Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 2:52:49 PM
Subject: Questions about CDI
Dear Soul Sister:
Hello, my name is S and I have so much to say, I just hope that all of my ramblings make sense. I've read your website for a couple of months, and it's great to see an American do so well in a foreign county. I'm writing to learn some more information about what it is like to live as a teacher in South Korea. This weekend I've been accepted to teach in South Korea with the firm CDI. I'm excited but with any new job or school I'm about to attend, I would like to know the 'real story' of what it is like on the inside. Your informative posts have been a help to me, but my questions are a little different although some will touch on some topics you have covered. First about me and what my objectives are. I'm a graduate student here in Hawaii who divides his time between here, Connecticut and New Jersey. Because I travel between these three places, it's taken 9 months working with my recruiter (Jason Niewouldt) to get all of the information together (transcripts, background check, apostille etc). Now that the process is done, now I would like to know these nuts and bolts questions:
1. Work Situation- I understand the average work day is between 6 and 8 hours. Pretty much what you describe regarding health care, vacations etc, are most in line with American companies that I'm familiar with. You mentioned that there were some things that you thought were unfair in terms of promises of compensation and other work items, could you please elaborate for my education.
2. Cost of Living- What can I expect to pay in regards to rent, food, access to the internet, Cable TV transportation etc. On personal finance matters I'm very conservative, so wild nights on the town are not in the cards for me. Basically, I don't want to be on the edge of poverty at the end of every month. Are subways (trains) accessible and are they reasonably priced. To give you idea of what I use to pay in the Northeast: New York City subways are about $2.00 per ride and commuting from New Haven, CT or Trenton, NJ to NYC costs about $25 round trip. .
3. American Appliances in South Korea- I have an old laptop that is my lifeline for work, play and communications. I understand that American sockets are way different than those in Asia. Is it possible for me to use my equipment out there?
4. Racial Situation- I'm an African American male. I'm probably different than a lot of blacks who write to you because for me, I'm use to being 'the only one' whether in New Jersey, Connecticut or now in Hawaii. I've been lucky in that I've not had to deal with a lot of racism in my time. I never brought up race in the interviews I had. Yours and other descriptions of Koreans I've read online reminds me a lot of White Ethnic (Irish, Italian, Polish etc) neighborhoods that I am familiar with in the Northeast. My experience with those groups is that they are conservative, by yourself types who while they are cordial to you at work, are not particularly interested in mingling after work. Is it safe to say that this behavior is the same with the Korean community? As long as I'm treated with respect and get a fair deal from the people, I'm cool. I don't want to be in a situation like my father was in the early 1970s (lived in Boston, MA during the racial problems up there).
5. Food shopping/types of food- Asian food will be a new thing for me. I can't remember any Asian restaurants in the towns where I've lived in the Northeast, and here in Hawaii, I've stuck to American foods and restaurants. Are there American chain restaurants there...and are there supermarkets that are similar to ones in the states.
6. Mail/Taxes/Banking- Your mail articles have been helpful. My questions regarding mail are, when you go into the post office, are the Priority and Express Mail options already there...and are there helpers there that can speak the English language there? In addition, I would like to send my small library of books out to wherever I end up living. I've read conflicting things about being able to send books out there. Do you know? Also, is mail stealing a problem out there? Regarding taxes, I've read several articles that foreign overseas income is not taxable below $83,000 under certain conditions. Is that true, if it isn't what is the tax situation out there? Banking, is it possible through CDI to have money directly deposited into my bank account in the United States?
7. Salary vs. Hourly Wage- When Jason sent me my acceptance letter this weekend, he said that I could either receive a salary or an hourly wage. What do you think is the best type of compensation and why? What are the upsides and downsides of each?
Well, I know I've asked A LOT of things, so I will end here. Even if you have time to answer some of my questions, I will be grateful. You can contact me either on my ... or on my AOL account ....com I also have AOL IM and you can reach me at.... Hope to meet you at some point while I'm out there. All the best to you.
Sincerely,
S
===============================================
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 11:35:06 PM
Subject: Re: Questions about CDI
Because I travel between these three places, it's taken 9 months working with my recruiter (Jason Niewouldt) to get all of the information togetherhi sean, jason was my recruiter too. small world.
1. Work Situation- I understand the average work day is between 6 and 8 hours. you are paid for 6 hours, class goes from 4-7 and again from 7-10, with 5 min breaks each hour. you must arrive and log in 15 min prior to class. How my normal days usually goes: i come into work maybe an hour early, maybe 30 min. i print all my materials for the day,maybe print them for the next few days if i have extra time. then i chat w/some coworkers for a bit, then head to my classroom. most days go like this. when class ends, i leave. maybe i stay an extra 5 min to enter grades in the computer. periodically there are meetings or workshops that you have to attend for your first 6 months w/cdi that are mandatory and youre not paid for going to them.
Pretty much what you describe regarding health care, vacations etc, are most in line with American companies that I'm familiar with. uhm... dont understand what you mean here. w/cdi, if you are paid hourly, you dont get health care nor vacations. You do get these if you choose salary pay. i do not know of anyone that is paid salary, i think underneath, cdi discourages it. you'll hear a lot of complaints about this (like on eslcafe forums) but i think it's like a job you have back home. it's not a "carreer" per say. but you get paid well for this job, you'll pull at least 3million won (around 3thousand USD) a month. One can put a little money aside and get their own insurance. We dont get vacations, but once every 3 months, classes are canceled and you could quite possibly get a weekend off, or 3 or 4 days off in a row, so that time can be used to head to japan or china or whatever.
