Last year I was in a public school. Large classes (30-40 kids), waking up early, and I had a co-teacher in the classroom.

Now I'm at a hagwon where my largest class 10 students, I have no co-teacher, and I get to sleep in (and watch the bowl games muwahahaha)

In the foreigner community here, the age old debate of which is better, hagwon or public school, rages on forever. I'm not going rehash this argument again (but probably will lol), but I'm only going to talk about it from my perspective and what I like about each.

In public school I liked having 20 days of vacation along with random classes being cancelled. Although I am still not a morning person, I liked finishing at 4:30 and being able to use the rest of the day to meet up with friends for dinner, exercise, etc.

Here at my hagwon now, I only have 10 vacation days (+ national holidays), and although I start anywhere from 2-4 pm, I finish anywhere from 8:30-10:05 pm.

There are positives and negatives to this. Like I said I am still not a morning person, so sleeping until 9,10,11 is nice. So if I want to watch some of the bowl games this year, I can do it before work. Or if I want to catch a Pistons game, I can do the same.

The only reason I don't like finishing late is because it leaves little time to hang out with people afterwards (excluding the other two foreign teachers at my hagwon).

But it's all good. I get some downtime after work, and I'm making it a point to do something every weekend (Saturday and Sunday)

Not having a coteacher is nice. And the curriculum is pretty much set. I follow the book, and then play a game the last 10-15 minutes of class. I also have freedom to deviate a bit from the book (ask questions/discuss topics further). My favorite classes are the screen classes where the kids learn by watching an English movie. They answer questions, fill in certain phrases, etc. The kids chose Dr. Dolittle the other day and were pretty entertained by Eddie Murphy.

My school also pays for my dinner. And I don't mean they provide a generic dinner. I mean we can all choose something off one of the many menus, order it, and it's paid for. This is going to save me tons of money. I can also eat in peace without fear of offending someone because I didn't eat a certain dish (seemed all to common at public school)

All in all, despite the many horror stories you hear about hagwons, there are good ones out there. It looks like I've found one and if I had to have a gripe, it would only be my apartment which is a little older (but lots of space), and the kids above my apartment me who feel the need to stomp, pound, and jump constantly on the floor in the mornings and at night before bed haha.

But it all depends on you and what you want. There are good and bad public schools. There are bad and good hagwons. There are positives and negatives with each. I like the smaller classes, but I also know I will be envious of my public school friends who have that longer vacation LOL. I think I researched my school pretty well, and so far my experience here is showing that. I'm learning the ropes of this job pretty quickly (it was a little confusing at first), and I will definitely try my best to do an excellent job here.

I boarded the plane for my second journey in Korea. As I checked in, went through security and said my last goodbyes to my mother, I couldn't help but feel a bit more sad than last time that I was leaving home again. Yet at the same time I still felt the excitement of living abroad for a second year.

I boarded the plane, got settled in and watched Despicable Me, The Other Guys, Cyrus, and part of Going the Distance before I decided that the movie was trash. After 15 hours, in the air, I landed, went to get my baggage, and met my director.

We talked for a bit, introducing ourselves, talking about our lives, my future workplace etc, and stopped to get a takeout pizza since I was starving.

We arrived at my new digs soon afterwards and I thought the apartment was a bit of an anomaly. Bigger than my last apartment with 2 rooms, a dresser, bathtub, and a bigger closet...yet much older with dirt and grime in the toilet and bathtub along with depressing wallpaper LOL.

Upon further inspection, the bathroom light did not seem to work, and it would be fixed later on in the week. After my director explained some of the things in the apartment, he left and I would see him at work the next day.

Before I decided to crash, I decided to dig into my delicious pizza. I took a bite, and I remembered that Korea still cannot make even a simple pepperoni pizza. Onions and some other sauce that I couldn't identify were prevalent and after taking little bites off multiple slices, I decided I had had enough and put the pizza in the refrigerator.

The next day was my first day of work. Seems like I found a good hagwon (let's talk 3 months from now lol). Dinners are paid for by the school (can order off the myriad of menus on the refrigerator), classes are small, and although I get off work between 830 and 10, I get to sleep in most days. Coworkers are cool (only 2 other foreign teachers and 3 Korean teachers) and the neighborhood is pretty busy.

