| I came back from Thailand around Christmas....a great time to ball up on the couch, get re-addicted to CNN and be a total loser. Living in pajamas and scrounging up spare change for icecream when the Schwan's man happened to drop by when my mother was away is nice life but all along I realized, with dread, that it was time for me to get an actual job.....a job that paid well and provided benefits and one that I considered a stepping stone to better things.....ugh. IT WAS ROUGH! I've known for awhile that if it's not waitressing (and I know these looks aren't gonna last forever) I should really pursue teaching as my life long profession.....I mean, teachers do get their summers off and the schedule isn't so bad. Not to mention, the idea of molding little minds has always appealed to me in a romantic sense. Unfortunately, my illustrious degree in humanities leaves me unqualified to teach in the States and I didn't want to live there anyway. My decision to teach in Korea, as opposed to another foreign speaking country (let's say, one in a tropical climate on a coast), was fueled entirely by money. The demand for ESL teachers in Korea is unbelievable and the pay and perks reflect the need. (wooo-whoo! it's an easy life in terms of finances) I had no concept of what a sought after commodity I was when I began job hunting; when it finally was time to bite the bullet, I ignorantly started sending my resume to every school in Korea that I came across on the internet. Wow, what a mistake. The phone started ringing immediately and continued up until the time I left home. I wouldn't be surprised if my poor mother is still answering calls from desperate directors in the middle of the night. After pretending to be selective, I decided on a school in Suwon, about an hour outside of Seoul. I knew little about my responsibilities and hardly even considered the actual job when I was looking. The school sounded tight-knit and personable--the O.N.E. Family. Needless to say, I was more than a little shocked when I realized I would spend the next year teaching toddlers (maybe they aren't toddlers but they're YOUNG), and that I would really be expected to get them to speak English. I was also a bit shocked by how serious the school was....I mean, you'd never believe what an ass I felt like when cracking small jokes during my "tutorial" (note: don't refer to language lessons as "chit-chat")and what a surprise it was to realize I would become a slave to paperwork. That being said, I think I'm adjusting well. I can safely say that I enjoy most aspects of the job and that I don't hate children. I actually like my "babies" and get a kick out of how well they're improving my singing voice and anger management skills. Plus, romanticizing the idea of molding small minds gets me through some of the rough spells. |