Dotted Lines and Airplanes

My contract finally came and my flight is booked! The contract didn't really have the cool information I was hoping for. I still don't know the name of the school I'll be at or the grade level of the students. Most of the information was stuff I pretty much already knew. Except, apparently the type of housing can vary depending on the location. Some people get a house or different types of apartments. The official term of the employment is August 26th, 2012-August 25th, 2013, so it really is an entire calendar year of teaching!

Booking the flight was really easy. EduCon did all the work. If you ever want to try teaching in South Korea, I would really recommend using them; they've been great. Anyway, I leave August 17th at 7:35am from MSP and then I have a three hour layover in Chicago, of all places. I kind of find it funny since Chicago is basically my second home. After that it's 14 straight hours on the plane to Korea! I'm kind of excited since I've never flown internationally before, but I bet the excitement will wear off real quick...

Since I'll be getting there a day before I have to be there, they'll be setting me up with a hotel for one night, which I'm kind of excited about but it also makes me a little nervous about trying to find everything and be where I need to be the next day. They said they can arrange roommates which might be helpful when trying to find things and get places.

Today, I'm sending the stuff to apply for a visa. This is also a little nerve wracking because I basically need to send them everything important... They need my actual passport, contract, and notice of appointment (this super official looking paper with a gold seal on it). Another thing that's kind of hilarious...if I were still in Chicago, I could just go in person and not have to worry about it. Chicago... Y U still own my life??

I also still need my diploma or my contract is invalid. Come on UIC, let's get it together.


So this post is about traveling, and this song is called "Mr. Taxi". Therefore, it's relevant.

Artist: Girls' Generation

Song: Mr. Taxi

Album: The Boys

Released: December 2011

Finally Enough To Say!

So I've been telling people about my plans to teach in Korea for a while now and a lot of people have asked me to keep them updated, so I decided this would be the easiest way. Now that I have dates and locations, I figured I'd get started! 

The program I'm doing is called E.P.I.K. (English Program in Korea) and I'm using a recruiting agency called EduCon which helps with the application process, interview, etc. I'll have a rent-free furnished studio type apartment and get paid approximately 1.2 million Korean won per month which is about $1,840. What's kind of cool is that the pay is more than it would have been if I hadn't had an education or English related background. I guess it kind of makes me feel like I'm putting my major to use. 

I started the application process around the end of January and I'm just now starting to get more specific information about my placement and everything. The ten day orientation is from August 19th-28th so they want me to arrive on either the 18th or 19th. After the orientation, I'll be in a metropolitan city called Daegu. It's in the South central region of Korea, about 2 hours from Seoul and a little under an hour from Busan. Apparently it's one of the hottest cities and can get pretty humid. Overall though, the Korean climate isn't super extreme one way or the other. From what I've read, it's a big city that has sort of a smaller city feel, which sounds like it could be kind of nice. Also, it's known for being one of the "fashion capitals" of Korea. I have mixed feeling about this one because it might make me feel self conscious... Anyway it's also known for sports, mountains, museums and good sightseeing (temples and stuff).

In case you're wondering, the title of this blog isn't an acronym. It's from a K-Pop song, which I'll post here for your listening pleasure. Anyone who knows me knows that K-Pop was one of the main things that first got me interested in doing this. I've read a lot of blogs that talk about how they were able to see some K-Pop groups perform. The way they talk about it like it's no big deal almost makes me have a heart attack...

 

Artist: 2NE1

Song: Clap Your Hands

Album: To Anyone

Released: September 2010

Next steps: Receive my actual contract which will hopefully include information about my specific school, classes, and co-teacher(s), and apply for a visa!