Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!

Greetings from South Korea!

I started this blog to not only keep track of the really cool things I plan to do over the next year or so, but also to fill you all in on what goes on in this half of the world.  But, I must warn you, this will not all be butterflies and sunflowers.  Stuff does go wrong, and stuff will go wrong.   I’m not always going to be in a great mood, or extremely pleased with different situations that I’ll find myself in—self-imposed or not.  This will not be a 24/7 narration of how I’m skipping through the lily fields holding hands with all the Asians I come across.  Bottom line: I won’t always be happy, but one thing I can promise, however, is that I’ll be honest.

I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and after graduating from the city’s Xavier University Preparatory School, I moved to Tallahassee, Florida to attend Florida A&M University.  I lived there for 6 years, then Little Rock, Arkansas for 2 years, and then Denver, Colorado for almost 4 years.  Now, at the tender age of 29, I’ve decided to pick up and move once again, but this time, it’s halfway around the world!  I am currently at the very beginning of a one-year contract to teach English at the Gyeonngi English Village in Paju.  For those of you who are geographically challenged, I’ve included a couple of maps below.

The most popular question lately has been “So what made you want to teach in Korea?” 

Quite honestly, there were a few things that influenced my decision:  I needed to travel; I was stuck in a dead-end job at a high-end technology retail store; I needed money to actually be able to pay ALL of my bills comfortably; I wanted to explore the teaching option; and I did a TON of research. After researching, reading blog after blog, talking to people who had done and were doing it, and a hefty dose of prayer, I concluded that this was the right time for me to make the move. 

So here I am.

Many of you who come across this blog will do so in pursuit of some morsel of information about teaching English in South Korea, so I’ll be as helpful as I can, but this blog isn’t meant to be a “How-to Guide.”  It’s just going to be an account of my experiences, as I embark upon this Korean adventure.  So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

Next Up: From There to Here