Bundang and Sunset

After I recollected myself and figured better worry about future stuff later, I went out bought a toaster and then relaxed. I tried to do some painting but it seemed the focus didn't come out as much and my result was work unsatisfying. Yet just having a moment to relax and paint and listen to favorite NPR radio show This American Life, is a treasured time in life.

Well then what is a girl to do with her time after all? Blogging of course!

The weather here is changing into Fall, yet very slowly and very gradually. I can tell this because the sky is filled with more clouds and the air is moist and cool. Sometimes cool enough to put on a long sleeve shirt but still warm enough to wear sandals. Noticing that summer is going by-by makes me realize how fast time is slipping past. This is life and well, its the way it works.

So onto the picture show.

Friday I visited Cynthia (blogging pal) at her home in Bundang. This would mark my first trip out of Seoul because this is a city outside the Seoul area. However it is close enough to take the subway and arrive there unscathed by travel. In fact if I could figure out the bus system I could make there even quicker. Here is a subway map to illustrate the adventure: (click for a bigger picture). I must say it was a delightful treat to travel outside of Seoul and see a lovely section of South Korea. Bundang seems to have been developed and expanded in a way where on the skyline you see tall fanciful apartment buildings. What I liked most in the area I visited was how the apartment buildings seemed like little nests nestled next to each other with tree lined low-traffic streets in between. It was definitely a residential area with the commercial business closer to the main roads.

Cynthia took me to a water park where her two boys could play in shallow pools while we chatted about living in Korea and having Korean men close in our lives. The pool scenery was quite interesting too. Did you catch the naked baby???

Anyways, I found it attractively peculiar how they have nestled next to this truly metropolitan skyline a children's water park. The juxtaposition of wailing children and splashing water next to the site of these obviously expensive homes was quite a site. Something similar to sites seen in NYC. However, the naked baby trumps it all.

Reading about the Bundang area there are more places that would be interesting to see, for example:

Bundang is chiefly residential, so it is well off the tourist track. There are few ancient relics, sights or buildings of note. There are, however, two pleasant parks which have been established for residents' pleasure. Bundang Central Park, east of the road between Seohyeon and Sunae Stations, has a lake, fountain and several old houses, while Yuldong Park, to the east, has a larger reservoir and a bungee jumping platform, 45 m high.

Well, thank you Cynthia for showing me a lovely time!

Saturday was spent with BK lounging inside my home and then catching a bite for eat atop the Hyundai Department store in Cheonho. This is an are just two subway stops from my home and is right next to the EMart I frequent often.

It was such a beautifully romantic place to go and eat, mostly because you had a great view of the city and the Han river. Here are the pictures from our lovely time spent atop the Hyundai Department store.

At first we found a Chinese Restaurant to eat at, but the dish I wanted was sold out. So we moved out and found a Korean restaurant to eat instead.

At the Korean place BK ordered us a mushroom soup/stew dish. I love mushrooms and he knew that, so he did a good job finding a very healthy and delicious item.

And now the view:

Been there:
And now for the a sunset that was all too romantic! (Yes, I thought of you Mom watching the sun go down.)

And so continues the wonder and amazement of life abroad. Here comes one more week of the intensive schedule, but at least I have a toaster!

Public vs. Private / Hakwon Dave's Esl chatter

So within my research I thought I would just see if the chatter over at Dave's ESL cafe would provide any legitimate information. Here for you are the responses I found reasonably suitable for contemplation.

Get into a public school. Work your way up. Use your extra office time to get a TESOL cert. and move up a level.

Public schools now start at 2.0 for 22 classes and move up at 200k per level till you reach the top then add 100k per year after that.

Add in 20k per extra afternoon class and even a newbie can pull in 2.4-2.5 + full benefits and not have the stress of a burnout hakwon.

I teach 28 classes of 40 minutes per week. (22 regular and 6 extra curricular).
I get 3 mil per month.
I (officially) get 6 weeks of annual paid holiday. Standard GEPIK contract - 14 WORKING days for the base + 5 working days because I work at a rural designated school). (as compared to 14 calender days in a hakwon).
(The reality was closer to 9 weeks last year).

I get return airfare paid out each year.
I get my severance paid out yearly.
I AM enrolled in the national pension plan. (gonna be a nice golden parachute next year when I leave).

