It's coming down to my last week in Houston and I am feeling the pressure to get what I need. I have been slowly stocking up on a few essentials. But now that it's down to the wire, I need some of my favorite products that I know I won't be able to get in Korea (or at least not as cheap as Wal-Mart). This should be a calm head to the store type of process right? For me... no... I realized that I may not be able to order all the things I want online and for them to ship to me in time. So I have been on a buying frenzy, and funny (not funny) enough something already got lost in the mail. (UPDATE : my amazing driver found my box!)
So, what do I need to stock up on? First my favorite mascara. Luckily I don't go through mascara that quickly (surprising since I use like 5 coats per lash), so I am guessing I need at least 4 tubes of it.... is that not enough? I don't know, I don't want to run out, I've been using the same mascara for 4-5 years and I don't like any other mascara. Mousse... it is the bane of my existence. My hair is naturally wavy/curly and some mousse' work and some do not. I finally found a formula that works well with my hair and gets my waves perfect. It is coming with me. 10 bottles....maybe just 6? I use it almost every day, so there will never be enough. Other things are simple and I can just grab at the store either when I get there or quickies before I leave. But my non negotiable items, I have no idea how many to bring for the year. I should have been counting how many I go through during the year.
Sneakers are one of my biggest fears right now. My training shoes just wore out recently (the traction on the bottom was gone, working out was so hard when I was slipping everywhere). Those lasted 4 years but with little to no use for 3 of them. I wore them down over the last 5 or so months. So I bought a new pair and it just hit me that I will need more than one pair to get me through since I workout 6 times a week. Now I am wondering if they will get to me in time if I order them TODAY. And so on and so on.
As you can read I am not a calm person and with all the lists and preparation I take, panic will always set it when things get closer. And inevitably, no matter how prepared you are, you probably forgot something. Or something that wasn't supposed to break or wear out will. Thank goodness for grandma saying she will ship me anything I forget or anything I need. Plus I am sure that I can find half of this stuff there, but my favorite saying is "It is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared."
Showing posts with label moving to korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving to korea. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2015
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
The Transition Abroad: Selling All My Stuff/Downsizing
If you are anything like me, to make any sort of decision you read tons of other peoples stories that have been through the same scenario. That sentence wasn't structured well, so I'll simplify: I have been scouring peoples blogs and vlogs to decide what to take with me to Korea. Not only what to take but what to leave behind in a storage unit, if anything. I would say this is the most difficult part of the process, but luckily my whole life is in transition right now, so I'm not feeling overly attached to most of my things. What I am worried about is if I'm making the right decisions.
What I've "Learned" I SHOULD Take With Me
According to all the female Korean bloggers above a size 8 (in shoes and clothes) there are a few musts to stockpile:
-Bras (this varies in need but always says somewhere above a B cup)
-Shoes (some say above a size 8, some say 8 and a half. Also I had no walking shoes)
-Pants (as mentioned above a size 8ish or over nothing will fit your bum)
-Undies (see above)
There are a few hitches though... I do not have the suitcase room for all the clothes I am going to need for all the seasons. SO on top of my suitcases I have three boxes to ship to myself. It feels excessive. According to UPS each box is going to cost me around 100 bucks to ship to myself. Now before you think, she doesn't need that many clothes, it isn't all clothes. The first box is winter clothes (that includes sweaters and jackets for fall and winter because I'm from Texas and I NEED TO BE WARM!). The second box is shoes, this box may be a bit much, but hear me out. The bulk of this box is winter boots to keep my feetsies warm on the snowy, cold days. The third box is necessities of a non clothing kind. From allll the things I've read and been told I would think this last box is very vital. It holds: deodorant, minty toothpaste, multivitamins, things that remind me of home (pictures, stuffed animal, etc) and food stuffs.