You mentioned that there were some things that you thought were unfair in terms of promises of compensation and other work items, could you please elaborate for my education. the "unfair" that i mentioned had to do w/a friend that was fired, i didnt like it, i thought this person wasnt given enough notice, enough training, i didnt get a raise, but i didnt label that as unfair; i was never promised one and know i didnt deserve it since i had a tardy record.
2. Cost of Living- What can I expect to pay in regards to rent, this depends on what area you live in, and what kind of housing you have. Villas are the cheapest, i dont know if it's different form apartments. Officetels are the most expensive. With villas and houses, you have to buy your washing machine, refrigerator, and oven/stove, whereas with an officetel, they come with the apartment. My homeboy lives in a villa and pays 450$month. i live in an officetel, i pay 600$.
food, depends on how you eat, if you cook at home. if you are not shy about going into korean places by yourself, you can eat well and inexpensively.
access to the internet, most people i know pay around 30-40$ a month.
Cable TV i pay 16$ a month.
transportation i use the subway. i spend maybe 30 a month? it depends on what part of korea you live in, and how far are the places you travel to.
I don't want to be on the edge of poverty at the end of every month. bar hoppers and big drinkers, and those that spend their money on the latest of everything are the ones who lose their money so quickly. but even so, you'd have to be a big spender to loose ALL your money at the end of each month.
Are subways (trains) accessible and are they reasonably priced. im sorry, i dont know if i can give you a definitive answer here, this will depend on what part of korea you live in, and how far are the places that you want to travel to.
3. I have an old laptop that is my lifeline Is it possible for me to use my equipment out there? no, you'll have to buy a new laptop here. you'd better start backing up your stuff now to prepare to transfer all your data. im totally kidding, yes, you can use the laptop here, you'll just need the proper converter. check the technology forum on daves: http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/
4. Racial Situation- I'm an African American male. I don't want to be in a situation like my father was in the early 1970s (lived in Boston, MA during the racial problems up there). all is clear, no big riots or revolutions on the agenda here that i know of, but if there's an uprising, i'll be sure to let you know.
5. Food shopping/types of food- Asian food will be a new thing for me. i would suggest to find some korean restaurants in your area and start getting to konw the menu.
Are there American chain restaurants there...and are there supermarkets that are similar to ones in the states. you'll find some basics. do you cook? there are places like subway sandwich, mcdonalds, etc, here. Bigger supermarkets are to be found, but it depends on where you live. If youre in a rural area, then you'll probably not find bigger places like LotteWorld or HomePlus or Emart (like wal-mart) to shop. you'll maybe have to ask your coworkers where to go.
6. when you go into the post office, are the Priority and Express Mail options already there maybe they are and i dont know it? i cant read nor speak korean
are there helpers there that can speak the English language there? there's usually someone who speaks a little bit of english everywhere you go. but majority of the time you smile and point and pray your understood. even if you do find someone who speaks english, it's still hard for people to understand, korea being as homogeneous as it is, people arent used to hearing words mispronounced, even just a little bit. it can get frustrating.
In addition, I would like to send my small library of books out to wherever I end up living. I've read conflicting things about being able to send books out there. Do you know? you can send books or whatever. but i imagine it would be pricey. have you considerer just buying books here? or having your books at home sent to you as you need them? how long will you stay in korea? if you've got a one year contract, maybe you'll not stay afterwards, and that will be a lot to handle if/when you move on.
Also, is mail stealing a problem out there? never been one for me.
Regarding taxes, I've read several articles that foreign overseas income is not taxable below $83,000 under certain conditions. Is that true, if it isn't what is the tax situation out there? im looking into this myself, actually. this is the info ive found thus far:
We Americans need to file our Korean taxes and prove that we earned less than a certain amount abroad. If we earn less than that, something like $85,000 per year, we do not need to pay the IRS. According to http://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/ch01.html#d0e573 we have an automatic 2 month extension to pay our file our American taxes. We will not be fined if we earned no money in the United States. But, if you earned any money in the United States and do not file by June 15, you will incur penalties and/or possibly lose your right to a rebate if you are due one.
Banking, is it possible through CDI to have money directly deposited into my bank account in the United States? i dont think so. you'll have your paycheck directly deposited to your korean bank account, but sending money home is something i am sure you'll have to take care of yourself.
7. Salary vs. Hourly Wage- When Jason sent me my acceptance letter this weekend, he said that I could either receive a salary or an hourly wage. What do you think is the best type of compensation and why? What are the upsides and downsides of each? go for hourly. i like knowing that im paid for each hour i work.
Hope to meet you at some point while I'm out there. All the best to you. no problem. if you have any specific questions, i will answer tan rapido. my AIM is shadediego, my yahoo is i_teach_esl
you can find more folks to talk to here:
http://groups.myspace.com/seoulbrothasandsistas
http://groups.blackplanet.com/seoul
No comments:
Post a Comment