So let's see what this second experience has in store for me. What will I learn this time? Who knows, but I'm ready to find out.

Today is Christmas and it is a friend's birthday, so we will be headed to TGIFridays in Jamsil followed by ice skating and possibly...the noraebang!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I only say officially because the last step is finally complete. Got my passport back today from the Korean Consulate in Chicago with the new visa stamped. All that's left to do is to pack (which I hate) and board the plane on Monday.

I'm so glad I got a direct flight straight from the D to ICN. Anyways, I'll probably be back Monday with another post before I leave. Really interested to see how this next year turns out.

1

(*Note this may turn into a long post...you have been warned)

So it finally looks like I'm headed back to Korea!

It's been a long process, but I finally found a good hagwon (I think haha) in Incheon and I should be headed out on December 16th.

So a couple of things. Like I said, it's been a long process. I was even thinking of going to China, but the pay wasn't enough for me. Although going with a hagwon wasn't out of the question, I was primarily holding out for a public school position. Now there is always a debate as to which one is better, but it really depends on the person. Let me just say that I have met people who have been in good hagwons along with people who have been in bad public schools (and vice versa)

I actually had an interview with one public school, but I guess I got beat out by other candidates. Recruiters also sent me public school job leads, but after I said I was interested, I never heard back after the fact.

Also, I actually didn't mind going for a good hagwon. The vacation is shorter, but you start later in the day, classes are smaller, and I feel like I would actually be teaching. I'm a night owl. My bedtime is regularly between midnight and 4am. Maybe I'll grow out of it, but I don't see that happening soon.

Anyways, there are a few things I regret. First, it was just sticking with one recruiter up until about August. I didn't start looking with other recruiters until then and I definitely got a bit more people looking for jobs for me. That's four months where I should've been casting my net wide. Chalk it up to being naive about the tighter job market.

Second, I only stuck with recruiters. A recruiter is not necessary for finding a job in Korea and posting your resume to job boards or jobs on Craiglist can increase your chances too. A lot of these jobs are posted directly by the schools, so you cut out the middle man. You apply directly to the school, and if they are interested, they will contact you, if not, you can move on. Quicker communication.

Third, I was self sabotaging myself. I hate that I did this, but I was reluctant to apply directly to a hagwon because I had heard that they really weren't fond of hiring people of color (which is true for a lot). I also think some recruiters play a part in this as well as they are looking to fill jobs as quick as possible (some didn't even respond after I sent in a picture).

So after reading a post on Dave's of all places about a fellow brotha finding a job at a hagwon, I said screw it and just started applying to any job on ESLcafe or Craigslist that I felt I qualified for. I started doing this around October instead of applying to even more recruiters (I had applied with at least 20-25), and all of a sudden I started getting more job leads. If you are a person of color (esp male), will you have a tougher time? Yes. Should you shoot yourself in the foot and just give up or not even try? NO. Take it in stride and know that a school will see your abilities and won't think about that.

Now here is how funny life is. Two schools I applied with directly decided to interview me within two days of each other and then they both offered me jobs on the same day this week. No job offers for over 6 months, and now I've got to decide between two haha. I decided to go with the one in Incheon because the contract had everything I wanted and the other one didn't (like pension) and I also did TONS of research on it and liked what I had read from former teachers. Location was a big factor too. The other one was in Icheon (without the "N" haha), which is at least an hour by bus to Seoul (which I still wouldn't mind if I had a good job offer there), but the area of Incheon I would be living in is right near a subway station. Being only a half hour to an hour within my favorite places like Hongdae, Insadong, etc would be nice.

So yeah I had to decline the other job and they actually were trying to negotiate a higher salary, but again the big thing for me was there was no pension in the contract (which is illegal).

So I have to send my docs off on Monday and hopefully everything goes smoothly and I'll be back in ROK by mid December.

Now here's the next issue. It seems North Korea is feeling kinda mighty right now. As you may or may not know, North Korea fired on an island of South Korea this week and there have been talks of it escalating into war.

I, like many people were pretty pissed at North Korea, but I think South Korea/US has to take at least a small part of the blame as well. The US/South Korea were doing military drills right near the border firing into disputed waters. This of course provoked the response by North Korea.

As I'm typing this, the drills have started once again along with the enormous US aircraft carrier, the George Washington, so everyone is on edge a bit to see if something will happen.

