When I get something in my head, I become obsessed! Since the day I applied to the recruiting company (www.footprintsrecruiting.com) all I have been studying and thinking about is how it would be to live in Korea. I wonder what will be different, the same, scary, embarassing, inappropriate, rude, completely strange but acceptable... I have stalked my school, random expats, video bloggers, plain old bloggers, bought Korea books, been gifted Korea books, and had a panic attack or two. Overall, I feel like I am ready to tackle the adventure that awaits me. I would like to share some of the things I know about Korea that I didn't know before with you all... just in case you want to visit. Hopefully I will follow these rules and not look even more like a fool when I arrive.
Things not to do in Korea:
1. Blow my nose in public
2. Wear my shoes inside (including some restaurants and all homes/schools, etc...)
3. Expect a closed shower in my 250 square foot apartment
4. Introduce myself
5. Pour myself a drink
6. Eat my noodles first
7. Pass food, accept drinks, or offer gifts with one hand
8. Spear my food with my chopsticks
9. Lay my chopsticks across my plate or bowl
10. Hug, pat someone on the back, or physically touch people
It's going to be weird. I LOVE blowing my nose. It is such a great feeling. And shoes.... I have shoes I have been saving for years so I could show them off when I got my first teaching job. Too bad the students won't get to enjoy them and the other teachers won't see them in order to compliment me on their awesomeness. As for not introducing myself, that is like my most favorite thing to do. What if the person who does introduce me does a really lame job?!?! What a tragedy that would be! Someone told me that if you eat your noodles first the Koreans will joke about you getting fat. I don't need any of that nonsense. Using two hands is always a good thing in my book, so I am down with the not using one hand rule. Also, I have a pretty good handle on chopsticks and we get to use spoons for rice, so there shouldn't be any spearing issues. The worst rule of all though - the no hugging or other physical contact. Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I am a crier and a hugger. That will be tough, but once I make some nice expat friends I should be able to get a hug or two. I am sure after a little while I will NEED one.
No update yet on the visa situation. Hoping it is soon. First teaching/training day is hypothetically in 1 week!!! More to come when I know more.
Showing posts with label ESL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ESL. Show all posts
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Visa number
It is taking a bit longer than normal to receive my visa number. My recruiter explained the delay is because this is the busy season for applications. I should be leaving in just around or under 2 weeks so hopefully I will know soon... I will keep you all updated.
On a side note, I am really enjoying my time with my family in New Hampshire. We have gone swimming and of course done a lot of driving. The extended family is up from New York this weekend so that is a nice treat too. I will try to post a couple family pictures in the next day or two.
Hope I get my visa number soon..... we will see!
On a side note, I am really enjoying my time with my family in New Hampshire. We have gone swimming and of course done a lot of driving. The extended family is up from New York this weekend so that is a nice treat too. I will try to post a couple family pictures in the next day or two.
Hope I get my visa number soon..... we will see!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The preparation
for teaching English in South Korea is grueling. I applied to teach abroad at the end of June and since then all of my activities have been centered around filing paperwork, looking for job opportunities, interviews, and just mentally preparing to sell all of my stuff and leave! The job I accepted is going to be great! I will be teaching in a suburb outside of Seoul. The suburb is called Ilsan. It is a newer suburb and is the home of the largest man-made lake in South Korea. There are several perks to teaching ESL in South Korea. First and foremost, I will be making 2.1 million won a month. This converts to between 1600 - 1750 USD a month. On top of that, my school will be paying for my furnished single apartment. Granted, the apartments are VERY small, but that just means cheaper utilities. In addition to the free apartment, I also get my plane ride paid for roundtrip. I get two weeks of paid vacation, two weeks of unpaid vacation, and 14 national holidays off of school. My students will be elementary and middle school students and I will be teaching six classes Monday through Friday. It's going to be fabulous.
Now for a bit about Ilsan. The city is outside of Seoul and was created to alleaviate the housing shortage in Seoul. As I mentioned earlier, the city is home to the largest man-made lake in the country. Surrounding the lake are a variety of walking and jogging trails. The park has a cactus arboretum, botanical gardens, and a toilet museum. I have no idea what the toilet museum involves, but I am definitely going to check it out! Ilsan is also the home of the National Cancer Center.
I do not know much about my school or my apartment. Most of that is because the website is in Korean and google cannot translate it. I know that my school is called run by a group called Youst. The name of the school is Youst - Lingua Language Institute. It is a private language school and my hours will be from 3:00 - 10:30 pm. I will be teaching extra language classes to students and have my office hours at night! It will be a change from the daytime schedule in the US. My apartment will be between 10 and 15 minutes walking distance from my school. It will be a furnished single apartment. Most of the apartments for ESL teachers (and Koreans) are approximately 250 square feet. It will just be me so that is fine, but I hope I have a loft apartment. That will give me a separate area for sleeping!
All that is left now is to get my visa number, head to Boston for a face-to-face interview at the Korean Consulate, receive my passport with the visa stamped inside, and schedule my flight. My first day of school/training is August 23rd. It's going to be fabulous! I cannot wait to meet my students and get a feel for where I will be living for the next year. A lot of people are asking if I am worried that I do not know Korean. I am not worried at all! I will figure it out as I go along and probably make some embarrassing mistakes along the way. Such is life. I cannot wait!
Now for a bit about Ilsan. The city is outside of Seoul and was created to alleaviate the housing shortage in Seoul. As I mentioned earlier, the city is home to the largest man-made lake in the country. Surrounding the lake are a variety of walking and jogging trails. The park has a cactus arboretum, botanical gardens, and a toilet museum. I have no idea what the toilet museum involves, but I am definitely going to check it out! Ilsan is also the home of the National Cancer Center.
I do not know much about my school or my apartment. Most of that is because the website is in Korean and google cannot translate it. I know that my school is called run by a group called Youst. The name of the school is Youst - Lingua Language Institute. It is a private language school and my hours will be from 3:00 - 10:30 pm. I will be teaching extra language classes to students and have my office hours at night! It will be a change from the daytime schedule in the US. My apartment will be between 10 and 15 minutes walking distance from my school. It will be a furnished single apartment. Most of the apartments for ESL teachers (and Koreans) are approximately 250 square feet. It will just be me so that is fine, but I hope I have a loft apartment. That will give me a separate area for sleeping!
All that is left now is to get my visa number, head to Boston for a face-to-face interview at the Korean Consulate, receive my passport with the visa stamped inside, and schedule my flight. My first day of school/training is August 23rd. It's going to be fabulous! I cannot wait to meet my students and get a feel for where I will be living for the next year. A lot of people are asking if I am worried that I do not know Korean. I am not worried at all! I will figure it out as I go along and probably make some embarrassing mistakes along the way. Such is life. I cannot wait!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)