magazine

Surviving a university job interview in Korea

Filed under Daegu, GRRR Inspirations by Christine Ka'aloa on February 6, 2012 at 1:46 am {23 comments}

: 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…)

Inside my Korean apartment

Filed under Daegu, Teaching English by Christine Ka'aloa on March 4, 2011 at 3:03 am {6 comments}

So after having whimpered early off about my introduction to my apartment and Daegu, I’ve been reluctant to show you my free English teacher’s apartment. Well first of all, it’s not really called an “apartment”. This is what Koreans call an apartment.
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Korean school goodbye parties

Filed under Teaching English by Christine Ka'aloa on February 27, 2011 at 12:44 am {no comments}

Video from our going away party, noraebang and of the trot style of music.
If you can’t see the video then click here

The Korean public school system regulates that it’s teachers and principals change schools every five years. This year, six of our teachers were leaving (as well as my principal, whom I really love). This past Wednesday, my school had a going away dinner for the teachers in our school.

We had a dinner at a banquet hall and a buffet with tons of foods I could eat. Then it came time for the formal “goodbyes”. All six teachers came to the front, were given a farewell envelope of money and had to give a goodbye speech. Seeing as the librarian and myself were also leaving but weren’t officially school staff, we were also called to the front and had to give speeches.

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Love Letter #4: Is it time to say Goodbye?

Filed under Korea, Love Letter Postcards by Christine Ka'aloa on February 22, 2011 at 2:00 am {6 comments}

Dear Korea,

Life isn’t always clear cut. Sometimes, it can feel complicated and vague, with torn edges, eraser smudges, double and triple folds and indistinct lines…

To create order out of action, you trail blaze your journey, forge your own rules.

And when you do this, life can feel messy.

Or is that just the illusion?

Packing my backpack to meet uncertainty,
GRRRL

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I’ve sown a Korean seed and watched it grow…

March is rolling up quickly and my friend statuses on Facebook remind me of what I dread looking at– I’ve less than one week before my EPIK contract ends. Ack!

Daegu? Uproot.

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Love Letter #3: Happy Valentine’s Day, Korea!

Filed under Daegu, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on February 14, 2011 at 11:38 pm {4 comments}

“Love Letter #3: Daegu, Korea“

This blog is reposted from My Crazy Kimchi
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They say it seldom snows in Daegu, but it’s been snowing all day.

Only a few cars were out on the road this morning, driving real slow. Many teachers reverted to the subway to get to work, parents accompanied their children to school on foot and it’s surmounted in a bit of displacement in the monotonous routine of drivers. School started merrily late today.

After lunch recess, the kids got into the spirit of the first major snowfall by getting into snow play. Did they build snowmen or make angels in the snow?

No.

The best Korean Valentine is to see:

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Written by Christine Ka'aloa GAP YEAR TRAVEL

From MTV Producer to English Teacher in Korea

These days I find, readers have been curious about the life of an English teacher and how I got my start. What’s my story? How did I get this gig?… Well, my story can be shot from many angles- this is one aspect of it. Here goes part three of my four-part series…
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 and shooter in New York City to embark on my gap year, I was beginning to feel a little burnt out by the handful of MTV teen reality shows I’d been working on and the economy wasn’t getting better. I didn’t have a 9-5 job chained to a cubicle but living in NYC as a freelancer was a 24/7 gig. Sustaining a career in such a competitive city chained me to the non-stop megalopolis of pushing to

February 7, 2011 8

Written by Christine Ka'aloa GAP YEAR TRAVEL

5 Things Working at MTV taught me about teaching ESL

I used to work for MTV producing teen reality shows. What did it teach me about teaching ESL?

January 11, 2011 11

Written by Christine Ka'aloa How & why teach in Korea?

Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part II: Public vs Private schools)

If you ask most people why they were drawn to Korea, the very first answer you’d commonly hear is– the benefits. Korea has by far, the best package out there. Along the way, you discover the experience itself is so much more, but before I get into that, here you go~

January 2, 2011 8

Written by Christine Ka'aloa Features Slide

Do you really want to teach English in Korea? (Part I: Q & A)

Well deciding to teach English abroad can feel like ordering a mail order bride. You’ve got a description and a list of hopeful expectations; yet you can’t see what you’ve got until the day arrives. How will you know what you asked for will be what you wanted? Honestly, sometimes even when you’ve crossed over to seeing your prize, things can still seem a bit veiled; but at least you’ve tackled the biggest hurdle… making it happen!

Recently friends and readers have asked me about my experiences in the ESL classroom and how they can teach English abroad too. I’ve decided to make it a three part series. This is general Q&A I’ve gotten.