The Bell Tolls - Korea, Round Two, Fight!

Driving to Cheongju took 4 hrs, mainly because there was some traffic due to an accident along the way. The former coteacher put on a Korean American radio station, which narrated in English but mixed in some old Korean songs. When reception ran out, he put on a tape about how foreigners view Koreans that was still sympathetic to the Koreans. I feel like there should be more literature telling the natives here how to deal with foreigner presence, because people have run away from me because I was speaking English before.

The Cheongju Express Bus Terminal was next to a building called Dream Plus, and it was tiny. The waiting area only had roughly 8 benches. I sat down to surf around on the netbook using Samsung wi-fi while waiting for my recruiter John Yoon, mentioned before here. I spoke to an old American tourist couple in the meantime about the crafts fair that happens here every year the last two weeks of September. Mr. Yoon arrived maybe an hour and a half later - I was really early despite the traffic - and he called my employer after greetings.

The owner of the private academy turned out to be a short skinny and well intentioned man, Mr. Min. We went straight to TOPIA, where he and Mr. Yoon talked for a bit, and I was introduced to my two handlers, Alex and Yvonne. They're both nice and very businesslike women. Yvonne is more outgoing than Alex, and I assume more high ranking as well. When I start teaching, I'm going to spend a few hours on that website everyday, entering homework assignments, readings and student grades.

Afterwards, they showed me my apartment - which was happily less than ten minutes walking away from my work place, and only a few minutes walking to two bus stops as well. It had security, was convenient, definitely big enough... but had absolutely no furniture save the bed. I need to walk around and familiarize myself with the area anyway, but this forces me to go out since I need furniture to put clothes in. Yvonne and Mr. Min did say that they'd provide me with a desk, which they followed up on about a week later, and they bought me a chair to go with it, as well as an end table and a mirror, as well. Anyway, that day they told me to rest, and that two hours later, I should eat dinner with Yvonne and Mr. Min.

As was practical, I spent the two hours setting up my bed, letting my cat roam the apartment, and putting all my necessaries in the bathroom. Then I went to eat dinner with my superiors. Mr. Min is a nice guy who has some grasp of English, but mainly relies on Yvonne to do his speaking for him. She is a powerful woman - short, skinny, pretty and very charismatic. It's hard not to like her, and it's people like her that make you want to work for a company, even if it's a corporate franchise - and every corporation in the U.S. and Korea practically comes with a warning label.

After dinner, she wants to see how I'm living, so we talked for a bit more in my apartment. She seemed satisfied and left, but two hours later I discovered that the gas had not been turned on, and I'd be too cold to take a shower. When I called her about it, she came to investigate immediately - if you're working for someone who works that hard herself, how could I bear to disappoint? She called the gas company, and they said that this apartment doesn't have an account currently, so they'll fix it the next day. She was irritated at it, and I said that was fine, except that I felt really dirty. She was nice enough to let me stay at a hotel for the night and shower there, though I hadn't unpacked anything so I still couldn't arrive in nice clothes the next day.

After the first day of observation, they asked me how it was and I gave them my initial impressions. They seemed happy to know that I'm somewhat comfortable with it. They also told me to dress more formally, which in my head translated to "Try harder." I guess it was reasonable, since I was in a long sleeved plain tee without makeup and had on trainers (long exercise pants). The next day, I wore a short dress with black tights with a long pendant necklace as per Korean fashion, and also put in my contact lenses. The way people viewed and treated me differently was very immediate. I was no longer invisible; it was like I materialized out of thin air.

I got to know my coworkers' names not only from introductions, but also from having to observe their classes. I noted the differences in each of their teaching styles, as well as the actions they all have in common, which I took to be habits that I should cultivate. I preferred the more businesslike demeanor of two of the female teachers who still bantered with the students and have great senses of humors. There are also more women at this private academy than men, and the two new hires are also Korean American women. I wonder if they thought I was Korean American. (I'm going to wager that I was chosen based on my recruiter's advertising, my previous one-year experience, and looks, though.)

