Some of you know that I have been stressing out about the teaching aspect of Korea.. I know, I know ...I am here to teach, but I am just concerned with not getting any sort of training. Plus when I showed up I was told that I would have to use half of my 10 vacation days up right away because I was not allowed to start teaching until Monday the 26th (so a week after arriving basically). I was pretty upset about this because who wants to take their vacation days when they first get in to town and have no money and have no idea how to get around or anything? No one, that's who.
My boss speaks pretty bad English so it has been hard to communicate with him about my concerns. Even today when my boss called I tried to ask him about this again. I don't think he understood and told me he would call later or come by with his wife later. I hate this because I already had to stay in ALL day waiting for his call (he called around 330), and now I have to continue to stay around all day waiting. Looks like I'm apartment jailed today.
When I woke up today I had an email from my recruiter asking how everything was. I told him my concerns, not really expecting that he would do anything but just hoping for advice. Well I just received an email back with good news. He talked to the GnB head office and expressed my concerns about the holiday days and the lack of training. Apparently they talked to the school and that I would not have to use these as my holiday days as that was not fair (yay!). Also, he said that it looks like I will be going in on Friday for a bit of orientation before starting on Monday. So it likely will consist of me sitting in on a class or two, or so I hope. That would be the best way for me to learn how to deal with students and everything. But this is excellent news on both accounts.The recruiter also said that everything seems good with the school and they seem very eager to make sure that I am taken care of and doing ok...which is rare in the case of private schools in Korea.
I'm really happy with my recruiting company. I have heard many times that as soon as you get to Korea the recruiter ignores you because their job was just to get you here. They have been paid by the school and therefore don't have to help you any more. It is great that they are still trying to make sure things are going ok. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders at the moment. When I talk to my boss later and see if what I heard is true, I will likely explore a little bit this week. I also will take more pictures. I've been scared of looking like a tourist (stupid I know) so I haven't taken any. I realize that I just need to embrace the fact that I stick out and not care. Besides, I'm only here in this location for a year, what do I care what people think of me!
I still have lots more to post about what has happened so far and since it sounds like I won't be working for the next few days, I should be able to stay on top of the blog. I'm also hoping to meet up with a fellow Canadian who is about 20 minutes away by subway in the next few days. And my facebook friend from South Africa arrives on Friday so I will likely be meeting up with him this weekend as well.
That's all for now folks, my ass is still hurting from my bed so I gotta get up and move around.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
That is great about your vacation I totally hope the school follows through! I love your bathroom! the green is great, yes i'm going to comment on everything because i just read like 5 posts at once, and it caused me to over cook dinner but whatever i don't care. Do you know that the cabinets were new or just the handles? HA! yes i find myself funny. I think next time your boss is at the apartment you should just graze the pole thingys so that your cloths come tumbling down and he maybe he'll get you something else, they seem like they want to keep you happy.
Post a Comment