One day I'll fly away... (maybe!)
So I've been fairly cryptic on twitter for the last couple of weeks... like... "totally not a forward-moving career move, but a very nice personal experience builder. I MIGHT WORK OVERSEAS NEXT YEAR OMG" ( source), and many other tweets before that hinting at my struggle with undecisiveness and fear of being shot down and fear of the unknown (I'm that type, shoosh). And I've promised many times to cut it out with the suspense, but first wanted to make sure it could be more than a wild dream.
Well. I passed through the first two rounds of the application process, so now I'm to gather reference letters and official documents for an E2 visa to... (I can hear your collectively frustrated "to WHAT already!" -- you non-twitterites are lucky in a way since you haven't had cryptic stuff like this shoved down your throats for weeks, lol)
Cat's out of the bag now: by next year I could very well be teaching English in South Korea. Wheeeee! *supremely pleased with self*
So, out of nowhere? Have I gone bonkers? What the hell prompted this sudden decision? These I heard quite a bit after I finally was forced to announce everything to my parents when I had to tell them to leave me alone one morning because I had a Skype interview. "Skype interview? WHERE exactly did you apply?!" They also kind of didn't have any idea I even had an interview in the first place, until virtually an hour beforehand, but that's another story (the short of it is, I didn't want them trying to influence my decision). But anyway, it floored them, but luckily they haven't been too against the idea -- not that I care either way... I think of the whole experience as a good move for my own sanity. I need something like this.
And what about the fact that I'm not a native speaker? They even have clear guidelines on all the recruiting sites: a non-speaker must have attended English institutions from junior high on. Which is against the law in Quebec if both your parents attended school in French (my case). Never even mind the fact that we don't have junior high in Quebec, lol. So *shrug* I was completely upfront with the recruiter about everything from the law (I even linked them to the Charte de la langue française online and the specific section that talks about this, heh I'm nothing if not thorough!) to my background (growing up francophone in a bilingual neighbourhood and attending French immersion school for anglophones and allophones, etc.). I guess 1) it helps that they're a Canadian company and therefore I suppose more understanding of the situation, and 2) they must have liked that I'm an ESL (English as second language) success story myself ;) I know what it's like.
So, anyway, it's not a forward-moving career move (I'm a graphic/web designer), but I think I can definitely learn a lot about myself through this experience. I love children, and I've helped teach children's classes (judo, ballet) and been a summer camp counsellor, as well as babysat. I love the dynamics. I miss being with people. My current job is totally just being stuck in front of a computer screen with very limited social interaction.
But moreover? I'm already half in love with Korea so settling in would of course be a culture shock, yes, but one I wouldn't terribly mind.
And where might I work, then? Dunno! I'm thinking Gyeonggi-do (suburban Seoul) but I'm going to be taking some teaching certification classes online so I could also be teaching in Seoul proper.
So, yep, that's what all the mystery was about. Obviously my current job can't catch wind of this or else they'll 1) kick me out, and 2) declare me a traitor to my franco-roots for daring to teach English omg! All I have to say to that is: no one cares, stfu.
But you're gonna lose your French omg!
Uh, I studied for six years in English and I still write better than them, and I don't ever ever ever say "les journals" *cringe cringe cringe omg ewwww* (that was bad grammar btw in case you don't know) so, once again, stfu, no1curr, plzkthnx.
What's ironic is that about a week before the Skype interview, my dad kept bemoaning the fact that "if Alex ever worked in an English establishment she'd lose all her French", to which I responded with my freshest eyeroll. Thanks, dad, for the vote of confidence.
Je serai toujours fière de ma langue maternelle. C'est mes racines, mon identité primaire. Mais l'anglais... l'anglais c'est un peu mon futur. J'ai découvert ça bien avant de savoir ce que je voulais faire dans la vie, parce que je savais que le monde est très petit quand on n'est qu'unilingue...
Everyone seems to think I'm going to betray my roots and turn anglo just because I fully embrace my bilinguality and am proud of it. It's an asset, goddammit. Heck, I even talked to a random stranger on the bus ride back from my sister's last week and he was impressed at my lack of an accent and said I should work for the government (no thanks, but see? See? Some people actually appreciate bilingualism).
