Not like me

  I just did something interesting that I feel bad about. I judged someone on Facebook. Now, I know that some things that people write belong on Failbook and other such sites, but I don't like to make a habit of judging what people write. I mean, I judge them secretly of course, but I would never actually comment or write something negative. What happened was this -

  I saw a pic on a friends page that I immediately found offensive. So I wrote some passive-aggressive status update about whether or not I should delete people who offend me. Then people were asking what happened, what was the pic/link... And I feel now that it was the wrong thing to do. I mean that I shouldn't have posted the status in the first place. It's not my place to comment on other people's opinions.

Social Media

  This is the thing with social media... My opinion is that it is a way for people to be able to express themselves openly and without being openly ridiculed. Obviously people will form their own opinions about what you have written/posted etc, but I don't agree that they should be trashed online... I mean, providing a counter argument is totally fine, or giving back something constructive is also ok (to me). But not bashing someones opinion.

  The obvious example is this:
Some people are homophobic. They don't support gay marriage and gay rights etc. They think it is unnatural and gross and they do not believe that homosexual couples should be allowed to have kids.
I absolutely disagree with this 100%. But that does not give me the right to go bagging the shit out of someone's opinion. Just because it doesn't match with mine doesn't make it right or wrong, because it is an OPINION people, not facts or lies.

  There was a post I "liked" and "shared" on Tumblr this morning, it was about spreading love around the Tumblr community. There has been a heap of negativity floating around, and I actually think this is true of many social media sites. Actually, sites in general. I know internet memes are becoming super popular and more mainstream (which is cool, I find them hilarious) but it seems that many of them are now being used at the expense of people. This isn't cool. I am not a big fan of people trolling others, I see it as kinda a form of bullying which I am usually very vocal about. This is another reason I feel so bad being all mean and stuff on FB. I like to think of myself as a fairly friendly, open person, and now I have come across and whiney and judgmental  Not that this blog should really be about me, I am actually trying to make a point about the bigger issue.

Online bullying

  I have never been a victim of this, and I would hate to think that I have caused someone else to be bullied. I feel like this issue is more of a middle school/high school issue, but you do see it on an adult's status/page sometimes. I hate it. The internet is a strange, strange place full of plenty or awful things. I like to think that social media sites are used for good not evil. 

  Anyway I am going to try and make it my new personal project to try and spread happiness and goodwill across all my media forms - and in real life. 

My fame grows!

  Also, just to blow my own bugle so to speak, I am now a featured blogger for Say Kimchi Recruiting and will be writing for them and their online blog about why Korea is cool and you should work here. My stuff will be featured on Thursdays, so if you would like a PG version of my stories, or just general opinionated advice on Korea then check it out. I believe they are also a pretty successful recruiting company so if you are looking for work have a look. I personally went through Korvia (as you all know) and prob will again, but there are plenty of legit recruiters out there and I believe Say Kimchi are one of them. 

The link to the blog section is here, so have a look if you have a minute and are interested in the life of a teacher in Korea. 

Laters, and Happy Thursday

xoxoxoxox

Fame

My star is on the rise!

For the second time in as many weeks my ego has been inflated by attention form the online community - keep it coming I say.

YouTube

  As some of you are aware, I have a YouTube channel (if you didn't know, feel free to check it out here) which is slowly getting more hits. I don't post videos as often as I should, but I intend on changing this in the next few weeks. I have some ideas coming up that I think people may like.

  

  Anyway the other week I received an email from some committee about how there is a big cosmetics convention happening in South Korea, and that they came across the vlog I did regarding Cosmetics in Korea and how much I love freebies (I was actually at Innisfree last night buying make-up wipes and got a heap of free samples from them too... So much love). They emailed me and asked if it was ok if they showed my video at their conference. I was like YES OF COURSE YOU CAN. I mean, it was nice that they asked, but the video is public so they could have taken it without me even knowing. Who knows if they are legit or not but whatever. The info for the upcoming event is here, and its called the Cosmetics & Beauty Expo Osong Korea 2013. So have a look and tell me if you think its legit or not. Either way, it's another step closer to fame.

  Now, at this point I only have 7 subscribers (I wish there were more but this is my fault), but my videos have been viewed 830 times and have no dislikes. Always a good sign... And some of my videos have been added to people's favorites lists (also a good sign). Interestingly enough my most watched videos are my self introduction, which I prepared for job interviews in Korea, and my room tour. So from that I am deducing that Korvia is sharing my video (which I totally don't mind, they actually asked last year if that was ok) and that there are a fair few people out there who are curious as to what their accommodation will be like once they get to Korea. I did the same thing before I came out here - I went YouTube trolling to try and find out what the area was like and how i'd be living. So it makes me happy that perhaps I have helped people out. I am becoming an unofficial expert on all things ESL Korea. And on that note...

