Well, I'm moving to Korea in about 16 days and I frequently get the same questions asked. I thought it would be best to organize them and answer most of them here.
1) Are you excited?
- Yes! I did apply for this and have prayed over this. I am excited. I am also nervous. Ask my mom. I have moments of high stress and it is hard to think about packing or finish going through things in the garage. The closer it gets the more nervous I get. But there are so many unanswered questions that make it hard. There is a lot I still don't know about what my life will look like in Korea but that will come later. I am excited and I am much more so now that I have my Visa and booked flight. I literally ran out of the gym to go to the post office to pick up my passport when I found out it had arrived. But excited is just one emotion I have towards my upcoming move.
2) How did you end up with this job? or How did you hear about this job?
- This is a several step answer. It starts with my time in Hong Kong. While I was there I heard about teaching English overseas and in Korea in particular. I didn't think much about it at that time. But in October, I started looking into, thinking about, and praying over what I would do once I graduated with my Master's in May. During this time I googled teaching English in Korea. I started looking into this in particular and found about the two avenues in which to teach English in Korea: public schools and private schools. Well have reading a few reviews about private schools not always paying or not always following through on the contract that was given before leaving for Korea, I decided I wanted to pursue public schools. This is when I found out about the EPIK (English Programme in Korea) that hires native English speakers to teach in the public schools of South Korea. After more research I choose to apply directly with EPIK instead of through the coordinator. So I ended up with this job because of prayer and because of a google search. Just having some information about options about teaching overseas from my time in Hong Kong started my search, and I moved on from there.
3) What is EPIK and why did you choose this one?
- EPIK (English Programme in Korea) is the government run program in South Korea that hires native English speakers to be the foreign language English teachers in public schools throughout South Korea. I like EPIK because its through the government which means I will receive my paychecks on time always and that my contract will be upheld. I also like being in the public schools because I know I will interact with more local people this way than I did when I lived in Hong Kong. I had very little contact with locals in Hong Kong besides shopping and transportation. I wanted to meet and spend time with Koreans and not just with other expats. I also like the benefits (although the benefits are pretty standard as with private schools). I choose EPIK over private schools mostly because I wanted to meet local people and because I didn't want to risk getting in with a not reputable private school.
4) What was the application process like?
- Well I first started to consider EPIK in October and was told in November to wait until February to apply for the August intake since I would not be able to go in March (I still had to finish my Masters). I didn't realize that applications could be accepted if applying directly to EPIK starting at the beginning of February (or possibly end of January) until mid-February. I got my application and letters of recommendations in at the end of March before the April 1st date with applications from recruiters could be submitted. I was interviewed the second week of April and 3 business days later had an email that I had passed the interview. This was the first big hurdle to overcome. From there it was the collection of documents stage. Korea is very particular with their documents. I learned what an apostille (an internationally accepted notary) and had one done for both my diplomas and for my FBI background check. I sent in my documents I think the last week of April, possibly the third week. I had most of them by the time that I passed the interview so it didn't take too long to get them together. Then I waited, and waited, and waited. I heard that my documents had arrived but otherwise I didn't hear anything until the first Friday in June when I received and email with an official notice of appointment to Busan Office of Education. At this point I officially accepted a job in Korea and knew that I would be moving to Busan but then I had to wait some more. My contract and official notice of appointment did not arrive until July 11th. I of course was at Ridgecrest working camp at that time. So I didn't apply for my visa until the next week. About a week later my visa was in hand, I booked a flight, and breathed deeply because I had finally completed all stages of the long and drawn out process. I am working on my 17 classes of preorientation but I know that I officially have a job and a day of arrival :)
5) Where will you be?
- I will be living in Busan (pronounced more like Pusan), South Korea. It is located in southeast South Korea and is about 100 miles away from the coast of Japan. It is on the coast and is well known for its beaches. The population is about 3.5 million people and is the 2nd largest city in South Korea. It is a port city and has several international festivals including and international film festival and firework festival. I had the option when applying for EPIK to put down one preference. I knew I wanted to be in a city and not a province. I choose not to go with Seoul because I remember being I think at Seoul tower in 2004 and looking out and seeing nothing but apartment sky scrapers. I remember thinking how many people lived there. Don't get me wrong I know I lived in a city of almost 7 million people before but I just couldn't imagine living in Seoul with its 10 million inhabitants. That and all that I saw on Busan looked great. I liked the idea of living on the coast, not being quite as far north so the winters were not as bad, and being further away from North Korea.
6) Do you know Korean?
- um...no...not yet. I am working on learning the alphabet and some essential phrases before I leave. I plan on enrolling in Korean classes once there. I also know that English isn't as widely spoken as it was in Hong Kong so I expect to have to learn Korean. I hope to be able to have a conversation with someone in Korean before leaving. I really want to learn Korean. I want to be bilingual. (I hope to one day be fluent in a language in addition to English - Korean, Khmer, some other language I don't care but I do want to be fluent).
7) What will you be doing there?
