Big trip prep and frisbee!

The grind is real. We’re working through our last month and a half at work, and gearing up for what comes after. I enjoy the work, and of course the kids, but it’s hard to focus sometimes with the Thailand trip on the horizon – and there’s a lot to do.

But it’s getting done!

This week we wrestled with the airlines and locked down our macro-flight tickets (Seoul to Bangkok, Bangkok to home, and Bangkok to Mandalay). There will be a few short flights around Thailand besides those, but we should be able to book them on the fly. Notes from that process: Air Asia is the worst. It took us a handful of tries, emails, different payment methods, and third party handlers to get our tickets (luckily this was only for the Thailand to Mayamar leg of the trip – a relatively short, cheap flight).

We've also been mock-packing and weighing our luggage. I may have to ship a box home to lighten the load. The goal is to cut our load down to one suitcase and carry-on each.

Hopefully this is not a countdown to Hepatitis

As for vaccinations, we’ll need Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Japanese Emphen-something-or-another, and probably a tetanus-diphtheria booster. There’s a clinic in Itaewon (an international neghborhood in Seoul) that should have them all on hand. It’s just a matter of getting up early one Saturday and making the trip. The Hepatitis A shot alone is around 80 bucks, but who wants Hepatitis?  

I don’t want to get too much into what we’ll be doing on the SE Asia trip. I’ll write up roughish itinerary as the trip gets closer, and I plan on recording as I can. That’s going to be a lot of blogging. I will say, though, that the general route will take us through a good bit of Thailand (including Chang Mai in the north and the islands to the south). We’ll also be seeing Ankor Wat (!!!) in Cambodia and some amazing places in Mayamar. The whole trip will be about 23 days, which is somewhere between what I want and what is feasible.

More big news: Ray Jay, a good friend from college and a recently vetted dentist, will be travelling with us! He’s told me he was coming over for close to a year now, but I’m still shocked he bought the tickets. It’s just hard for people to get away for that long. But he’s coming! It’s going to be a lot of fun to roll around with a squad over there.

All of this kicks off on June 4^th when Maria and I fly from Seoul to Bangkok, where we’ll meet up with Ray Jay.

So, we’ve got a lot to be excited about, and a fair amount to do in the interim.

Fun Stuff:

The fruits of our first practice.

I’ve joined a men’s frisbee team, and we’re playing in a tournament in mid May. The team is made up of almost every dude I’ve met in Korea, and and we’re all joining forces to play in this super cool beach tournament in Busan (the big, coastal city at the end of the penninsula). Guys from Canada and all over the U.S. – all of them are also teachers.

I’d been dragging my feet on joining a league over here (and in Charlotte last year), and just never made time. This will be the perfect reason to visit Busan (and the beach), and it feels great to be playing frisbee again.

Our team name is the Inglorious Expats, so watch out.

As if that, and the SE Asia trip weren’t enough, Maria and I have started laying plans for an amazing trip over our long weekend in early May. More on that later. 

Thinking of Teaching Abroad?

Come to Korea! They have big jars! 

Since I've been over here teaching, I've had more than a few friends ask me about my experience. Now, as my time in Korea is drawing (gradually) to an end, I want to retouch and organize what I've been telling people about my overall experience teaching abroad.

My hope is that this will give a little insight to anyone looking to teach abroad (though my experience is obviously more useful for those considering teaching in Korea).

Keep in mind, when I am talking about average pay, kids, hours, job hunting and such, I'm talking about teaching at a private English-as-a-second language school. If you're teaching at an international school (usually a very hard job to get, and one that is only available to experienced teachers), the pay/benefits are usually way better. There are also many public schools in Korea, which can be different. Usually the pay at a public school is less than a private school, but they are said to be more stable and generally safer to work for.

To anyone considering teaching abroad:

Think about why you want to do this.
Most people are looking to travel in a financially sound manner. Some people are tired of their jobs in the States and working the grind. Perhaps you're fleeing a shotgun wedding or the long arm of the law. If these apply to you, I have good news and bad news.

Pros and Cons

Pay and General Perks: IF YOU TEACH IN ASIA, the pay is good. A little better than what a new teacher in North Carolina makes, I can tell you. I've been able to save a good bit, and I haven't been overly frugal (I haven't been partying hard, and that's where a lot of foreigners lose their checks over here). That said, my friends and family will tell you that I have a pretty low maintenance life style.

