Recent Developments

I found my Korean Bible. It was given to me a long time ago by a Korean friend, and I must have packed it away several years ago. It was in a box up at my parents' house. The Bible should come in handy after I've learned Korean (not to mention, how to read hangul).

I still have not had any feedback regarding the previously mentioned position in Ulsan. But a couple of developments have taken place in the meantime. The agency had me fill out an application for the EPIK (English Program In Korea), which is a program sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Education designed to bring English teachers to Korea. I suspect that it is something like the famous JET program in Japan. Placements through the EPIK are in public schools as opposed to private language academies or hagwans. Through my research I've gathered several things about teaching in Korean public schools:

1. There is no concern about whether or not the schools are reputable or well-established. As with any public school, the fact that they are government-sponsored institutions lends a degree of stability to them.


2. As the result, teachers do not have to worry about things like being paid on time or the school abiding by the terms of the contract.


3. Work hours are typically during the day, and total about 40 hours per week, as opposed to the shorter weeks generally worked by teachers at private academies.


4. Class sizes are substantially larger than at private institutions.


5. Pay is generally not quite as high.

So essentially, the major benefit to teaching in a public school would be the stability of working for the Korean government. Though I wasn't as excited about the other aspects, I thought it wouldn't hurt to apply just the same, particularly since there was said to be open positions in Busan. Education majors and people with formal teaching experience are given primary consideration, however.

At about the same time, the agency also sent my file to a major English academy that has branches all over Korea. A representative from the academy has already contacted me, and I have a phone interview scheduled with him for Monday evening. I'm actually pretty excited about this possibility; I researched this particular school some time ago and at one time thought about applying independently. They are well-established and I've read positive things about them on Dave's ESL Cafe.

I'll just have to wait to see where all this goes. It's easy to grow impatient, since I'm dying to know exactly where we'll be living, when we'll be leaving, etc. But the truth is that I've only been graduated a little over a month, and there's no real rush at this stage.

My pretty, polished smile...

A little grinding, drilling, hammering, and polishing makes Katie's smile AMAZING!!

Okay, there was no hammering, but pretty much everything else was included. It was a bit rough, and a little painful but the result made it all totally worth it!

Birthday Party

I'm not sure I could ever explain why, some thirty years after the advent of the VCR, people continue to patronize movie theaters. Yesterday Katie and I decided to join the ranks of suckerdom by going to the theater to see The Water Horse.

We purchased tickets for a 1:20 matinee showing. We then walked to the concession stand where we purchased a medium beverage for the bank-breaking sum of $4.50. As it was about 12:50, we naturally assumed we should get seated. However, we were informed by the woman taking tickets that we would have to wait for the birthday party to be seated first. "People get so upset every time there's a birthday party," she exclaimed jovially.

Birthday party? Apparently you can have a birthday party at the movie theater. So we waited. And waited. By 1:15 an impressive line had formed. We were eventually informed that the birthday party had, at last, been seated. Our tickets were taken and we walked to theater 5.

Upon entering, we were greeted by a menagerie of rambunctious children and frazzled parents. We immediately noticed, much to our bewilderment, that all the prime seats had been cordoned off with masking tape for -you guessed it- the birthday party. We briefly tried to find acceptable seats, but finally gave up. We, along with perhaps a dozen or so other irritated patrons, exchanged our tickets for the 4:30 showing.

Like the proverbial bird who repeatedly flings himself against the same window, we returned at 4:00. We were informed, by the same woman, that we would have to wait to be seated. There had just been a birthday party in theater 5, you see, and it was being cleaned. So we waited. And waited. Finally we were granted clearance, and made our way down the hall toward theater 5. Along the way we passed the birthday party, which now consisted of lots of children seated at collapsible tables surrounded by balloons and banners. Their cherubic little faces and hands were smeared with cake, and they wielded lollies and kazoos at us as we passed.

We again entered the theater. I really couldn't tell you what cleaning was or was not conducted after the birthday party cleared out. But I can tell you that the theater appeared as though it had been recently vandalized by a hundred or so wild simians who apparently flung popcorn, soda, candy, and other (less easily identifiable) substances all over the seats and floor. Amidst the wreckage, Katie and I -carefully- chose our seats.

Just as Katie began to open a can of cashews we had brought along, a rather portly woman behind us exclaimed, "Oh! I see you bring your own snacks too!" "Yes", my wife replied innocently, "it's cheaper that way." The woman then proceeded to issue forth the following, without taking a single breath:

"I always bring my own snacks. I like snacks from home better anyway. I'm a diabetic. So I usually bring a banana and water. I'm trying to lose weight. I'm doing Jenny Craig. My mom does Jenny Craig. But I don't like to talk to her. Because she doesn't care about her weight. If I measured her waist I bet it would be 60 inches. I was going to see another movie. But she said I should see this one. I see lots of movies. My mom and dad saw this one. They liked it. My name's Karen. What's yours?"

At which time Katie remembered that she urgently needed to call her sister. I, cursing myself for leaving my cell phone at home, ingeniously chose to feign deafness. As Katie got up to carry her conversation outside, I signed to her to say "hi" to her sister for me. Fortunately, the crazy lady quit talking when the movie began.

The movie was cute and we enjoyed it. But I'm not sure it was worth the trouble, let alone the expense. Maybe next time we'll just go to Blockbuster.

