Aaaaaaaaaaand We're Back!!!

Okay! We are back ladies and gentlemen. In case you haven't noticed, I have been gone for awhile. Let's just say that things are a little bit different since I received the news about my original application!

Yes that is the same person you are looking at. With some hard work, Zumba Classes and all around discipline, I have lost enough weight for the Korean government not to skip over my application. I had my interview with EPIK (English Program in Korea) and PASSED! During the interview, I felt confident and that I did well, but let's say that the three days waiting for the confirmation that I passed was a nightmare.

Once I received the email about passing the interview, it was another session of waiting about where I would be placed. Placement is key. Once you have been told that you are placed in a Ministry of Education (MOE) or Province of Education (POE), you are essentially going.

On that fateful December night in 2013, I received the most thrilling news: I HAD BEEN PLACED FOR DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA. My heart was nearly in my throat. I cannot believe this. I have been working for so hard, for so long. The blood, sweat and tears that it took to get this point had been so immense. I am so proud that the Korean government and more importantly the city of Daegu have taken me on as their Guest English Teacher. I am so thrilled to be embarking on this new adventure.



The one thing that I am both accepting and working through this whole process is that patience is necessary. If anyone wants to teach for the Korea government, realize that their "timelines" are merely a suggestion or approximation. There have been many times where either my recruiter and/or the government has said that a certain timeline is when certain events (placement, NOA issuance, etc.) will be at a certain time. Well you can forget most timelines. I completely understand that this is not all their fault. They are constantly slammed with applications, interviews, documents and so much more. But for me, and more importantly, the people who are counting on information from me so they can make their decisions, are needing consistency. As I write this blog, I am still on the edge of my seat waiting for my Notice of Appointment so that I can go to Seattle to apply for my E-2 Visa. Once that is booked and done, I will be purchasing a plane ticket and be ready to go!


Well that is enough for one post. I will have you up to date the minute I find out where my contract is and when it shall be coming. Stay Tuned.........

Change of Plans

Editor's Note: Most of you know who are reading this have already heard about the postponement. This is a reminder for those who are curious about applying for Korea and the things that are not conveyed with the EPIK application.

Man, this whole process is becoming more and more surreal. Soon I will be in Korea. It is all coming so fast. FBI Background, check. Diploma apostilled, check. Application filled out with lesson plan and a great essay, check.  Wow, here we go...I am on the brink. Nothing can take the wind out of my sails. All I need to do is email my application over to my recruiter and I am on my way. Everything felt like it was easy. Sometimes I felt that it was too easy, but then that nagging feeling would be subsided by the calming inner voice telling me that this is just supposed to happen. Unfortunately I am wrong....dead wrong. After pressing the send button,  is when reality was winding up to slap the bejesus out of me. Now most of you that know me have known me as a bigger guy. I don't hide it with Tommy Bahama shirts  or excessively baggy clothes. I haven't bee ashamed of my body; however, I haven't been wanting to flaunt it either. You won't see me wearing any sort of cutoff shirts or tight designer suits. I was semi-comfortable with who I was or who I was going to end up being. I was going to be a bigger, funnier guy  who did what was asked of him and did what was the best for his family. Being skinny just wasn't in the cards. Where was I? Oh yes the wake up call. So after I sent my perfect application that I had been obsessing about for the past three weeks, I waited. And waited. And waited. Heard nothing. What was wrong, did my recruiter not receive the email? Did she not like it? So after going through every single different absurd scenario in my head, I went straight to the source. And that is when it was laid upon me. You are too fat. Now before you get ahead of yourself, the recruiter didn't put it like that. Delicately put, my Body Mass Index (BMI for short) is too high. The Korean government wants to make sure that all applicants fulfill their contract and are in great health. They want to have someone's BMI to be under 30. Regardless of what your application looks like, they will take yours if you don;'t fall under these specifications and simply chuck them into the garbage.  For a male who is Six-foot-zero-inches, he needs to weigh 200 pounds to be considered in a normal weight range. Well. Shit. My 308-pound frame is not near that. WHAT THE FUCK?!? ALL THAT MONEY SPENT FOR NOTHING!????? COME ON, I JUMPED THE HOOPS, I DID THE WORK AND NOW YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT MY OBSESSION WITH DIET COKE AND CHIPS IS HOLDING ME BACK? FUCK YOU AND THE HORSE YOU CAME IN ON. Okay. Deep breath? Not the reaction to take. Feel better screaming? No, because the simple fact of the matter is that you are still not going weighing as much as you do.  So they want me to lose 100 lbs. Fine. I can do that. That is not impossible. I want this bad enough. After sulking and screaming about it for a day, I decided to tackle this head on. Deep breath. I am going to lose this weight.


