Surviving a university job interview in Korea

Filed under Daegu, GAP YEAR TRAVEL by on February 6, 2012 at 1:46 am {23 comments}
Keimyung University
Working at a Korean university?

A few of weeks ago, when I tweeted I was undergoing a job interview in Korea, I got a response from Dave of The Longest Way Home about doing a post on ‘Surviving a job interview in Korea’.

At first, I laughed at the idea and then later, I thought…well, why not? 

“K******** University wants you to contact them ASAP about a job position. Please call them; they are a very good university.”

That was the message I got from Eun-Hyung, my Korean co-teacher, last April in India.  It was a university job I had applied for long before I left Korea. The position started March 1st and it was for a full-time lecturer in the Media Arts department, teaching Video and Animation. At (more…)

Getting my Yoga Teacher Training Certification (YTTC) in India

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL, India by on June 12, 2011 at 5:00 am {7 comments}


My guru is my environment : Dharamsala, India

After a month long yoga boot camp at Himalaya Yoga Valley in Dharamsala, I finally graduated with my Yoga TTC (teacher training certification). Woot!

Muscles aching, belly battling waterborne parasites, while hurdling through two asana classes a day and intensive schedule of studies and teaching practicums…  It was a lot!  Along the way, you accept your body’s shape-shifting to it’s surroundings. Your foreign environment molds you– injury happens, bad diets take form (aka carb-loading for lack of veggies), India initiates you with horrible toilet habits.

But good things come from it as well…

I’d found my gurus.

• Friendship

I had formed a family and a lifestyle that was my a warm cocoon, in the secluded sanctuary of Dharamsala, away from the blistering stains and antagonizing bustle of Mother India. (more…)

A Day in a Life of an MTV Producer turned ESL Teacher (Part 2)

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL, How & why teach in Korea? by on February 8, 2011 at 1:27 am {no comments}


A Day in a Life of an MTV Producer turned English Teacher

Continued From MTV Producer to English Teacher in Korea 

 

My Schedule:

8:25 am    Arriving at school

Stepping onto the school grounds, I am greeted by sleepy-eyed elementary students.

“Hello Christine teacher!” they chirp.

“Good morning. How are you today?” my energy level shoots from 0-90, caffeinated by my students’ voices.

Alarm is the volleyed reaction. A deer-caught-in-the-headlights kind of look. My more confident students who attend after school programs might respond; but my lower-leveled students giggle and run away.

(more…)

From MTV Producer to English Teacher in Korea (Part 1)

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL, How & why teach in Korea? by on February 7, 2011 at 2:17 am {8 comments}


My fantastic 4th grade ladies.

These days I find, readers have been curious about the life of an English teacher — What’s my story? Why did I take a gap year break from my life?... Well, my story can be shot from many angles- this is one aspect of it…

 

My Story:

Reality teens to real life tots

I teach in the public school elementary school system through the EPIK program. When I left my career as a TV producer/shooter in New York City to embark on a gap year(s), I was beginning to feel a little burnt out from producing MTV teen reality shows.  I didn’t have a 9-5 cubicle job, but being a freelancer in NYC is a 24/7 gig. Sustaining a career in a competitive city, I was shackled to the pressure-cooking megalopolis of a work-obsessed regimen and obviously, the economy wasn’t getting better.

I never stopped loving my career in entertainment, mind you. Working in a creative field is my life-long passion and most (more…)

5 Things Working at MTV taught me about teaching ESL

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL, How & why teach in Korea? by on January 11, 2011 at 8:04 pm {11 comments}

Before moving to live and teach abroad in Korea, I had a career in producing and shooting  some of MTV’s top-rated teen reality shows, such My Super Sweet 16, True Life, Engaged and Underage, Camp’d Out. What did this teach me about teaching ESL?

Directing a good soundbite (aka Pronunciation)

Did I just hear someone utter pibe vs. five?

Repeat.

My students may not be TV talent, but clarity and good enunciation is still important for an audience’s ear.

If I don’t correct their speech habits, their pibes will grow to sebens,  then to elebens… until their ” pishes swim in a riber”.

ESL students aren’t the only ones afflicted with bad pronunciation habits, though. It plagues English-speakers too. I remember sitting in many Super Sweet 16ers‘ bedrooms with camera on tripod and lav mic on the talent, directing interviews and promotional reads. Sometimes, a ‘regional accent’ or ‘southern drawl’ gets in the way, making a kid sound like they’re talking with food in their mouth. Other times, it can be a speedy delivery, as if the kid’s words are exhaled into one long and slurred, run-on sentence. There were times some of my show kids were really incomprehensible…

I gave the one favorite word that I use today–

(more…)

Should you take a Gap Year: Life-Changing Decisions

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL, Teaching English by on October 29, 2010 at 10:20 pm {9 comments}

Being in a position of needing to make a life altering choice is never easy. Yes, contract renewal time is here for all public school English Teachers and this past Tuesday, my school wanted to know what my decision would be… by Thursday, well today.

Full Story »

Nomadic Chick’s Interview w/ GRRRL TRAVELER

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL, GRRRL in the News by on February 17, 2010 at 3:17 pm {2 comments}

Updates on my bon voyage to Korea, my packing, my schedule and my interview with Nomadic Chick.

Full Story »

Getting my E-2 Korean Work Visa & a 6 Month Goal

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL, How & why teach in Korea? by on January 25, 2010 at 1:49 am {10 comments}

Creating Travel Goals: Teaching English abroad, getting my E-2 work visa for Korea and making it a 6 month goal to live and work abroad.

Full Story »

A Gap Year: 10 Ways to Gain a Year (vs. Lose One!)

Filed under GAP YEAR TRAVEL by on January 20, 2010 at 4:03 am {6 comments}

Undoubtedly, these questions are scary for the expat/traveler returning from spending a year+ of their life abroad. What is your next career move?… This is your gap year abroad- did you gain a year or lose it? 10 Ways to help you GAIN a year when you’re abroad…

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