So... you thought I'd never write again... right? lol.
I actually have been pretty busy as of late, but I still want to keep this up... at least for the moment.
Anyway. Summer has come and gone and now it's fall. In fact, although the first day of fall was a few days ago, tonight has been the first time that I've felt cold walking around in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts in the evening. I'm still fine in the day, but the evening definitely has gotten chillier.
I've survived 3 of Korea's seasons so far... Winter (similar to Montana, so that's fine), Spring (wait, when was that?), and Summer... Summer... Summer.... While I had heard that Korea is humid and hot, I don't think I was prepared for how bad it really was. I spent a summer in Alabama and Korea is much worse. I don't think I've sweat as much over the entire course of my life than I have in one summer in Korea. Yuck. And it's not the temperature. It's the humidity. Other than the humidity it's probably pretty similar to Montana summers.
I had also heard of Korea's monsoon season. However, I don't think I really experienced such a thing. Maybe this year was mild. I'm not sure. Possibly also due to me having lived in Seattle, Alabama, and Montana, I didn't think it was a big deal. Korean monsoon season is mostly like rain in Montana. More intense than Seattle rain and less intense than Alabama rain. The worst part of it is that you have to walk around in it. I miss having a car where I can just jump in and avoid that nasty getting wet part. Of course, Koreans love umbrellas. They use umbrellas for sunny weather and rainy weather. They don't wan to get tans and they don't want to get wet. And since everyone is walking around this makes for very entertaining "chicken umbrella wars" where you try and assess who's going to be the chicken (or the nice person) and raise their umbrella up so they don't bump your umbrella. Or neither raises their umbrella and we play umbrella bumper cars. ... ... Apparently, I need to get a bigger, stronger umbrella! :D
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Life in Korea: March
So... I've been gone for a while, so I think I'm going to give you a (hopefully) quick and image heavy update in parts. This is obviously an update on life in Korea from the month of March. Just life in Korea: no school stories, no extraneous facts.
So, in March, I was settling into my new apartment, my new workplace/school, and life in general in Korea. So, to be honest, I didn't do a whole lot. I did spend a considerable amount of time wandering around O_O
But I also...
I visited with a few friends at Insadong at a tea house. Tea houses in Korea usually have many types of teas. I have never been to any tea houses elsewhere, but I think that they are probably similar to tea houses everywhere.
I went for a brief look at Sindorim where all the foreigners (or at least a lot of them) were celebrating St. Patrick's day.
I went with another friend to a different tea house, and on the way there, we saw where Mary Poppins probably lives... or possibly died.
The tea house we went to was a very English looking (at least what I would imagine one would look like) tea house. It was very cute and had at least 20 pages of different kinds of teas!
So, in March, I was settling into my new apartment, my new workplace/school, and life in general in Korea. So, to be honest, I didn't do a whole lot. I did spend a considerable amount of time wandering around O_O
But I also...
I visited with a few friends at Insadong at a tea house. Tea houses in Korea usually have many types of teas. I have never been to any tea houses elsewhere, but I think that they are probably similar to tea houses everywhere.
I went for a brief look at Sindorim where all the foreigners (or at least a lot of them) were celebrating St. Patrick's day.
I went with another friend to a different tea house, and on the way there, we saw where Mary Poppins probably lives... or possibly died.
The tea house we went to was a very English looking (at least what I would imagine one would look like) tea house. It was very cute and had at least 20 pages of different kinds of teas!
And finally, I attended my first official soccer game.
From the nosebleed foreigner section.
It was pretty fun!
"Find Yourself" by Brad Paisley
FYI: This is going to be a self-reflection type post, rather than a fun travelogue post. I will post one of those later. So, if you read further, you have been warned this isn't going to be a whole lot of fun... more of a post just for me... and whoever chooses to read this... lol.
When you find yourself
In some far off place
And it causes you to rethink some things
You start to sense that slowly
You're becoming someone else
And then you find yourself
When you make new friends in a brand new town
And you start to think about settlin' down
The things that would have been lost on you
Are now clear as a bell
And you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself
Where you go through life
So sure of where you’re headin'
And you wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that’s when you find yourself
When you meet the one
That you've been waitin' for
And she's everything that you want and more
You look at her and you finally start to live for some one else
And then you find yourself
That’s when you find yourself
When we go through life
So sure of where we're headin'
And we wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself.
For whatever reason, this song is on my playlist and it happened to strike me that this fits my life right now pretty perfectly.
A lot of people will joke about how "finding yourself" it just an excuse for people to be lazy. To not have a job, a purpose. To backpack through Europe. Perhaps for some that's true. But I think that for me, the past couple of years have forced me to take a good look at myself and see what is really there. What I really am. To begin to find and accept myself.
I've never done that before. In fact, literally, I've always avoided looking at myself... in mirrors, in photos, in life. I thought that if everyone could forget me, that would be good. Because I never wanted to remember myself.
But now, thirty years later, I'm finding out all these strange and remarkable things about myself. Some of it good and rewarding, some of it just weird and amusing, some of it incredibly embarrassing, and some of it somewhat frightening.
I think, because of several things in my past, that I have never truly loved myself. I always thought that if I loved God and He loved me back, that was all I needed. That if no one ever loved me, if I never loved myself, that it would still be okay. If I loved others enough it would be enough. But it never has been. I've always withheld a part of myself from others, never able to fully trust anyone, fearing so strongly that I would not be loved in return.
I also never wanted kids. It gave me a good excuse to NOT fall in love with guys who DID want kids. I don't know the exact reason why I never wanted kids, but I wonder today if it's because I never wanted kids like myself. I never wanted to pass along my genes, never wanting them to be as ugly and unwanted as I feared I was.
But life is funny and God has quite the sense of humor. If you had asked me when I was 10, when I was 20, when I was 25, even when I was 27, if I would be teaching Korean elementary students at 30... the resounding answer would have been NO. And yet, out of all possibilities, this has made me the happiest I think I have ever been in my life.
