– Written on the plane from Seattle to Seoul
So today I “D”eparted for my first trip outside of North America, bound for South Korea to teach English to junior high kids for a local after school program at a private school, which in Korea is called a Hagwon. This journey has been a long time coming and one that I am very excited about. So how did I get to this point?
The History
In the beginning…just kidding…lol…it all started a couple months ago, maybe March or April. I had become a bit burnt out with my job I had been working at for 7.5 years and was looking for what my next move would be. I was faced with the decision of looking for a different position at the same company, moving to a different company in the same industry, or going a completely different route altogether. I sat down and did some self reflecting and talked to a few people for input. I figured out that a couple things were important to me as far as a career and lifestyle. I want to be rewarded more than just monetarily. I want to be able to have extra money at the end of the month and not be paycheck to paycheck. I want the opportunity to travel around and see the world and experience different cultures.
I started looking into different careers that might fit this mold and arrived at teaching abroad. I had heard of it before, but never really gave it a second though. I began researching, relentlessly, different countries, the pros and cons of each, what it would take to be able to do it, the level of commitment, etc. I watched MANY YouTube videos on teacher experiences and what to expect. Ultimately, I decided on South Korea as the place I would begin my teaching abroad career. It offers everything that I seek plus much more. I may at some point branch out to other countries, but for now this will be my home for the next year.
The Journey
As stated earlier, today I am traveling from my home in Phoenix, AZ, USA to Geoje Island in South Korea. My flight leaves Phoenix at 8:05am on Wednesday August 20th, 2014 and with time change, I arrive in Busan airport on Thursday night at 9:30pm. Then I am driven to the island, hopefully to be in bed by midnight there, which would only be 8 am Thursday in Phoenix. Yikes! In case you were wondering what route I took or why it takes so long, here is what the itinerary looks like…
- Phoenix to Seattle (2hr 35 minute flight)
- Layover in Seattle for ~3hr
- Seattle to Incheon Airport Seoul, South Korea (11hr 20 minutes flight and 16 hr ahead time difference)
- Grab luggage, change airports to Gimpo Airport
- Gimpo to Busan (Gimhae Airport) (1hr 5 minute flight)
- Get picked up by driver at Busan Airport and driven another hour to my apartment
On Friday, I am supposed to do orientation at the school and then begin teaching on Monday. That’ll give me the weekend to figure out my living situation, unpack a bit, get my bearings, and figure out how I’m going to teach each class.
I know this first week will be full of “adjusting”, maybe even the first month may be like that, but eventually everything will click together and I can begin really enjoy everything around me and the opportunities available to me.
