The beginning of it all

I picked this book up a few months ago at a used book store. I was actually in the store to find a Betty Crocker cookbook, but when I came across this book I knew I had to buy it. If you are reading this blog, you probably already know why. Because it looks like I will be living in Korea in a few months. I got offered a teaching job with Chungdahm Learning Institute. I found the job on a website that a few people I am acquainted with found international teaching jobs on: eslcafe.com. I actually got the job through a recruitment agency called aclipse. I am ridiculously excited to live in Asia for a full year! I am trying to keep a realistic attitude about this all. I have learned all about the stages of culture shock and how hard it can be to live in another country, and am trying to remind myself that it will probably not always be the most fun experience. I am going alone and don't know a single word in Korean (or really anything about the culture).

There are still quite a few unknowns. I haven't been assigned a location yet because Chungdahm has 125 locations in Korea and they don't know where I will be until my visa documents have all been processed. Because my visa documents are still in the works I also don't know my exact departure date. It was originally September 5th, but because of a series of events it has been pushed back to sometime in November.

As for right now, I am moving out of my apartment, selling or throwing away almost everything I own, spending as much time as possible with my amazing family, boyfriend, and friends, working my butt off at Best Buy, and writing a 10-12 page paper on South Korea (which I have decided to refer to as SoKo). If you have anything to contribute to my paper, this is what I'm looking for:)

List of Elements to be examined:

1. Cultural History

2. Cultural World Views

3. Cultural Technology

4. Family Institutions

5. Religious Institutions

6. Cultural Language and Interaction

7. Cultural Rules and Procedures

8. Economic Institutions

9. Health Institutions

10. Political Institutions

11. Educational Institutions

12. Artistic Expression