- I have been hired to be an English foreign language teacher. I will be teaching English to students anywhere from 3rd grade to 12th grade. I will find out if I am teaching elementary, middle, or high school on the last full day of orientation (August 25th). That day I will also find out the name of the school that I will work for. I do know that I will be in Busan for sure. Mostly likely I will be in elementary school because the majority of the jobs are in elementary school. My contract stipulates that I will work a 40 hour work week Monday-Friday and that 22 hours will be instructional hours. Above and beyond 22 instructional hours and I will be paid overtime for those additional hours. I will have a co-teacher or possibly more than 1 co-teacher that I will work directly with in order to teach English to the Korean students. I will be starting in the middle of the year for them because school starts in March in Korea. Their first semester is March to August and their second semester is September to February. I think I read somewhere that students are in school 220 days a year. During the breaks, I will have some time off (18 days total: 10 in the winter and 8 in the summer - I think), but I will also have English camps that I will be teaching.
8) What will you do for housing?
- This will be provided for by the school. It is a benefit of EPIK that I do not have to pay for my housing. I will pay for utilities (which are much cheaper than in the US) but I will not have to pay for my apartment. This also means that I don't get a say in where I live. In my application, I had to agree to understanding that my apartment could be up to an hour commute away. From what I have read, the apartments are usually much closer to the school than an hour but that gives the schools some options of where they find housing for their GETs (Guest English Teachers). Most likely I will have a small studio apartment. Most apartments that I have seen online are typically 1 room that has a bed and a kitchen all in the room with a small room for the bathroom. The showers are typically attached to the sink and you shower in the area with your toilet and sink. The entire bathroom ends up wet and there is a drain in the middle of the floor. It is all small and compact but that is what I am preparing myself for. Thankfully, my apartment is supposed to be just for me so I will have a space that is just mine.
9) When do you leave?
- I fly out super early on August 18th at 12:30 AM. Therefore I have started saying I leave on the 17th since I will be at the airport and say goodbye to my family on the night of the 17th. I have to be in Korea on August 19th to catch a shuttle to orientation.
10) When is orientation and what will it be like?
- My orientation is August 19-26. We arrive on the 19th and have a campus tour, opening celebration, and welcome dinner on the 20th. The rest of orientation includes lectures on life in Korea, Korean language class, medical test English curriculum, classroom management, lesson planing, lesson demonstrations, taekwondo lessons, and a field trip. On August 25th I think is the day that I will meet with supervisors from Busan Office of Education and find out where I am teaching. On August 26th we will take a but to Busan and meet our co-teachers. From there they will take us to our apartment and help us get settled and ready for work the next day!
11) How long will you be gone?
- My contract is for 1 year. It is from August 26th, 2013 to August 25th, 2014. But I hope to stay at least 2 years. This job provides a financial blessing that will help me pay off school debt quickly. My hope is to pay off all debt within 2 years (besides my house) so that I can apply with the IMB and move to Cambodia as a full time missionary. But I will pray about extensions and see how long God wants me to stay. For sure, I have agreed to the full year from August to August. However, as I mentioned above I believe I get 10 days off in the winter and 8 in the summer. I hope to come home to visit at least for one of those breaks. I also hope to have some long weekends because of Korean holidays so I can travel some around the area. I learned while living in Hong Kong that you can do a lot in a weekend.
12) Does that mean you will not be home for Christmas?
- This has probably be the hardest part for me and something I struggled with greatly before I applied for EPIK. I will miss Christmas with my family for the first time. Christmas is a national holiday in Korea I believe but it is not included with a winter break from school in which I would have the time to travel home and back to Korea. It has been a struggle and is something that I am not excited about at all. However, I know that God is calling me to Korea and that I am following His will for me. As unpleasant as it might be to miss Christmas, my life is not my own and God is taking me to Korea for a reason. I will survive I know but it will be a tough day for me and my family. I'm just thankful for things like Skype, Face Time, and Google Hangouts :)
13) Do you have any plans for your time in Korea?
- Yes, several! I hope to be able to volunteer some while in Busan. I read a blog about someone who volunteered in an orphanage while in Busan. I loved that idea and hope to be involved in something similar. I want to snowboard while in Korea. Thanks to my wonderful friends at the Tumble Gym I have learned to stay up on a snowboard (somewhat) and I love it. I would love to go while in Korea. I also hope to travel to Hong Kong to visit friends that I have not seen in forever! I would love a chance to reconnect with some and just to be back in Hong Kong. I miss it. While in Korea, I want to take Korean lessons and maybe some other kind of lesson. I've thought about taking tennis lessons. I also want to travel throughout Korea. I want to see many of the other places in Korea as well as to visit Seoul again. It's been a long time since I was in Seoul. Of course, I have no clue exactly what life will be like in Korea. I mean I don't even know what part of Busan I will be in or what age group I'm teaching. I don't know the people I'm working with or the people that will become my friends and social circle in Korea. I just know that I am moving and I'm excited about it :)
14) What do your parents think?
- I have extremely loving and supportive parents. Their preference of course would be for me to live in Georgia but they understand my heart and passion for missions and that this is where God is leading me. My dad struggles in particular with me missing Christmas but I'm with him because I would much rather be at home than in Korea for Christmas but this is part of it.
15) Are you doing missions?
- Yes and no. I am not going with a mission organization. I have been hired by the Korean government to teach English. But my heart is to follow God's command to tell the world of His great love. My heart is to be on mission and share the Gospel. So yes, I plan on sharing the Gospel and being involved in a church (possibly 2 an English speaking and a Korean speaking church) while over there. I believe that God is sending me to Korea to share the Gospel even though I am not going through a mission organization.
I hope this helps answer questions for those who have asked. If you have a question I didn't answer, feel free to add it in the comment section below.
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