China plays a big role as well and I wish they would keep their little dog in North Korea in check. THEY ARE ENABLING the crazy man.

Usually nothing comes from these things and it settles down pretty quickly, but a lot of people in South Korea are tired of just turning the other cheek and letting North Korea act as they please.

I also can't shake this feeling that something will happen, though I hope nothing does of course. I'm a little concerned this time around about heading back, but if things settle down after this week, then I'd be cool.

So yeah a few friends wonder why I want to go back, and truthfully, I like the country and I have a lot of good friends that I made that I'd like to see again. I don't plan on staying forever, but it's a good fit for me right now and a for a few other goals I have. I think the biggest difference for me this time around is that I actually HAVE a plan for when I am done there. My first year I thought I would just go there for a year, come back, and head right back into graphic design (thinking the job market would recover).

Well, it turned out that I wanted to stay a second year, I'm not too fond of graphic design anymore, I like photography, I like traveling, I have a few websites/business that I know can succeed, and the prospect of sitting at a desk all day is boring to me.

Hmm so maybe this post wasn't that long after all. I'll be back with more updates.

Been thinking about going to China instead. Easier to get hired. Errbody and they momma aren't trying to go there like Korea...yet. Will keep you up to date.

So whatsup people. Been a long time since I've written on here.

Let's see...it's been about 5 months since my time ended in Korea. This summer has truly flown by. One of the shortest summers that I can remember. It's funny I always get that "schooltime" feeling around this time of the year no matter how old I get.

So what's been the deal here in Detroit? Well a lot of things.

For one, I have been trying to get another teaching job in Korea, but I've come up bone dry so far. The market is very flooded right now. I've also got three things going against me.

I'm not in Korea.

I'm not white.

I'm not a female.

The first one could be dealt with easily...the other two not a choice.

It's literally been absurd. I started off by applying with my recruiter that got me my first job. I applied with them way back in April and since then only about 4 jobs have been sent my way, and they never got to an interview. They have my docs and said they would send them to another school or recruiter if I found something.

I've almost lost track of the number of recruiters I've applied with and emails I've sent.

Ordinarily applying with multiple recruiters is frowned upon, but when nearly 80% of them don't even respond to your application, it makes sense to keep trying. I would say out of the at least 20 recruiters I've sent apps to only about 5 have responded with only 2 actually seeming like they were actually trying to place me.

I placed my resume on Dave's, got tons of emails. After I sent my picture, no replies! haha.

I sent an app to CDI...nothing. (I heard from Aclipse they weren't hiring again until Jnauary/February)

I sent an app to POLY...nothing.

I've asked people to look at my resume and photo. All seems fine.

It also gets tricky because my statewide criminal background check expires after October. They are only valid for 6 months. After that, I might as well get the FBI check because that is what will be required in 2011, and that check takes 1-3 months to get.

I'm now questioning whether I want to even go back now. I mean there is a big part of me that wants to go back. I had an enjoyable year last year. I never expected to WANT to come back for another year or two. Also going back there can make the process of achieving some of my future plans and goals much easier (I want to travel and work in photography). Plus it kills two birds with one stone. I get to travel on my breaks and work and make money.

At the same time, I could definitely keep looking for work here in Michigan (HA! I'd still be in the same boat) or elsewhere and accomplish my same goals, only it would be a bit harder.

Right now, the only thing keeping me afloat, is my website which I run. I've also done a bit of freelancing on the design side. I'm also sending out job apps to companies here in Michigan.

So...we will see what happens as I always say. If I can't find something in Korea by October, I may just wait until 2011 and try again. Or I may wait until the year after that. Or I may just say forget it LOL. I definitely don't like just giving up, but it's frustrating when you KNOW people are not looking to hire you or place you.

Either way, I will survive. I'm taking a photography class late this month which is another step. My website continues to grow. It's funny...I've heard comments here and there from frie...people who want to doubt me and judge me for being where I am right now. No one starts off on top, and like a friend of mine says, if you really want to motivate me, doubt me, and say I can't do something.

Which is one reason why even though I'm talking about saying "fuck it" about Korea, it seems just can't let it go because it does motivate me to find that job and show that I can do the job just as well as anyone else. Also I do know that not all recruiters or schools are just looking for that white face in the classroom. So it's just a matter of searching.