Cover Girl

  That's right folks, yours truly is on the cover of the 2013 GEPIK Orientation book. If you recall, back in September I blogged about my time at the GEPIK conference (see it here if you have forgotten) which I attended as an introduction to teaching in South Korea. At the time, there were organizers who wandered around taking photos and videos for future promo events of whatever. I was snapped in a few of them, and I remember being distinctly disappointed that I was not in many of the pics they showed on the final day. Being as photogenic and amazing as I am, I thought I would have featured more... Little did I know that my true rise to stardom had not yet materialized. Citizens, may I present to you the 2013 GEPIK Orientation booklet:

  That's me, on the cover, with my equally beautiful friend Shanda. New (and some old) teachers from all over Korea who are part of the GEPIK program are looking at me thinking "wow, not only is she beautiful but she must know heaps about Korea because she is on the cover". And they would be right. Kinda... 

  Because lets be honest, do any of us really know what is going on in Korea? Even my Korean friends don't know what is going on... The country has this air of not knowing about it, which I love. But that's for another day. Today we are focusing on me. Wuahahahahahaha

  Now all I need is to get my Drama going and I will totally be famous. And hopefully have a bit more motivation to stop chowing down on carbs.

In other news...

  Yes, Jess got married. It was beautiful and cheesy at the same time. I could go on and on about it but I won't, it really needs an entire thread about it. There were highs and lows, the main low being that she is now on her honeymoon in Bali having an amazing time and I am freezing at school with no boyfriend, let alone a husband. Meh. 

  There were also minor dramas in the sense that all us foreign guests wanted to go drinking for a bit after the wedding, so we bundled ourselves into a few taxi's and headed to the bar area. Now, here is a classic reason why we all need to speak a bit more Korea. People got lost. It was no ones fault, but what we have to all keep in mind is that out Korean friends are our FRIENDS, not our translator service. And while I am sure they love to help us out and are happy to do so, lets all be appreciative and thankful when they do, not crapped off if WE, the foreigners, get something wrong. And lets all go to Korean class and try and learn a bit more so we don't need to burden our friends. And anyway, I would love to be able to have an awesome conversation in Korean with my friends, rather than relying on their awesome English abilities. The communication thing should work both ways. And, we are all capable of looking up bus timetables and train schedules so lets do it. Minor rant over.

  Regarding rants, I had some feedback from my last blog, where I got up on my high horse about pictures of animal cruelty. Please, keep protesting against the abuse of animals. I encourage all people to be aware of these issues, as I am an activist myself. I can and do get preachy at times about certain issues and the treatment of animals at the slaughter point is one that really needs to be promoted. I am simply frustrated and at times offended at the way that people go about the education of these facts. If you want to include the pics then do so - in the form of a link. Then people can choose to click or not click. And yes, this does negate the shock factor a bit, but at least we can choose. How many times have we left our browsers open? Millions? What about if you had a kid who was looking on your fb and they saw pics of puppies being thrown into boiling water? Not nice. But I agree that people need to be made aware, I am in no way discouraging people from protesting or campaigning. But please do it tactfully. 

  School is going well this week, I actually feel like I am making more of a contribution to the class. In fact today I took the gr 5 classes myself - Co was not feeling well and left the class to me. I don't think they learnt much but luckily yesterday I met the photocopier and now I think I can make photocopies of worksheets and such for some time wasting. Yay for me. 

  Thats about all I have for now, but stay tuned for other fun things I am planning in the future. The weather is getting better and I am going to put a bit more time and attention into my YouTube. And as always, feel free to email me or comment anything you are thinking or feeling, I love the feedback. 

I can be Tweeted, Tumblred, Facebooked, gmailed, YouTubed or blogged. I am all over this social media shit so hit me up I love to chat.

Bye :)

Mission Accepted

I have finally accepted a teaching position in South Korea

I know, after all my whining and moaning, I have finally chosen a job. I will tell you all as much as possible about it, and then when I get there and tell the REAL story we can see how they compare :)

I am really excited about the move, but nervous at the same time. Either way, its gonna be a huge adventure, and I hope everyone at home will email/fb/comment/skype often so we can all stay connected. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself...

Songsin Elementary School, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

This is where I will be for the year. The school is a public elementary school, and I will be teaching English to grades 4 - 6. I had the interview on Wednesday arvo last week with my co-teacher Mr. Park, who has been to Melbourne a few years ago on a teacher exchange. He visited Frankston (God knows why :s) so already feels like we have heaps to talk about. 

It was a crazy few days, because I hadn't heard back from the school about if they wanted me or not, and in the meantime another one of my awesome recruiters (I actually mean this - Dan from Teach ESL Korea is a great guy) had found me some other really great positions. So it came down to my choice - did I want to take a great, highly recommended position in a Hagwon in Gwangju, or take this public position in Pyeongtaek?  The choice was really hard. And, strangely enough, many would think I made the wrong choice. 

In Gwangju, I would have a huge network of foreign teachers and made a heap of friends. The place is beautiful, with really nice mountains and all that near by. 

