faqs.html- frequently asked questions for people considering going to Korea.

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/korea-faq/- Great Blog regarding the fun and exciting things that you can experience and the best way to pack.

http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/contacts/index.htm- great way to verify how to get your FBI Background Check Apostilled (don't worry, I'll go over this one in another blog!)

Hope this helps in your journey.