Anyways...rant done for the night. It is a great weekend in Detroit. Michigan football starts tomorrow against Uconn...I'm going to listen to one of my favorite artists tomorrow at the free jazz fest all weekend in downtown Detroit (and get some pictures), and the Eminem/Jay Z concert was going on tonight.

Hey.

So hey people whatsup?

So I'm back in the states. My one year adventure in Korea is over and it was a good experience. I'm in the middle of the process of applying for another job over there so I hope to be back over there by June.

I really miss that place. Hongdae...Insadong...the hiking...the people. I think another year is needed over there. There are still some places I haven't seen and I still have money to save hehe.

Anyways, life has been pretty boring since I've been back. I did go to California for 5 days one week after I returned though. I figured since I have some extra money, it was time to finally see the west coast. I met up with a Korean friend over there which was cool too.

Sand Diego is very nice, and I think that's the place where I want to move. Beaches...sun (most of the time...toni toni is a liar)...palm trees. Lovely. I also drove up to LA and went to a lot of things there. Finally saw the Hollywood sign, and went to Korea Town there. Also hit up Santa Monica Beach and saw the famous pier.




There is definitely a lot to see and I will definitely return soon...hopefully.

It was also funny that the morning I was leaving to return back to Detroit, I felt an earthquake. It wasn't a weak one either lol.

Anyways, since then life has been pretty normal and boring. I try to go out most days and take pictures for my website on Detroit that I run. And I also just go to random things around the city. My social life here pretty much sucks because well, almost all of my good friends are all spread out throughout the country now (mostly from college). Cali, Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, etc etc. I feel like a person who moves to a new city for a job and has to build their social network all over again. So annoying.

From how I use to be, I'm pretty proactive in trying to meet people, but I haven't here for some reason. No meetup groups interest me, but I may head to the cultural district and just hangout as that's where the more "Artsy" people hang out and just randomly talk to people. I'm also thinking about volunteering somewhere. Been looking at some Craigslist ads so hopefully I can find somewhere.

But yeah other than that, just working on my website business, working out, driving around, doing some reading, and just patiently waiting on the whole teaching process again.

But I just have this NEED to travel now. I've been in Detroit all my life and although it's my home, I am sick of it in a way. I've seen everything, the same things all my life. I feel like I'm, going to be a type of person that cannot stay in one place for too long.

The only problem with the passion of traveling is....money. Meh.

Oh yeah the NBA playoffs have been keeping me busy as well. Been pretty good overall so far.

So I missed my flight back home!

First time I've done this. I know many people don't ever want to take the blame, but seriously this wasn't my fault. Here's how it went down.

My flight was scheduled to leave at 1020 in the morning. I knew I had to be at the airport by 8/830. I took the airport shuttle from Suwon at around 645am.

Traffic was brutal coming in and I got to Incheon at about 815. I get inside and ask I proceed to go to check-in, and the lady asks me where my destination is. I tell her, and she says I'm at the wrong check-in line. So I go to the one she tells me to go to, stand there for 40 minutes, get to the front, only to hear that this was the wrong one, and that the one I was at originally was the correct one.

:/

So I go back there, and luckily there's no line. The lady starts checking me in, but then tells me I have to go to immigration first. I knew I would have to go there so no problem. I wait for about 15 minutes, and then the lady tells me that the lady at check in should've given me my ticket first. Well by this time, there's a half hour left before I leave and it's pretty much a lost cause.

And I take what I said in the first few sentences back. Perhaps I could've left a bit earlier considering it is a weekday and traffic would've been worse.

Also I was VERY frustrated at first. I'm not the person that goes "ghetto", but I was quite close for the first time in a long time. The ebonics was starting to come out a bit. But I afterwards, I figured I can't do anything about it now. Might as well enjoy another day here in Korea. I'm going to try to find a hotel and get some rest.

I'm now on stand by for the same flight just tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll get on! Update later.

UPDATE:

So I stayed in a nice hotel last night...got some rest. Woke up this morning and thankfully I was able to get a seat on the flight this morning. I'm to Detroit! Hopefully be back in the ROK this summer. Peace yall.

So just about a week left until I complete my 1 year contract here in Korea.

Still can't believe time flew by so quickly. This time last year I was sitting in my room back home wondering wow am I really about to do this? Haha awesome.

