Time to hit the road!

Well the goodbyes, well the bye's, as it's not a goodbye, are done and the butterflies are certainly on the more excited level rather than the nervous level. I'm sitting in the Tampa airport awaiting departure to Miami and there's no turning back now....well, technically there is but I'd piss a lot of people off for sure! It has been really great getting all the messages from friends and family wishing me safe travels AND wishing I wasn't going :). I love you all and this will certainly help mold me into the great man I want to be. I'm definitely going to stay in touch with everyone, I'll miss you all, and please feel free to download Skype (www.skype.com) to talk over the Internet for free. If you need help setting it up I'd be happy to respond via email. Use Facebook, Myspace, this blog, whatever you have to to keep in touch with me. I want to know how everyone is doing and I promise you, you'll certainly hear how things are going on this end!!!

More to come, time to travel, God speed Nathan Weatherholt!!!! :)

ok, NOW it's official!

I met with the Korean Consulate today in Atlanta for my final interview which was apparently just "checking the box" and didn't have a lot of say whether I was going or not. But either way, it's 100% official and I'm leaving Wednesday morning for Korea. It was cool though, I was able to spend a day with my aunt, uncle, and cousin in Atlanta and FINALLY got to see Turner Field (home of the Atlanta Braves).

Things are a bit stressful at the moment with getting everything packed and moved to storage but by God I will get it done!!!

I'll have more to add soon and it will be more adventurous reading material!!!

Flight and Departure date confirmed!!!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
American Airlines 1984 Economy Boeing 737-800 Passenger (738) 1hr 0min 207 miles
Depart:
6:00am
Tampa, FL Tampa International (TPA)
Arrive:
7:00am
Miami, FL Miami International (MIA)
Change planes. Time between flights: 0hr 50min

American Airlines 431 Economy Boeing 757 Passenger (757) Food for purchase 6hr 20min 2582 miles
Depart:
7:50am
Miami, FL Miami International (MIA)
Arrive:
11:10am
San Francisco, CA San Francisco International (SFO)
Change planes. Time between flights: 1hr 25min

Singapore Airlines 15 Economy Boeing 767-300ER (77W) Meal 12hr 50min 5639 miles
Depart:
12:35pm
San Francisco, CA San Francisco International (SFO)
Arrive:
6:25pm
Seoul, Korea, Rep. of Seoul Incheon International (ICN)
This is an overnight flight.
Total duration: 22hr 25min Total miles: 8428 miles

It's officially....official?

Ok so I heard from my recruiter and I have to head to Atlanta to meet with the Korean Consulate here in America for a face to face interview. He was going to try and set up the interview via a webcam chat but because I'm in Florida and considered close enough to drive, I have to go there on the 19th for an interview. He has the following to say:

Nathan,
It's official. The Korean gov't issued you a visa number. I have scheduled an interview at the consulate in Atlanta for 2/19 at 11am. Please make preparations to make this. You should have your visa the next day. After finishing your interview, you can leave a pre-paid Fed-Ex envelope with the consulate for them to express it to you. You should expect to leave Tampa for Korea on 2/24 or 2/25.

I'll follow up with you soon to prepare you for the interview, Cyrus

Update thus far!

I received this email from my recruiter and he has the following to say:

Nate,
I just got news from Avalon that they received a verbal confirmation from the authorities that your docs will pass. An official news will come in any day now. I'll let you know about next steps including visa interview with a Korean consulate and plane ticket to Korea. Avalon wants you to be there on 2/24~5 so you have some adjustment time before starting on 3/1. I'll update you again soon. Hope you're having a nice weekend.

Wow, it's almost time to get this party started!!

Update as of today...

I heard from my recruiter today that the Korean government is finalizing my documents to make sure everything is present and in order and he should have a much clearer picture as to when exactly I'll be leaving in about a week or so. The time to depart is getting close and the butterflies are starting to flap a little harder but this is going to be one of the best experiences in my life thus far!