----- Original Message ----
From:
To: i_teach_esl@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 10:53:22 AM
Subject: Some more thoughts
Dear Soul Sister:
Thanks for your response. First, yes you did get two E-mails from me. What happened was that when I wrote the first E-mail, when I sent it, our power went out, so I wasn't sure you received it. A few days later I sent basically the same letter with a few changes. It looks like you did receive both of them, so that's good.
When I said this "only 3 positions open and 50 candidates...but if there were 150 positions and 50 candidates and I'm still not picked" I made up the numbers. What I was trying to say was I would feel bad if there are numerous job openings and I still was not picked.
In regards to the public schools, n told me that yes, it is something new that CDI is doing. In the last couple of days I've read some message boards about the Public school option and it mirrors what you have said. They have good compensation packages, but teachers often have language communication problems with other instructors and class sizes can be a challenge.
I guess my frustration comes from a number of things. First, is being in this limbo-like status. It's like "Yes you bought your airline ticket six months in advance, but you're still on stand-by status." I always like to be certain of what's going on and what happens next. Second, I told my parents already about being accepted into the program. Now, they're asking me almost daily "Have you heard from them yet....So when are you leaving..etc." When I try to explain to them "Yes, but a Director has to have an opening and they offer me a position" they're like "Well then why were you accepted if they don't have a position waiting for you?" That's kind of frustrating...to answer the same question 50 times.
I'm still thinking about the Public School route, but I mainly want to work with CDI because their scenario is one that I'm most familiar with. I probably will go with the public school route only if the CDI route looks like it won't pan out any time soon. I've told Jason, September is looking like the dividing line for me because after that...it looks like my parents will begin to pressure for me to look at other options. As for getting to know Korean food and culture, that's a good idea. Unfortunately, as I may have articulated before, where I live is not very diverse at all. The closest thing to an ethnic restaurant near me is Italian food....there aren't any Mexican or Asian eateries for at least 50 miles. So, I'll start looking at the alphabet and start taking books out of the library to see what I need to know to survive out there.
Once again, I'm sure I've overloaded you again with info so I'll end here. Oh, and about the private thing. What I meant by that is that since I sent you my first E-mail with my E-mail addresses, my spam messages have gone up like 200%! So, if you could, if you decide to publish my messages on the site, if I give an address or name a person, please use an initial. You haven't done anything wrong, it's just that I hate to deal with idiots on the net :-(. Talk soon.
PS. I was thinking rather than have a blog, was to write a book about my experiences in Korea. That should be interesting :-)
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hi s please do me a favor and try to write shorter emails. i know you just finished grad school and that youre probably used to writing 50 page monsters, but youve been emailing me for a while, filling me in on whats going on, im familiar with it all now, so you can lighten up on the details.
When I said this "only 3 positions open and 50 candidates...but if there were 150 positions and 50 candidates and I'm still not picked" I made up the numbers. What I was trying to say was I would feel bad if there are numerous job openings and I still was not picked. youre going to be "picked." esl jobs fall off trees here, there's not a lot of actual competition, not when there are so many jobs to be had. tho cdi appears to be selective, truthfully they just put you through more training than other jobs. dont stress over this, you'll get the job, you HAVE the job, you just have to wait for a position to open up, and positions open up every three months. ive never heard of anyone not getting a job with cdi if they're still in the states like you are. sometimes, only sometimes, a person will go through training, and then cdi will ask them to do training again, but only if it looks like they're in a poor state to be a teacher. this happened to one of the Head Instructors who trained ME, actually. so see, there is hope and light and really you can relax. :)
In regards to the public schools, Jason told me that yes, it is something new that CDI is doing. In the last couple of days I've read some message boards about the Public school option and it mirrors what you have said. They have good compensation packages, but teachers often have language communication problems with other instructors and class sizes can be a challenge. alas, it is up to you to decide if you want to take that challenge.
I guess my frustration comes from a number of things. First, is being in this limbo-like status. It's like "Yes you bought your airline ticket six months in advance, but you're still on stand-by status." I always like to be certain of what's going on and what happens next. i usually only give advice or share my experiences, but right now i'd like to lay own personal opinion which you can take or leave: work on changing this now. when you get here, so many things are not what you'll expect them to be. your first few days/weeks/months, everything will be new, or "new again" down to buying a coke at a 7-11. to enjoy life here, you've got to be the kinds of person who, when you have trouble buying a coke, can take a deep breath, and buy a pepsi instead. or a sprite. or just go to another 711. i recently met a brotha who (like you, been emailing me for months about korea), when he got here, wanted to fight everybody. it was his fault, tho, he's the one who doesnt speak korean, he's the one who's not making effort to adjust, to be flexible, to relax. and s, if you are black, you'd better believe that if you get over here and act like an uptight eurocentric fool like this last guy did, Big Sister Me is going to have to tell you about yourself.
Second, I told my parents already about being accepted into the program. Now, they're asking me almost daily "Have you heard from them yet....So when are you leaving..etc." When I try to explain to them "Yes, but a Director has to have an opening and they offer me a position" they're like "Well then why were you accepted if they don't have a position waiting for you?" That's kind of frustrating...to answer the same question 50 times. understandable. explain to your parents that it's not so much you got into a program, rather, you have a job. you have a teaching job w/classes that start every 3 months. right now, we're only in week 3 of this new rotation of classes. it'll be a minute before cdi sees how many people will quit, run away, will stay. so they dont know how many teachers they need yet. my contract was for one year, and cdi didnt ask i stay and do another year until the last 2 weeks on my contract. another coworker: not until the last two days. So you see, cdi doesnt know how many teachers they'll need next term yet. it's not you, i promise.
I'm still thinking about the Public School route, but I mainly want to work with CDI because their scenario is one that I'm most familiar with. I probably will go with the public school route only if the CDI route looks like it won't pan out any time soon. if you dont want to wait, then i suppose this is what you should do. but how do you mean cdi is the scenario you're familiar with?
I've told J, September is looking like the dividing line for me because after that...it looks like my parents will begin to pressure for me to look at other options. do what s wants to do. not what your parents want you to do.
As for getting to know Korean food and culture, that's a good idea. Unfortunately, as I may have articulated before, where I live is not very diverse at all. The closest thing to an ethnic restaurant near me is Italian food....there aren't any Mexican or Asian eateries for at least 50 miles. So, I'll start looking at the alphabet and start taking books out of the library to see what I need to know to survive out there. korean movies! netflix? blockbuster.com? it's not impossible for you to learn somethings about korean culture no matter where you live, not when you have internet/library. for other opinions or peoples experiences: do you check other esl forums? eslcafe.com/forums/korea has crazy people on it, but it answered a lot of my questions. there's also http://www.expatkorea.com/bbs/. and read other blogs. http://www.koreanbloglist.com/ list of blogs of people in korea.
Once again, I'm sure I've overloaded you again with info so I'll end here. Oh, and about the private thing. What I meant by that is that since I sent you my first E-mail with my E-mail addresses, my spam messages have gone up like 200%! So, if you could, if you decide to publish my messages on the site, if I give an address or name a person, please use an initial. You haven't done anything wrong, it's just that I hate to deal with idiots on the net :-(. Talk soon. have you put your resume out anywhere? other recruiters? b/c when i started my job search, i got a lot of spam too. my apologies if any is a result of me, but i do my best to take out any personal info (names/emails/IM names, etc) before i post it. plus, im really not that important, could you really be getting spam b/c of me?
I was thinking rather than have a blog, was to write a book about my experiences in Korea. That should be interesting :-) do it. start now. write why youre going and what you expect.
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