안녕히 계세요!

*Annyonghi kyesayo = Goodbye (to person staying)

The latest question people have been asking me about Korea is how long the flight is. Well, I didn't actually know until this morning at 4 am, two days before my departure date, when I finally received my e-ticket/flight itinerary from SMOE. (Just a little unnerving) Other than the minor detail of a plane ticket, I've been pretty much set to go. I have two giant suitcases in my room packed with clothes, shoes and toiletries. Everything else I hope to buy there or have my parents send. (Love you, Mom!)

I'm not really nervous anymore; I kind of just want to be there already. Yesterday I went to North to drop off some materials for other teachers and I ran into our three AP's. (That's Assistant Principals for my non-educator readers) They were like, aren't you supposed to be in Asia or something?

Almost. On Saturday morning I fly to Chicago, where I have a 3 1/2 hour layover, and then I have an almost 14 hour flight to the Incheon Airport in South Korea. From there, I am being picked up by a representative from SMOE who will take me to a training center for a weeklong orientation in Seoul. After that, I have no idea. I don't actually know where in Seoul I'll be living or teaching, or if they will honor my age request (junior high), etc.

Scary, but exciting at the same time. And if there is anything I've learned after two years of teaching high school, it's to be flexible and deal with whatever is thrown at me. (Literally, sometimes, as I've had both a water bottle and a paper airplane thrown at me) I've also dealt with nearly every travel disaster imaginable, (lost/stolen passports, sleeping at airports and train stations in Europe, etc..) so I think I'll be okay.

Either way, you can read all about it in my next post, which will actually be from Korea!

Annyonghi kyesayo until then :)