As the title says, "It's that time of year, again!"
It's the time of year when you hit a sudden dip in the roller coaster ride and it creates that weird fuzzy feeling that for some can bring up a little bit of vomit.
Summer vacation has just ended - I had an awesome time because my family came to visit me in Japan for 2 weeks. We spent a week in my local area and then drove down to Tokyo.
So whilst I had a glorious 2 weeks, plus almost another 2 weeks off, my poor students were for most part still studying.
Their summer was shortened by one week to make up for some of the time lost due to the tsunami. But at the same time they then have 'optional' summer school to attend, which for any student considering going to university or getting good grades they actually go to school over summer.
For me, I had gotten use to not going into school and doing the same routine over and over again. I love most of my students, sadly not all. It's not that they are bad students its just most are not interested in English and (if i'm honest) i don't want to open my heart to them. Firstly because of the tsunami and the pain you feel when you lose your students, but secondly the fact is one day i will have to leave.
I say "have to" yet the truth is I want to.
You see, one of the reason i wanted to stay is because i had a tough first year. This didn't go well and i had a lot of teething problems. However, I wanted to give Miyako another try, especially considering the fact I had moved around a lot and had started off in a small town outside of miyako and was the only foreigner there... This time it would be a fresh start in a new apartment, in miyako, with my friends , etc.
Then of course the earthquake happened, followed by the tsunami. So my second reason for staying was to find out if everyone was ok and try and get some closure on many things i didn't know.
Well, in the 5-6months that have past everything is more or less back to normal...nearly all my problems have been resolved. Friends, students and teachers are all getting life back to normal...even my school has moved back to it's building. Temporary houses and buildings have gone up even in the towns and villages...Life hasn't returned back to how it was before but there is a new sense of normality.
Which is why, in my heart, i am ready to move on. As bad as I feel in saying this, for me, I have no real ties here. My plan was to stay in this city for a year and move, eventually see other countries. I've already stayed longer than a year for the reasons above. If it wasn't for the tsunami i really would have regretted my decision to stay.
It's not that it's a bad place - far from it - it's just that I did TEFL so i could travel. At the same time i'm a city person, as in a big city. (Even though i live in a city now, it's about the same size as a small town in england)
I still have a while to go until my contract runs out in march - but in a couple of months we have to give our company an answer about whether we are staying, transfering of leaving the company.
For me, I'm not sure what I want - Maybe only about 5% of me wants to stay put - mainly out of the convenience that i know the area, schools and i have a nice apartment - with friends around me to offer support BUT I dont see a future here because there's really not a lot to do and nothing nearby (Sendai is about 4-5hours drive aways - the nearest reasonable size city is still 2 hours away)
So, Either i will move to another part of Japan (Ideally Osaka/Nagoya/kyoto/nara area)
OR
Another country!
So, heres where you come in!... I still want to remain in Asia, money isn't a huge issue but it helps - so the 3 countries i'm interested in are Thailand, Korea and Hong Kong (maybe China as well) - this is also my order of preference.
Basically I would like any advice - should I go, should i stay! What are these countries like, how do i go about getting a job etc
YOUR HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED
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So generally in Korea most people go through recruitment agencies, but I think you can apply to EPIK (which places people in public schools and is government run) directly. You can't apply to the school directly I'm afraid. High school isn't too popular I don't think, because of the stupid hours they work (they start at or before 9am and often don't finish till 10pm, so you might end up having a lot of time that you actually need to be in school, even if you will be unlikely to be teaching more than 25 hours a week). Also, it is possible there are less jobs in them. I do know one guy who works in a high school though, and he quite enjoys it.
I think the earlier you get in the better with public schools, but honestly, I don't know exactly when the application process starts. November sounds about right for a Feb start. People from the US who need a background check for Korea often find this takes a good 3 months to come through, so I guess that is why they encourage everyone to start early.
I don't know anything about Thailand I'm afraid!
thank you for this. I was wondering how you get a job in Korea and what time of year is best to apply. I was hoping to work in public schools - maybe high school level.
In Japan I went through a dispatch company who i work for. They help me find an apartment, they find the schools and pay me etc. My contract is with them and i go to the public schools as though i was a regular sub-teacher because i actually teach at 2 schools and so not at the schools everyday.
Is it similar in korea. do i have to apply direct to a school or are their agencies/dispatch companies that offer similar support to here in japan...
I also heard from a friend that for public schools i am suppose to apply in november - is this true?
I'm still undecisive - im unsure if i want another year in japan but in another city...also part of me would like to try thailand but im worried about the pay and i know its hard to get a job outside of thailand
As for Korea, I love it here, but I think that it depends a lot on the job you get. Obviously there are good jobs and bad jobs everywhere, but here the industry is a little imfamous for them. I'd say out of all the teachers I know (maybe 50) about 1/4 of them have ended up in jobs I wouldn't want to be working for people I wouldn't want to work for. In Korea you will have a choice of Seoul, Busan, Medium city or countryside I think. I mean, obviously it is a continum, but Seoul and Busan are the two most modern cities and they will have all the conviniences as well as a foreign community that is so big you won't ever even see all of them. Medium cities (such as Cheongju that I'm in) are far less metropolitan, but have large enough foreign communities for companionship (there are about 300 foreigners in Cheongju) and they have most of the things you need (although some things you might have to hunt for or go to Seoul to get occassionally) and the countryside is just that. Generally between 1 and 10 foreigners, but near a city (everywhere is near a city in Korea, and the bus system is pretty good). I have friends who work in the countryside and love it, and I have friends who work in the countryside and hate it.
Hey! I wrote you a long reply the other day, but my time in the PC room ran out before I got to post it (stupid laptop's broken!!).
Anyways, what I basically said was that I've worked in Hong Kong and in South Korea, and I loved both. Hong Kong I would recommend more on a short term basis. I feel that it would wear me down to live there for longer than I did. I stayed there for a 6 week stint and a 5 week stint, and don't feel that any more time there would be necessary. It is a great place, with loads of things to do, but sooo rushed. Everywhere is busy on HK Island and in Kowloon. If you can get a job in the New Territories or one of the smaller islands, I can imagine it being paradise, but I wouldn't want to live and work in Hong Kong proper for a whole year (although that might just be me. I, like you, love cities, but I was born and grew up on an island of just 90,000 people, so maybe that influences me more than I would like to think :P)
I only have experience of talking to agencies about the application process. But i would recommend ESL starter they are a really good agency from my experience and the reviews are very very good.
If you can get a place in one of the bigger cities in Japan and you are still loving the country, I would stay! However if that isnt likely then move on to the next step of your adventure :) Thats my advice anyways
Ash
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