Update...I'm not doing so well

I arrived in South Korea on March 14th. I started my new job on March 15.

I haven't written since I arrived because I am having a hard time adjusting this time. I cry almost everyday. I haven't gotten out and explored the place where I live. My apartment is  tiny. The bed is very tiny and hard so I wake up hurting every morning. I toss and turn at night. I wake up at least twice because its so uncomfortable. I have to change positions. I dread going to work everyday. I've only been at my new job for a week and 3 days. I've already put in my resignation letter. I gave a 2 months notice today.

I'm thinking about 2 options. Get a new job or move back home and never come back. I'm leaning strongly towards the last option, but that means things would be over with my 'boyfriend'. (I meet him in about 3 weeks. We've been chatting online for over 3 months)It would be sad to end it but I might have to.

I don't eat much these days. I used to love to eat.

I'm not happy in my new school.. Its all because of Kindergarten. I never knew it would be so hard. Its really hard to fill up the time. I feel like I can't plan enough things for class.The kids won't pay attention. They just want to be kids, but Im expected to teach them.

I only have 5 students in all. 2 kindergarten students. In my elementary classes I only have one student in each class.

Seoul is so far away.

I spent too much money buying things for my place.

I haven't had my medical check yet or applied for my ARC. I have to do it within 90 days. If I'm not here for 90 days then I wont even worry about getting one. Its hard not having a phone though.

I don't know how to use my washing machine. I guess I will just try something and see if it works.

The plug adapter blew up my ac adapter on my laptop so now I have to get a new adapter. Why did that happen? My laptop says it can be used from 100-240volts. Korea is 220.

Well there's an update.....probably won't be another one for a while since I'm not doing so well.

Update 8

My visa was approved.

The school wants me to arrive in Korea on March 14.

How YouTube impacts lives of ordinary people

Read the full article here: How YouTube impacts lives of ordinary people

YouTube Korea recently celebrated their 3 year anniversary. In this article they interviewed 4 YouTube power users.

Jung Sung-ha is a 14 year old guitar prodigy. One day his dad uploaded a video of him for fun. Now he has over 222 million views and over 300,000 subscribers. He is the only Korean individual YouTube user to have over 200 million views. You can view his channel at www.youtube.com/jwcfree .



Simon and Martina, a Canadian couple, came to Korea to teach in 2008. They started making videos to show their family that they were okay. They have over 33,000 subscribers and over 7 million views. (I subscribe to their channel). They cover a variety of topics about Korea. They have also been on various tv shows in Korea. You can view their channel at: www.youtube.com/simonandmartina .



Sun Hyunwoo started his channel as a way to showcase his breakdancing skills. He got a lot of views and started making more videos. A lot of his videos are about languages. He has a passion for learning languages. He is fluent in English, Japanese, and French. He is also learning other languages. (I subscribe to his channel and I had the pleasure of meeting him last year when I was in Korea). He has over 1 million views and over 11,000 subscribers. You can view his channel at: www.youtube.com/ever4one


(I'm in that video)

Update 7..Arriving in 2 weeks?

I emailed my recruiter yesterday. Immigration is backed up so I should have my visa approved in about 2 weeks. Then I will be arriving shortly after that.

I will be able to depart from the airport an hour away from my house instead of driving 5 hours like I was originally told. That makes me feel a lot better.

I'm trying to start packing up my things.  I have a ton of clothes. I wouldn't take so many clothes, but its almost impossible to find clothes my size in Korea. I'm almost done, but I do have a problem. I have already filled 2 bags up to 45 pounds. I may have to add a 3rd bag. I'm considering checking out the space bags so I can fit things into 2 suitcases. My suitcases are so full because I like to have a wide variety of outfits.

Lately I've been very nervous about teaching preschool students since I dont have any experience. I found out that there will be some training so that makes me feel better. I think it will be exciting to teach preschool, but I wonder how much they will be able to understand. Preschoolers can barely speak their own language and I'm speaking to them only in English. That's got to be scary! They are probably thinking 'what the heck is she saying?' and I'm thinking 'why won't they do what I say?'. Its definitely going to be a fun experience. I really love little kids. The only thing that worries me is how to manage their behavior. Little kids have a lot of energy and a small attention span.

Music Video: Super Junior-M "Perfection"

Update 6: I have a job!