This week has been going by surprisingly fast. Tuesday the English teachers all had a dinner for me. I got to choose the place and I chose to go to a Bossam restaurant which has become one of my new favorite dishes here. I don't eat kimchi, but the sweet kimchi that is served with Bossam is delicious and I nearly ate it all.

They gave me a present as well. Some face/wash thingamajig which I insisted that is was for women, but they insisted that it wasn't. Meh...I appreciate the gift and I'll see what it is.

I said goodbye to the teachers at the meeting today. I got to talk with very few of them because of the language barrier of course, but nonetheless I got some good greetings goodbye in Korean.

My friend gave me the idea of taking pictures of all my classes, so I plant to do that in the next two days.

Tomorrow i Thursday which is my longest day....5 classes...but thankfully the last busy Thursday I'll have in awhile.

Last weekend, my friend Wu who left this Tuesday had his going away dinner. Pretty awesome night.

We went to this Indian food place in Hongdae (Which has become one of my favorite places in Seoul) called Yeti. Awesome place. I want to try to go there at least one more time with some friends before I leave. Afterwards, the big group of 12 decided to head to the Noraebang!

Now I hadn't been to the Noraebang since last summer with friends up in Pocheon, where we stayed for about 8 hours. Thankfully this session lasted only about an hour and a half. I sang two songs even though I suck, but it was cool anyways.

After the Noraebang, it was time to head to the ever so popular Zen Bar. I saw pretty much everyone I knew in Korea (not everyone, but you get the picture). It was pretty awesome. I saw friends who had just returned to Korea, and friends who were leaving.

I usually hate the dance/club thing so I basically sat and chilled and talked with a couple of friends.

I also guess friends think I'm lonely because they kept trying to set me up with random girls there. First as I said above, I hate the bar/club scene. Second, I'm not dancing because I HAVE NO RHYTHM. Yes it's true. A black man with no rhythm...how could that be?

Third, even though I don't mind talking to people, how can I with loud music? I don't want to have to shout everything. Eh.

It reminded me of an episode of How I Met Your Mother where Ted basically said the same thing. If anyone watches that show, I guess you could say my outlook on relationships pretty much resembles his. Guess you could call me a bit of a romantic.

Anyways, after that, the group of 12, was down to 6, and at around 4am, we decided to go to the coffee shop to wait for the trains to start running again. By this time everyone is tired, I'm eating chocolate ice cream of course, and we just sit and talk. Good times.

Anyways, this weekend I plan to head to game 5 of the KBL Finals with my friend Mike who I haven't seen in awhile. I also want to try to hang with some other friends before I leave. So little time.

I'm looking forward to my time back home and to do a bit of traveling. I also CANNOT WAIT to see some NBA playoff basketball again. The playoffs start the Saturday I get back and I'm so ready. I seriously hope the Cavs lose. I literally cannot stand that team. I'm getting off track here.

Well, I hope everyone has an enjoyable week and my advice which I've been trying to follow lately is don't worry about the future, and let the past stay in the past. Enjoy the present as best you can.

Holla.

Whatsup people!

So one month to go here on my contract here in Korea. I really can't believe almost a whole year has passed by. When I first came here I said I would only do one year, now I find myself searching for another job here so I can experience another year here. Funny how life works.

So what has happened during the past month or so?

Well February featured the last days of desk warming at school and at the end of the month I celebrated my first birthday in a foreign country which was kinda weird. I invited several friends out and we had some dinner, then headed to Sinchon for a get together which was funded by a Women's Rights group or something like that. Anyways there was music, spoken word, and a large crowd. I enjoyed it.







Next we headed over to Hongdae which was basically right next door and stayed out the whole night. I did have a bit too much Soju that night, but it was a fun night. Talked to many people (a lot of characters) and proceeded to leave the area at around 8 am.

The very next day I headed up to Pocheon for Leonard and Khiana's going away dinenr. They left about a week ago and it was really sad seeing them go as they've been some of the coolest people I've met out here. That dinner also turned into an all night affair with food, drinks, and taboo which always gets out of control. It was guys against the girls and of course the guys won ;)



So I headed into March ready to knock out the last month or so of my contract. Job hunting has been going, so to speak. More than likely I won't find one until I go back home. Theoretically I could find one here and just transfer my visa but I actually would like a bit of a break back home (plus I need to take pictures and other things for the website I'm working on). Also a Korean friend of mine who's doing an exchange program back in Cali gave me the idea of traveling out there to visit so I plan to do that. I also have another friend out there and I've never been to Cali, so I'm making plans for that right now.

