Update Vol. 12: It's About Time, Dammit!
It has been a long while since an update, but I actually have three days off for Korean Thanksgiving (Chuseok) so here goes.
Summer school went really well; I had three upper-level students and did a pretty good job. According to what they/their parents told the Korean teachers, they had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the month. So I was pleased for sure.
The only issue I had was that I got paid for my summer school work (which was in August) early. Yeah, without informing me, they just went ahead and paid me in July. So, I spent all of August looking forward to the extra money and was so disappointed to hear I'd already gotten (and spent) the money. Guess that's on me for not paying more attention to my banking. Also, crying over spilled milk here, but I only got 760,000 won (about $650 or so). Since I was running the entire class myself, I was expecting more. Guess not.
Still, extra money is good, so beggars can't be choosy.
Now here I sit in the middle of September. Wow, time is flying by! The other foreign teacher left 10 or so days ago. Which I can't say broke my heart. She never saw this job as anything more than an excuse to party in Korea. We have yet to hire someone to replace her and I have no idea what the school's timeframe is. We're managing, so it's not all bad.
Back in July and August, I interviewed six teachers and we had chosen one. Then she basically disappeared. Then we hired someone else; she took another job. Then it was four more interviews; three awful candidates and one good one who was still getting paperwork together last I knew. I guess we'll just wait and see.
Right now, I'm kinda counting down until Christmas vacation when I get 10 days back home. Really looking forward to it. My nephew is starting to crawl and get into stuff, which is cool. Beyond Christmas, I'm starting to think about my next job. During this 3-day break, I might scribble down some ideas and do some quick internet research, but obviously, I've got time.
Right now, I am wanting to either get into a 1-year teacher certification program, a "work as you earn it" program or just working as a substitute teacher while earning it class by class. A lot of it will depend on costs, as I have no ideas about financial aid or scholarships, grants, etc. I think all my financial aid got sucked up in my MBA. I dunno. I'll probably check it out more closely after the New Year.
I have also been thinking about, if the certification thing doesn't work out, two other options. One is to find a teaching/tutoring position for ESL and staying in the States. Biggest pro: stateside; biggest con: probably either moving out west or to a big city or both. Not really a fan of that. The other option would be another overseas ESL position, in Japan or perhaps China. I really enjoyed my (short) trip to Japan last February, so that is probably a good place to look. I know the pay is pretty good in Japan (better than there). So, we'll see.
I just don't want to be nation-hopping for the rest of my life. A couple of more years, I think I could do it, but beyond that, I'd like to start thinking about finding a more permanent home.
Summer school went really well; I had three upper-level students and did a pretty good job. According to what they/their parents told the Korean teachers, they had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the month. So I was pleased for sure.
The only issue I had was that I got paid for my summer school work (which was in August) early. Yeah, without informing me, they just went ahead and paid me in July. So, I spent all of August looking forward to the extra money and was so disappointed to hear I'd already gotten (and spent) the money. Guess that's on me for not paying more attention to my banking. Also, crying over spilled milk here, but I only got 760,000 won (about $650 or so). Since I was running the entire class myself, I was expecting more. Guess not.
Still, extra money is good, so beggars can't be choosy.
Now here I sit in the middle of September. Wow, time is flying by! The other foreign teacher left 10 or so days ago. Which I can't say broke my heart. She never saw this job as anything more than an excuse to party in Korea. We have yet to hire someone to replace her and I have no idea what the school's timeframe is. We're managing, so it's not all bad.
Back in July and August, I interviewed six teachers and we had chosen one. Then she basically disappeared. Then we hired someone else; she took another job. Then it was four more interviews; three awful candidates and one good one who was still getting paperwork together last I knew. I guess we'll just wait and see.
Right now, I'm kinda counting down until Christmas vacation when I get 10 days back home. Really looking forward to it. My nephew is starting to crawl and get into stuff, which is cool. Beyond Christmas, I'm starting to think about my next job. During this 3-day break, I might scribble down some ideas and do some quick internet research, but obviously, I've got time.
Right now, I am wanting to either get into a 1-year teacher certification program, a "work as you earn it" program or just working as a substitute teacher while earning it class by class. A lot of it will depend on costs, as I have no ideas about financial aid or scholarships, grants, etc. I think all my financial aid got sucked up in my MBA. I dunno. I'll probably check it out more closely after the New Year.
I have also been thinking about, if the certification thing doesn't work out, two other options. One is to find a teaching/tutoring position for ESL and staying in the States. Biggest pro: stateside; biggest con: probably either moving out west or to a big city or both. Not really a fan of that. The other option would be another overseas ESL position, in Japan or perhaps China. I really enjoyed my (short) trip to Japan last February, so that is probably a good place to look. I know the pay is pretty good in Japan (better than there). So, we'll see.
I just don't want to be nation-hopping for the rest of my life. A couple of more years, I think I could do it, but beyond that, I'd like to start thinking about finding a more permanent home.