I have medical (NHIC) coverage for myself AND my family (with a monthly premium of 2.54% of my salary).
I have a 60m2 furnished officetel.

Officially I have only ever presented my BA and TESOL cert. to my school.

BE CAREFUL when you only look at the salary as a number and not the whole remuneration package as a whole.

6.7 TEACHING hours per day (33.5 teaching hours per week) could end up being as high as 50 classes of 40 minutes per week and that would be a year in hakwon hell and you still make less than I do.

If you think my job is too good to be true then you can apply for it. I will be retiring (early) next March - there are 2 hectares of white sand beach front with my name on it calling to me.

My thoughts too! Definitely now that I am here and am building up the experience I can understand how there can be a difference.

bassexpander writes:

I taught at a "private" high school.

They are pretty similar to public schools, as 98% of their funding comes from the gov't (just a guess on that number, but I hear it's close). Private schools are able to follow a different set of rules regarding hiring/firing, nepotism (private schools are/were rife with it), etc..

The best advice I can give you is this: In the private school, the principal is KING. If the principal is good, the school is good. If the principal is difficult, then the school will be difficult.

I am definitely seeing this kind of attitude, the principal is well Queen at my school and we are her worker bees. But I wonder if it is any different at a public school, besides a boss is a boss.

I found another answer about public school details here:

2. You get much more holiday in public schools. However, you may still be asked to work during the school vacation; camps, developing teaching materials etc. In a private school you will have to work extra hours during school holidays as they run intensive courses. I hated intensives, but you can make overtime pay. Also the typical working hours will be different - public schools will be teaching in the morning, private in the afternoon and evening - depends on what time you personally prefer (I'm not a morning person).

This comparison seems pretty much my whole reason why I am thinking of trying a public school next. That is because of the intensives and that the teaching hours are mostly in the afternoon and evening.

Well that does it for me, I think I need to just let it all soak in.

This Week's Thoughts

Hello,
So I am enjoying my Sunday here at home without BK, because it is visit Grandpa day for him. And while I am cleaning up and organizing on the back of my mind has been some thoughts about my future. I have been trying to figure how to go about finding another teaching job for after my current contract ends.

Now I know it is pretty darn early and there is a lot of time till I truly have to face what to do with myself after my year here is up. The fact is I do feel like I want to continue living here after one year, mostly because I love BK and don't want to be in a long distance relationship and two I feel that if I work hard enough I can find a job where the hours aren't so intense.

With that said I know there are several options before me to live and work in South Korea.

• Teach at another YBM school. (Familiarity, possibility to chose better schedule and location)
• Teach at a public school. (Set schedule, higher salary, longer vacation)
• Dream job at a University (Need certifications or a Master's degree...)

Right now I am leaning towards a public school gig, mostly because I don't like the way a private academy is run. For example, our schedules shift throughout the season.

What I know is that no matter which one I end up I am still going to have to deal with Korean management, meaning that your own personal feelings and worth DO NOT come first.

Some other basic concerns for my second year are:

• Nice living and hospitable space
• Nice area to live around (more residential - family like, or more cute and cafe - type)
• Rent free living
• Higher salary
• Still live in Seoul
• Standard schedule (perhaps 8am to 5pm, basically not till 8pm at night)

Now, my plans are to take advantage of the free airfare home and to visit family in the states, after my current contract ends. In the meantime I could gather myself for another year in Seoul. Also I get a chunk of cash at the end of this contract, which would help me with the traveling.

So I have been starting to do some research with public school programs such as EPIK and SMOE. Also I am asking around to other teachers out there who work at a public school or any other system just how they got the job and whether they like it or not.

If you happen to come upon my blog then please answer these questions about your experience :)

• How did you get your position at where you work here in South Korea?
• Do you find your job good or bad? (both maybe?)
• Would you consider a hagwon or a public school to be better?
  
• If you know of any web forums out there where the school's themselves post job openings - -- Please Share!

Well thanks and I hope my mind doesn't get wrapped up in this, I know that there is no perfect job, but I know with enough research you can at least find an ideal situation.

Fresh Air

Today is a Korean holiday called their Independence Day, a day in history when South Korea celebrates it freedom from Japanese rule. But for a working citizen this also means a day off, something which is highly welcomed.