Each teacher carried around a case of chalk, a board eraser, an audio wire, flash cards if they use them, extra pens and highlighters, and maybe a notebook for remembering things. They used their laptops when the book comes with a cd track that they might use, and also make marks in the attendance record for that class, as well as the homework record. Textbooks are par for the course in an academy, because the curriculum, timeline and syllabus are already all set. There are cameras in every classroom, which are live fed to the tv in front of the receptionist desk for all to see. The staff has a more cajoling American manner in terms of educating the kids, and everything is somewhat tightly controlled - but not unreasonably, so far as I can see.

They took me to immigration on Thursday, where I had pictures taken - I was wearing a new shirt, yay! - and they wrote my new address on the back of my Alien Registration Card. Apparently, that's all that's necessary to consider my E-2 visa renewed for now, though they did say that I should submit my national criminal background check whenever I can, since I told them that it was in progress and the U.S. FBI should be processing it now. I honestly actually don't even know when I should be expecting it. I applied in August, so November or December, maybe? Anyway, now I can do useful things like get a phone plan. I've been surviving off of using prepaid phone cards.

Aside from visiting Daejeon this past weekend, I also bought and installed a small bookcase - which became a shirts dresser for me - and a clothing rack. I'm finished with unpacking half of the spare bags and two of my suitcases - two more await. I still need more furniture because there must needs to be a place to store my pants, which I will take care of ASAP. I will also teach my first classes tomorrow (to substitute for a guy who is filling in a cavity and getting his wisdom teeth pulled), and I think I'm ready too, so wish me luck. =)

Anticipation, Streamlining All I Have

Breakfast was a slice of bread with water, and that's enough to last me for a few hours. This means that I'm okay with a mostly Spartan lifestyle - cue: heavy guitar riffs, voice from the movie 300, "This is Sparta!!!" while I kick someone I dislike down into a metaphorical 6-foot hole. Don't worry people, lunch and dinner are always far more substantial (to back up the assertion that I do eat from the last post). Anyway, the process of moving to another city and another apartment is far under way.

Let's recalibrate. A few weeks ago, my school had told me that it's impossible for my contract to be renewed. I found another job at a private academy, since the timing of my contract's ending closed off most public school positions for me, and what scraps are left mean that I would be in a similar situation to where I am now: out in the suburbs - read, middle of nowhere - and having to travel fairly far to shop for food or see friends. So despite the bad reputation private academies have in terms of employing foreigners in this country, I really had no choice but to give it a shot. I spoke to a few recruiters, and these were my terms.

I wanted to be nearer to a city, while retaining the rest of the benefits I had before. They include health insurance, vacation time, weekends off, and having a (preferably free) apartment that's near both public transportation and the school. I also decided to move further south in favor of a less harsh winter, some people I already know there, and having it easier as a tourist to travel in any direction within the country. These are somewhat strict requirements, especially for someone without a teaching certificate with only one year of experience who was very much short on time (since I didn't want to spend the extra money to go home before coming back again to work). I was found by John Yoon of JICC Recruiting, and he sold me to the Cheongju branch of TOPIA. (I encourage everyone to blog about their recruiters - this way, we find out which ones are the liars who exaggerate to get you to take the job so they get paid.)

While I didn't get away with having nearly as much vacation time and there's more work, the pay is higher and I would not have to lesson plan. There will be a lot of student work to grade and forums to respond to online, and maybe I would have to bow to some extra parental demands. As with most academies, hours are afternoons through evenings. I will be working with more people because it is a large franchise and it can even afford having a handful of foreigners in one institution. However, the classes may remain small.

Even after I signed the contract, I continued to do my research - if this was a blacklisted private academy, for example, I wouldn't show up regardless of what paper I put my name on. When I called them and asked to speak to an English teacher, they gave me a Korean American or gyobo to speak to - whose word I still took for granted, despite the grain of salt that she would not have the guts to say she hated the place even if she did feel that way. But when she said, "Oh, you'll love it here!" there was enough enthusiasm that I think she would be telling the truth. I also reasoned that no matter how bad it is, it can't be as bad as my 11 months at Target, where my hours shifted on a weekly basis and I had no health insurance.

So John Yoon will pick me up from Cheongju train station on September 27th at 4pm. I still haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to meet him with two big luggages and a cat kennel, when I will have no cell phone and only two arms since I will be traveling alone. Later today or Saturday, I will go to Ansan Station to find a pay phone, so that I can at least call the local taxi van service to take me and my luggage + cat from my apartment near the mud flats to Oido Station, on Line 4. It might be a good idea to somehow get one more luggage to that area this weekend, so that when I meet with John Yoon I'll only have one big luggage and my cat.