So here we go....OPERATION SWEATIN' FOR SEOUL. 308 now....200 before I go.

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.

What did you just call me?

     Sleep. I have been craving it lately. The past couple of weeks, when I finally do drift off, I feel this sudden jerk wake me up and I start to panic. My mind has been racing, my heart beats furiously and I get a nauseous feeling in my stomach. This isn't anything new. At first I think, if that last piece of pizza is messing with me, but then reality sets in and I know what is really bothering me. It has been bothering me for the past three weeks. It has been on my mind everyday. It refuses to go away. And before you get to think that this post is another "OH GREAT JASON IS SAD AND NOW WE GET TO LISTEN TO HIS SELF-LOATHING RAMBLINGS!!!" 

     But you'd be wrong. Tonight, like the past nights before has kept me awake with feelings of anticipation and excitement. "Am I really doing this???" This question has become the national anthem in Jasonia. "Am I really doing this?" These five little words have been racing through my mind night in, night out. The answer to that question starts three years ago. As I look at that time in my life, I begin to feel that the wheels in motion, started with the turn of a wheel. Back in 2009, I was a photographer for the local television station in Eugene, Oregon. I had life figured out. Work for three years in Eugene, move up to Portland and then eventually get into the world of ESPN. All I needed is a turn of a wheel to make that dream a nightmare. Many people have heard the story. Boy scratches van, boy gets fired, boy gets depressed, boy attempts to find himself in meaningless work and friendships...the end. Or so I thought. It didn't dawn on my until six months ago that the whole time I worked in retail, Insurance (Twice) or the media that I was always avoiding my true passion: Kids. 

     Now before you start in on me with the inappropriate jokes, hear me out. I have always had a certain connection with children. Whether we are talking tutoring teenagers, playing the role of the human jungle gym or making kids laugh, I have always had a special power if you will. So on that September morning in 2009, that turn of the wheel started me on this journey. The one thing about epiphanies is that they are always in front of your face, screaming at you to look. Despite dozens of people saying the same thing, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, the epiphany will not show itself. Not until you are ready. Not until you feel it tapping you on the shoulder. It doesn't beg for your attention. It doesn't boast. It just slightly taps you on the shoulder and asks you casually, "You ready????" That is when you grasp your destiny by the hand and walk side by side with it. For me, that epiphany was that I am destined to become a teacher. The other funny thing about epiphanies is that they only start you on your first step, the rest of the path is explored together. 

     So as I lay awake counting the sheep asking myself  "Are I really doing this?" I silently think, yes. Yes I am.Yes to becoming a teacher. Yes to traveling across the world to find my calling. Yes to being gone away from everything I have ever known to know myself. Yes. As you haven't guessed or seen from my facebook page, I am moving to Korea in August 2013 to teach English. Korea. Hmm. Korea? It's strange that the places, people, food and experiences that I am familiar with will be gone. Along with leaving that all behind, I am leaving myself behind. Leaving my negative view on life, my weight and my bad luck behind. So laying awake and realizing that I am ready for this adventure...all I have for you, dear reader, as you follow my dream is a simple question: "You ready?"

If you are...then follow me as I write this blog before, during and after I see this dream through.