I'm a Seoul Man--Maybe

Today is the first day since being home that I feel I've done anything really productive. And this, despite having also watched upwards of five hours of television.

Last night, my CELTA certificate arrived in the mail. I quickly got it scanned into our home computer, e-mailed it to my laptop, and am therefore able to start putting in applications at schools all over the place.

The first schools I've contacted were some of the larger chains in Russia--Language Link and International House Moscow. But, after having a conversation with a good friend of mine who is exploring job prospects in Korea, I filled out the online application of the recruiter she has used, a concern called--I kid you not--G'Day Korea.

Around 5:00 this afternoon, I got a telephone call from someone at G'Day Korea. She asked a few simple questions concerning my application--in particular, my stated interest in being someplace where I would work mainly with teenagers and adults. I made clear that I also did not want to go to a brand-new school or a school where I would be the only non-Korean teacher. The woman from G'Day Korea made clear that both my age preferences and my preference not to have a repeat of my experiences with Shane should be feasible.

The best thing she told me, oddly enough, is that Korea's visa process for teachers in more involved than Taiwan's. This means that, before leaving the country, I will have to be interviewed in-person at a Korean consulate. My visa will be completely arranged before I set foot on Korean soil, which means that playing the kind of games I played in Taiwan will be unnecessary.

The salary figures quoted to me are also pretty incredible--$2000-$2200 a month U.S. This is considerably more than I was earning at Shane and, considering that the cost of living is low in Korea, likely to allow for some significant savings. There's a possibility I could come out of a year in Korea with the savings goals I made prior to going to Taiwan completely met.

This is extremely encouraging. Naturally, I will have to have telephone interviews with the specific schools at which G'Day Korea can place me. But I imagine that won't be at all difficult.

On other fronts, I had a conversation today with a woman in the Wichita School District about volunteering as a teacher's aide. I think this would be a good experience for whatever time I am forced to spend Stateside. I've also found a good master's program in teaching at Boston University that looks promising.

What I've found out about master's programs in teaching for ESL/EFL is that they fall into one of two categories. The first category are general teaching programs leading to state certification to which one has to add an ESL component as a kind of extension. The second category are master's programs specifically in ESL/EFL to which one has to add additional coursework in order to gain certification.

I think I prefer the first category as it would give me more flexibility, to teach regular English or even history as well as ESL/EFL. So I am going to look more into those kinds of programs.

But it's nice to feel that the ball is finally rolling in my life.