In terms of packing, I've put away all my sweaters and jackets, and most of the small things are in this blue luggage next to me, and I know how I'm going to organize my shoes, my cat things, wires and small electronics. I also have another bag of toiletries, and a backpack of the stuff I'll need to stay comfortable for the next handful of days when everything else is packed away. I also need to go to the bank today to cash in all my coins so that I can travel roughly 3 kgs less.

Cleaning wise, I've cleaned the washing machine and porch area, most of the bathroom, and cleared out most of the drawers of everything that I'm keeping. I need to finish up the bathroom, work on the living/bedroom floor, the kitchen floor, sink and gas range, and perhaps the inside of the fridge. Now my goals for the next few hours are set.

I'm finished mentally recalibrating and organizing. And now, cue Juno's voice, "Thundercats are Goooo!!!"

Sudden Changes

A few months ago, the South Korean Board of Education had decided - and related through GEPIK (Gyeonggi English Program of Korea) - that due to budget cuts, they will cease to hire any new people before March 2012. This means that everyone who already has a contract can finish, but renewing with public schools will be a problem Korea-wide until they say otherwise. No one seems to know when they're going to have enough money to hire again; the March 2012 date is tentative and mainly there to stem any further questions.

What does this mean for me personally? Well, my contract is over this coming September 26. My E-2 visa expires October 27, and my corresponding Alien Registration Card expires on the same date. This means that either I find a job here before that time, so a new school will help me acquire a new visa or I'm going back to either the U.S.A. or preparing to go to another country. I decided that I want to stay here for another year, because I have more to learn about teaching, there is more to see in this country and I don't want to immediately leave some of the new friends I've met here.

So the past two weeks have been a mildly feverish rush of contacting recruiters and applying for jobs that way. Two days ago, I had made a list, and realized that I had actually contacted and applied with up to twelve recruiters. They all initially responded to receive my resume and photo, but many of them stopped after that, and around four stayed. I ended up half applying with EPIK, and then talking to a few other people about private academies. Because I am not Korean American, some places were off limits to me - this is because some parents really want a teacher at their academy that they can talk to, and my lack of Korean would be a barrier to that. Other places only want men or white people, sometimes their criteria can be very specific. I even heard that there are sometimes age requirements.

As with choosing between countries when teaching abroad, transitioning between jobs means choosing the ideal setting for me to live in. By now I had tired of the country life and want actual cities with convenience stores nearby, so I looked at my options for large cities. I've already explore a good part of Ansan and Siheung, even though the move to those two places would be easy, so I wanted something new. Seoul is too prestigious, and not being Korean American or having more experience teaching, this city is mainly closed off to me anyway. Incheon might have sounded interesting, but I know more people down south now, so that's where I opted to go. I applied in Suwon, Daejeon, Busan and Daegu. Next is the realization that because my contract ends September 26 - terrible timing! - just after most public schools are done hiring, I would have to take the place of someone who changed their minds, or just go for a private academy.

Private academies are completely different from public schools. The hours are from afternoon to night instead of morning, there are fewer vacation days and shorter breaks, and your supervisors get much more control over your teaching methods and style. I'm hoping the last one won't get me into trouble, because I had to change many things as is even when I was teaching in public school. There's a lot more paperwork to be done, in terms of others' evaluations of you and then your evaluations of the students and having to comment on students' posts on internet sites. I expect to have seven more teaching hours each week. While in public schools, they expect you to create your own curriculum, academies give you a curriculum and you follow that. I also heard that the academy sometimes either doesn't follow the contract or interprets it in such a way that they make it hard for an employee to leave or fine them so much that they ended up with only 20% of their total income.

As a result, whenever I was offered a place to work, I have to research it across a few sites for a good while before concluding whether that place has a bad reputation and whether the posters' complaints have any grounding to them. In fact, I'm still doing that, and one of the methods that people often says works is to call the school directly and ask to speak with one of their English teachers to see whether they are happy there. Either way, I'm expected to move out of my apartment by September 26, so I've begun packing. And the beat goes on.