Why are some francophones such stubborn purists? I'm a purist when it comes to French (write properly, geez), too, but you'll never see me cockblocking somebody who wants to learn English to advance in life. It's this kind of behaviour that makes me just want to give up and live somewhere else, far far away from these idiots who can't see past their own short nose.
Well. I passed through the first two rounds of the application process, so now I'm to gather reference letters and official documents for an E2 visa to... (I can hear your collectively frustrated "to WHAT already!" -- you non-twitterites are lucky in a way since you haven't had cryptic stuff like this shoved down your throats for weeks, lol)
Cat's out of the bag now: by next year I could very well be teaching English in South Korea. Wheeeee! *supremely pleased with self*
So, out of nowhere? Have I gone bonkers? What the hell prompted this sudden decision? These I heard quite a bit after I finally was forced to announce everything to my parents when I had to tell them to leave me alone one morning because I had a Skype interview. "Skype interview? WHERE exactly did you apply?!" They also kind of didn't have any idea I even had an interview in the first place, until virtually an hour beforehand, but that's another story (the short of it is, I didn't want them trying to influence my decision). But anyway, it floored them, but luckily they haven't been too against the idea -- not that I care either way... I think of the whole experience as a good move for my own sanity. I need something like this.
And what about the fact that I'm not a native speaker? They even have clear guidelines on all the recruiting sites: a non-speaker must have attended English institutions from junior high on. Which is against the law in Quebec if both your parents attended school in French (my case). Never even mind the fact that we don't have junior high in Quebec, lol. So *shrug* I was completely upfront with the recruiter about everything from the law (I even linked them to the Charte de la langue française online and the specific section that talks about this, heh I'm nothing if not thorough!) to my background (growing up francophone in a bilingual neighbourhood and attending French immersion school for anglophones and allophones, etc.). I guess 1) it helps that they're a Canadian company and therefore I suppose more understanding of the situation, and 2) they must have liked that I'm an ESL (English as second language) success story myself ;) I know what it's like.
So, anyway, it's not a forward-moving career move (I'm a graphic/web designer), but I think I can definitely learn a lot about myself through this experience. I love children, and I've helped teach children's classes (judo, ballet) and been a summer camp counsellor, as well as babysat. I love the dynamics. I miss being with people. My current job is totally just being stuck in front of a computer screen with very limited social interaction.
But moreover? I'm already half in love with Korea so settling in would of course be a culture shock, yes, but one I wouldn't terribly mind.
And where might I work, then? Dunno! I'm thinking Gyeonggi-do (suburban Seoul) but I'm going to be taking some teaching certification classes online so I could also be teaching in Seoul proper.
So, yep, that's what all the mystery was about. Obviously my current job can't catch wind of this or else they'll 1) kick me out, and 2) declare me a traitor to my franco-roots for daring to teach English omg! All I have to say to that is: no one cares, stfu.
But you're gonna lose your French omg!
Uh, I studied for six years in English and I still write better than them, and I don't ever ever ever say "les journals" *cringe cringe cringe omg ewwww* (that was bad grammar btw in case you don't know) so, once again, stfu, no1curr, plzkthnx.
What's ironic is that about a week before the Skype interview, my dad kept bemoaning the fact that "if Alex ever worked in an English establishment she'd lose all her French", to which I responded with my freshest eyeroll. Thanks, dad, for the vote of confidence.
Je serai toujours fière de ma langue maternelle. C'est mes racines, mon identité primaire. Mais l'anglais... l'anglais c'est un peu mon futur. J'ai découvert ça bien avant de savoir ce que je voulais faire dans la vie, parce que je savais que le monde est très petit quand on n'est qu'unilingue...
Everyone seems to think I'm going to betray my roots and turn anglo just because I fully embrace my bilinguality and am proud of it. It's an asset, goddammit. Heck, I even talked to a random stranger on the bus ride back from my sister's last week and he was impressed at my lack of an accent and said I should work for the government (no thanks, but see? See? Some people actually appreciate bilingualism).
Why are some francophones such stubborn purists? I'm a purist when it comes to French (write properly, geez), too, but you'll never see me cockblocking somebody who wants to learn English to advance in life. It's this kind of behaviour that makes me just want to give up and live somewhere else, far far away from these idiots who can't see past their own short nose.