Two weeks from today I will be boarding a plane and saying my last goodbyes. Only problem is I still don’t have a plane ticket or know where my apartment is. The good news is that I’m in DC right now and the last step for my E-2 visa will be available for pickup Thursday! After Korea receives my documents I should get my actual flight and apartment pretty quickly.
I cant believe its nearly time to leave. I feel like only yesterday I was going on Skype interviews and unsure which country to go to. Now I’m practically an expert on notarizing and apostillization, have had a goodbye party in two cities and should probably start packing and moving things to storage. I’ve compiled my mental packing list but will undoubtedly leave packing my luggage to the last week.
These last few weeks in the states seem to be full of coincidences. I ran into one of my first fencers/students the day I sent my farewell letter to the high school team I coach. Yesterday I was wandering around DC and opted to visit the American Natural History Museum which happened to have a temporary exhibit on Korea. It was really interesting and I enjoyed learning about some of the culture and traditions. It definitely got me more excited to go!
As a whole I’m still pretty pumped to go. A lot of people are asking if I’m nervous or scared. I’ve had a few moments but usually don’t get a lot of anxiety so I think this is following suit. Although I’m sure once I actually arrive in Seoul and culture shock sets in I’ll have a few more nervous moments. I’m told Koreans have a great cure for it though. Soju + Karaoke
The whole concept is still so surreal to me. This has been something I hoped to do since I was little and its finally happening! I can’t imagine how much I’m going to miss my family and friends and to be honest haven’t really thought about that yet. I hope modern technology can help alleviate some of the homesickness that I’m sure will set in after arrival.
