Logo

Yesterday was the beginning of a very long journey from Portland, Oregon to Incheon, South Korea. This particular day when I left at 4am for the airport the state of Oregon felt the need to come down with a week's worth of rain in the course of 2 hours. Have you ever driven on a highway going to 70 mph in what feels like a monsoon and you couldn't see more than 8 feet in front of you? Good because you REALLY don't want to; it felt like I was going to hydroplane and die before I even got this adventure started.

Unfortunately the wet road was no match for my AMAZING driving ability! After arriving at the airport with 3 pieces of luggage I hit road block number 1 almost immediately*.

*Now if you are like me and you have not been to an airport in a really long time you might have forgotten some of the airport protocol. Rule number 1 - TAKE ONLY 2 PIECES OF LUGGAGE.

Now you could choose to follow the rules or be like me and disregard any piece of logical reason, but be prepared to pay the price! Just because I choose to keep my 3rd piece of luggage I was charged $350 dollars! "There goes my milk money!"

The first flight from Portland to San Francisco was easy but I dreaded the 2 hour layover and my extremely long second flight to South Korea. On the second flight to Korea I was pleased to know we were being served food not once, not twice but 3 times! I was ecstatic! I've lived with my mom for weeks and she barely even cooks for me. Now for the first meal we had some traditional "Bi-Bim-Bab." Now the word literally means "Mixed Rice" and is served with either a Beef, Wild Greens or Octopus base. With this meal you have the vegetables in front of you in a bowl and a pouch of rice on the side. Put the rice on top and then you can choose to use the supplied sweet and spicy red pepper paste along with the sesame seed oil provided to add a mild tangy flavor to your dish. This was served with a soup, a selection of fresh pineapple slices, a light soup made with bits of squid and sliced onions, and a side of noodles. Ahhh perfection!



While the first dish was exciting, new, and damn delicious the other two meals were a boring; a ham and cheese sandwich and grilled chicken with vegetables :(

Arriving at the airport I passed through immigration check and was picked up by my recruiter in no time. After being in a plane for over 10 hours I would have been happy to have seen ANYBODY! I'm just saying, if Ronald McDonald had been standing there to greet me I would have hopped into his McRollesRoyce!



But after my recruiter met me he bought me a bus ticket a bus ticket and said "Bye." This pissed me off because I was feeling that we had made a connection in the last 8 minutes.

So in bus ride I head into the city of Uijeongbu where I was picked up my employer. Now my employer Jackie was in a medium sized van with his adorable 4 year old daughter Hara . So I had the pleasure of meeting both of them in while Hera forced both of us to listen to Barney sing along songs throughout the last part of trip.

Now finally at my apartment I met the rest of the family/employers. Jenny, Jackie's wife, was with her two boys Kenny (14) and Hanu (1) and did not hesitate to help me with my enormous bags while Hanu was on her back. While I insisted her not to with the baby, all was lost in translation. Once inside my cultural lesson began with Jenny at the helm. "Here in Korea we take off our shoes and put on house shoes once inside the building" she exclaimed.

Now on the third floor of this 4 story building I was shown my apartment. They told me to take my time and rest while they changed. Mind you at this point I lost an entire day because of the 16 hour time shift, so I rushed to the bed and curled up.

After about 25 minutes of solitude Jenny comes knocking, "Joey, you look tired. You need eat now!" With no energy left to contest I followed her back downstairs where the whole family was waiting for me in the van. At night the city was beautiful but I can't recall much of the evening because of how tired I was. The food was amazing and they were willing to share much of the language and the culture with me. The last thing I remember was little Hera whispering to her mother while looking at me. Clearly aware that she was talking about me I raised an eyebrow awaiting her question. Jenny quickly tapped Hana on the head and told her to "Ask him yourself, don't be so shy?"

Without missing a beat I responded "Yeah Hera, don't be shy. I won't be mad I promise." Now Hera was completely frozen as the room fell silent and how quick I was to embrace conflict. I laughed and urged her again "Ahh Hera, go ahead. You can ask me." Hera's eyes now were on her mother pleading for her assistance. Jenny rolled her eyes and said, "Hera wants to know why you have one earring in your ear?"

I laughed and looked at her while simultaneously placing my hand on my chin in order to strike an exaggerated pose and said, "Hera darling...That's how I roll!"

Joe - OUT!!

Now I'm sure that for all of you who are very serious about teaching aboard this has not the only source that you have read. If it is, no problem! You're in safe hands. Since I am currently going through the process I hope that by sharing I can save you a BUNCH of time. This post is going to be an overview explaining what qualifications are needed, your necessary documents, the best times to apply and lastly the perks!

Before I get started you must be prepared to come into this with an open mind, therefore allowing yourself to be flexible with your potential teaching assignments. If you do have any preferences toward ANYTHING make that known at the beginning so that way your recruiter can be upfront about if they can or cannot provide that service. Normally your recruiter will be able to do the following:

1) Place you in a desired location (e.g. Busan, Seoul or Ilsan).

2) Preference in the age/ level of your students (Kindergarten, Middle School, etc).

3) Accommodate you and a friend/partner. Now this is tricky part because if you and your friend start the process at the same time there is a really good chance that they can place both of you in the same area. Which is awesome because anytime that you can go overseas with a group of people that you know it is way more enjoyable! Now run along and "Hi-5" because you pass.



