Dear Agency

As I get further and further down the rabbit hole that is the process of moving to Korea, I am so relieved that I chose to go through a placement agency. I can't imagine navigating the complicated stream of contracts, job postings, visa applications, and deadlines by myself! As I've made clear, the stress is already killing me, and I have no idea what I would do without the guiding hand and constant reassurances from Alistair, my agent with Korean Horizons.

It would probably be more accurate to call him my handler (or teacher wrangler perhaps? I like that idea; even though I've never met Alistair face-to-face, I can just image him lassoing stray, wandering teachers, corralling them into a herd, and making sure that we wide-eyed, naive newbies keep from straying or getting lost on our winding path to Korea). In researching jobs and opportunities in Korea at the onset of the madness that has lead me to this point, I discovered a plethora of recruitment agencies offering their job placement services. I had my eye on a few, having researched and read their reviews and related forum posts, but decided to hold off on making a firm commitment until after I had finished my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification, as my research had lead me to believe that this certificate was a valuable (if not strictly required) asset to my teaching application.

The TEFL course (which I took online through ITTT) was comprised of 20 units covering a variety of subjects from the finer points of English grammar to lesson planning and classroom management. At the time, I was charged with four classes of high school freshman English in a long-term substitute position covering a maternity leave (congrats Mrs. Rigg!) and probably inspiring a deadly loathing of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the process. As I gained experience in the classroom, much of the course's information on effective teaching, discipline and encouragement, and class structure became redundant. Don't get me wrong, it was a valuable course, and I feel that it would be especially helpful for those who are going into teaching with no experience whatsoever. Throughout the course I had an online tutor who gave comments and feedback on my work. Upon hearing that I was interested in teaching in Korea, she put me in contact with Alistair from the recruitment agency Korean Horizons. While I had been planning on signing up with a different agency (Footprints Recruiting), Alistair soon won me over with the wealth of information and personal attention he gave me.

Along with the personal attention, I also liked the fact that Korean Horizons as an agency is smaller and more focused than Footprints. Whereas Footprints deals with both private and public schools in several different countries (including China, Korea, and Chile), Korean Horizons deals exclusively with EPIK (English Program in Korea), a government sponsored program which places native English speakers in Korean public schools. After reading the horror stories of corrupt and disreputable hagwons (private language schools in Korea) and the nasty things that have happened to teachers who get suckered into unscrupulous contracts, I decided that even though the the public school program paid less, being a government sponsored program it seemed to be a more secure and far more reputable option.

This is not to say that the program is perfect. Complaints and criticism abounds in forums all over the web, highlighting the pitfalls and the negative aspects of EPIK. However, most seem to deal with issues that one would encounter in ANY teaching position (such as bad co-teachers) or that have more to do with cultural differences (the office hierarchy and issues with respect) than with specific issues with the program.

But I digress. Back to Alistair and Korean Horizons. After sending him my application and final TEFL score, Alistair took care of everything. He presented me with several positions and options, saving me the process of slogging through the postings. He then took care of the legwork involved in applying for the positions I was interested in, and set up my final interview. Now that I have the position, he has been helping and monitoring my progress in my visa application.

The time crunch for my visa is pretty tight. I have to get a criminal background check, which will take another week or so, and then everything has to be sent to Korea, where it is processed. Then, they send me a notice of employment, which I then send down to the Korean embassy in Boston for processing and (hopefully!) approval of my visa. AND all this needs to happen before May 29th, when I'm supposed to leave for Korea, and which also happens to be the weekend of Eva's graduation from Vet School! AHHH! Why does everything happen all at once?!

Needless to say, I was a little freaked out that I wouldn't be able to get my visa in time, would lose my position, and would have to start all over again. Alistair, the pro wrangler of frazzled would-be teachers, quickly assuaged my fears. I would not be punished for a late visa. I would still get my position and everything would be fine. All that would happen if my visa didn't arrive in time would be that instead of arriving in Korea on May 31st, I would instead arrive June 13th, as teachers start on either the 1st or 15th of the month. Just a delay of a few weeks, no biggie.

Phew! I could actually feel the stress and tension floating away. Deep breath. Shoulders slowly sink back down. Nervous tic in my right eye suddenly quieted. It's going to be OK! Hooray for contingency plans!

So, thanks to my wrangler, I'm back on the plodding path, along with my herd, on the winding journey to teaching in Korea!