Meeting other adoptees. Meeting actual Koreans. Living in Korea. Working with Korean kids. While sometimes overwhelming, it's all been healing in a way I never thought I could be healed. In a way I didn't think I NEEDED to be healed. I can't tell you how confusing it felt and sometimes still feels when someone gives me a compliment. I never feel like I deserve it, but I know the polite thing to do is to accept it. I've never believed anyone but my dog would be happy to see me. But my students meet me every day with big grins and a big "Hello teacher!" They always seem to be so happy to see me and at first it was such a jolting and strange experience that I honestly had no idea how to respond. I kept wondering, "Why? Why are you saying hello to me?" But I've been getting better. Little by little.
I've been thinking about my life and how blessed it has been. How many different events brought me to this moment, to this place. How much I've grown from each experience. How confused I felt at each turn, and only in hindsight I have been able to see why.
God Blessed the Broken Road.
My self confidence in high school was zero. I wanted people to like me, so I did all sorts of crazy things to get people to like me. But who likes a person like that?
My senior year of high school, I visited my second choice college once and swore afterwards I would never go to such a school. But I went anyway, even though I was accepted into my first choice. For some reason, at the time I had to decide, I felt this enormous sense of peace about going to my second choice. And I never looked back at my first choice. But I've always found it a strange thing for me to have made that decision. Because I never had a reason.
I met a lot of good people at my university. And I didn't realize this then, but no matter how kind they were to me, I never loved myself, so I never thought anyone else would be capable of doing so either. So when a friend suggested that she and I room together, I didn't understand. I still remember being shocked. To the me that existed then, she was a very vibrant person, with a lot of friends, and could have chosen to room with anyone. Why me?
Katie - if you read this, I know I wasn't the best roommate and I had a lot of problems, but I wanted to say how much I appreciate your friendship, then and now. You'll probably never know how much richer you made my life.
I gained more confidence that year and I think that it was then that I started actually thinking about the future. I never wanted to think about it before because I thought it would be empty. I had no idea what I wanted to do. So I just did things that I thought I enjoyed. So, I studied biology (animals).
I decided to use my summers more effectively and applied to different research programs. I applied to A LOT of different programs and only got into one. I was really disappointed because I didn't really think much of that particular program. Turns out, it was the best program for me. I met a lot of good people and did some good research, but I think that again, the love that I received from the people I met there and the confidence that I gained was much more worthwhile and the real reason why I was sent there.
Erin! I miss you. Let's go swimming at midnight :D :D :D
Multiple things influenced my decision to return to Korea. And I believe I've talked about that already, as well as what happened afterwards.
All of this is to say that recently I've been doing a lot of soul searching. I was very depressed for quite a long time. Unable to communicate. Worried that I wasn't a good teacher. Worried that other people didn't like me. Worried that real Koreans would never accept me. I finally decided enough was enough and decided I needed to get out and DO something. Anything.
In high school, I learned some version of swing dance (I think country swing maybe?). And after college, I went with a guy I liked to a swing dance class. I don't know why, but I've never liked men touching me. Even though I liked the guy, I was so afraid I didn't want to continue the class. I knew he wasn't dangerous and wouldn't hurt me physically and yet I still felt very afraid.
Five years and over 5,000 miles later, I'm living in Korea and was rarely leaving my apartment. I needed to get out and the only thing that sounded interesting was... swing dancing. I needed something to do, and felt like I could try it and see if I was any better than I was.
Swing dancing in Korea! I never dreamed of it. I have met a lot of nice people. Another adoptee too... lol. And, of course... I met someone. I doubt I'll ever meet him again because of various circumstances, but the encouragement and confidence I gained from him and from my students has allowed me to continue swing dancing, start actual Korean language classes (evening) and a willingness to try new things and not be so afraid anymore.
Fear, I have always known, can be debilitating. Especially for me. I always knew and people have always said things like "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself" and other such things, but it's a much different thing to talk about it and to actually do it. Especially when you don't understand where the fear is coming from. But I think I'm starting to work through everything and can someday be the confident person I always dreamed of.
But I know it's not going to happen immediately. One of harder things I've learned in the past year is that I'm a coward. Even when it comes to the important things. I've always been afraid to take the step outside the acceptable. There was a new teacher at my school and she was sitting alone. I thought I would be the big person and sit with her, but when it comes down to it, I did what I thought was expected of me: I sat with everyone else. And something else happened that has made me incredibly ashamed. I saw a woman kicking a young boy (probably around 10 years old). And I just walked by. My heart breaks just thinking about it. But there were a lot of others looking on and not doing anything. I don't know Korean laws and since the others weren't stopping her, maybe she was in her rights. Also, I don't speak Korean so I couldn't have communicated anything if I had stopped her. Those were my excuses. Not good enough. Just not good enough.
I don't want to regret anything anymore. I don't want to be afraid anymore. Even though I don't think anyone can never feel fear, I'm just not going to let it to rule my life as it once did. I'm going to stand up for things that I know are right and not stand for any cruelty. I'm going to do things I'm interested in even when I know I may fail. Even when people laugh at me. Even when I fail, I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to learn to trust people again. Going to let people into my heart, even when I know they may not reciprocate. Going to have the courage to give my heart fully away, when I don't know the outcome.
Living in Korea, I've tried foods when I didn't know what they were made of, gone places I never would have dreamed of going, done things I always wanted to do, but never had the guts to try. Last weekend I took some "adult" pictures (lol, I will show them to you later and you'll laugh), fed and petted a kangaroo and held a python. And next weekend I'm going to learn to surf! Learning to surf in September in South Korea. Who would've ever dreamed? Maybe next I will go bungee jumping or paragliding or zip lining. And I'm not kidding. I've always been afraid of heights, but it might be fun. :D Everything that has happened in the past 2 years have taken me completely by surprise. Not in my wildest dreams did I think ANY of this would have happened. Least of all to ME.
