STICK A FORK IN ME BECAUSE I’M DONE

The long and arduous journey into finding a new job teaching has come to an end. The seconds spent on it were well worthwhile (I hope). The effort was backbreaking but one does what one has to do. Sometimes. I handed in my resignation tonight giving one month’s notice.

I began the job search on Sunday afternoon. I sent out a few resumes and on Monday I sent out a few more. I was contacted by one school and talked to the director for an hour. He is an Englishman and everything sounded good except it had elementary students. Finding a job with no elementary students is very difficult. All the academies (after hours schools) have a large age range and elementary students make up the majority of the students.

My friend Robert from Toronto and Seoul told me to call the recruiter who placed him. It sounded like the company did a wonderful job for him so I sent them an email and my resume last night. This morning they called me with a job opportunity. That was quick. The job was for a public middle school close to Seoul. No kids! Nine to five! Not a business! They offered me the job and I took it. I know you shouldn’t necessarily jump at the first offer, but I didn’t think I could do better. Jobs that don’t involve elementary students are few and far between. Most foreign English teachers work in the academies. I consider myself lucky to find a job in a public school.

The apartment should be bigger than this one I’m in now. It’s a one room also, but it has a desk, a kitchen table, and a couch among other things. I couldn’t get 2 of those things in here. So that’s exciting knowing I’ll have room to breath.

I’ll be the first foreign teacher at this school. There is something appealing about that. I know it’s tough without the high noses to talk to, but I’ll be close to Seoul and I have a couple of friends there. And just maybe I’ll integrate into Korean society. (For sure).

I resigned this evening and although Kelly didn’t faint, I think this left her in a bit of shock. I gave her one month’s notice and told her that I’d say nice things about the school when she finds someone and they want to talk to a foreigner already there. I can lie and who knows, maybe the next person will have a better experience that I did.

I must admit that this took a lot less time than I thought it would. I’m quite excited about it, but I still have a month of this place in front of me. I will not be sorry to say goodbye to the elementary kids or the school. I will miss some of the middle school kids. I’ve enjoyed their company.

I felt better at school today. I could look at the kids and think, “I’m outta here”. I have to go back to Japan to get a new visa which is a pain but one does what one has to do. The new job pays a 300,000 won relocation allowance. (That’s about $300). It’s going to be a pain lugging all my stuff to my new location, but it’s a small price to pay.

I skipped yoga today. I didn’t get up until my phone rang at 11:45AM. I felt like crap (however crap feels). I’m coughing, my nose is running a bit, and my head feels like it weighs 50 pounds. I’m sick of being sick. BUT, I’m happy about my new job.

The only person I know who can pull jobs out of the air like this is Leah. I’ve stepped up to her league.