Monday, 4 June 2012

Everything starts somewhere...

Well. Another beginning. For people who know me, they are all probably wondering if I am going to go through with all this. Because, as they know, I serially do not finish things I start. But here I go already getting ahead of myself.

Let me go back a few weeks.

A few weeks ago, I decided to change my life. I decided I was going to move to South Korea.

Needing a change? New career? Teaching English abroad might be for you!

In March this year the company I was working for went into voluntary administration. It was pretty confronting, but to be honest I wanted to leave anyway. I have all this schooling and education behind me and I really wasn't using it in that position. So after the initial shock of being kicked out of the office building I was actually ok with the whole thing. It was a "sign" that I needed to get a new job. And I really did try. 
I have been delivering flowers for Darren's Flowers (a fantastic florist, in case anyone needs some flowers) but I wouldn't really say that it pays all that well. Enough to keep me going, but not enough to save. And, lets be honest, at 25 years old I really am quite keen to move out of my mothers house. While delivering I got to thinking how I can use my skills to do something a bit different. I was starting to look into volunteering abroad, and had a really good chat with my friend Jacqui. She pointed out that I have quality skills, and people should pay for them, rather than volunteer. 
And that was when I started looking into teaching abroad. 

I started madly researching different schools, and decided that I needed a certificate in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers Other than English), and spoke to a heap of different course providers. I had yet to discuss my new direction with any friends or family. 

On a side note...

A quick background into me:
  • Hate change
  • Hate meeting new people
  • Gets sick REALLY EASILY
  • Prone to fits of laziness
  • Suffers very badly from hangovers
  • Lives with mum and sister - never lived alone or with anyone else but immediate family
So as you can imagine, the prospect of working overseas is such a foreign concept. This move is COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone.

Originally I was looking at teaching in China, as I have always wanted to travel there and find Asian culture fascinating. The more I spoke with people, and found out more about Asia as a whole, my sights changed to South Korea. A few reasons for this are apparently the pay is better, apparently it is really clean and easy to navigate, I already love KPOP and Korean men are the best looking Asians. As a rule.
So it was nearly done. I started voicing my ideas to friends and they were received with overwhelming support. I then told the family, most of which were again super supportive. They all understand that I needed to get out there and live. Because I spend so much of my life afraid to go out and live life, and I have already missed out on enough. 
I am moving to South Korea for an undefined amount of time. I will start saying 6 months, but lets just see where life takes me. 

So, I called up the ATA College and enrolled in their TESOL course. The ball is rolling.

And now I want to share the journey 

As this is such a massive change of life for me, I want to be able to read and write about it. And share my experiences. I know I am not perceived this way but to be honest I am a pretty fear filled person. And writing about it not only makes everything more real, but I can kind of hold myself accountable. And also, when I finally get overseas it is a way of keeping everyone at home up to date with what I am up to. 

So although this is my own personal journey, I am inviting everyone along. And its already started. So, although most of this post is more of a 'bringing you up to speed' type post, it is also a bit of an introduction to my new journey. 

I will try and put a bit of everything in, including how I find the course and preparing for the move. And then of course the move itself. And everything in between. I have no idea if anyone is going to read this, or even if I will make it public. but if you do read, please feel free to comment, or email me, or whatever! 

I will try and make regular posts, and learn how to upload photos and things like that. As Confucius said, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". So here we go! 

2 comments:

  1. Sounds amazing Bonnie, good luck with it all and I look forward to reading about your adventures! xo

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  2. Thanks! With everyone being so supportive I am less scared about the whole thing than what I was. Thanks for reading! Love to you guys xox

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