And yet... Here I am.
When you find yourself
In some far off place
And it causes you to rethink some things
You start to sense that slowly
You're becoming someone else
And then you find yourself
When you make new friends in a brand new town
And you start to think about settlin' down
The things that would have been lost on you
Are now clear as a bell
And you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself
Where you go through life
So sure of where you’re headin'
And you wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that’s when you find yourself
When you meet the one
That you've been waitin' for
And she's everything that you want and more
You look at her and you finally start to live for some one else
And then you find yourself
That’s when you find yourself
When we go through life
So sure of where we're headin'
And we wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well
Because you find yourself
Yeah that's when you find yourself.
For whatever reason, this song is on my playlist and it happened to strike me that this fits my life right now pretty perfectly.
A lot of people will joke about how "finding yourself" it just an excuse for people to be lazy. To not have a job, a purpose. To backpack through Europe. Perhaps for some that's true. But I think that for me, the past couple of years have forced me to take a good look at myself and see what is really there. What I really am. To begin to find and accept myself.
I've never done that before. In fact, literally, I've always avoided looking at myself... in mirrors, in photos, in life. I thought that if everyone could forget me, that would be good. Because I never wanted to remember myself.
But now, thirty years later, I'm finding out all these strange and remarkable things about myself. Some of it good and rewarding, some of it just weird and amusing, some of it incredibly embarrassing, and some of it somewhat frightening.
I think, because of several things in my past, that I have never truly loved myself. I always thought that if I loved God and He loved me back, that was all I needed. That if no one ever loved me, if I never loved myself, that it would still be okay. If I loved others enough it would be enough. But it never has been. I've always withheld a part of myself from others, never able to fully trust anyone, fearing so strongly that I would not be loved in return.
I also never wanted kids. It gave me a good excuse to NOT fall in love with guys who DID want kids. I don't know the exact reason why I never wanted kids, but I wonder today if it's because I never wanted kids like myself. I never wanted to pass along my genes, never wanting them to be as ugly and unwanted as I feared I was.
But life is funny and God has quite the sense of humor. If you had asked me when I was 10, when I was 20, when I was 25, even when I was 27, if I would be teaching Korean elementary students at 30... the resounding answer would have been NO. And yet, out of all possibilities, this has made me the happiest I think I have ever been in my life.
Meeting other adoptees. Meeting actual Koreans. Living in Korea. Working with Korean kids. While sometimes overwhelming, it's all been healing in a way I never thought I could be healed. In a way I didn't think I NEEDED to be healed. I can't tell you how confusing it felt and sometimes still feels when someone gives me a compliment. I never feel like I deserve it, but I know the polite thing to do is to accept it. I've never believed anyone but my dog would be happy to see me. But my students meet me every day with big grins and a big "Hello teacher!" They always seem to be so happy to see me and at first it was such a jolting and strange experience that I honestly had no idea how to respond. I kept wondering, "Why? Why are you saying hello to me?" But I've been getting better. Little by little.
I've been thinking about my life and how blessed it has been. How many different events brought me to this moment, to this place. How much I've grown from each experience. How confused I felt at each turn, and only in hindsight I have been able to see why.
God Blessed the Broken Road.
My self confidence in high school was zero. I wanted people to like me, so I did all sorts of crazy things to get people to like me. But who likes a person like that?
My senior year of high school, I visited my second choice college once and swore afterwards I would never go to such a school. But I went anyway, even though I was accepted into my first choice. For some reason, at the time I had to decide, I felt this enormous sense of peace about going to my second choice. And I never looked back at my first choice. But I've always found it a strange thing for me to have made that decision. Because I never had a reason.
I met a lot of good people at my university. And I didn't realize this then, but no matter how kind they were to me, I never loved myself, so I never thought anyone else would be capable of doing so either. So when a friend suggested that she and I room together, I didn't understand. I still remember being shocked. To the me that existed then, she was a very vibrant person, with a lot of friends, and could have chosen to room with anyone. Why me?
Katie - if you read this, I know I wasn't the best roommate and I had a lot of problems, but I wanted to say how much I appreciate your friendship, then and now. You'll probably never know how much richer you made my life.
I gained more confidence that year and I think that it was then that I started actually thinking about the future. I never wanted to think about it before because I thought it would be empty. I had no idea what I wanted to do. So I just did things that I thought I enjoyed. So, I studied biology (animals).
I decided to use my summers more effectively and applied to different research programs. I applied to A LOT of different programs and only got into one. I was really disappointed because I didn't really think much of that particular program. Turns out, it was the best program for me. I met a lot of good people and did some good research, but I think that again, the love that I received from the people I met there and the confidence that I gained was much more worthwhile and the real reason why I was sent there.
Erin! I miss you. Let's go swimming at midnight :D :D :D
Multiple things influenced my decision to return to Korea. And I believe I've talked about that already, as well as what happened afterwards.
All of this is to say that recently I've been doing a lot of soul searching. I was very depressed for quite a long time. Unable to communicate. Worried that I wasn't a good teacher. Worried that other people didn't like me. Worried that real Koreans would never accept me. I finally decided enough was enough and decided I needed to get out and DO something. Anything.
In high school, I learned some version of swing dance (I think country swing maybe?). And after college, I went with a guy I liked to a swing dance class. I don't know why, but I've never liked men touching me. Even though I liked the guy, I was so afraid I didn't want to continue the class. I knew he wasn't dangerous and wouldn't hurt me physically and yet I still felt very afraid.
Five years and over 5,000 miles later, I'm living in Korea and was rarely leaving my apartment. I needed to get out and the only thing that sounded interesting was... swing dancing. I needed something to do, and felt like I could try it and see if I was any better than I was.
Swing dancing in Korea! I never dreamed of it. I have met a lot of nice people. Another adoptee too... lol. And, of course... I met someone. I doubt I'll ever meet him again because of various circumstances, but the encouragement and confidence I gained from him and from my students has allowed me to continue swing dancing, start actual Korean language classes (evening) and a willingness to try new things and not be so afraid anymore.