So I get to relax and get back into enjoying the small pleasures of life. BK is out with his pals at a creek, so I am left to my own devices. Later today I am going to meet Cynthia and have a go in a wading pool near her home, I look forward to a relaxing moment or too!
Well, what can I say about my life here so far in the great land of Asia?
I have to say despite being tired, angry and frustrated at times it is still a great place to be and live. Lately I have managed to somehow get use to the antics at work and not stress myself out silly about the little things. This leaves room for feeling refreshed instead of worn out, despite I am still going through the intensive period.

But all in all I still wake up and walk out of my house to see I am in a foreign land. To some this may seem discombobulating, which it is, but to me I find it quite a great pleasure. Everyday can be its own little adventure, even in the smallest of ways.

As I explore more and more the areas of Seoul I am beginning to see that there are some nice corners to live in here. I begin to think that if I decide to extend my life here it would be great to be able to choose the area of Seoul to live that I find most hospitable.

Yet, one step at a time and there is still plenty of places to get around to.

For now let me show you some pictures of last weekend's trip to the Ewha Women's University area where I got a haircut and found some awesome new shoes.

View of one of the Entrances to the University

A pretty building
And without further ado: the results of my haircut

The hairdresser did some fancy styling with my hair. In general it wasn't much of a dramatic change more like a trim and fresh cut.

If you are in Seoul and have hair like mine you may be interested in visiting this salon called Eunha BNC. It wasn't too expensive as far as foreigner money goes. ;)

Anyways, after my haircut we got some lunch then I was on the hunt for some new shoes. This led us around the area to one place with a water fountain and sculpture area, where children enjoyed themselves.

There was a Manga (comic) shop with loads of manga in stacks sitting out front:

And well I found a wonderful pair of shoes! I should have you know that most of the kind of women shoes you find here have heels, and I believe that most Korean women don't feel pain in their feet. I have never grown accustomed to wearing heels, and I really wanted a great walking and working shoe that would be comfortable but also pretty. I found these little gems and was oh so delighted.

They are from the brand El Naturalista and were the most expensive shoes I have ever bought. They now are the most coveted shoes in my collection and the only downside is I don't want to see them get all mucked up so I am cautious about wearing them.

So as you can see I have been enjoying myself with the time I get to myself here. I really loved the Ewha area, mostly because it had this youthful vibe with that chilled University area setting. Hopefully I can get back to that area and see the art museum at the university.

Well, its another hot day here. Maybe on my way to Cynthia's I will see some kind of traditional ceremony in regards to today's holiday.

Museum Photo Post

Hi,
Since that video did the pictures from my Korea National Art Museum trip little justice in way of clarity, I thought I would follow up with a photo post so my viewers can see the pictures more clearly.

Also so ya know I try to keep my Flickr photolog updated, so if you ever wanted to see them more clearly you can go there.

Anyways here are the pictures.

The Entrance

Me in front of the entrance
Display of the featured exhibits
Vietnamese pottery
Picture of a mold casting for making Buddhist statues
Golden Belt Buckle from China
Korean Bronze Mirror
Japanese ink painting (modern attribute is the fan done in perspective)
Historical maps of South Korea
Pagoda in the hallway

The hallway inside the museum.

National pride

Quick blog here from work. I would be teaching my one-to-one right now but the kid was so engrossed with watching Korea vs. USA at the Olympics, that mom let him stay home.

This made me realize that it would be great to mention how very dedicated people are here to their team. When I walk home from work I pass by places with television screens. One is in the subway station. Yesterday, there was a crowd there gathered staring at the Olympics going on. This wasn't just a leisurely crowd, these were businessmen and women in their suits coming home from work.

Everyone stood still in their tracks and stared off at the screens. I felt it was a scene out of some kind of movie. I for one never really saw such National pride in America as passionate as it is here. After I left the subway station I could continue to see this kind of devotion to the screen inside restaurants. Some of which weren't even seated just standing and staring.

I keep reminding myself to carry my camera and take a picture, so hopefully I will get a snapshot of this.

In general though it is kind of heartwarming to see such National pride in everyone. Usually in America there is sometimes this sentiment of spite towards our nation. Also I never really considered the Olympics such a time for pride. I always thought it was just this sporty thing where athletes compete. In fact I usually found it boring to watch. But now I feel a reason to watch, it is wonderful to hear the announcers go berserk after the Korean team wins.

Anyways, go Korea! (and USA)!