So I guess everyone's wondering how this crazy idea got into my head. I think it's actually the classic example of a girl, fresh out of college, stuck at a dead end job, with big, unrealized dreams of travel, life changing experiences and adventure. So, while at said dead end job, I met a woman named Candace who had taught for two years at this private school in Daejeon, South Korea that taught Korean students (of all ages) to speak English. At first, I just thought, "Wow, that's really awesome. What an experience!" But me, actually doing that, barely whispered across my mind. So after a few blows from the teaching world, I was absolutely crushed and was feeling unmotivated to do well, anything. First Teach For America, then issues with teacher certifications and MORE rejections...I really felt that "the big man upstairs" didn't want me to teach. He (or she?) was closing doors left and right. At any rate, after some arguments with my dad about my lack of "motivation" and "progress" in terms of jobs, I was stuck. I didn't know what I wanted to do; I knew I hated working at alliantgroup because I felt like I was just too damn good to be sitting at a desk, staring at a computer screen and typing in crap that didn't mean anything at all to me. What's that line Julia Roberts uses in the "Eat, Love and Pray" (is that what the movie is called?) trailer? "I WANT TO MARVEL AT SOMETHING!" So. I knew I wanted to teach; I just didn't know how I was going to accomplish that. (I know you can see where this is going, just bear with me! I have a lot more respect for Quentin Tarantino, for sure) A lot of eating and crying ensued, and then it hit me. I can still teach; I just have to teach OUTSIDE of the US. I know this visual is horrible. It's like those cliche movies that make you scream at the TV screen because the actress is so incredibly stupid that she can't figure out that the answer to her life's problems is basically smacking her right in the face with a bright pink, glittery foam finger. Anyway. Yes, that stupid actress is me. (Man, I wish I were an actress. Then I'd be SET!).
After talking to Candace some more about SK, I was pretty much convinced that I wanted to teach overseas. I was considering Japan, China and South Korea, but as you all know, ended up choosing South Korea because I heard that SK takes better care of their teachers and don't generally screw their teachers over.
As a side note, one of my fabulous co-workers (Derrick) voiced his opinion that Candace is some recruiter for a sex trade ring in South Korea. So (no offense Candace! :) ) if I go to South Korea, and you all don't hear from me for a few months, then call the police and FIND ME! I'll know who my true friends are!
So. I applied to this private school, which is actually the same exact school that Candace taught. And it basically happened overnight. I sent my resume and a current picture of myself (racial profiling much? lol) and when I woke up the next day I had a response from a gentleman named Mr. Choi (who is of no relation to Ms. Katherine Choi!) saying that he wanted me to participate in a phone interview at either 2 or 9 PM KOREAN time Friday night. I got this email Thursday morning, people. I immediately started freaking out and googled the time change in South Korea and figured out that 2 PM Friday, is 12 midnight Friday morning, and 9 PM Friday night is 7 AM Friday morning. I, of course, had an overwhelmingly satisfying job that I had to go on Friday, so I emailed him back and told him that I would be available to interview at 7 AM (9 PM) morning. At work on Thursday, still freaking out, I basically hyperventilated all over Candace because I was SO WORRIED about what they were going to ask me. So we had lunch and she prepped me by telling me the questions that they'd probably ask me. Which were the obvious ones: "Why do you want to teach in SK?"; "What made you choose SK?"...blah blah blah. Needless to say, I felt much better after our lunch and thus stared at my computer screen in peace for the rest of the work day.
That night, Patty and I were on Skype chatting away about some BIG DEAL that was about to happen in Chile (3, 2, 1 (2!)) and I was up WAY later than usual because we were chatting. I got to bed around 11:45, and since I always take forever to fall asleep, was still awake when my phone rang at 12:15 AM. As soon as it rang, I knew that they were calling me 7 HOURS EARLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY AGREED. I answered, and of course, it was this American dude Vincent calling me for my phone interview because he had plans after work. So yeah. THANK GOD I WAS AWAKE. Actually, THANK YOU PATTY for being your normal, chatterbox self and keeping me up WAY later than my usual, old-lady bedtime of around 10 PM (hehe). I honestly don't remember the entire phone interview. I remember him asking me why I wanted to teach (thanks Candace!) and why I chose South Korea (thanks again!) and something about if I have a lot of patience. Which, if you know me, I definitely possess. He then asked if I had any questions for him, which I think I asked a couple (please don't ask me what I asked him). He said that he had a few other people to call for interviews and then he would let me know in about a week if I was accepted for the job. So, with a huge sigh of relief I went to sleep.
On my way to work the next morning, I checked my email from my phone (enough with the safe driving lectures!) and there it was. Glowing in my inbox. And I don't even care if this is cliche, but my heart literally froze and I got this weird numb feeling all over my body. I opened the email and this is what it said:
Hello, Trisha Fuller
Thanks for your time for the interview.
Sorry we had to carry out the interview earlier than scheduled.
Vincent told me that you'd make a great teacher, although you don't have any teaching experience.
I'd like you to work with me. I set pay between 2.1 and 2.3 mil. Korean won, depending on the experience.
Please advise me how much you wish to receive.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you and I'll be waiting for your reply.
Kind Regards.
Mr. Choi
And that was it. Practically overnight, I was going to Korea. Holy crap. I, being a girl, immediately started to cry and promptly called my dad, mom and sister. I also remember thinking that the "big man upstairs" (and Patty, even though she didn't answer the damn phone after the phone interview! Kat didn't answer either!) was watching out for me. So thanks.
Anyway, more later!
Operation Blog Post Number 1: Completed.