Fear, I have always known, can be debilitating. Especially for me. I always knew and people have always said things like "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself" and other such things, but it's a much different thing to talk about it and to actually do it. Especially when you don't understand where the fear is coming from. But I think I'm starting to work through everything and can someday be the confident person I always dreamed of.
But I know it's not going to happen immediately. One of harder things I've learned in the past year is that I'm a coward. Even when it comes to the important things. I've always been afraid to take the step outside the acceptable. There was a new teacher at my school and she was sitting alone. I thought I would be the big person and sit with her, but when it comes down to it, I did what I thought was expected of me: I sat with everyone else. And something else happened that has made me incredibly ashamed. I saw a woman kicking a young boy (probably around 10 years old). And I just walked by. My heart breaks just thinking about it. But there were a lot of others looking on and not doing anything. I don't know Korean laws and since the others weren't stopping her, maybe she was in her rights. Also, I don't speak Korean so I couldn't have communicated anything if I had stopped her. Those were my excuses. Not good enough. Just not good enough.
I don't want to regret anything anymore. I don't want to be afraid anymore. Even though I don't think anyone can never feel fear, I'm just not going to let it to rule my life as it once did. I'm going to stand up for things that I know are right and not stand for any cruelty. I'm going to do things I'm interested in even when I know I may fail. Even when people laugh at me. Even when I fail, I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to learn to trust people again. Going to let people into my heart, even when I know they may not reciprocate. Going to have the courage to give my heart fully away, when I don't know the outcome.
Living in Korea, I've tried foods when I didn't know what they were made of, gone places I never would have dreamed of going, done things I always wanted to do, but never had the guts to try. Last weekend I took some "adult" pictures (lol, I will show them to you later and you'll laugh), fed and petted a kangaroo and held a python. And next weekend I'm going to learn to surf! Learning to surf in September in South Korea. Who would've ever dreamed? Maybe next I will go bungee jumping or paragliding or zip lining. And I'm not kidding. I've always been afraid of heights, but it might be fun. :D Everything that has happened in the past 2 years have taken me completely by surprise. Not in my wildest dreams did I think ANY of this would have happened. Least of all to ME.
And yet... Here I am.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Getting to where I am: The process to become a teacher in South Korea
So... One of my friends asked about the process to become a teacher here in South Korea and since I had always been contemplating making a post about this anyway, I figured I had just better do it.
***This post is longer than I wanted it to be. On this page I include 1) different ways to get to Korea, 2) Documents needed (and a brief summary of each), and 3) Timeline for applying to EPIK. Please skip ahead if you don't need to read the other stuff.***
So the process for becoming an English teacher in South Korea through EPIK is actually rather long and can be both time and money-consuming. Almost 6 months from start to finish. But I stress that I think it is very rewarding. However, before I dig in, I will briefly list a few other things one can do to make the move to South Korea. (Besides going to school or moving as part of a US-based company) If anyone reads this and can tell me any other ways, I would much appreciate it!
1. Holt Homecoming
2. Live-in Volunteer at Ilsan
3. TaLK
4. EPIK
Holt Homecoming - Recommended! Korean Adoptees only. Application process takes about 1-2 months, the program lasts 3 months, and you can renew once.
What you get: free dormitory housing (you will have a roommate), 1-2 hours a day teaching daycare, 20 hours a week Korean language classes, and a monthly stipend (enough to live on).
What you need: Passport, health check (including drug testing), recommendations, criminal background check, copy of University diploma and official University transcripts.
What you need to know: You don't get any training for teaching. They say that they have an "orientation", but my orientation was basically lunch and asking about teaching. You can ask as many questions as you want during lunch, but if you're like me, and you've never taught before and don't even know where to start, you're not likely to even know what to ask. Also, teaching AND classes are non-negotiable. If you feel overwhelmed by both, you still have to do both. And you have to attend 80% of classes. You also will have an hour commute, an hour there and an hour coming back, from the dorm to the daycares.
Jodi's overview: Looking back, I really liked the Korean language classes and the daycares. But it took me about a month to get into the swing of things and that first month was pretty stressful. But if you make it through that, you're golden and can do anything! :D
Last note: If you choose this route, if you decide to continue past 3 months, you have to pass the Korean class to renew. If you either don't pass or don't want to renew the program but want to continue living in Korea, it's fairly easy to do so. A few of my friends have been able to continue teaching at their daycares as well as finding a few more to supplement that income. Also, as far as the teaching goes, I am going to make another post/page that talks about teaching. Please e-mail me if you want to know more about it and that page isn't up yet.
Live-in Volunteer at Ilsan - I don't know much about this except that it's 1-3 months long, although I expect that they wouldn't mind if you stayed longer. You get food and lodging free and a small amount of pocket money in exchange for being a volunteer at Holt's Ilsan Town, home for the disabled. If you want more information, contact me (I still have the document somewhere) or contact Holt directly.
TaLK - If you haven't graduated from college yet, check this out. It's pretty much the same as EPIK, without as many restrictions. I don't know about the application process. I think it's similar, but I'm not sure.
EPIK - I list this last because it's what I know the best, as this is the program I got into. All contracts are 1 year for teaching English. There are many ways to become a teacher in South Korea, but from everything I've read, this is the best way to do so. It only sends teachers to public schools, which is important, as some private schools (called hagwons) are not always very accommodating. It also has the largest reach, as this program sends teachers all over Korea. The downside? It sends teachers to all different parts of Korea. So if you want a specific place in Korea and won't go anywhere else, you may want to try and apply directly to schools in that area, or go through a recruiter and tell them exactly what you want. I was very blessed and got my first choice! (Which doesn't always happen).
