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.

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(*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.