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!