#1o my final weEk...

the people i love most~

this week is pretty much considered my last week here in sydney... i've been trying to spend as much time as i can with all my friends.. it's a bit sad when i think abt it.. knowing that i'll be leaving for a year and i won't be seeing them anymore.

i love you guys! you'll be missed =\

안녕~

xo m

#o9 nearing the enD...

my school

it is now officially confirmed... im moving to korea in a week o.O to be honest.. i told everyone that i was moving but i think it hasnt click yet that im leaving soon..

last week the embassy in korea approved of my documents and issued me my visa number.. with that number all i had left to do was to apply for the visa here in sydney.. i sent them my documents yesterday and am scheduled for an interview 2moro... from what i've been told from my friend, i just go in for like 5-10 mins.. they just want to see me and then they'll stamp my passport with my visa and then i book and fly off! how exciting.

im so glad this process is over... this last step is driving me crazy.. i think every part of it drove me insane... koreans like to do everything at the last minute.. i pretty much had to call and chase up all my documents all the time ... i think i've made like 10 calls in the past 3 adys just to see if they received my passport and to get them to schudule me my interview.

this is my final price list of this moving process..

$50 - CRC
$20 - Uni transcript
$60 - Uni letter apostille
$60 - CRC apostille
$74 - Send documents over via fedex
$75 - Visa
$15 - Express envelopes for visa
$10 - Postal fees
$10 - Phone call fees (hahaha)
------------------------------------------
total = $374!!

wow... i seriously didn't know i spent this much money... only now that i realised this was really expensive .. but its all worth it in the end!

anyways im off .. will update later after i have my interview with the consulate 2moro.

안녕~

xo m

#o8 graduatiOn~

i graduated today!!

i wasn't allowed to do this.. ㅋㅋㅋ

accepting my award~

getting ready for the walk

me & sarah!

안녕~

xo m

#o7 what a wEekend...

last weekend i had the WORSE weekend of my life.. just one thing happened after another and i seriously could not take it.. il explain..

first off i went to havana for the 1st time last weekend.. my friends asked me to go and since i havent hung out with them for a long time i decided to go.. the night was good.. i had a good time and was able to see everyone b4 i left.. it wasnt until about 230 that my night turned into a nightmare -_- i'd put my leather jacket in the cloak room when i got in.. at 230 when i went to get it, they couldnt find it.. there was stuff literally everywhere in that cloak room.. on the ground.. chucked all over the place and everything was a complete mess... for 2 hours, i stood there while they searched for my jacket in that room.. not long after they admitted that they had given my jacket to somebody else... how is that even possible??!!

i got really shitted at them for losing it in the first place but got even more pissed cos they kept saying there was nothing they could do abt it. ermm .. like if i pay u to look after my jacket and you lose it and gave it to someone else then i think its ur responsibility to pay me back? anyways after hours of arguing, they decided that if next friday, the girl doesnt return with it then they will reimburse me for it.. i mean it wasnt like it was a cheap jacket ... so annoying -_-

next thing on my list was even more of a nightmare.. my mum accused my friends of stealing her top.. but get this . a dirty top that she had left in the bathroom so she can hand wash.... does that sound crazy to anyone? if it is .. please leave a comment.. i think it'll make me feel better that i'm not the only person that thinks my mum is going looney... i mean seriously... why would my friend... a 23 yr old girl .. go into the bathroom and steal a 55 yr old womans dirty clothes ?? wthhh??!! then she started telling me off cos i was defending my friend and now she hasnt spoken to me since then ...

that wasnt all.. so much more happened but those were prob the 2 worse things that happened to me this week... never have i been so happy that im getting out of australia soon.

til next time

안녕~

xo m

#o6 the waiting gamE...

a map of my school!

i have the best news!!!! i have finished my part of my korea application~ so in the past week.. since getting the letter from my professor last wednesday, i been busy trying to get my documents apostilled. i sent it off last thur and got is back yesterday so i called fedex and got them to pick it up just then..

Fedex charged me $73.30.. i still think it's silly that it costs that much just to fly papers over to another country.. i also don't understand why korea didnt just let me send it by express post.. thats kinda weird but anyways its all done.. i think i checked my document folder like 5 times b4 i gave it to them.. i don't wanna forget something..

anyways so now all i have to do is.. wait, i hope they don't take too long to process my application, i wanna be out of here as soon as possible. my graduation is in a few weeks. hopefully they will grant me my visa within the next 2 weeks or so.. then i can go to the korean embassy here in sydney to get my actual visa then il be off by the 28th of this month!

will update soon!

안녕~

xo m

#o5 moving to kOrea costs aLot!!

since the last post, i wrote that im having problems with my uni degree so moving there might be delayed.. however, i got a letter written from uni to say that i have completed my course and is waiting for graduation.. the korea recruiter accepted this letter and now im past the halfway and the hard part!

i'm so relieved.. honestly this whole process is very stressful.. i spend so many days on the telephone just chasing up my documents.. seeing if they received it.. seeing how long it'll take.. seeing if the payments went through -_-

atm my documents are at dfat to get apostille, once i have them back, i will be able to send them to korea and then its all up to them to get me my visa.. once its granted i'll be gone! other little things i need to do is .. write my personal essay.. get 2 recommendation letters.. get my passport photos.. and re read all the contracts and sign! sounds easy but its a lot of work -_- especially getting all the documents together ... if you're lucky, things will go smoothly.. im actually lucky cos things are going ok.. i'm not having that much trouble... other ppl i've heard had heaps of problems.

this moving costs a lot of money though... luckily they'll pay me most of it back when i get there as a settlement allowance .. but still... i didnt know it costs so much just to get papers together and sent to another country??!!

this is what i've had to pay so far:

$50 - CRC

$20 - Uni Transcripts

$60 - Uni Letter Apostille

$60 - CRC Apostille

so all up i've spent 190 so far however that is not all! i still need to pay about $80 to send my documents over with fedex ($80 just for papers .. like.. wth??!!) i need to pay for my visa ... which im guessing is about $50-$100. then after all that .. once i get my visa i will need to pay about $1000-$1200 for my flight over there! it's so costly! but.. i think it will be worth it so im gonna put up with it -_-

ppl who are considering moving to korea to teach.. here are my suggestions... go to dave esl (google it) there are a lot of recruiters that post on there.. like heaps!! i went with Korvia.. i actually had interviews and email tennis with a lot of other recruiters as well but i found Korvia to be very good.. plus my friend went with them and she's there right now and there werent any problems so i trust them.

another tip is.. get your documents ready early! depending on your country... it might take months for things to come back ... for example.. CRC takes about a month... certificate of residency also takes about a month.. apostille is quick (in australia it is) university degrees.. if u don't have yours yet (like me) then go into your uni.. talk to the dean of your department and get them to write you a letter to cite that you have completed your course and is waiting for graduation to receive your certificate. Make sure you also get is stamped with the uni stamp and JP it.

other than that .. if you're planning on moving to korea say september.. start getting your documents ready by june ish .. just in case there are any problems...

anyways i think i've written enough.. hopefully next week i will receive my apostilled documents back and i can send them off and get ready to leave!

Dugkye middle school!

til then

안녕~

xo m