The waiting begins tomorrow

Today I drove down to Olympia. My job in Korea requires I have a background check done and have an apostille. What is an apostille? I'm glad you asked. It's a bit like notarizing a notary. So after I went online to do a criminal background check for $15, I then had to print out the "your name does not match any known criminal names" page. After that I had to get it notarized by the Washington State Patrol. I could do this online, sending in payment there and then having it mailed to me, or I could go in in person and have it done within about an hour and a half.

I picked the faster route and drove down. I got there around 1pm, turned in my form, paid the $5, then sat down and read my book until it was finished (the paperwork, not the book). Next, I drove to the Secretary of State building and paid them $15 to sign a piece of paper. All done!

Tomorrow I FedEx all my paperwork in to Korea!

I've been getting very excited about this. I signed up at two different expat forums and started making connections, including meeting one very nerdy girl who will play boardgames with me. I also contacted the KOTESOL organization and talked to them about being a part time Teacher Trainer with their organization. I looked at another organization called KATE (Korean Association of Teachers of English) and they have a call for publications, so I will be writing a paper in hopes they will accept it! I also have decided I'd like to volunteer at a thrift store on the army base. 20 hours a month volunteering=free pass to get on the army base, which gives me access to free sewing lessons!

I am very excited about this. I am very much looking forward to doing well in my career.

The cat costs will be high, though. I was looking online and some of the fees were as much as $250 for taking a cat on the plane. Sigh. She's coming with me, regardless. Because how can you refuse a face this cute?