Got My Travel Books

I have purchased my phrase book and travel guide... I have been studying both of them more thoroughly than I have ever studied any of my travel guides. I have especially enjoyed reading about the Korean history and culture. I do not know much about either and am excited to be able to go over there and learn more. I have also recently found out that the sister-in-law of my mom's boss is leaving in the same neighborhood that I will be living in. Maybe I'll be able to become acquainted with them and learn more about the Korean culture.

Contract

Hey yall, just wanted to let you know I have received my contract from the school I will be teaching at. I will be getting paid 2.2 million won a month which is about $2,037. I will be getting 10 days of paid vacation, of course not all at the same time. If it continue for a second year, I will get a raise of 2.6 million won ($2,407). I was planning on doing a second year if I enjoyed it, so this is an even bigger incentive.

I have also received my training manual when I met with the director. I just was able to start reading through it during my break at work. It's a 93 page manual that is a substitution to the TESL, so I am happy I do not need to pay $400 to get my certificate. I will continue to keep you all updated of my preparations.

First Post (Pre-Departure)

Hello everyone, I don’t know who all will be reading this and I don’t really care who reads it. This is my first post about my journey to be a English teacher in South Korea. Today I found out what city I will be in as well a my date of departure. I decided that I wanted to blog about my pre-departure as well as my new life in South Korea. This blog will help me mentally prepare me for my journey, which is why I am starting it now as well.

So today, I was able to meet with the director of the school I will be teaching at. He was in Seattle with his son looking at universities. He even brought me a cute little pouch that is apparently a traditional gift in Korea.

So the school I will be teaching at is called A Class; it is located in Sanbon (a neighborhood of

Gunpo, a satellite city of Seoul. It is 45 min south by Subway). My journey will begin on August 1st when I take a very long flight to Seoul.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanbon

An interesting thing about this school is that the teaching methods they use are adopted from the Meysen Academy in Japan. Since 2004, I have worked at Crista Camps - Island Lake where we have hosted the Meysen students for two weeks of camp. The director was excited that I have that connection. Anyway, thats all for tonight. I’ll post again when something exciting occurs!