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I first began thinking of teaching ESL in South Korea when
my friend Vanessa went to do the same ten months ago. I was jealous of the
exotic adventures she had while I stayed in the same old place. I had missed my chance to study abroad in college because I
transferred, but I’ve always wanted to travel and experience the world.
So I began to think: well, why don’t I go myself? I have spent the last few years teaching young children and so teaching ESL is a good next step. I
researched it and found that it was feasible, profitable, and easier than you’d
think. And once the seed was planted, it grew and I couldn’t stop thinking
about it. For a while I even tried to ignore my desire to go to South Korea
because it scared me. But I knew that I would go. I knew that if I
didn’t go now, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.
South Korea is arguably the best place to teach ESL because
ESL teachers are highly sought after and have good benefits such as
rent-free housing, free air flight there and back, good health insurance, and a
good salary along with a cheap cost of living -- restaurant meals cost about
$3-4, etc. I decided it was a good fit for me as well because I have been
interested in Asian culture (I went through an anime phase, anyway) and think
it would be fascinating to experience it firsthand. South Korea is extremely modernized
but has a very unique, ingrained traditional culture.
I will be at a
private English school in a town called Anyang, right outside of Seoul. The school is a preschool and kindergarten in the morning and
elementary kids come in the afternoon. There will be 8 foreign teachers there. I am keeping an open mind about the food,
the school, the kids, the people, and basically everything.
I have about a month before I arrive. I am going to prepare
by studying a Korean textbook, finishing an online TEFL class, and learning as much about South Korea as I can. Overall I am very excited about this next stage of my life.
I hope that I’ll update this blog regularly. I
have gotten myself a nice little camera to take pictures with, so I suspect
there will be a lot of those.