My recruiter set up an interview for Thursday around midnight. It was a school with kindergarten and elementary students. He never heard back from the school after the interview.

He called me last night to tell me about another option teaching kindergarten. He was going to call the school after he got off the phone with me and they would call me shortly after. I was really nervous about that school because I saw some not so positive reviews. He called me back shortly after and said they hired someone who was already in Korea.

He told me about another position about 2 hours outside of Seoul. I reluctantly accepted to have the interview, but quickly wrote him back to tell him that I really preferred to be in Seoul.

Then he emailed me back to say that he just got an phone call from a school in Bundang. Its a little outside of Seoul, but I'll still be able to access the subway system. That was the best option that he had for me within my preferences. He set up an interview for 11am(Korean time).

I had the interview at 9pm EST. The woman who I spoke with on the phone had good English skills. She said she had lived in the USA for 20 years. Another employee is a Korean American. One of the first things she said to me was "I'd like to invite you to come to Korea." It was like an instant job offer. She didn't really ask me much. Its a brand new hagwon and they don't have many students yet so classes will be pretty small to begin with. This will be a day job from 10-6pm. I'd be teaching 4 kindergarten classes in the morning(40 mins each). The kindergarten is more of a learning through activities. Then elementary in the afternoon. The elementary will have textbooks. They provide the airfare (I asked!) The salary is 100,000 won more than what I made at my last job because I have experience. She said she will send my contract on Monday and then the process of obtaining my Visa will begin. All my documents are already in Korea. I'm the first person they have hired so far.

This will be the 3rd job where I was one of the first foreign teachers. I think its less pressure because they can't compare me to the previous teacher and the students won't be comparing me or have to adjust to a new style of teaching.

If they put in for my visa on Monday then 10 days later would be the 24th. Then I'll rush my documents to Atlanta to the consulate. Then as soon as they are processed I have to pick them up and leave from the airport the same day in Atlanta. I'm guessing that I could be leaving as soon as the 25th maybe? I don't know all the details yet but I should be in Korea by the 1st of March and I start my job on the 2nd.

Now I'm searching Dave's ESL cafe looking for used products to furnish my apartment. So far I've found a rice cooker and a transformer. I hope to find a lot of household products.

Update 5

Getting to Korea the 2nd time has been a challenge. It seems that the signs are telling me that I shouldn't go back, but I am finding a way to get there. I'm already on plan C. Plan A didn't work. Plan B didn't work. Now I'm hoping that plan C will be the last.

While I was away there were new regulations put in place. The changes were brand new when I started getting all my documents together so there wasn't a lot of information to be found. I missed a critical step in the process-getting the signature and seal. I didn't know I needed it. That costed me a ton of money to get it corrected.

This week I sent in all my documents to Pagoda. I also asked them about my flight. Then I found out some bad news. I asked if they could make sure I had an aisle seat when they booked my flight. Then I found out:

And flight thing, you have to purchase one way air ticket there, then when you come here, we will pay here for your ticket. This is the our company rule. So please understand this issue.

I think this issue should have been discussed with me before I applied. If I would have known I wouldn't have applied. The contract states:

The employer will provide payment to the employee of a one way ticket to Seoul from any city designated by the employee.

 
So I read that as 'we provide a ticket.' Where does it say that I am responsible for booking that ticket and being reimbursed? To be clearer I would have written it this way: The employee is responsible for booking a one way ticket to Seoul. The ticket will be reimbursed upon arrival.

I told him that I couldn't afford the ticket. So he talked to his boss. His boss said that it wouldn't be fair to the other native teachers. (I could have kept it quiet and not told anyone)..Anyway-They let me go.

I immediately contacted my recruiter and got a fast response. My recruiter called me the next day. He told me he didn't have positions like what I wanted. I would like to teach elementary students at a hagwon in Seoul. He said he had some positions in kindergarten and public school.

He forwarded my resume to a kindergarten job. He's waiting to hear from them.

So I'm waiting........

I could possibly be in Korea within the next 2 weeks. Its really getting close.

update 4

I now have my apostille on my FBI background check. All of my documents will be in Korea the first week in February.

All these new regulations ended up being really expensive, but I had to get it done.

I should be in Korea in about 30 days!! I can't wait to be back!