Phew, we have a lot to go over so grab some tea and lets begin. (Pictures will come later)
I left my house for the first of three flights on Sunday at 7am. The first flight was to Charlotte, NC then with a hour layover I hopped on a plane to JFK Airport, NY. With a nine hour layover facing me I did what anyone would want to do, explore. Luckily a very good friend of mine Al gave me instructions on subways so I could meet her in Brooklyn. After getting lost on the airtram and almost taking a wrong subway I finally met her at the huge Macys building in downtown Brooklyn. We walked around for a while catching up and her laughing at me ogling the sights before we got coffee. After a quick Starbucks trip we decided that I had time to visit Manhattan. In fact she insisted on it. After another subway trip (which I still don't quite understand) we were making our way to Chinatown.
Before I continue let me say I have never heard so many horns in my life nor seen so many almost accidents. Jesus, no wonder most people don't drive in NY.
With that said we stomped by a street vendor and got ourselves a Thai coconut that she (the vendor) chopped up in front of us so she could put a straw in the top. THE BEST COCONUT MILK EVER. We then ventured off to have hand tossed noddles at this super secret spot in Chinatown.
We then started to hoof it back to get me to the airport in time for check-in. While riding the subway at peak hours we ran into the typical crazy singing subway bum. We had no choice but to sit close to him and take it. After a few stops he tried to ask me questions with me ignoring him. Al grabbed me and we walked to the other side of the subway. I think this upset him. Why do I think that? He started shouting gibberish at me across a crowded subway. His voice was getting more anger in it as it got louder. We quickly ran into another cart at the next stop. However, the bum got off with us and tried to follow us into the cart. Getting ready for a fight I stared him down while he was standing right at the door to get on. He smiled and let the door close in front of him and off we went. Close call. I guess it's good I got to experience that aspect of New York (not really.) Where was Borat when I needed him?
We got back to the airport JUST in time and I said my goodbye, sadly.
The plane ride was miserable and not much happened. I will say that their airplanes are 100% nicer than anything I have ever ridden on and I began to see how much more advanced they are in Tech than we are. The plane line was called Asiana.
Here is where we will stop for the time being. I will pick up with the arrival in Korea and the first couple of days here.
3/31/2010
3/25/2010
Pre-Departure
It always seems customary to start blogs off with a short introduction followed by the current state of affairs then the arbitrary interest grabbing ending paragraph.
Lets start then.
My name is Joel Pinkney Tillman IV. I am a 24 year old male with a rich history behind him. Without meaning to sound condescending I have experienced much more than most people my age.We wont go into the trials and tribulations except for one fact: I have been on the move since I was born. With such said it has left me in a strange state of mind but we will get to that in the current state of affairs paragraph. I just graduated from Florida Southern College in horrid Lakeland, Florida, USA. I scored in the top 25% of the nation on my major field tests ensuring my place in a decent graduate school. I am single and have no kids (thank god.) Most of my friends have moved away to peruse a good life (I presume) with a few exceptions.
When I was in my last semester of college I was in a state of panic. They say college ends too fast for your mind to prepare and they are right. I had no idea what came next. Sure I knew I wanted to peruse graduate school, which is a necessity now-a-days, but had nothing lined up. I had no real idea what jobs I wanted to look for nor which state to look for them! This, I'm told, is a natural feeling for most college graduates. Just look at the hit movie "The Graduate". I felt like I had an idea of who I was but, like most of my past, I felt lost and slightly lonely. I personally like this feeling to an extent and feel like you should feel this way at my age but I digress.
One day I saw a distant friend of mine post something on Facebook. This something was a blog he was keeping on his trip to South Korea. Intrigued, I started reading the blog in its entirety. I have always had this romantic idea in my head of teaching abroad but never saw it as a valuable option (as I am a Finance Major and not a Gen Ed.) After looking through his blog archives I became fascinated. I started contacting him asking her/him (it was a couple) all about the process, what it was like there, teaching, etcetc. The more I found out the more I felt something growing inside of me. This had been there all along but it was my adventure spirit taking over once again. Cutting to the chase I started the application process knowing this was the next chapter of my life with no other option.
Fast forward to now. I just got my E2 work vista stamp and my flight booked today. I leave on Sunday and after a 20 hour flight will be in South Korea. I signed a year contract and fully plan on being there longer. After South Korea comes China then Japan. I will be traveling all over each said country and be diving head first into whatever adventure they dare throw at me; and I will conquer each one.
I still feel lost and lonely (a pure romantic way) in my life to an extent. I have a gut feeling that this trip is something that will change me, something that will shape me into something I was suppose to be. I christen this blog with this post because I know down the line my children will want to know how it all began and I can tell them I started to become the man I was meant to be in the most unlikely state; lost.
Footnote: I will be updating this blog with the process, from start to finish, of how one goes about getting a job in South Korea and why they would want to in the first place. This will not be only just about the adventures of one man but information on the places, people, events, process, etcetc.
Lets start then.
My name is Joel Pinkney Tillman IV. I am a 24 year old male with a rich history behind him. Without meaning to sound condescending I have experienced much more than most people my age.We wont go into the trials and tribulations except for one fact: I have been on the move since I was born. With such said it has left me in a strange state of mind but we will get to that in the current state of affairs paragraph. I just graduated from Florida Southern College in horrid Lakeland, Florida, USA. I scored in the top 25% of the nation on my major field tests ensuring my place in a decent graduate school. I am single and have no kids (thank god.) Most of my friends have moved away to peruse a good life (I presume) with a few exceptions.
When I was in my last semester of college I was in a state of panic. They say college ends too fast for your mind to prepare and they are right. I had no idea what came next. Sure I knew I wanted to peruse graduate school, which is a necessity now-a-days, but had nothing lined up. I had no real idea what jobs I wanted to look for nor which state to look for them! This, I'm told, is a natural feeling for most college graduates. Just look at the hit movie "The Graduate". I felt like I had an idea of who I was but, like most of my past, I felt lost and slightly lonely. I personally like this feeling to an extent and feel like you should feel this way at my age but I digress.
One day I saw a distant friend of mine post something on Facebook. This something was a blog he was keeping on his trip to South Korea. Intrigued, I started reading the blog in its entirety. I have always had this romantic idea in my head of teaching abroad but never saw it as a valuable option (as I am a Finance Major and not a Gen Ed.) After looking through his blog archives I became fascinated. I started contacting him asking her/him (it was a couple) all about the process, what it was like there, teaching, etcetc. The more I found out the more I felt something growing inside of me. This had been there all along but it was my adventure spirit taking over once again. Cutting to the chase I started the application process knowing this was the next chapter of my life with no other option.
Fast forward to now. I just got my E2 work vista stamp and my flight booked today. I leave on Sunday and after a 20 hour flight will be in South Korea. I signed a year contract and fully plan on being there longer. After South Korea comes China then Japan. I will be traveling all over each said country and be diving head first into whatever adventure they dare throw at me; and I will conquer each one.
I still feel lost and lonely (a pure romantic way) in my life to an extent. I have a gut feeling that this trip is something that will change me, something that will shape me into something I was suppose to be. I christen this blog with this post because I know down the line my children will want to know how it all began and I can tell them I started to become the man I was meant to be in the most unlikely state; lost.
Footnote: I will be updating this blog with the process, from start to finish, of how one goes about getting a job in South Korea and why they would want to in the first place. This will not be only just about the adventures of one man but information on the places, people, events, process, etcetc.
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