How I came to be in Korea, Part 3: Finishing Touches

First published via Facebook, October 7, 2009 (eleven days out from my arrival date):

Over the last month, as I have prepared documents and slimmed down my possessions, the LORD has opened a job for me in South Korea. At the beginning of September, my recruiting agency informed me of an opening in a public school which needed to be filled by the end of the month. I was so excited--could I be leaving in less than 30 days? I filled out the application, wrote a cute essay, and sent it in. After a week, I hadn't heard anything and really began to doubt if I were ever going to get a job overseas--because apparently, I wasn't getting that one.

I really began to get discouraged. At the same time, the agency sent me four or five other referrals that I could look into at my liesure. If the public school didn't work, I could try those. Before I really had time to look into that, however, Footprints called me. "I have excellent news for you, Jennifer," they said. "Learning Well School in Chungju is interested in interviewing you for an immediate position." Footprints set up the interview for me for early the following week. It was a 45-minute phone call that went very well. The next day, my interviewer offered me the job and sent a contract via email.

Much ground was covered in the interview. The interviewer, the director of the school, told me a little about the school and the city where I would live. Learning Well is a private language institute, or hogwan. It's about 90 miles or so outside of Seuol. Chungju is a smaller city with 300,000 people (less than a third of San Antonio!) surrounded by the mountains. I would be provided a room and transportation to and from the school. The school itself has many English-speaking teachers, but I'm not sure how many are native speakers. It sounds as if the school and staff will be very supportive in my efforts. The director seemed very interested in my teaching background and wanted to know if I could incorporate music into my lessons. Another thing he was interested in is my relationship with Christ. "I hear you are a Christian," he said. "I'm a seeker myself." I'm not sure what that means, but I know I need to go prepared.

Since the intherview, I have sent my documents to Korea and have been waiting on a visa approval number. Once I have that, I can then contact the Consulate in Houston and send them documents for my visa. I got an email from the school yesterday that asked if I could be ready to go by the end of the week. Dad's response to that was, "If your bags were packed and the taxi was waiting out front, I still don't think you could make it by Friday." It's a bit of an unrealistic dream. I still have to wait a minimum of four days for my visa, which puts me at a departure date of no less than the middle of next week. And I don't have my approval number yet. It won't be very long, however, once I do get it. As I told my director, "All I really have to do [now] is pack."

Things are heating up as I spend my last days in the United States. Something may happen and I could, like a friend of mine, spend more "last days" here than I thought I would, but if everything pans out the way circumstances are going right now, I may be leaving in as little as two weeks from this day (October 7). It's an exciting time, indeed.