In Korea, you will almost always have your living paid for and a place made ready for you upon arrival. That's really nice. There are still "building fees" that you have to pay, but that's minimal. China is good, and comparable to Korea. The pay is also good in Japan, though the job market is tougher, and they don't often subsidize your living.
There are jobs in Europe and S. America, but I've read that it's hard to save money there because of local currency and cost of living issues. Your costs of living roughly equal your pay (in S. America you live very cheaply and are paid peanuts, and in Europe your costs are high and your salary average).

Also, you don't have to pay taxes (to the US) on the money you make abroad in most cases! More cash for the mattress.

Travel: I AM in Korea. It is definitely very different than anywhere I've lived before. I've traveled around the country here, and it's cool. It's pretty. I mean, get on google and look at anywhere in Korea, and you can get there on a bus. The furthest away any place will be is 5 hours (Seoul to Busan or Ulsan). That said, the furthest you can go is 5 hours away. Korea's a peninsula and the northern passage is cut off by, you know, North Korea. That means that you need to get on a plane to go anywhere outside of Korea, and with an average private English academy teacher's schedule, that's really hard to swing. It's been pretty frustrating for me, although we've also had a lot of fun traveling around the country and we have seen some AMAZING places (see my Ulleungdo post). Still, I feel like China would have been a little less limiting travel-wise.

After your contract, though, you will have probably saved a lot of money and you'll be a (relatively) cheap plane ride from anywhere you could want to travel in Asia. When my time is done in Korea, I plan on spending a month in SE Asia before coming home.

Work Culture: You will not escape the grind in Korea. They work you like a dog, man. My recruiter made my year here sound like a vacation, and even though the actual work isn't that bad (coming from a background in ed), it's a lot of work. My hours are 9-7:30, so 55 hrs a week. That's a little more than average, and I would recommend looking for a job that has you working 2 pm-6/7:30 or so. There are a good many of them out there. They don't pay quite as well, but these hours are nuts. I can't go to most businesses on weekdays, and Maria and I are totally dead all week. But, see the "pay" paragraph, I guess. The money's been good, but we're exhausted. I'm working harder here than I ever did in the States. There are no sick days, really. Your vacations are preset -- two 5 day breaks and a couple one-dayers sprinkled in here and there. Complaining aside, pulling these hours has made me a much more reliable and hardworking employee, so there's that.

Not to mention, if I had a job that started at 2 PM, I'm not sure I could trust myself to use those hours productively. If I know myself, I'd probably wake up at 10 everyday and dill around until work. The structure of the work week is good for me.

PJ Party Day

Teaching: I think it bears mention that if you teach abroad, you'll be here teaching kids. All day. Probably pretty young ones. I teach mostly Pre-K, kindergarten, and 1st-2nd grade. I will occasionally get 5th graders. I don't think it's the age group I would have picked for myself last year, but I've adjusted a lot and I like it. The kids are wonderful! They're what get me through the days, really. Them and the money. I think some people come over expecting a vacation, and realize that they have to teach kids. You dream about the travel when you're thinking about coming over, but just remember that you'll be working/teaching for a vast majority of your time here.

Teaching here has really made me think how I feel about teaching as a career, and in a good way. I love my job!

In summation, the work can be grueling, but there's good money to be made and good experience working education. You will get to travel, but most of the postcard SE Asia traveling will probably have to happen after your contract.

Korea has been good to me. I've made some great friends who come from all over the United States and the world, I've been able to save, I've had the chance to grow as an educator, I had the time to focus on studying for my GRE in relative isolation from a lot of distractions back home, and I've seen places I never would have otherwise. I've lived for a year in a foreign country -- I have to believe that's going to count for something, and that it's made me a more well-rounded person. I definitely have a better appreciation of the way we live in America.

I probably would have gone crazy if I didn't have Maria here with me. I would recommend coming with a friend. It's been really nice to have someone with me to share all of this with. That said, I have a good many friends here who came alone and are loving it. It's just about how outgoing you are/comfortable with change and how much you put yourself out there to new people. There are LOADS of social groups/sports teams/book clubs/whatever-else for foreigners to get involved in.

If you decide this is something you want, I can direct you to people who can help you make it happen.
I used a recruiter named Jay Lee at Opportunity Korea, and the whole process went smooth as silk for me. I sent him my resume and some other docs, he had a list of school and interviews set up within a week or two, and I had a job not long after that.

This isn't an exhaustive list, and I can definitely answer any questions you might have. Just hit me up.

For those of you reading this from the States, see you in July!