One of the best things about finishing a contract is the pension, severance, last months pay, and room deposit money that you receive. Altogether it adds up to a pretty nice amount which will definitely hold me over back home until I find another job back here.

So have I grown since I've been out here? Definitely. Could I grow some more? Definitely. A friend pointed something out over dinner the other night, which other people have pointed out many times, but I really need to work on my planning.

Basically my biggest problems are procrastination and looking for the easiest way to do something. Tow horrible things I know, but I still manage to get important things done in my life while having these problems, so I never really address them as I should, though I think I made some big strides this year.

Anyways it's still cold here. I'm waiting for spring to come. I have no idea where it is. We actually had a bit of snow last week.

I'm out.

So I got the word last week that my school is opting not to re-sign me for another year. I would transcribe the whole letter, but I don't feel like it.

Basically, my classes were enjoyable and most of the kids enjoyed my lessons, but the teachers all agreed that I wasn't "active" enough, which I'm assuming means I wasn't engaged or looked like I was excited enough to teach the class.

I actually thought I was, moreso than I am, but I can also see how my introverted personality may have made them think that.

But I can't change who I am, and in the past when I have tried to be more extroverted (I mean all the time), all I did was tire myself out and I felt fake doing it. So that's why nowadays I really don't let it get to me if I meet people and they think I'm rude or whatever.

And this is not to say more introverted people can't teach, but it's really about finding a teaching method that works for you. I know plenty of more introverted teachers here in Korea who are doing just fine in their schools.

So what now?

Well, I'm going to ask my co-teacher if there is any advice she can give me on how to improve as a teacher, because I am looking for another job here (and may go with elementary this time).

I also take this year as a learning experience all around. You learn by making mistakes and I do see some things that I could do better in the classroom.

I've also learned a lot about myself this past year (wow has a year really almost gone by?)

I've been places I've never though I'd go. I never thought I'd end up in Guam for a vacation, or traveling the countryside in Korea, but I did, and besides wanting to save a bit more money, and teach for another year, I want to travel more.

Traveling and photography are my new passions, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals in these areas. I refuse to be in a cubicle 9-5 job wasting my life away for 20...30 years.

And that's one thing I like about this job. Even though the hours are pretty much normal, everyday it's something different. The kids are mostly part of that, saying their crazy phrases everyday, and interacting with them in class. But also, besides lesson planning for a few hours every week, I can leave the job at the job.

I've also met people from everywhere here. Canada, Korea, Australia, Brazil, China, New Zealand, etc.

I'm so glad I made the decision to come here and teach and I need to stay at least one more year to experience everything I need to experience, so I hope I find a new job soon.

There were some pretty significant changes that occurred before me coming here (friendships ending and whatnot because I decided to leave a certain situation), but leaving was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Will keep up to date on the new job search. Peace.

So I've gotten a few questions here and there about coming to teach in Korea, and ultimately why I decided to.

So here's why I came:

- Had a graphic design job, thought I could get signed on again, but couldn't which = no job
- Searched for jobs for about 3 months with no luck until I saw pictures from a friend on Facebook about being in Korea
- Asked her why she was over here and she said she was teaching
-I looked into it, said why not, and here I am

Furthermore, you have to decide whether you want to teach public or private schools. I personally recommend public school even though at most private schools (hagwons) you get paid more.

With public school this is what I got:

- Airfare paid for (usually public schools don't do this, but my recruiter paid for my flight...I highly recommend them...teacheslkorea.com)
- Free apartment (free meaning I don't pay rent, but I do pay utilities which add up from anywhere from 100 USD to 200 USD...I had a 300 dollar bill last month, but that's only because I didn't know how the heating worked and I had set it too high.
- Pay is around 1.8-2million won, but you can make more by teaching afterschool classes..I was surprised to see a deposit in my bank account for around 700 dollars for an 8 week class I taught!
- 20 days of paid vacation (4 weeks)...but you can also get random days off because of holidays or random days with no classes/off because of testing
- I'm with the GEPIK program

You are required to have:

- A bachelor's degree in any subject
- a valid passport
- no drugs in your system
- criminal background check
- an adventurous spirit (my add-on)

So that's basically it, at least with GEPIK. When you add the total pay up, it can total anywhere from $1500 USD a month to $2000 depending on the exchange rate. Right now the exchange rate is going back up so I'm able to save more money than I was at the start.

