Exam Taking Strategies & More Korea things

sorry, this post isn't going to be about Korean dramas (and I know you all are SO disappointed by that), but will still be on more Korea-ish things.

So I took my TESL exam. I finished it this morning after a full day's grueling work. It was supposed to take 6-8 hours, but omgg it took me forever! It wasn't that it was difficult, it was just tedious. And yeah, I suppose I should have studied more--the course was designed to be completed, at the minimum, in 2 weeks and comprise roughly 90-100 hours. I did it in 5 days and roughly 20 hours. What can I say, I'm a profession student--I cut corners and read through the BS to get to what's essential, that is, what's going to be on the test. As a student, you can definitely begin to see patterns in the material--stuff that gets repeated often, things that can be easily tested, things that are tricky--and that always helps to distinguish the relevant stuff from everything else. So it did take me super long to complete, and when I finished it this morning I was so relieved that I just sent it in without checking it over. I hope I answered all of the questions.

I'm not going to lie, as much as I didn't really take the course seriously, I am nervous for my results. I feel like I did okay. I need to get 75% to pass. I can miss roughly 46 points. They were so gracious because they marked the value of each question and so I could tell which sections were weighed more heavily, and what questions I could blow off-- fantastic testing thing #2. If a question is only worth 2 points, just answer the thing and move on. There's meatier beasts to fry. Having the value of each question also allowed me to add up the points of the questions I wasn't sure about. There were about 4 questions that I just completely BSed, and a few more that I just guessed. Looking at all the questions I was shakey on, even if I got no points on them (but I'm assuming they give partial credit), I calculated that I should still be able to get a passing score--testing thing #3. I find that calculating a rough score helps put my mind at ease. But that's just me.

So... we'll see. I should get my results within 10 days.

You know what else should happen within 10 days?

My EPIK/SMOE phone interview. That's right, someone from the Land of the Morning Calm is supposed to hold a phone interview with me in 3-10 days. SO nervous. The interview is supposed to be roughly an hour. I don't even talk to my parents on the phone for that long. This was the part of the application process that I was the most nervous about. Fortunately, the recruiters that I'm working with sent out a list of questions that former applicants have comprised. I'm so so glad I got the sample questions because there are actually a lot on there that I know I would be stumbling over if I got asked on the spot. For example:

What's your 3-5 year plan? Hm. Well, that's tricky. I was supposed to go to grad school, but seeing as that's not going to happen...what IS my 3-5 year plan? I can't very well say, live in Korea, so I must think of something.

What will you do in Korea in your free time? Stalk Korean pop artists. Again, can't say that. So must devise something clever.

Elaborate on your TESL experience. What did you learn from it? uh . . .

So you see, I'm going to take a day and bury myself in my imagination, building the sandcastle of my life in Korea. Should be fun.

Lastly, one thing that is not Korea related. Bought Far East Movement's new album "Free Wired" and its dopeee. Highly recommend! :)