Dear Anxiety,

I guess I'm getting nervous. I leave for Korea in less than a month (T-minus 25 days!) and I'm a bit concerned that I might wind up with an ulcer before I get there. I'm having stress dreams, tummy flutters, and can't stop going over the list of things I need to do and prepare before I go. Even though I know I can't get things ready faster than I already am, it's still really stressing me out!

I don't remember being this stressed out before I went to Taiwan... maybe I've matured. Does stress come with maturity? Based an a rough comparison between the high school students I teach, and the adults I teach with, I'm going to say yes, stress is something that must build up as you age, perhaps stored somewhere hidden in your body, in a hitherto undiscovered and unexplored location, like your appendix (aha! THAT'S what it's for!) and then bursts out causing acid reflux and ulcers once you reach a certain age. It's like anxiety acne! Which, by the way, I feel that I must be far too old for, given my stress level; so please, acne, leave me alone! Go plague the faces of those who have less to worry about!

So, at this point, I have the job, I have the agency walking me through the procedure, I know when I'm supposed to leave (May 29th), I know when I'm supposed to arrive (May 31st), and yet there still seems to be so much more to do! Right now, my main concern is accumulating all the necessary materials for my visa application. Oddly, this seems to require much more than my actual job application! I need:

• Two letters of recommendation (I've asked the principal of the school that I've been working at as well as the head of the English department)
• A full criminal background check (which I had to have done 3 times in the past few months, since every school you sign up to substitute at requires it's own)
• A set of my official university transcripts (I've ordered them, but Cornell seems to take its sweet time getting those things shipped out. Kind of weird, since when you ask for them in person, they just print them right out then and there.)
• A notarized copy of my Bachelors diploma with an apostille (they actually wanted my original, but there is NO WAY I'm sending my original diploma to Korea!)
• The original, signed application I filled out for the post (by far the easiest to get, as I just need to print it off my computer and sign it)

So I am currently in the process of amassing the items on this list, while also endlessly researching Korea, reading other teachers' forum posts and blogs about the experience, and learning Korean using Rosetta Stone, which was massively expensive, but really does seem to be working (I guess the real test will come when I try to speak Korean to someone who actually knows the language!)

The deal they offered me seems pretty sweet:

• I'm teaching at a middle school (ages 13-15) in Changwon, which, according to this is a bit smaller than Boston, and about the same as Portland, Oregon.
• The job starts officially on June 1st, and the contract lasts one full year.
• I get paid 2.2 million won per month (about $2,000)
• I work 22 hours per week

Plus, I get:

• 300,000 won (about $250) one-time settlement allowance
• Round-trip flight allowance of 2,600,000 won (about $1,200 each way)
• Single, studio apartment, fully furnished, and rent-free!
• 18 working days paid vacation, and national holidays
• Medical contributions
• Pension contributions
• 1 month's salary bonus on completion of contract
• 11 sick paid days allowance
• 7 day special leave allowance
• 2 weeks additional paid vacation if I renew my contract after the first year
• Introduction pack (including travel guide, English/Korean dictionary, book on teaching, and other goodies)
  

So, all in all, a pretty good deal, a few things to get ready before getting my visa, and a few things to pack and prepare. So why the nerves? Why the anxiety? WHY AM I WAKING UP AT 5:30am????

Is it the prospect of moving to the other side of the world? I can't wait to get out of here! I love going to new places! It's not even like it's the first time I've done this!

Is it that I'm going somewhere where I don't speak the language, or know the culture? I'm learning Korean, and studying the culture. I have Korean friends, and as long as I'm not presumptuous, and remain respectful, I'll be just fine!

Is it that I won't know anyone in this new city? I make friends easily! Plus, foreigners band together in a new country, and there's an Irish bar in Changwon called O'Briens that apparently every foreigner goes to! Making friends shouldn't be a problem!

Is it that I'll have to navigate this new city, in a language I don't know? Changwon is apparently one of the only Korean cities laid out on a grid plan, and is supposed to be really easy to navigate! Plus, it's not like it's Seoul, with millions upon millions of people and crowded buildings! Changwon is the Environmental Capital of Korea! How nice is that?

So what is it? Why do I wake up feeling like my stomach is waging a violent war with my throat? Since, as previously stated, anxiety is something that must develop with age (the crows feet and receding hairline of emotions!) that mean I must be an adult now. And adults know everything. Right? Aren't I supposed to know what to do now?

So anyway, Anxiety, as nice as it is to know that I'm all grown up having you here with me, I think I liked it better being a kid.