Alright. This is longer than I meant to make it. Here is the skinny on EPIK:
What you need that will take a while:
Passport
TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate
Notarized Copy of Diploma with Apostille
FBI Background Check with Apostille
Sealed copy of University transcript
Recommendation letters
Passport: Make sure your passport expires well beyond the date you expect to return. If you end up deciding you want to stay, you probably don't want to try and renew your passport from Korea... So maybe you just want to renew it now so it's good for 10 years. That's what I did.
TEFL Certificate: when I applied I was told it wasn't absolutely necessary, but HIGHLY recommended, and that soon it would be required. I don't know if it is required now, but I would recommend getting one as it also puts you in a higher pay bracket and puts you above other applicants who don't have one. You can do in-person classes (which are highly regarded, but more expensive and not available everywhere) or online classes (which are still good to have, and less expensive). My online certificate cost $250. Was the content justifiable for the cost? Debatable. Was it worth it overall? Yes. Just do it. (And do it early.)
Notarized Copy of Diploma with Apostille: This one doesn't take as long as the FBI check, but you might as well do this one at the same time, if not earlier. In fact, I recommend doing this one as soon as possible and maybe even get more than one as they don't expire and you will probably need to have one for every job/visa you apply for. You only need to give them at the very end though, so don't get 16 copies if you're applying for 16 jobs. They're just nice to have in case you renew or apply somewhere else afterwards. It's not very expensive either. I got my diploma copied and notarized at my credit union (banks and other places generally charge for it), and sent it off for an Apostille with my Secretary of State for $10.00.
Sealed copy of University transcript: As above, this one shouldn't take too long, but it pays to do it early and get multiple copies. You never know when you will need another, and it will never expire. I was told to get at least 3 copies. I think I ended up getting 5 or 6, just in case.
Recommendations: ALWAYS ask early for this. Sometimes it takes people a while, sometimes not. But it's better to be early than late.
FBI Background Check with Apostille: This one can be the worst. Fortunately, mine only took 1.5 months, but I think that's because I started early. This one also doesn't necessarily pay to be early. If the FBI check is too "old", it won't be accepted and you will have wasted your time. I think it's 6 months is the cutoff line. So try and send it out 2 months prior to when you are planning to apply. For instance, if you apply October 31st. Send it out September 1st. But remember, you still need to get your fingerprints done before that, and sometimes, if your fingerprints get screwed up or something else weird happens, they may send you the check back for xyz reason. So be careful and double check EVERYTHING before sending it to the FBI. There's a lot more to it, but since a plethora of other people have written about getting one of those, I'll just post a link to it. If you have any specific questions after that, contact me.
TIMELINE
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. How does the timeline look for applying to this program? I said 6 months, how can that be? Well, here's how it went for me (and I applied early and to two different programs, so it will look different for you, I also sent only 1 FBI check the first time and needed two, so I sent it again):
June 13th: Got fingerprints taken and mailed application for the FBI Background check, also applied for a renewed passport and a notarized copy of my degree for the Apostille. Also sent notarized copy of diploma to my Secretary of State for an Apostille.
June 18th: Received my degree with Apostille
July 5th: Received my new passport book
July 16th: Received FBI background check back
July 17th: Mailed FBI background check to Department of State for Apostille
August 1st: Received FBI check with Apostille
***This post is longer than I wanted it to be. On this page I include 1) different ways to get to Korea, 2) Documents needed (and a brief summary of each), and 3) Timeline for applying to EPIK. Please skip ahead if you don't need to read the other stuff.***
So the process for becoming an English teacher in South Korea through EPIK is actually rather long and can be both time and money-consuming. Almost 6 months from start to finish. But I stress that I think it is very rewarding. However, before I dig in, I will briefly list a few other things one can do to make the move to South Korea. (Besides going to school or moving as part of a US-based company) If anyone reads this and can tell me any other ways, I would much appreciate it!
1. Holt Homecoming
2. Live-in Volunteer at Ilsan
3. TaLK
4. EPIK
Holt Homecoming - Recommended! Korean Adoptees only. Application process takes about 1-2 months, the program lasts 3 months, and you can renew once.
What you get: free dormitory housing (you will have a roommate), 1-2 hours a day teaching daycare, 20 hours a week Korean language classes, and a monthly stipend (enough to live on).
What you need: Passport, health check (including drug testing), recommendations, criminal background check, copy of University diploma and official University transcripts.
What you need to know: You don't get any training for teaching. They say that they have an "orientation", but my orientation was basically lunch and asking about teaching. You can ask as many questions as you want during lunch, but if you're like me, and you've never taught before and don't even know where to start, you're not likely to even know what to ask. Also, teaching AND classes are non-negotiable. If you feel overwhelmed by both, you still have to do both. And you have to attend 80% of classes. You also will have an hour commute, an hour there and an hour coming back, from the dorm to the daycares.
Jodi's overview: Looking back, I really liked the Korean language classes and the daycares. But it took me about a month to get into the swing of things and that first month was pretty stressful. But if you make it through that, you're golden and can do anything! :D
Last note: If you choose this route, if you decide to continue past 3 months, you have to pass the Korean class to renew. If you either don't pass or don't want to renew the program but want to continue living in Korea, it's fairly easy to do so. A few of my friends have been able to continue teaching at their daycares as well as finding a few more to supplement that income. Also, as far as the teaching goes, I am going to make another post/page that talks about teaching. Please e-mail me if you want to know more about it and that page isn't up yet.
Live-in Volunteer at Ilsan - I don't know much about this except that it's 1-3 months long, although I expect that they wouldn't mind if you stayed longer. You get food and lodging free and a small amount of pocket money in exchange for being a volunteer at Holt's Ilsan Town, home for the disabled. If you want more information, contact me (I still have the document somewhere) or contact Holt directly.
TaLK - If you haven't graduated from college yet, check this out. It's pretty much the same as EPIK, without as many restrictions. I don't know about the application process. I think it's similar, but I'm not sure.
