dude, like that's so EPIK

alright now that the dust has settled a bit, I can manage to talk about the EPIK interview I had yesterday.

It was scheduled for 8:30pm (9:30 am Korean Standard Time), which was like a double-edged sword because it gave me a lot of time to prep, but then it also gave me a lot of time to worry. The whole day I was a jumble of nerves. I tried to do a lot of things to distract myself. But as the time got closer to the hour, I thought I might just collapse into a pile of nerves and tears, I was that nervous.

I was lucky in that my recruiters sent out a list of questions frequently asked during the interview, so I had some time to prepare my answers. About an hour before the interview, I locked myself in my room, spread out all my application information, thought about potential questions they would ask me, prepped some answers, drank some hot tea, ate a pumpkin brownie (soo yummy), charged my phone, and prayed like mad. All of that, plus I found time to freak out on twitter and run to the bathroom 5 mins before the interview...you know, just in case.

I was supposed to get the call @ 8:30pm. But when 8:35 rolled around and still no call, I began to panic, and by that I mean, even more so. I kept staring at my phone, willing it to ring, then I kept playing with it, checking its connection and whatnot. What if they are trying to call me right now and they can't get a signal? They had recommended that I use a landline for the interview and not a cellphone, but who has a landline these days anymore? What if I had written down the wrong phone number? What if..what if..what if. Needless to say, I was in agonyyy.

FINALLY, at 8:42, I get the phone call. I answered it almost immediately, not even giving myself the chance to lose my nerve.

My interviewer was this really nice, well spoken lady. Maybe it was her voice, kind of soft and gentle, or maybe it was the way she spoke, but she really put me at ease. She verified a lot of things on my application, asked me a ton of hypothetical questions--some of which I think I answered better than others. But I think it went well. She kept saying things like "oh, good answer" or "you've had teaching experience before so you have good answers" or something like that. I don't want to flatter myself though, because who knows, she could say that to everyone she interviews.

There were some parts I think I made her laugh haha. Or, maybe she laughed out of politeness because I was so awkward and sometimes would chuckle or crack jokes (omg whhyy). There was one point she asked me if I have eaten korean food (I don't think this was part of the list of questions she had in front of her, I think she was just curious haha). BUT it was the best question ever because helloooo, I eat korean food like every week. So we had a nice conversation about korean food for a few minutes. It was great!

Another kind of humorous thing happened when she asked me about my TEFL certification. My application said "in progress," which was true because when I submitted my application (maybe 2 weeks ago), at that time I was in progress of the course, or at least like, registering. I had to clarify that I just finished the course and passed my test and everything. And she asked, "how long ago did you begin the course?" and I was like "oh eff." I knew I couldn't have told her the truth (basically last week) because it's, again, supposed to be a 100 hour program. So I had to LIE and say that I did it in 3 weeks. Whether she was impressed or skeptical, I couldn't tell, because she said "oh, wow, you did 100 hours in 3 weeks?" I had to laugh nervously and say that it was because I wasn't studying or working at the moment so it gave me a lot of free time. That, she bought, thank goodness! I wonder what she would have said if I told her I completed it in 5 days. I'm still pretty proud of myself for that, actually.

100 hours/5 days, passing score. awesome :)

There was one thing that was slightly problematic, or maybe not, I have to figure it out still. It didn't have anything to do with the interview per se, but she didn't know I was applying to teach in Seoul--she was supposed to have my 2 applications and ask me questions explicitly about teaching in Seoul. But she was surprised when I brought it up & she asked me nothing about my second application. I don't know what this means yet. I don't know if she just didn't have it, if this means they'll have to re-interview me for Seoul, if this means I'll only get placed outside of Seoul... I have no idea. I've emailed my recruiters and hopefully they can clear it up for me.

Anyway, I'll find out if I passed the interview process within the next 2-3 business days. God willing, if I pass, I should be able to send off all my documents to Korea, hurray! BUT I really need to get back to CA. I need to get stuff signed off in both SD & LA--I was almost tempted to change my flight so I could get back this Sunday instead of on Thursday. But flights are more expensive now, plus the charge for rescheduling, plus I already booked seats to head to New York on tuesday. I suppose a few more days waiting couldn't hurt.

On another note, I woke up this morning super congested. I think I'm getting sick :(