Hitch number 2, as you can read in the rest of my blog, I am currently dropping weight. In the past 10 months I have lost 70 lbs and am still losing. I don't know what size I"m going to end up at. So while I am trying to buy clothes that I hope will fit me, some may end up being too big. I am waiting until right before I leave to buy new pants and things where the sizing is more important. It's a lot of guesswork. For instance, my winter jacket from this past winter is a bit too big. So I bought a new one during the winter sales. It is a bit too small. But it may be just right come winter in Korea. Guess work. There is also the fact that I plan on continuing my weight loss journey in Korea, so any clothes I bring with me may end up being too big. -_-
The things I should take with me, I knew, were going to be hit or miss. Most definitely I am going to figure out I didn't buy something I needed and probably packed stuff I didn't need. This part was always going to be trial and error because everyone has different needs. No matter how many blogs I read on what to bring, there is no correct formula for each person. When I get closer to my leave date I'll probably post a what I am bringing and then later what I did/didn't need.
Things to Leave Behind/ Get Rid Of
Everything else I own. No. But seriously yes. I have a few options of things to do with my furniture and nick knacks. Pack it all away and put it in an expensive storage unit. Or sell it all and hope I don't regret it if I come back in only a year. This should have been a tougher decision for me, since I am bit of a hoarder, but I chose option number two with a bit of option one. I am limiting myself to 3-4 boxes, my grandfathers roll top desk, and the miniature dollhouse my grandmother built me as a child. As of right now one box is full of the fairy tales from around the world book collection I've been working on since I was a teenager, one box is my DVD collection, and the third box is overflow from that and my ps3/ps3 games. That's it. Everything else is going. I am not keeping any clothes or shoes that can't come with me(this probably accounts for needing to ship boxes to myself). I'm not keeping any furniture (save the roll top desk mentioned above). Everything is being sold/given away with the money helping with my adjustment over there.
This may seem extreme, but I have a few reasons behind why I think this is the best possible option. Firstly, as of right now my furniture is all a mismatched mess. None of it is in bad condition, but most of it was bought for necessity or given to me by family. Ikea and free is all the furniture I own. So if/when I come back it would be nice to start from scratch and make sure my furniture matches. Second, storage units become more expensive the bigger the unit is. So to avoid the larger fees (also having to pay exchange rates when sending money back etc) it makes sense to downsize. Lastly, I think it is a good lesson in letting go. I have always had a weird attachment to my things. In somewhat of an unhealthy way. Before this year I couldn't imagine parting with a single piece. That's why my closet and apartment were/are filled with things I've had since I was in high school but don't use/wear. I didn't want to let it go. It came in handy while decorating and made my apartment feel like "home". But it is past time that I should be able to get rid of these things and live in a much less full apartment. I loved living in my dorm because I bought everything new and it was very sparsely furnished/decorated. It was easy to clean and I loved the simplicity. When I moved back into a full apartment and brought all my things with me, it became cluttered. There was too much stuff, too many nick-knacks that I held onto for no reason more than, it is mine and it was from my parents house. So releasing all these things is cathartic and a way to signify my true leaving of the nest. Plus, I can have a whole new decorating scheme and not worry about incorporating my things. To top it all off, I don't have to worry about paying for all this stuff I'm not using, it's like repaying for the furniture. I can save the money and buy new when I get home.
Ending Thoughts
Like the whole process of uprooting your life and moving abroad, it takes time and consideration. You can read all the blogs you want, but ultimately you have to decide what is best for you. Take advice, but don't take it too strictly. Everyone has their own formula for doing things, so just because you do it differently than someone else, it doesn't mean it's wrong. This is a trial and error process. Not just packing and getting rid of stuff, the whole shebang. You pick a country, you may love it or you may hate it. You find a place to work, you may adore it or you may despise it. Really you just have to keep making leaps of faith in hoping that you are making the right decisions. And even if they don't turn out to be the right ones, well you learned something. I think that every decision you make serves a purpose in your life, whether because it benefits by helping you in some way or it's just there to teach you a lesson of how not to do things. Think it through, weigh your options, find what you think is best for you, and make a decision.
**This is going to be the start of a new segment "The Transition Abroad". It is going to chronicle all the thoughts, struggles, and process of moving to a new country. So more to come as I continue through this process over the next couple of months.
