This is for real!

So I started making a few blog posts months ago when I felt really conflicted about this whole process, but apparently I never "published" them, so now it looks like I wrote them all today....I promise, I didn't just go on a huge blogging rampage today.  I just don't know how to do this whole "blogging" thing.

Anywho, I digress, the important recent development is that after MONTHS of applications, interviews, and documents, and countless nights of tossing and turning from convincing myself something had gone wrong......


I HAVE A PLACEMENT!


I woke up Wednesday morning to an e-mail from my recruiter telling me my placement had been secured. The results are in, and I'm heading to Gyeongbuk Province.  That would be the pink, highlighted area for those of you who are not familiar with Korea (which in reality, is probably about 99% of the population)

 

While many people request to be in the major cities in Korea, I didn't have much of a preference, so it's easy for me to be content with Gyeongbuk.  I won't know the exact town that I'll be in until the end of August, but apparently I could end up in a smaller city, a true "small town", or a suburb-ish area.  We'll have to wait and see!

Regardless, I think Gyeongbuk will be a sweet location for the following reasons:

1) There's a lot of history! I'm obviously all about the history, so I'm happy to be in a province where I can indulge my inner history nerd.

2) It looks beautiful! There are a lot of mountains, which means some good hiking! Also, lots of coastline, so I could end up near the beach.  I wouldn't complain about that!

3)  Being located in the central part of the country means I'm not too far from anything.  Gyeongbuk is relatively close to a few of the major cities: Daegu, Ulsan, and Busan.  Of course, if I'm in the northern part of the province I will be a little further, but Korea reportedly has a great public transportation system, so it shouldn't be too bad!

The wait to get my placement WAS THE LONGEST EVER! They warn you that it takes some time to get your placement, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for it. I started this process in the winter, and my documents were in by the beginning of June. Needless to say, everything finally feels REAL, which means my thought process has been working a little something like this:

I'M GOING TO KOREA!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Wait....I'm going to be away from my friends and family for a whole year?  That's a long time....

BUT THINK OF ALL THE COOL PEOPLE I WILL MEET!

But I don't even speak an ounce of Korea.....

BUT I WILL SEE SO MANY COOL THINGS!

But what if the Koreans don't like me....

BUT I'M 24!! YOLO!

Do I even like Korean food?

Ok, so you get the gist. I'm guessing I will feel this way for pretty much the rest of the summer, but until then I just want to focus on spending as much time as possible with my family and friends.  Time is of the essence!