Annyeong Anyang!

Yesterday I went on my very first job interview in Korea. I must say that I vastly prefer the process over here. It felt a lot more like I was interviewing the school than the other way around.

Taking a step back, I previously wrote about my plans to continue living in Korea next year. I wanted to move to Bucheon or Anyang (satellite cities of Seoul not far from my current location), live with or near Lacy, and begin my contract in April so I'd have time to travel.

Joyce at Korvia Consulting did another phenomenal job finding me a placement meeting all of my conditions (which was not an easy task).

I received word that an elementary school in Anyang wanted to have an interview with me and replied that I could meet with them any day after school or on Saturday. The school decided that they wanted me to come earlier on a week day and informed Korvia that they would call my principal to request that I leave school early on the day of the interview. This was a little awkward for me, as I had turned down an offer to work a second year at my school, but apparently not a big deal in Korea. Imagine that... leaving work early to interview for another job - and not lying about it.

I arrived at Anyang Station and was greeted by a tiny woman in her thirties. Grace Park approached me with a large smile on her lovely face and led me on the very short walk to the school ( First + school is near the subway). After entering and slipping into our indoor shoes we went to meet the principal. Apparently Grace knows the former principal at my school and we both agreed he is the nicest man. She assured me that the principal at this school was very similar and she was right. The principal's character and sense of humor were immediately evident despite the fact that he didn't speak any English (Second + principal and coteacher are both wonderful).

We chatted about life in Korea over coffee and they expressed some concern over the fact that I would be leaving the country between contracts. They told me if they hired me and I did not return to Korea for some reason, their students would suffer for it. To be honest I hadn't even thought of this and all I could offer was my word, but when I assured them of my intent to return they immediately told me that they liked and trusted me ( Third + the school is willing to give me the benefit of the doubt and is relaxed).

There is an element of pageantry in the school interview process and I got the feeling that all they had really wanted was to get a look at me. They had my resume and recommendations already, but looks are very important in Korea, particularly when it comes to English Programs. Once I got the impression that I had passed this test (oh yes, they will tell you right to your face first thing) I pretty much knew it was in the bag.

Grace showed me the English classrooms, which were smaller than the one cavernous room I occupy now. She had seen my school and seemed very worried that I would be unhappy with the classrooms. They seemed lovely to me. Not only were they brimming with artwork and English storybooks, they wouldn't supply students with enough room to run around and hit each other like they do in my present classroom. I told her I thought the school was wonderful and would love to work with her and she told me that she and the principal liked me very much and she was sure they would hire me.

Then she walked me back to the station, took my hand and suggested we get dinner together over the winter break. I told her I would love to and she hugged me goodbye. Really, it was more of a love story than an interview. Ahhh Korea.

Today I accepted their job offer and will be signing a contract shortly. My start date is April 14th which gives me 5-6 weeks to travel Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos before beginning fresh in my new year in Seoul.

It's been a long eventful week in which I've barely stepped foot in my apartment. Last Tuesday through Friday I had a GEPIK (Gyeonggi English Program in Korea) Teacher's Workshop so I traded in my regular work days for a sleep over camp/prison for foreign teachers. I was able to sleep in a bit on Tuesday before heading to Guemjong Station where they promptly carted us off to the middle of nowhere. The Workshops used to be held in the city, but the teachers spent a little too much time at the bars so this time we were headed for Guam. We were told we couldn't leave "the compound" past 7 pm, but that the convenience store on the premises would sell beer. There was also a driving range, walking path, and some nighttime entertainment. Goody.

The opening ceremony was interesting, to put it mildly. We were told we were going to see a performance and then in walks three very scantily clad Korean girls with instruments which they preceded to "fake play" to recorded music while they danced provocatively. It was all a little much for a Tuesday morning, but hey, it's Korea. The rest of the time we attended lectures on teaching techniques and co teacher relationships and did some practice teaching. Some of the lectures were really interesting and I left with a lot of new ideas to use in the classroom. At night they played Korean movies and we just hung out and had a few beers. We watched a great movie called the Host which I highly recommend if you can get your hands on it. It was a monster movie, but minus all the Hollywood cheese. This one was funny, thrilling, sad, and satirical all at once.

On Friday we finished at 11 am and the sun was shining. I couldn't wait to get home and was extremely grateful for the half day. I had to unpack then repack immediately because I was off to Jeju Island for the weekend. Jeju is known as "Honeymoon Island" or "The Hawaii of South Korea", but I laughed off both descriptions feeling absolutely sure there was nothing even closely resembling Hawaii in Korea. It's located just off the southern coast of the country and I thought it was too far north to look the way it had been described to me. I was wrong, however.

Maddy and I had signed up for a biking trip through meetup.com and we were leaving early Saturday morning. Luckily, Maddy lives right near the airport, so I spent the night at her place, avoiding waking up before dawn.

The trip was absolutely amazing. The weather must have decided it owed me one, because despite forecasts of rain we only saw sunshine and blue skies. On day one we biked around Udo Island, a smaller island off Jeju's East Coast, then hiked up a volcanic crater for a nice view of the island. We went to ride horses after that, which was more of a kids' pony ride than anything. The horses trotted around for a while then ran around in circles on a track while I tried to hang on to both the saddle and the ridiculous cowboy hat they made me wear.

In the evening we headed to our lovely hotel by the beach for a BBQ (complete with tofu for us veggies) and a campfire under the stars. The next day the weather was even more perfect and after spending the morning at the beach, Maddy and I decided that we just couldn't bear to leave for the scheduled itinerary that consisted largely of being indoors. We opted to catch a cab and meet the others at the airport, so we spent the rest of the day lounging on the sand and eating delicious fresh seafood at a Japanese restaurant overlooking the ocean.

So Maddy and I had a delightful Honeymoon amidst the palm trees and blue green water. We came home refreshed and significantly sunburned and after two weekends away, I'm ready to take on the city again.

Enjoy the pictures below!!