What I've "Learned" I SHOULD Take With Me
According to all the female Korean bloggers above a size 8 (in shoes and clothes) there are a few musts to stockpile:
-Bras (this varies in need but always says somewhere above a B cup)
-Shoes (some say above a size 8, some say 8 and a half. Also I had no walking shoes)
-Pants (as mentioned above a size 8ish or over nothing will fit your bum)
-Undies (see above)
There are a few hitches though... I do not have the suitcase room for all the clothes I am going to need for all the seasons. SO on top of my suitcases I have three boxes to ship to myself. It feels excessive. According to UPS each box is going to cost me around 100 bucks to ship to myself. Now before you think, she doesn't need that many clothes, it isn't all clothes. The first box is winter clothes (that includes sweaters and jackets for fall and winter because I'm from Texas and I NEED TO BE WARM!). The second box is shoes, this box may be a bit much, but hear me out. The bulk of this box is winter boots to keep my feetsies warm on the snowy, cold days. The third box is necessities of a non clothing kind. From allll the things I've read and been told I would think this last box is very vital. It holds: deodorant, minty toothpaste, multivitamins, things that remind me of home (pictures, stuffed animal, etc) and food stuffs.
Hitch number 2, as you can read in the rest of my blog, I am currently dropping weight. In the past 10 months I have lost 70 lbs and am still losing. I don't know what size I"m going to end up at. So while I am trying to buy clothes that I hope will fit me, some may end up being too big. I am waiting until right before I leave to buy new pants and things where the sizing is more important. It's a lot of guesswork. For instance, my winter jacket from this past winter is a bit too big. So I bought a new one during the winter sales. It is a bit too small. But it may be just right come winter in Korea. Guess work. There is also the fact that I plan on continuing my weight loss journey in Korea, so any clothes I bring with me may end up being too big. -_-
The things I should take with me, I knew, were going to be hit or miss. Most definitely I am going to figure out I didn't buy something I needed and probably packed stuff I didn't need. This part was always going to be trial and error because everyone has different needs. No matter how many blogs I read on what to bring, there is no correct formula for each person. When I get closer to my leave date I'll probably post a what I am bringing and then later what I did/didn't need.
Things to Leave Behind/ Get Rid Of
Everything else I own. No. But seriously yes. I have a few options of things to do with my furniture and nick knacks. Pack it all away and put it in an expensive storage unit. Or sell it all and hope I don't regret it if I come back in only a year. This should have been a tougher decision for me, since I am bit of a hoarder, but I chose option number two with a bit of option one. I am limiting myself to 3-4 boxes, my grandfathers roll top desk, and the miniature dollhouse my grandmother built me as a child. As of right now one box is full of the fairy tales from around the world book collection I've been working on since I was a teenager, one box is my DVD collection, and the third box is overflow from that and my ps3/ps3 games. That's it. Everything else is going. I am not keeping any clothes or shoes that can't come with me(this probably accounts for needing to ship boxes to myself). I'm not keeping any furniture (save the roll top desk mentioned above). Everything is being sold/given away with the money helping with my adjustment over there.
This may seem extreme, but I have a few reasons behind why I think this is the best possible option. Firstly, as of right now my furniture is all a mismatched mess. None of it is in bad condition, but most of it was bought for necessity or given to me by family. Ikea and free is all the furniture I own. So if/when I come back it would be nice to start from scratch and make sure my furniture matches. Second, storage units become more expensive the bigger the unit is. So to avoid the larger fees (also having to pay exchange rates when sending money back etc) it makes sense to downsize. Lastly, I think it is a good lesson in letting go. I have always had a weird attachment to my things. In somewhat of an unhealthy way. Before this year I couldn't imagine parting with a single piece. That's why my closet and apartment were/are filled with things I've had since I was in high school but don't use/wear. I didn't want to let it go. It came in handy while decorating and made my apartment feel like "home". But it is past time that I should be able to get rid of these things and live in a much less full apartment. I loved living in my dorm because I bought everything new and it was very sparsely furnished/decorated. It was easy to clean and I loved the simplicity. When I moved back into a full apartment and brought all my things with me, it became cluttered. There was too much stuff, too many nick-knacks that I held onto for no reason more than, it is mine and it was from my parents house. So releasing all these things is cathartic and a way to signify my true leaving of the nest. Plus, I can have a whole new decorating scheme and not worry about incorporating my things. To top it all off, I don't have to worry about paying for all this stuff I'm not using, it's like repaying for the furniture. I can save the money and buy new when I get home.