In Pyeongtaek, the foreign community does not seem as big. The place seems kinda ugly (judgement call here based on Google Images - I may be really wrong) and doesn't seem to have any real drawcard. Its only claim to fame is an American Airforce Base... 

So why did I pick Pyeongtaek?

As I told Dan, I wanted to be a bit closer to Seoul. Gwangju is like, 4 hours away by bus... A bit far, especially when I have people in Seoul and surrounding areas that i want to meet up with and hang out with. Another reason is that I really wanted to teach kids. I will be honest, it is pretty daunting the idea of teaching kids who speak no English, in a class size of 30+ with a co-teacher I don't know, but for some strange reason the challenge appealed to me. 

We all know I tend to do things the hard way. Its a strange knack i have...

And there is another reason, but I can't put my finger on what it is... I just feel like this is the place for me. 

I may be totally wrong, and this might be the worst year of my life. I might hate it, and have no friends. But, as one good friend says, there is no such thing as a bad decision. You make the best choice you can with the given information, and then you make the best of your choice. Simple as that. If YOU have decided it, then its right.

Anyway, here is the Wiki for the area - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyeongtaek

The white area in the middle is the are around Seoul. 

Pyeongtaek is about 20 mins further south of Suwon. If I find a better map I will pop it up.

Here is a link to the schools website (its in Korean, I have no idea what it says. Someone tell me if it means Death School or something ok?) - http://www.songshin.es.kr/

Some basic information about Pyeongtaek - 

Area size - 453km2

Population approx - 412, 757

The contract includes the standard return airfare, severance pay, 50/50 medical insurance and accommodation. I also get 300,000 won to get myself settled in. The accommodation is not yet picked for me, so I am a bit nervous about what it will be like :s

Like I said, the co-teacher sounded really nice, he has already pre warned me that the kids speak basically no English so at lease I know in advance. The start date on the contract is September 1st, which is actually a Saturday, so I don't know yet when i will be flying out. I suppose it is all still dependent on the visa and documents.

Document update

I have received an email from the AFP, saying that my CRC is complete and that they are posting it out with the next available Australia Post service. So I am assuming that I will get it sometime Monday or Tuesday. Prob Tuesday. So, as soon as I have it in my hand I will go make a copy and get both the CRC and my degree copy notarised. There is a guy in Box Hill who can do it after hours so i can go that night if I need to. And then the very next day I can drop the documents down to get the Apostille, and then thats pretty much it! I have my reference letters, and my passport sized photos. I need to make colour copies of my passport info page, but as soon as I get some more ink for the printer at home I can get that done too. So, if all goes to plan, all my documents will be ready by the end of the week, and be en route to Korea!

Recruiters

I feel that I should put a special area in about this. The recruiters have been a big part of my job selection. A word to anyone thinking about embarking on this same journey - choose your recruiter wisely! There are so many out there... In the end I ditched a heap who were either not legit enough for me, or who were not really helping me find suitable jobs. The position I have taken was found for me by Jean from Korvia recruiting. They are are big recruitment company, and only find positions for the GEPIK schools (GEPIK - Gyeonggi English Program in Korea) which are all public. They are well reviewed on the internet, and heaps of people I have spoken with or read posts from online have used Korvia.

GEPIK - http://gepik-tek.weebly.com/index.html
Have a look at this site - tells more about GEPIK and the education system in South Korea :)

This is not to say that others are bad. I just got a good vibe from Jean, she was really honest with me the whole time. And she is handling all my documents and getting all my visa stuff sorted. I guess she is speaking with the school, means I don't have to do it. It will be interesting to see if there is any follow up communication from her once I get to Korea. 

As I mentioned earlier, Teach ESL Korea have been super fantastic too. Although I have not accepted one of their positions, I am still on their FB page, and Dan has still extended the hand of friendship for any help I might need. He was pretty devo that I didn't take the position he offered, but I emailed him some of my reasons and I hope he is cool about it. It totally get that they worked to find me a good spot, and I do feel bad. But like I said, this place called to me for some unknown reason.

In a nutshell...

I have no idea why I actually went with this school. It just felt right. I don't really trust my gut instincts, I am usually way off, so i anticipate me finding that I should have chosen otherwise. But for now I feel good about the decision. 

I am pretty nervous, I am worried that I won't make friends, or that i will be bad at teaching. These feelings are normal I guess. 

Pyeongtaek appears to be one of the most boring places in Korea. There isn't anything there that would draw tourists. But I am not a tourist, I am there to work so hopefully it won't matter. I have joined the FB group for the area so with a bit of luck I can do some networking before I get there. And, at least if the North attack, I am near a US Airbase so I should be able to escape pretty quickly :) Better make friends with some army blokes haha. Don't worry mum, just friends.

This is all I can really think of at the moment, I guess the blog is gonna change gears a bit now, from the decision now to the prep. Its not real until I get on the plane, but it is a step closer... Once I know when I fly out I can plan everything a bit better. 

NB - 

South Korea have decided to not go a' whaling! I was so excited to hear this, they must have read my blog haha

xox