EPIK - I list this last because it's what I know the best, as this is the program I got into. All contracts are 1 year for teaching English. There are many ways to become a teacher in South Korea, but from everything I've read, this is the best way to do so. It only sends teachers to public schools, which is important, as some private schools (called hagwons) are not always very accommodating. It also has the largest reach, as this program sends teachers all over Korea. The downside? It sends teachers to all different parts of Korea. So if you want a specific place in Korea and won't go anywhere else, you may want to try and apply directly to schools in that area, or go through a recruiter and tell them exactly what you want. I was very blessed and got my first choice! (Which doesn't always happen).
Alright. This is longer than I meant to make it. Here is the skinny on EPIK:
What you need that will take a while:
Passport
TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate
Notarized Copy of Diploma with Apostille
FBI Background Check with Apostille
Sealed copy of University transcript
Recommendation letters
Passport: Make sure your passport expires well beyond the date you expect to return. If you end up deciding you want to stay, you probably don't want to try and renew your passport from Korea... So maybe you just want to renew it now so it's good for 10 years. That's what I did.
TEFL Certificate: when I applied I was told it wasn't absolutely necessary, but HIGHLY recommended, and that soon it would be required. I don't know if it is required now, but I would recommend getting one as it also puts you in a higher pay bracket and puts you above other applicants who don't have one. You can do in-person classes (which are highly regarded, but more expensive and not available everywhere) or online classes (which are still good to have, and less expensive). My online certificate cost $250. Was the content justifiable for the cost? Debatable. Was it worth it overall? Yes. Just do it. (And do it early.)
Notarized Copy of Diploma with Apostille: This one doesn't take as long as the FBI check, but you might as well do this one at the same time, if not earlier. In fact, I recommend doing this one as soon as possible and maybe even get more than one as they don't expire and you will probably need to have one for every job/visa you apply for. You only need to give them at the very end though, so don't get 16 copies if you're applying for 16 jobs. They're just nice to have in case you renew or apply somewhere else afterwards. It's not very expensive either. I got my diploma copied and notarized at my credit union (banks and other places generally charge for it), and sent it off for an Apostille with my Secretary of State for $10.00.
Sealed copy of University transcript: As above, this one shouldn't take too long, but it pays to do it early and get multiple copies. You never know when you will need another, and it will never expire. I was told to get at least 3 copies. I think I ended up getting 5 or 6, just in case.
Recommendations: ALWAYS ask early for this. Sometimes it takes people a while, sometimes not. But it's better to be early than late.
FBI Background Check with Apostille: This one can be the worst. Fortunately, mine only took 1.5 months, but I think that's because I started early. This one also doesn't necessarily pay to be early. If the FBI check is too "old", it won't be accepted and you will have wasted your time. I think it's 6 months is the cutoff line. So try and send it out 2 months prior to when you are planning to apply. For instance, if you apply October 31st. Send it out September 1st. But remember, you still need to get your fingerprints done before that, and sometimes, if your fingerprints get screwed up or something else weird happens, they may send you the check back for xyz reason. So be careful and double check EVERYTHING before sending it to the FBI. There's a lot more to it, but since a plethora of other people have written about getting one of those, I'll just post a link to it. If you have any specific questions after that, contact me.
TIMELINE
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. How does the timeline look for applying to this program? I said 6 months, how can that be? Well, here's how it went for me (and I applied early and to two different programs, so it will look different for you, I also sent only 1 FBI check the first time and needed two, so I sent it again):
June 13th: Got fingerprints taken and mailed application for the FBI Background check, also applied for a renewed passport and a notarized copy of my degree for the Apostille. Also sent notarized copy of diploma to my Secretary of State for an Apostille.
June 18th: Received my degree with Apostille
July 5th: Received my new passport book
July 16th: Received FBI background check back
July 17th: Mailed FBI background check to Department of State for Apostille
August 1st: Received FBI check with Apostille
August 29th: Sent another FBI Background Check request
October 4th: Application sent to EPIK
October 5th: Received FBI check and mailed out for Apostille
October 18th: Received email with EPIK interview time
October 24th: Interview for EPIK
October 25th: Received email stating interview passed!!!
October 29th: Received FBI check back with Apostille
October 30th: Sent all documents to Korea
November 6th: EPIK received documents
November 29th: EPIK confirmed position
SO... As you can see, I started the process June 13th and didn't know until November 29th that I had a position. The latest I think you could start this process is the end of August, beginning of September, since that's when I sent the second FBI check which was sent to EPIK.
I also mentioned above that this process is money-consuming. Singularly, the prices weren't very much (except for the certificate), generally ranging from $5-20. But added up, I would guess I spent about $500.00 on this process, including the TEFL certificate, fingerprint fees, Apostille fees, FBI check fees, Dept of State fees, multiple priority mailings, FEDEX package to Korea, etc.
But was all of this worth it? For me, absolutely. I have honestly never been happier in my life. I LOVE teaching, and, although I know other teachers who don't enjoy it as much, there is plenty of other things in Korea to love. But I truly hope you enjoy teaching if you come, because the joy the students bring to me is worth it in every way everyday.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
I also mentioned above that this process is money-consuming. Singularly, the prices weren't very much (except for the certificate), generally ranging from $5-20. But added up, I would guess I spent about $500.00 on this process, including the TEFL certificate, fingerprint fees, Apostille fees, FBI check fees, Dept of State fees, multiple priority mailings, FEDEX package to Korea, etc.
But was all of this worth it? For me, absolutely. I have honestly never been happier in my life. I LOVE teaching, and, although I know other teachers who don't enjoy it as much, there is plenty of other things in Korea to love. But I truly hope you enjoy teaching if you come, because the joy the students bring to me is worth it in every way everyday.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
My apartment in Korea
Well, it's been a while since I wrote last, looks like over a month, so I figured I had better do this now before I find something better to do.
