Teaching English | GRRRL TRAVELER

Surviving a university job interview in Korea

Filed under Daegu, GAP YEAR TRAVEL by Christine Ka'aloa on February 6, 2012 at 1:46 am {24 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, How & why teach in Korea? 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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Making home abroad feel like “Home”: my neighborhood

Filed under Daegu, Tips & Tricks by Christine Ka'aloa on February 28, 2011 at 9:33 am {6 comments}

Do you find you often take your city for granted? I know I do.

The entire year, I took Daegu for granted, wishing I lived an exciting city-life like that in Seoul. One of the things Seoul could never replace however, is my happy neighborhood of Singi-dong.

I’ve absolutely loved living in the Korean suburbs, where life is steeped with a slow-brewing charming character.

But if you remember my first GRRRL whimper , I didn’t start that way. Instead, I went into culture shock! My apartment was on a dark and dingy alley street and my neighborhood was in the “not-so-good area”; a lower-income sector, exiled from the neon radius of city life.

Over time though, my little neighborhood of Singi revealed itself as a true gem!

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Korean school goodbye parties

Filed under Survival Issues, 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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6 Western-friendly stores in Korea

Filed under * Korea tips & stays, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on February 24, 2011 at 9:19 am {4 comments}

Food samples anyone?

Okay, Korea expat newbies- this is my Welcome to Korea gift to you; Korea expat oldies– this might give you a good laugh!

Ever taken an American road trip? You’re passing through unfamiliar terrain and you’re hungry. You want food, supplies… maybe even, a last-minute bikini! Not a familiar store in sight– just a joint selling deep-fried chicken wings, a 24-hour gas station convenience store and a biker bar. Then down the stretch you see it– a giant glowing… Target! Angels sing; there’s a halo over the neon red bulls-eye… and it’s right next to a big blue and yellow sign (gasp!) …a Best Buy! Now as a traveler, you don’t want your exotic destinations littered with a bunch of Kmarts, Walmarts and Targets. They spoil your dreamy getaway and snap you back to the ugly U.S. of A. But when you live abroad for a year or so, it’s damn hard not to feel a slight whoop! when you see a one-stop shop chain store resemblance. Korea has one-stop shopping giants, similar to Target and Kmart… with one major difference– Korea knows how to make shopping an experience!

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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 or vague with torn edges, eraser smudges, double and triple folds and indistinct lines for a path…

So you trailblaze your own journey, forge your own rules.

When you do this, life becomes messy.

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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

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…

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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 Christine Ka'aloa on February 8, 2011 at 1:27 am {no comments}

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

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

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

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