I should probably
start from the beginning and explain briefly how I landed myself a job in
Korea.
I used an agency
called 'Travel and Teach' which is run by past ESL teachers who worked in Korea
and now help people like me land jobs in Korean schools. They work out of Toronto and I found them
quite friendly to communicate with and pretty helpful throughout the
interviewing process and the visa prep-work.
I actually switched from another agency to them in the spring because I
found the other agency to be a little sketchy and difficult to communicate with
because my main contact was Korean. The
language barrier made things a little difficult and I didn't get a good feeling
from the school (hagwon) that they set me up with.
The hagwon that I am
now working for is a private English academy that preps students for English
proficiency tests. I don't start work
for another few days, but the other ESL teachers I have spoken to don't seem to
have had many problems with the supervisors (always a good sign).
As a part of my
contract, the hagwon reimburses me for my travel expenses on my way over to
Korea (and again at the end of the year-long contract to get me home). They also provide me with a furnished
apartment (rent-free) and pay me a monthly salary (around the same I would get
in Canada for a minimum wage, full-time job).
I teach 4 days a week… that's it… 4 days…
what am I going to do with all that free time? Learn a new instrument?
Probably. Learn a new language? Hopefully. Become a professional hermit who
only leaves the apartment for work and food? Most likely. Haha? And who could blame me? It's such a lovely apartment!
Kitchen
Main room from kitchen door
Main room from entrance (kitchen on the left (green), washroom on the right)
Entrance hallway that leads out to the landing
Kitchen
Main room from kitchen door
Main room from entrance (kitchen on the left (green), washroom on the right)
Entrance hallway that leads out to the landing
I haven't been here
for more than 24 hours, but I'm already feeling pretty good about the whole
thing and I've already started exploring the city. My apartment is just off of a major road
filled with shops, caffes and restaurants.
The hagwon is also on the main road.
I'm also a three minute walk away from a subway station and a bus stop…
How do you say 'prime location' in Korean?
It took about 24
hours total to get from Toronto to Daegu.
I had the shortest possible transfer times between the different parts
of my journey AND IT STILL TOOK THAT LONG. I started with a 5 hour flight to
Vancouver followed by an 1 1/2 hour lay-over then a ten hour flight into
Seoul. By the time I got through
customs, I had a fifteen minute wait for the bus to Daegu, which took 4
hours. Two teachers from the hagwon
picked me up from the bus station and showed me to my apartment and gave me the
run-down of basic information to get me orientated to my new life. I then promptly went to bed (It was 11pm by
then). Though I hadn't slept much on the
way over, I still found it difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep, but I
wasn't overly tired in the morning and I've survived the day without taking a nap! Oh the joys of adrenaline!
This morning I met
up with another ESL teacher who took me to the bank to set up a bank account
and then we went to a clinic for a medical check that I needed for my Alien
Registration Card (which cost 91,000 won, in case you were curious. I'm pretty sure the school reimburses me for
that as well!). After that, I was happily left to my own devises for the rest
of the day. I have plans to go to the
E-mart with another teacher this evening when she gets off work --oh! We work
3:30-10:30ish. Strange, eh? Our students come to the academy for extra English
lessons after the normal school day. It isn't unusual for Korean children to
have multiple extra-curricular classes outside of the usual school day.
Well, that's all for
now! More to come soon! Let me know if there's anything in particular you want
me to talk about and I'll do my best!
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