In the past month, what have I done? I'm not even really sure myself... Poor memory... O_O Um... Let's see, I got to visit with some friends from home, went to Korea's World Cup Qualifier against Qatar (which they won :D), visited some parks, took a lot of pictures, did some shopping, and had lots and lots of coffee/tea and food. Oh, and I did attend a "co-teaching" workshop which was actually more of a "let's be creative and then do a lesson plan with a Korean co-Teacher (KT)" workshop.
I've put in more time into my lesson plans than most NETs do, as I've been told numerous times by my KTs, and it was running into my personal time. For example, I planned a fun lesson for my fifth grade students to reinforce the English words for different tastes: salty, sweet, spicy, bitter, etc. In the lesson, the students were put into 3 groups, and then each group sent 1 student outside. Each student ate something I had bought the prior night, and then came back into the classroom and described what they ate: "It was salty", "It was bland", etc. Their groups had to guess, from a list of various foods, what they ate. The thing is, it took me a while to buy the items... I ended up running late to meet some friends that night. So... I'm going to try something new. No taking work home. No big, amazing lesson plans... Especially since I very rarely have enough time to do all of the activities I have planned. SO... Hopefully I will be able to do a lot more and, as a side effect, maybe update this more often too. :D
My good friend from home didn't get to see my home while she was here, so I'm going to post this on here for her. Hopefully she will see it :D She was also the one who showed me that my phone actually has a "panorama" setting on it. I never knew! I'm going to be using this function all the time from now on. :D
So that's it. That's my apartment in Seoul. Pretty small, huh? Or maybe you can't tell from just the picture. Well, I wasn't standing in the middle of my apartment to take either of those photos. I had to take a couple of steps backward to take them... O_O But, it's a nice apartment nonetheless. I don't need that much room, especially if I don't want to carry home five suitcases or mail home ten packages...
Oh, and the appliance under the stovetop? Washer. Yeah, that's right. I don't get an oven, or a dryer for that matter :**( ... That's pretty common though. Most apartments put the washer where the oven normally goes. Most Koreans never get to use an oven. In the training I had recently, we went overnight to a training facility outside Seoul. They had a kitchen there where they said they had month-long classes for KTs, and they got to bake cookies and other things. They said, for most of the KTs, that was the first time they had even used an oven.
The heating system is the ondol system (heating with water under the floor) and there's an airconditioner above my bed. I have to turn on the ondol to get hot water. Apparently it must be an acquired art, or perhaps it's simply my apartment, but I haven't been able to get a steady stream of reasonably hot water for a shower. It changes between scalding hot and freezing cold, although sometimes I can get it to a reasonable temperature for about a minute, then it goes back to the extremes. I need to see if there's a fix for it.
Let's see... What else about my apartment? Oh, mold is a bit deal here. It apparently occurs very easily here. I haven't had the problem quite yet, but I've been told it does. Which is why Koreans often "air out" rooms, which I'm not entirely sure helps, but whatever. My landlady knocked on my door about a week into living here, saying that I needed to open the windows to prevent mold... Not sure how she knew I hadn't been doing that, but I've been trying to open the windows when I think about it. My apartment was very clean when I first got here, in fact, the landlady told me she had just finished painting the ceiling (pink, mind you) the day before I arrived. But I've heard horror stories about mold in apartments and landlords not doing anything about it. Also stories about mold being covered up with paint and wallpaper. I don't think my apartment has this problem. Or rather, if it does, I'd rather be ignorant.
That's all for my apartment. Later, I'll tell you about paying bills in Korea. Which is interesting since Korea doesn't use checks and everything is in Korean. But I've been able to muddle through. :D
In the past month, what have I done? I'm not even really sure myself... Poor memory... O_O Um... Let's see, I got to visit with some friends from home, went to Korea's World Cup Qualifier against Qatar (which they won :D), visited some parks, took a lot of pictures, did some shopping, and had lots and lots of coffee/tea and food. Oh, and I did attend a "co-teaching" workshop which was actually more of a "let's be creative and then do a lesson plan with a Korean co-Teacher (KT)" workshop.
I've put in more time into my lesson plans than most NETs do, as I've been told numerous times by my KTs, and it was running into my personal time. For example, I planned a fun lesson for my fifth grade students to reinforce the English words for different tastes: salty, sweet, spicy, bitter, etc. In the lesson, the students were put into 3 groups, and then each group sent 1 student outside. Each student ate something I had bought the prior night, and then came back into the classroom and described what they ate: "It was salty", "It was bland", etc. Their groups had to guess, from a list of various foods, what they ate. The thing is, it took me a while to buy the items... I ended up running late to meet some friends that night. So... I'm going to try something new. No taking work home. No big, amazing lesson plans... Especially since I very rarely have enough time to do all of the activities I have planned. SO... Hopefully I will be able to do a lot more and, as a side effect, maybe update this more often too. :D
My good friend from home didn't get to see my home while she was here, so I'm going to post this on here for her. Hopefully she will see it :D She was also the one who showed me that my phone actually has a "panorama" setting on it. I never knew! I'm going to be using this function all the time from now on. :D
My apartment
So that's it. That's my apartment in Seoul. Pretty small, huh? Or maybe you can't tell from just the picture. Well, I wasn't standing in the middle of my apartment to take either of those photos. I had to take a couple of steps backward to take them... O_O But, it's a nice apartment nonetheless. I don't need that much room, especially if I don't want to carry home five suitcases or mail home ten packages...
Oh, and the appliance under the stovetop? Washer. Yeah, that's right. I don't get an oven, or a dryer for that matter :**( ... That's pretty common though. Most apartments put the washer where the oven normally goes. Most Koreans never get to use an oven. In the training I had recently, we went overnight to a training facility outside Seoul. They had a kitchen there where they said they had month-long classes for KTs, and they got to bake cookies and other things. They said, for most of the KTs, that was the first time they had even used an oven.
