Irony should be my middle name

Irony should be my middle name. It's true.

First off, teaching with EPIK (public schools in Korea) is a definite no-go. The matter got really complicated because I didn't study highschool in the U.S. They do not want to deal with the trouble and paperwork of verifying that the schools I attended were accredited, American international schools. So, short of fudging my papers and pretending I went to school in the U.S., this door is forever and permanently closed.

The worst of it is, I was just informed last night. The people processing my paperwork knew from the beginning about my schooling. It was brought up over the phone but they didn't mention their being any problem about it. Three weeks later I've wasted my time and those of the people who wrote recommendation letters for me only to find out it was all for naught. So I'm back at square zero in my ESL job hunt for the moment.

Secondly, I have been looking for a part-time job to keep me busy from now until I go overseas to teach ESL (assuming I ever find a position). Just a couple days ago a secretary position opened up and the job was pretty much mine if I said "yes." So not about to let a chance go by, I said "sure, great!". I've already spent some time at the office learning the ropes. Next day I get two job offers teaching ESL in the DC area. That, my friends, is the irony. Teaching ESL would be exactly the kind of practice I need. But I've already accepted the job as a secretary and I'll be moving down to Hopewell, VA shortly and leaving Burke.

Still, inspite of apparent ironies, I know there is a greater force at work.

First real job offer

I've interviewed with and have been offered a position by Kids College in Daechi-dong Seoul. The working conditions and benefits seem pretty typical for the average private school job in Korea, especially for teachers just starting out. They are offering me 2.3 million won a month for 120 hours of teaching.

What I don't know is if I should go ahead and accept this position or if I should wait and explore other options. The problem is, there currently aren't any other options. I am talking with a couple recruiters but I'm still in the initial stages with them and it could be a couple of weeks before I find something through them.

I think I'm a little hesitant because it is such a huge step. I also have my reservations about the trustworthiness of a school that is so far away. Which reminds me, I need to ask my recruiter to get me pictures of the school and housing. That should help me decide I suppose.

The other thing is that I don't know if I would be good with such little kids. I'll be teaching kids from ranging from age 5 to 10 roughly from 9 am - 6 pm each day. I'm going to have to have a ton of energy to keep up with them and stay on top of things. Maybe I can look at it like camp counseling, except I get to go home to my own place and actually get sleep at night. Now that I think about it that way, it seems pretty nice! I am really tempted to go ahead and say yes to this opportunity.

I'll be sure to update here once I decide.

Job hunt road block

Sooo, this Korea job-hunting thing is proving to be quite the headache with endless road blocks. Part of me wants to give up. I won't though.

Still, I am in a position where I need to regroup and re-strategize (I don't think that's a word). The recruiter I've been working with has left me feeling like a hacky sack. Up and down, up and down is the name of the game. It's really difficult communicating when there's a 13 hour time difference. I feel like our correspondence goes into a time machine and may or may not reach it's destination.

It's looking like the public school option is just not going to work. Apparently it matters that I didn't do my high school studies in the U.S. Also, I love (not) how I was told exactly how my letters of recommendation needed to be AFTER I had already requested them. Great timing folks. Come to find out, TEFL course instructor references are not valid and all letters have to be in jpeg or pdf format. Ok, all that makes sense, but why tell me now?? More than a week after I was told to request them and then did so?

I'm going to probably end up going the hagwon (private school) route. Bring it! It worries me a bit, because I've heard bad stories; but I've also heard good ones too. The game plan now is to lay low until I have all my documents ready, THEN apply for those jobs so I'm not caught in the middle waiting like a worm on a hook. So stressful.

I don't want to say anything bad about the recruiter I've been working with. It's not their fault that I have a complicated background and can't get reference letters. We just may not be a good fit. I'm tempted to check out Footprints Recruiting or Gone2Korea. Or WorkNPlay. I've heard them recommended as well. We shall see. I just needed to get this down and have my thoughts played out. For now I'm packing up my car and heading down to my grandparent's for a couple days.

At least there is this: I have a part-time job from November 9th until I leave for Korea!!! This, my friends, is good news :)

Part of the Equation

Do you ever feel like you could disappear and nothing would change?
Do you ever feel so insignificant and lowly that you wonder why you even try anything at all?

I do. Sometimes.

It's not a good place to be. It's kinda lonely and dreary. I think everyone has those days. But today is NOT one of those days for me. I had my cousins and aunt come to visit me. They cared to spend time with me, share some good laughs, and add to our treasure trove of memories. It is so wonderful to be loved. It warms your heart.

The evil one may tempt to despair, he may reach out his tentacles to wrap us in fear and doubt. When you listen to him you may think that you can be canceled out, disappeared, and no one would even notice.

But that is a lie.

2 Thessalonians 2:13: But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

Isaiah 42:6-7:
I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

Today, I know that I am part of the equation. I do matter. People care. God has chosen me. Believing His truths and promises is the best antidote to the temptation to despair.

Today, I want to persevere. I want to shine together with the great cloud of witnesses.

God is good.

Fingers Crossed

I am sitting, waiting, wishing for Reach to Teach Recruiting to get back with me after my preliminary interview on Sunday evening. Granted, that was technically Monday morning for them and they did say a couple of days. But now it's pushing 4 days since we spoke. I hope they haven't forgotten about me. At the same time, I wouldn't be able to set up an interview with EPIK (English Program in Korea) just yet because I haven't gotten my letters of recommendation yet. I have requested 2 but haven't heard back about them yet either.

So I'm waiting and waiting. What to do in the mean time? I'm trying to think of others that might be able to write a recommendation letter for me. I think I need to work on trusting God, that he is sovereign and in control of all these details. Still, I don't want to leave any rocks uncovered. I think mostly I don't want to get my hopes up again only to have them crushed. I'm not sure I could handle that very well.

My Love Affair with Abandoned Places

I've recently discovered that two sites of abandoned, decayed buildings have been or will soon be torn down. I had the most delicious time photographing these places and wandering about their premises. The first was an old boarding house on West Main St. in Salem, Virginia. It was demolished soon after I found it. The second, one of the best finds I have stumbled across yet, is also being torn down. I'm talking about the old burnt up, falling apart Skyline Parkway Motor Court in Waynesboro, Va. I understand these buildings are dangerous and eyesores, but that doesn't stop me from feeling that somehow this is a tragedy. I am glad that I was fortunate enough to catch these places before they were lost in oblivion. I know a lot of these places are well known by other photographers who have an equal penchant for this particular delicacy and have probably been captured for posterity. But I still feel quite an obligation to do my part in routing out these places and exploring them! For one, the old Mountain View Manor I stumbled across in Middleburgh, NY doesn't seem to have been captured and shared on the internet before. I'm sure real estate folks, or attorneys and government officials may have taken pictures for records sake, but it is highly unlikely those will surface for public enjoyment. That is why I am particularly pleased that I was given this gem of a place to briefly explore out of the blue over the summer. I hope to keep finding places like these in the future.

Here's the recently demolished house in Salem.


View from inside the Skyline Parkway Motor Court


Mountain View Manor


Thanks for reading friend! If you want to see more of my pictures, you can check out my photostream in the flickr box on the right.