In my last post, I talked about the EPIK interview process. Although that was a tough hurdle to jump, the hardest is still to come. There are three different waiting periods after the interview: waiting for the results, waiting for placements, and waiting for your notice of appointment (NOA). The most stress inducing of them all is undeniably waiting for placements. This is the longest portion of the EPIK process. It’s no wonder why we call it “the big wait” (why we don’t call it “the EPIK wait” to be puntastic is beyond me, but I digress).
I’m sure throughout this waiting period, you’ll go into panic attacks, refresh your email every 10 seconds, and maybe even become an emotional wreck. I sure as hell did. But I ended up working around that by keeping myself preoccupied.
One thing I first did was browse other blogs that have done the EPIK process. While all of them are great, I realized their advice became damaging to my situation. Take for example the recommendation to watch K-Dramas or to create a packing list. While these are nice and helpful, these connect back to Korea, which in turn links to EPIK, which forces you to remember you’re in the big wait, and thus you relapse and begin refreshing your email every 10 minutes (in fairness, it’s no seconds, right?). This is a detrimental cycle we need to stay out of as best we can!
So, what is the answer to this? Balance.
LEARN KOREAN
I love this advice and even if it creates the detrimental cycle that we want to avoid, it’s all worth it. However, try to make it as appealing as possible. You want to destress. Don’t turn this into a college course. I would recommend not enrolling in classes. Instead, find a language exchange. Your main goal is to come to Korea with the basics, not discuss the theories behind how Silla Korea fell to the Koryŏ dynasty. Do some edu-tainment!
Here’s some lessons you can do:
· Memrise: Both for iOS and Android, Memrise is a wacky Korean learning app that uses a quiz based method while following a story line on trying to talk to an alien race that only understands Korean. There are minor setbacks to this. The transcriptions can get annoying and the phonics are sometimes weird, but for a simple learning app, it’s worth a check.
· Udemy: This website is amazing. Not only can you find Korean language lessons, but you can find other useful world knowledge too! Right now, it’s having a sale for some lessons, so it’s a good time to try it out. For learning Korean, my two favorites are by Jeremy Brinkerhoff and Danny Lin. Jeremy’s method is more like watching and responding back to a gameshow, using fun mnemonics to catch on. Danny gives you the basic outline to get started with learning Korean. Both are great for beginners.
· Talk to Me in Korean: Everyone looking to self-learn Korean has heard of them. They’re awesome, ‘nuff said!
PLAY TOURIST
If you’re planning on living abroad for at least a year, why not play tourist in your hometown (or wherever you’re currently living)? Always wanted to visit a certain spot, but never got to? Do it now! Coming from Seattle, I’ve never actually tried Molly Moon. Well, because of the big wait, I finally got around to trying them (and yes their honey lavender is worth living!). Are there places that you love visiting, but are just too touristy? No shame, do it now! I hardly ever visit Pike’s Market, but now I’ve visited a couple of times these past few days and I’ve made my way up the Columbia Tower more times in the past few weeks than I’ve ever done my whole life!
If you live in a small rural town, you can still play tourist! Check out that walking tour run by the old lady from the historic society!
HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Speaking of playing tourist, you can do this by yourself. But with others is always fun. Invite a buddy on a lunch date to some place you haven’t tried. Go out to a local pub. Ask your friends to have a soju party with you to test your soju tolerance (I legit recommend this). Get that quality time in and you’ll forget all about checking your email.
SORT OUT YOUR LIFE
Get rid of stuff. If you’re in the decluttering mood and haven’t read it yet, pick up Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. And if you’ve already read that, read her second book, Spark Joy. Then get to work. To be honest, I haven’t done this as I’ve been too preoccupied with the top stuff, but hey, I might get to do it soon.
You can also sell your stuff.
TRY TO LIVE NORMALLY
By this, I mean do everything you normally do if you weren’t applying for EPIK. Do you game? Do that instead. Do you love to knit? Why not begin knitting a sweater (which may come in handy for the plane ride there!). Do you watch K-Dramas already? Continue doing that.
You don’t need to find a new hobby, just do the hobbies that you currently do. And if you don’t have one, preoccupy yourself with the things you’ve already been doing, whether that’s work, browsing the internet, or what have you
DOWNLAD KAKAOTALK
And if you end up in the detrimental cycle, just download Kakaotalk (iOS and Android) and join or start a group with other EPIK applicants. Having others who are going through the same process as you is a life saver. You can end up doing meet ups with them during the big wait as well!
There’s so much more you can do. You can begin a new hobby if you want. You can go on day trips somewhere. You can take hikes or start meditating. But really, do you see a trend here? The trend is making sure you go out, get some fresh air, and live life. I don’t want to put “don’ts” in my post, but man, DON’T STAY COOPED UP PRESSING REFRESH!!
But seriously, a rule of thumb, check your email once, twice tops, daily for the EPIK placement results. And if you really get the sudden urge to cry or breakdown, just head over to your group Kakaotalk!
The big wait continues: Members of the world's press work on their tans outside St Mary's hospital in London while waiting for the arrival of the royal offspring. To see more from the Big Wait click here. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