The heating system is the ondol system (heating with water under the floor) and there's an airconditioner above my bed. I have to turn on the ondol to get hot water. Apparently it must be an acquired art, or perhaps it's simply my apartment, but I haven't been able to get a steady stream of reasonably hot water for a shower. It changes between scalding hot and freezing cold, although sometimes I can get it to a reasonable temperature for about a minute, then it goes back to the extremes. I need to see if there's a fix for it.
Let's see... What else about my apartment? Oh, mold is a bit deal here. It apparently occurs very easily here. I haven't had the problem quite yet, but I've been told it does. Which is why Koreans often "air out" rooms, which I'm not entirely sure helps, but whatever. My landlady knocked on my door about a week into living here, saying that I needed to open the windows to prevent mold... Not sure how she knew I hadn't been doing that, but I've been trying to open the windows when I think about it. My apartment was very clean when I first got here, in fact, the landlady told me she had just finished painting the ceiling (pink, mind you) the day before I arrived. But I've heard horror stories about mold in apartments and landlords not doing anything about it. Also stories about mold being covered up with paint and wallpaper. I don't think my apartment has this problem. Or rather, if it does, I'd rather be ignorant.
That's all for my apartment. Later, I'll tell you about paying bills in Korea. Which is interesting since Korea doesn't use checks and everything is in Korean. But I've been able to muddle through. :D
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Embarrassment of student... Complete!
So... It's late and I DO have a lot to say, but I just wanted to tell you about something that happened today.
So... Once, a long, long time ago... Just kidding. Back when I gave my introduction (the second week of March) I had one student ask me a kind of random question about blue holes. He said he had heard about blue hole caves that "a lot of people died at". He thought it was in the US. I told him that I didn't think they were in the US, I suspected Central America but didn't know exactly, but I told him I would look it up and tell him later. I wrote it down and told myself to look it up and tell him about it later.
Well, I forgot. At least last week. It's sometimes hard to believe I haven't been teaching for very long. It feels like months! Anyway. I remembered this week and made a very short powerpoint about blue holes and blue hole caverns. I told him at the beginning of class that I had researched them, but he didn't seem to understand. So instead I showed the powerpoint to his class (and only his class) and asked if that answered his question. His face got really red. I actually felt bad that I essentially singled him out in class, but my coteacher said it was probably because, out of 500+ students that I have, he felt "touched" (her words) that I would remember. I hope that's what it was and not "I can't believe she's singling me out!" But it was a pretty cute moment. Now... to memorize all of their names so that when they say "Hi Jodi-teacher!" I can respond with "Hello <insert name here>!" We'll see how that goes though... So far... I think I have three students down... and that's only when they're sitting in the classroom. Who knows if I can remember OUTSIDE the classroom...
So... Once, a long, long time ago... Just kidding. Back when I gave my introduction (the second week of March) I had one student ask me a kind of random question about blue holes. He said he had heard about blue hole caves that "a lot of people died at". He thought it was in the US. I told him that I didn't think they were in the US, I suspected Central America but didn't know exactly, but I told him I would look it up and tell him later. I wrote it down and told myself to look it up and tell him about it later.
Well, I forgot. At least last week. It's sometimes hard to believe I haven't been teaching for very long. It feels like months! Anyway. I remembered this week and made a very short powerpoint about blue holes and blue hole caverns. I told him at the beginning of class that I had researched them, but he didn't seem to understand. So instead I showed the powerpoint to his class (and only his class) and asked if that answered his question. His face got really red. I actually felt bad that I essentially singled him out in class, but my coteacher said it was probably because, out of 500+ students that I have, he felt "touched" (her words) that I would remember. I hope that's what it was and not "I can't believe she's singling me out!" But it was a pretty cute moment. Now... to memorize all of their names so that when they say "Hi Jodi-teacher!" I can respond with "Hello <insert name here>!" We'll see how that goes though... So far... I think I have three students down... and that's only when they're sitting in the classroom. Who knows if I can remember OUTSIDE the classroom...
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Korean Language Classes
So I've been here for a while and am starting to want to study Korean again. Except I've gone to a few of those language exchanges, but they end up being mostly English speaking exchanges. I think I need a bit more structure in order to really get better at Korean.
I've been looking online at evening classes and this is the breakdown:
Yonsei University
Where: Near Sinchon Subway Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30pm to 9:00pm
How much: KRW 788,000
Sogang University
Where: Near Sinchon Subway Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:50pm to 8:40pm
How much: KRW 640,000
Ewha Women's University
Where: Ewha Women's University Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7:00pm to 9:10pm
How much: KRW 600,000
Seoul National University
Where: Seoul National University Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays and Thursdays from 6:30pm to 9:20pm
How much: KRW 580,000
Sookmyung Women's University
Where: Sookmyung Women's University Station (Line 4, light blue)
When: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:00pm to 9:00pm
How much: KRW 420,000
Yes, there are other universities in Seoul. Lots of them. Unfortunately, these were the only ones I've found so far that offer evening classes. Also unfortunately, most of these classes have already started. The next classes start in June and go until the end of August. However, I'm planning on going home in August...
Language learning might not happen until September...
I've been looking online at evening classes and this is the breakdown:
Yonsei University
Where: Near Sinchon Subway Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30pm to 9:00pm
How much: KRW 788,000
Sogang University
Where: Near Sinchon Subway Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:50pm to 8:40pm
How much: KRW 640,000
Ewha Women's University
Where: Ewha Women's University Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7:00pm to 9:10pm
How much: KRW 600,000
Seoul National University
Where: Seoul National University Station (Line 2, green)
When: Mondays and Thursdays from 6:30pm to 9:20pm
How much: KRW 580,000
Sookmyung Women's University
Where: Sookmyung Women's University Station (Line 4, light blue)
When: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:00pm to 9:00pm
How much: KRW 420,000
Yes, there are other universities in Seoul. Lots of them. Unfortunately, these were the only ones I've found so far that offer evening classes. Also unfortunately, most of these classes have already started. The next classes start in June and go until the end of August. However, I'm planning on going home in August...
Language learning might not happen until September...
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