And that's the biggest thing for me right there. 1500 may not sound like much, but when you don't have a 700 dollar rent bill to pay, along with a car note or gas, or crazy cell phone bills (my HIGHEST cell phone bill here has been only about 30 dollars), etc, you have more than enough money to eat, go see places (unless you're just bad with money...there really is no excuse..unless you need to send a lot of money back home, which a lot of people do). I send home anywhere from $400-$800 and STILL have enough to live on for whole month. And I'm not talking about scraping by here. I have been here 10 months now and I have cooked a total of two times. It's actually cheaper to eat out here than cook.

Ultimately I don't plan to be here for more than two years as I do have some other plans in place I want to accomplish, but for now, this is good.

If you hate your job, need a job, need some time off to do something different, or you just want to see a part of Asia for a year, teaching English in Korea my be for you.

Research it well, and know what is expected of you. Check out the site a typed above as well for even more info. Cheers.

Hello people. Long time no write. So I guess I can break down what's been happening since my vacation. Let's start with that first.

Guam...what can I say. Absolutely loved it. Beaches, white sand, breezes, and the turquoise waters is something that is the perfect cure for the wintertime blues in Korea.

When I got back to Korea, the cold air was very disheartening.

So here's how my time in Guam went:

First day...arrive at about 9pm, so really nothing accomplished on the first day but traveling to Guam. I headed from the airport to the rental car place, got my car and was on my way to my hotel. I check in to my quaint little hotel on the beach, get into my room, and realized I was hungry.

I had been craving Taco Bell since I came to Korea and I did not fail to realize that I passed one on the way to my hotel, so I immediately jumped back into my car and get 4 hard tacos and a chicken quesadilla. Superb.

So the next day i decide to head up to a place called Two Lover's Point which sits at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea. When I got there, there were Japanese tourists everywhere (it's a popular spot for them and Koreans as well).



I took some great pictures and almost lost my hat to the sea, due to it being very windy.

Afterwards I decided to try to find Ritidian Beach which is at the top of the island. It's a very isolated beach which only a few people know about and go to. That's what makes it awesome. You can have a huge piece of the beach to yourself.

After driving through a winding dirt road for about 20 minutes, it turns out they had closed the beach that day due to heavy surf (it was very windy the first couple of days I was there)

I said oh well, I'll try again tomorrow. So I then decided to drive around the whole island. It only take about 2-3 hours to do so. I drove around and took some pictures of the sights and whatnot, and it was a very relaxing drive especially looking to my left and seeing the vast ocean.



Once I finished my little journey, I headed to the main beach with all the tourists and just chilled for awhile before coming back to the bar at my hotel, and getting a meal and a beer while watching the sun set. I talked with some people there and met some cool people.

Next day, I find Ritidian Beach and it's open! So I get out and walk to the beach and it was amazing. I tried some swimming there but the waters were still kind of choppy so I jumped in for a minute before jumping right back out. I then decided to just chill on the beach as I watched a few people walking by.



I also managed to see quite a few hermit crabs with their little shells walking all around me. Picking one up, makes them hide in it, but they come back out eventually.

After I was finished there, I really wanted to swim, so I decided to head back to the and tourist beach area, Tumon Bay, and do some snorkeling. That was pretty fun as I hadn't done any snorkeling since I went to the Bahamas over 10 years ago.



The remainder of the day was spent listening to my ipod as I watched the sunset again while of course getting....more pictures. I also went back to the bar to talk with some people. One was military who had just been stationed there and another was actually just kind of crazy so I left ASAP.

On my final day, I decided to head to an area where a Japanese army guy was found (in 1978) who had thought the war was still going on for all those years. Apparently once the Japanese were defeated, he retreated into the interior of the island and actually lived there for all those years. He was eventually found and the area where he was found has waterfalls and whatnot so it's a pretty nice place to visit.

After that I went to some other places around the island where some war items were placed and got some pictures of those as well.