MY resolution

Yep, it's that time of year for me to start thinking about the extra pounds I've packed on throughout the year. It's also time for me to say that "I'll never be this weight again". So just as before, I'll start working out with hopes of losing a few pounds and toning up. I have a wellness pass to the brewery's wellness center. I know, right? The brewery has a wellness center connected to it. Whatever. It only costs me $3 a month, so there's no excuse not to use it. I really don't care for the gym at all, and would prefer to work out at home, but I can't do that as easily. My favorites there are the elliptical machine and the tread mill. I don't care much for weightlifting, or the gym rats who are ALWAYS there taking up everything.
Aaron got me a super sweet IPod for Christmas (he's the best :) and I have new running shoes (that match, by the way) so it's off to the gym I go. I need to be beach-ready by the end of February. Wish me luck...
(It's really too bad that Charlene dropped by with a Christmas gift for us yesterday, it contains ingredients for S'mores. Sigh.)

Confirmation

I finally received my official letter from Metro confirming that I have indeed graduated, and that I can pick up my diploma January 18. I could also have it mailed to me, but apparently that would take four to six weeks...

I also received my criminal background check from CBI. I am happy to announce that I have no criminal history. Surprisingly, the letter has already been notarized and signed by someone at CBI; presumably, I only have to have it notarized now by the apostille downtown.

I have not yet received any word on the position in Ulsan. As the recruiter is closed on weekends, tomorrow would be the very earliest I'd expect to hear anything.

Ulsan

With my consent, my contact at the recruiting agency has forwarded my resume to an English school in Ulsan. Ulsan is a large-ish city along the southeastern coast of Korea, just northeast of Busan. As you can read on the city's official website, Ulsan features "12 Sceneries" (I hope this is a conservative figure), and is the "symbol of industrial and economic growth in Korea." Ulsan is also known as Hyundai Town, as the company is headquartered there and owns most of the industry.

I got this photo off the city's website. It is Mt. Gaji, one of the 12 sceneries, and must be near Ulsan.


This is an area called Bangodae, which I think is like a national park. Again, it is presumably near Ulsan.

How do Katie and I feel about the prospect of living in Ulsan? A quick bus ride could get us from Ulsan to Busan when necessary, and frankly, we don't really know any more about one city as opposed to the other. Ulsan is smaller than Busan, which might be nice. We're a bit put off by the industrial aspect of the city, but I'm certain the Dickens-like images conjured in my mind (e.g., Coketown) are entirely unjustified.

The specific position that is open at the school is said to start in "February". It is very important for me to know when in February, however, since Katie and I will be out of town near the beginning of the month. Perhaps the start date is flexible; that would seem a bit out of the ordinary, but who knows? I let the recruiter know that late February works best for me, but I haven't heard any feedback yet.

"I Could Face the World With a Trunk Like This By My Side"

I have neglected to mention that Katie and I bought our luggage last week. After careful consideration, we decided that we will require at least one 30" rolling upright each in order to transport our things to Korea.

30" is about as big as rolling luggage comes. The retailer for which I work sells luggage, and had some on sale for Black Friday. However, these were cheap and flimsy. We decided that if we were going to spend big bucks on luggage, it might as well last us for awhile. We discovered that the Samsonite outlet at the mall was running a buy-one-get-one half off through the end of December, and so we took a deep breath and made the investment.

Being a Joe Versus the Volcano fan, I couldn't help but be reminded of when Joe buys the luggage for his big trip. Joe tells the luggage salesman that he will be taking an ocean voyage, and the salesman responds, "Ah, yes. So, a real journey." He gives Joe these important, luggage-related words of wisdom: Listen/View clip

The Hunt is On

I took this photo a few days ago while bumming around Golden with Kyle. It was taken at Clear Creek, which runs through the middle of town. The creek was frozen solid enough to be walked on in shallow spots, though neither Kyle nor I were willing to chance walking across the deeper areas.

On the job front, things seem to be moving right along. The recruiting agency was (not surprisingly) closed over Christmas, so I didn't hear anything until a couple of days ago. I was told that currently the agency does not have many positions available in Busan, but that there are positions open in nearby cities along the coast. I really don't have an issue with this; after all, a smaller city, with easy access to Busan, might prove more livable than being in Busan itself.

I have yet to be personally "presented" with any job openings, however. I've received two form emails from my contact at the recruiting agency which contain job openings in Seoul and other areas, including locations near Busan. Presumably, if I were to see an opening I like, I could simply let the recruiter know and he would submit my resume to that school. Most of the start dates are early to mid February, however, and will therefore likely not work for several reasons:

• My physical diploma, which the consulate and school will require, will not be available until January 18th.
• My transcripts will not be available until the same time as the diploma.
• Katie and I are taking a trip to Washington to visit Julie, Amy and Jasmine near the first of February, and don't get back until the 10th.
• We will require at least a week to get moved out of our apartment and tie up lose ends.

I'm in the process of obtaining a criminal background check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which I'll have to have notarized. I'll eventually have to submit this to the Korean consulate. It would be nice if between now and January 18th I could sign a contract for a position that starts in late February, or even early March. I could then submit all my documentation to the consulate, and we could wrap everything else up after returning from Washington.