Ending Thoughts
Like the whole process of uprooting your life and moving abroad, it takes time and consideration. You can read all the blogs you want, but ultimately you have to decide what is best for you. Take advice, but don't take it too strictly. Everyone has their own formula for doing things, so just because you do it differently than someone else, it doesn't mean it's wrong. This is a trial and error process. Not just packing and getting rid of stuff, the whole shebang. You pick a country, you may love it or you may hate it. You find a place to work, you may adore it or you may despise it. Really you just have to keep making leaps of faith in hoping that you are making the right decisions. And even if they don't turn out to be the right ones, well you learned something. I think that every decision you make serves a purpose in your life, whether because it benefits by helping you in some way or it's just there to teach you a lesson of how not to do things. Think it through, weigh your options, find what you think is best for you, and make a decision.
**This is going to be the start of a new segment "The Transition Abroad". It is going to chronicle all the thoughts, struggles, and process of moving to a new country. So more to come as I continue through this process over the next couple of months.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Life: Big Changes (Moving to South Korea!)
I've hinted in a few of my last posts that I had something big coming up that was still in the works. I've spent the last couple months (read almost year) trying to find out where and how I wanted to go teach English abroad. After lots of time, hard work, and money: I am now extremely happy to say that in August I will be moving to South Korea!
That being said, I have been super busy trying to prepare to leave (hence the fact that is has taken me forever to update). The process is long and tedious. But so far I am loving every minute of it. There are tons of websites out there that tell you the process for going to teach in Korea. It is long (especially for Americans) and not for the poor. My background check was going to take 15 + weeks to come back but I spent 3 times (rough guess) as I would have to have it expedited (FBI Channelers: there is a list on the FBI website and you have to make sure they are a channeler that sends the document that can be apostilled). Also it turns out, unlike some cities, Houston doesn't fingerprint at police stations, so you have to schedule an appointment at one of the select locations where you can get it done. They are not in good areas but the schedule is pretty open and the people are nice. Then you have to wait nervously for your record to come back (Side note: I have never even really spoken to a cop or gotten into trouble of any kind yet I was still super nervous about my background check. Goody two shoes here.). Then you have to send that into the US Department of State to get it apostilled. Which only takes about two weeks. In the meantime you need to get your diploma notarized and then send that into your local state department. None of this is free (well maybe the notary if you have cool friends ;) ). ON TOP OF THAT, you will be going through some sort of interview process to get a job. I went through a recruiter, who if you get a good one will be very helpful. (However if you are looking into this DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH BEFORE YOU ACCEPT THE JOB). But once again... tons of warning blog posts on that.
Currently I am in the final stages now. I sent in all my visa things to my school in Korea and am now waiting to hear back so I can continue the process at the consulate here. Once that is finished my flight will officially get booked and I will be on my way. However there is a ton of preparation before then. I have a composition notebook filled to the brim with lists of things to do. And I may or may not be over preparing (packed all my winter clothes, ready to ship and all the shoes I'll be taking with me).
I will update more as things roll along. I will be really interested in focusing on how to keep up my weight loss efforts while living in Korea. Exercise and food wise mainly. I'm super super excited and cannot wait for this adventure to begin.
Currently I am in the final stages now. I sent in all my visa things to my school in Korea and am now waiting to hear back so I can continue the process at the consulate here. Once that is finished my flight will officially get booked and I will be on my way. However there is a ton of preparation before then. I have a composition notebook filled to the brim with lists of things to do. And I may or may not be over preparing (packed all my winter clothes, ready to ship and all the shoes I'll be taking with me).
I will update more as things roll along. I will be really interested in focusing on how to keep up my weight loss efforts while living in Korea. Exercise and food wise mainly. I'm super super excited and cannot wait for this adventure to begin.
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