Afterwards I headed back to the beach to enjoy one last dip in the water as I knew the return back to 20 degree weather was approaching.

So all in all it was a great trip and I accomplished exactly what I wanted to accomplish...absolutely nothing. I mean I wanted to take some good pictures and see a lot of the sites, but I primarily came for relaxation and a break from the cold weather here in Korea. I hope to go back there again or Saipan, but probably further in the future because there are other places around Asia I want to see as well.

So now I'm back and it's been two weeks. Winter Camps went well the kids seemed to enjoy them and soon I should know whether or not my school wants me back for a second year. I think I'm pretty certain I want to stay a second year. Even if my school doesn't hire me back, I will just look for another job. But it would be much easier if I was able to stay at my current school. I'm a five minute walk away, I like my school and co-workers, I like my students, I have three buses that stop in front of my apartment that take me directly to Seoul, and I have all my internet/phone/cable setup and I don't want to go through the hassle of that again. I will keep up to date on the situation.

Peace!

(Hafa Adai is similar to what the people in Hawaii say..Aloha)

Greetings from Guam, USA! I'm enjoying the second day of my short vacay to the island of Guam.

Just some brief facts about Guam:

- It is technically part of the US (a territory)...I've been using American money the whole time
- It was a major player in WW2
- It is beautiful
- It is the largest island of the Micronesian islands

So, why did I decide to come here for my vacation? Well, first the flights weren't that expensive, nor were the hotel rooms. Also considering it's part of the U.S., I wanted to get a taste of home (sort of) while at the same time enjoying some warm weather and nice beaches.

So, I will be back sometime during the weekend with some stories, updates and pics. Peace!!

OK, so I'm about 12 days late saying it, but Happy New Year everyone.

I thought I'd dust this thing off and tell you guys whats been happening over here in Korea the past couple of months.

So the end of 2009 was kind of weird. Thanksgiving was awesome. Spent is with some friends up in Pocheon and it felt just like home with turkey, greens, etc. So that was cool.

Christmas was weird because it was my first Christmas away from family of any kind. My very first away from home back in Detroit. I didn't do much on Christmas Day, but the day after, my friend had a dinner meetup for about 30 people at this Brazilian all you can eat place that served TONS of meat. Just ridiculous varieties of meat. Needless to say, I was pretty full.

Afterwads, they somehow managed to drag me to come club, where I'm sure I was a wet blanket sitting there not really enjoying myself. But hey, I'm not a club person. All the noise, lights...ugh. Absolute torture for an introvert like myself.

New Year's Eve was pretty chill. I just met up with a friend in Suwon and we had some Galbi then afterwards I headed over to his place to play some video games.

It seems that with the cold, I've been less prone to go out and do things. The winter is a very funny season. It's the season where most people get depressed, but I have a love hate relationship with it. I love the snow, but hate the cold. I hate the greyness and dreariness, but I love the reflective mode it puts me in.

Also one thing I notice is how much I like Korean or Asian architecture in general. People will say, and I'll be the first to admit it, that it's not pretty or anything, but it's something about the cluttered power lines, the close and narrow streets, and the small compact buildings that I like. Walking through the back alleys of Seoul and finding little restaurants and shops is pretty cool.

Oh and speaking of snow, we had the biggest snow in Korea since 1937 about a week ago. I estimate here it was around 6 or 7 inches. Not big by Michigan standards as I ahve seen much more in my life, but I'll take it.

Here are is a pic with some of my students (of course the girls hiding their faces again)



I'm still out and about as much as I can meeting people, but I just have to say this quickly...this single thing is getting pretty old and the more people I meet here, the more it gets worse well because it seems like EVERYONE is in a relationship. I'm always like the 5th or 7th wheel (if that makes any sense). I would've gone skating on New Year's Eve, but it was ALL couples! No thank you...I'm good.

So, for the next two weeks, I am on vacation. I have 3 weeks total, so I'm going to use the last week in February on the week of my birthday. So this week, I'm chillin. On the 19th, I'm headed to Guam for five days to get a break from this cold. I can't wait.

Also, the thought of renewal is coming up. Wow that was fast. Didn't I just get here? Has a year really almost gone by? Well, I'm leaning towards staying another year as it seems like the best option for me right now. Still not 100% sure, but we'll see.

Anyways, peace for now.