Teaching in Korea

The Week Of Earlies

0
3 years ago
by JR in ,

Wednesday 3 hours sleep- Bus trip to the embassy to apply for JJ’s Visa
Thursday 3 1/2 hours sleep – Kindergarden
Friday-5 hours sleep- Picking books and lunch with the boss
Saturday +10 hours hopefully

I will update later with a full report of my trip for JJ’s visa. I applied for the I-130 at the American embassy in Seoul, but still have to make one more trip on Tuesday to drop off one more needed paper.

I took a power nap today after picking out books for the new classes and then went out to celebrate Troy and Joanne’s birthdays. We had dukgalbi and then moved on to Addonnis. We also ended up at Junco for some whiskey and singing. Loads of pictures to come tomorrow!

The Week Of Earlies

1
3 years ago
by JR in ,

Wednesday 3 hours sleep- Bus trip to the embassy to apply for JJ’s Visa
Thursday 3 1/2 hours sleep – Kindergarden
Friday-5 hours sleep- Picking books and lunch with the boss
Saturday +10 hours hopefully

I will update later with a full report of my trip for JJ’s visa. I applied for the I-130 at the American embassy in Seoul, but still have to make one more trip on Tuesday to drop off one more needed paper.

I took a power nap today after picking out books for the new classes and then went out to celebrate Troy and Joanne’s birthdays. We had dukgalbi and then moved on to Addonnis. We also ended up at Junco for some whiskey and singing. Loads of pictures to come tomorrow!

Working For The Weekend

4
3 years ago
by JR in ,

I don’t like to write too much about work, but damn have I been stressed. Our main two English speaking Korean staff members left and we just got a new foreign teacher and a new Korean staff member. I have been pulled in about a million directions this week and can’t wait for Saturday to be here. I am still trying to decide where I am going to take photos this weekend. It looks like the weather will be crappy, so I will probably end up staying in Dongtan and working on the light box.

This week the exchange rate has pretty much been crap and I wish that this was the highest that it is going to get, but I think we are going to see a much higher rate!

So, if you add those two together. I am working 20% harder for 40% less money. I imagine that Jaeyoun and I will be leaving most of our savings in Korea.

No Rest For The Weary

1
3 years ago
by JR in ,

JJ found a wedding dress on Sunday. I spent most of the day working on her visa. JJ apparently found a dress that she loved and it is being made as I type. She said she would be able to get it until sometime in March. The lady was quite surprised that I was not with her. JJ told her about the superstition of not seeing the dress before the big day and the lady knew what she was talking about, but that in her experience many couples go on and pick the dress together. I think that maybe the whole background for this superstition is to get us(men) out of shopping. I know that I would not care to spend 5-6 hours looking at dresses that all tend to look the same. The shop owner was also quite sad that JJ did not bring any friends, but she was also happy. She said that friends get in the way. I thought that was hilarious.

I have a new teacher arriving in a week and half and I guess that means that I will be doing some extra hours training. I hope to be able to pawn most of it on another teacher who has more free time than myself. The new teacher will get a whole two days of training before starting her classes.

The exchange rate is hurting me. I still need to send about 600$ a month to the states to cover some bills. I checked the rate yesterday and it was well over 1450. At this rate, we may be settling in for more time in Korea. Our savings are looking smaller and smaller and we may have to put off going to America if the rate gets much higher. I think that we would still go back to Mississippi if the rate is at the current level, but we would probably keep most of our savings in Korea. I would love to see 1100-1200 by the time October comes, but I don’t know if we will see it.

Tonight is my only free night. I will probably catch up on some studying that I have been putting off. I also have to organize a few more details of JJ’s visa and hopefully will be ready to get an appointment with the embassy soon. I also gotta make a bunch of calls that I have been putting off for a few months now. I really got to be better about keeping in touch with folks.

I am so ready to get to Namdaemun on Saturday morning. I am looking forward to picking up that new lens.

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