The process so far

 It has been a LONG process, let me tell ya!...I did A LOT of research! There is not that much information about teaching abroad that is detailed, it's mostly just sites that post jobs. I did however come across 2 websites that basically helped me out and made things much easier for me and my decision. 

The first was Oxford Seminars which is a site for TESOL/TESL certification courses. The have courses all over Canada and the US, in plenty of cities. They have several courses a month and also information sessions. I decided to attend an info session to see if this was really for me. It was there that I was SOLD! The teacher talked about his experience in Taiwan and Japan and how he lived, how much he was able to save, and how amazing the experience was. He then explained the different continents and the pros and cons of each. South America, India and South East Asia were the lowest paying jobs where you basically work to live. Europe pays better but you need an EU citizenship. China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan paid the best. I then decided that I would choose China or South Korea. Japan's cost of living is high, and I wanted to save as much as possible (I have a lot of debt people!). I finally decided South Korea (see previous post why).

I then found a sweet website that answered all of my questions called Teach ESL Korea . It is a Canadian website that helps people get Korean teaching jobs, basically a recruiter. The site is amazing and has the answer to any question you may have regarding teaching and living in Korea. I got so EXCITED when I found this website and frequent it (even up until this day) often. 

I then signed up for a TESOL/TESL certification course with Oxford. You don't necessarily need to do this course but I was a solo woman traveler moving across the world, so I thought it would be useful. Turns out if you teach in a public school in Korea, having a 100 hr certificate bumps you up on the pay scale! The course is kinda pricey but I thought it would be a good investment. It costs $1050 but if you sign up for your course a month in advance you get $100 off. So I signed up at the beginning of May and waited patiently for my course to start in June...and happened to meet the man of my dreams! "Just my luck", I thought...but we will get to that later ;-)

I thought the course was really helpful. It is 6 classes from 9am to 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday (3 wkends). Pretty brutal in the summertime! You learn teaching methods, how to manage a classroom, the differences between teaching adults vs. children, how to manage culture shock, how to write a resumé and handle phone interviews etc... I thought it was most helpful because although I am really outgoing, I get kinda shy in front of a group of people. You present so many things in front of the class, that it really opened me up. By the time I did my practicum, I felt comfortable! Yes, you prepare a 60 min practicum and present 20 mins of it on the last day. 


The only negative aspect of the course is that it is only 60 hours and if you do need a TESOL/TESL certificate for a job, they usually want a 100 hour one. Oxford offers "modules" that you do on your own time which are "40 hours" to make your certificate 100 hours. There are 4 choices and I chose to do "teaching English to children". It was kind of a joke...$350 for them to send you a couple paperback text books and a multiple choice test that you send back (that is with $100 off if you pay for it within 2 weeks of completing the 60 hour course). The test was super easy, straight from the reading material. I also felt that I didn't really learn much more than I did in the course, but whatever, more money in the end!! 


Before I even finished the course I decided to apply with Teach ESL Korea. I filled out their application and attached a photo and my resumé and that was that...no turning back now! They quickly responded and the rest is history. The one thing I love about Teach is that they are SUPER quick at responding. He asked me what documents I already had and as I collected the remaining documents necessary, I waited for job offers. Then I received a crazy email with Korean symbols as the email address!! It was a job offer :) I was really worried if it was kosher to accept your first offer but because it was a rural public school job, there were some sweet perks. First of all, public means government run, so you are less likely to be screwed over for pay or accommodations. All of the contracts are the same. Rural positions offer 5 extra vacation days (on top of the 20 you already get) and a higher pay. I was also offered extra to teach over the phone for 3-5 hours a week. So you can see why I wanted to respond YES PLEASE!


I talked to my teacher and to the peeps at Teach ESL Korea and some friends of whether I should take this job. The main concern was if I was going to be bored outta my mind in a small town with little to no English speakers. That I was ok with, more authentic Korean experience right? All in all, the public schools were filling up fast for the new school year in September so this was a pretty sweet deal. SOLD!


I guess the job was found by a Korean recruiting company that works with Teach. I coordinated with them a phone interview with my school. That call was the most random 5 minutes of my life! A woman that spoke very little English introduced herself (no idea what her name is) and then asked me to describe myself and why I would be good for their school. I answered and then she asked if I had any questions. I asked a couple but she would just reply with "sorry" ...she didn't understand me! I repeated and got a bit but not ask much as I would have liked. She then said " I like you" and in my head I was like, you don't even know me! But she was cute...but wholy awkward 5 mins. I was then offered the job and accepted.  


Ever since then, I have been collecting documents, getting vaccines, sending documents to Korea (wholy $118 later...), spending tons of money getting things I need and just plain freaking out! 


I have so much to say but I have just spent 2 hours writing this while watching the season finale of SYTYCD so I gotta stop but I have so much more to say!!!


Until next time folks...