Now when it comes down to attempting to bring your girl/boyfriend or wife/husband who will not teaching than-ugh! All I have to say is "Good Luck" with that. The school has already invested a lot of their limited budget selecting you, helping get your visa, paying for your plane ticket and the like for there to be someone else not working in the equation. (However if I do find something more about this circumstance I will update my blog about it.



Qualifications
1) A Minimum of a Bachelors Degree
2) Must be a citizen of the US or Canada
3) English must be your first language
4) Must be in good physical and mental health
5) No criminal record

What Do You Need?
1) A valid Passport with at least 12 months left before it expires.

2) Your Original BA or BS Degree or a notarized certified copy with Apostille. Trust me, just send the original. How often to use that decoration on your wall anyway? Just send it and save yourself the time and money! I promise you'll get it back.

3) A Criminal Background Check (CBC). I cannot stress this enough. You must have a STATE LEVEL CBC! Trust me I tried to send a local level that was notarized and with an Apostille* but it ended with me just me being heartbroken and me postponing my application.

*In the U.S. an Apostille must be done by the Secretary of State. So be prepared to either send or take your documents to the appropriate office.

4) You need 5 Official Transcripts from EACH University you have attended. These can be delivered to you but they must remain UNOPENED and each must have an appropriate SEAL or STAMP on the back of the envelope.



5)Passport Photos (6-10) - This may seem a bit excessive at first but after you make several copies of your contract and submit your final documentation to the Embassy you will begin to run out of these expensive trinkets as fast as Aladdin ran out of Wishes!

6) Your current Resume with your current address listed.

How Long does the Process Take?

When I began I used a recruiter who did little to nothing toward finding me a position overseas. So me being still green behind the ears I relented and waited for a phone call that never came. So needless to say I switched to my current recruiter (Gloii Recruiting Services) who have been nothing but pleasant throughout the whole experience. They have kept me up to date with all of my contract information and guided me through this process with a FULL TEAM devoted to informing me via email, phone, Skype, and multiple IM services.

Now you don't have to use Gloii, feel free to look around for different Recruiters. However you must fill out your recruiters' application to get the ball rolling and for someone to contact you within about 72 hours.

Once they contact you (usually via phone) they will confirm the information that you have given them. Then they will ask you about the documents that you have currently and if you are missing any. After this phone conversation is over you will have to wait. Give them about 2-3 weeks. They aren't slacking; they are trying to match you with an open school that fits all of your previously indicated preferences. Be patient and just wait it out, but if you don't have all of your documents you'd better get on the ball! Because once a school has agreed to hire you have 24 - 72 hours to either accept or reject the position before it's filled.

A quick side note: Some recruiting agencies will ask you to put together a small video introducing yourself. Don't be shy just use this as a guide and put together a short 1:20 video.

Once you get your contract from the school your recruiter will email the document to you. After you send out ALL of the materials they will submit the Korean Immigration Bureau to get you Visa Issuance Number (About 1-5 days). When the number is distributed then you will have to go to your closest Korea Consulate for you final interview. This interview is for those who have never taught in South Korea. Click the link for more info:


The Perks!

1) Visa sponsorship
2) Free or reimbursed round trip airfare
3) Free housing (w/ everything paid except for heating, telephone and elec.)
4) Medical insurance assistance (usually 50/50)
5) Paid holidays
6) Severance pay (after a successful 12 months they will pay for an additional month)
7) Renewable 12-month contract
8) Curriculum and teaching resources
9) Living a country that has a very low cost of living)
10) Amazing pay!!

Well there it is! A little prolific on my part but I hope that this helps you navigate the process easier. Lastly here is a link to view a Sample Contract. C'mon I wouldn't leave you hanging like that =)

http://rs.gloii.com/jobinfo/job-documents
Joe -OUT!!

So following up from Prologue you should now have a pretty good idea as to my intentions and how committed I am toward getting a job, utilizing my talents and making a difference.

Currently I have switched gears and I am now really considering going to South Korea to get a job as an ESL Teacher. Yeah you heard that right...South Korea, where they make the Hyundai's and the KIA's.


I have always wanted to go overseas because I wanted to make good use of my French and I aspire to work as a Foreign Officer for the Department of State, but I never had any previous intentions of teaching English in South Korea. As for this position in South Korea, I guess I was just in the right place at the right time. I was feeling pretty down in the dumps after sending about 300+ resumes to locations across the United States as of early February; however one of my resumes ended up on somebody's desk and decided to give me a phone call. I was first referred to teach in Taiwan where I would able to have a good leg up in a competitive job market of college grads looking for work.

Since I meet the requirements I thought "Meh' why not; I've given speeches before. Plus I taught a drum line while choreographing and composing music for their shows. This might be the opportunity I need."

In case you were wondering the following are the requirements to teach English in South Korea:

1) A Minimum of a Bachelors Degree
2) Must be a citizen of the US or Canada
3) English must be your first language
4) Must be in good physical and mental health
5) No criminal record

While all of these things are important I will be sure to put up another blog to go through a more step-by-step guide toward "How" and "How long" the whole process takes plus I will put the appropriate links on it to place you in the right direction.

So there you have it! I went from being an overqualified technician to an Expat in the course of 2-3 months. I'm excited! Are you excited? Then show me by posting a comment!

Joe - OUT!!

Let me start out with a big "WHAT THE HELL?!"