I wrote this Blog Post in October and am now just posting it! All the pictures are random so enjoy!
These are emails I have written to other people--I think it is a good way to do a blog post quickly! Sorry!!
On preparing to come to Korea:
It was WAY more paperwork to do for a family, but most places are use to working with single people, so they don't want to deal with something not familiar. I asked every recruiter if they had ever worked with a family and if they were willing to work with a family, and if the schools they worked for would even hire a family. Mostly they were afraid cause the apartments are so small it would cause undue stress--WHICH after living here, if we lived in anything small we would be stressed, but I think that is because we have a very active 2 year old.
MANY recruiters/schools said no.
We live in an old apartment, but it is a little bigger. It is "2" rooms, but really the main bedroom is attached to the kitchen. I would NOT want to be in a one room apartment with kids--they need a little more space to "run".
We haven't had to pay any difference, but really housing is cheap (downpayments are expensive). I wish I could have known and found a little nicer place and paid the difference. In some places they will give you the money they would pay for an apartment and you can find a nicer one and pay the difference.
My youngest students are 1st graders and my oldest kids are middle school age, so I highly suggest on your resume and talking to your recruiter to STRESS that you want to teach preschool students or high school if you have a preference. Private schools have a variety of students and Elementary schools do to.
My kids do go to school at a local school, but my husband speaks Korean, so I think that made the difference with the schools willing to work with us. Schools are really expensive, (if you don't do public schools) as are "daycares/preschools" in my opinion, but that is because I have never had to pay for them before.
Everything here is SO expensive, or really cheap. Fruit, meat, and veggies are super expensive. $16-30 dollars for a watermelon. Each apple/pear is more then a dollar. Meat is measured in grams---$9 for 100 grams--something like that.
BUT home gas is about $40 a month, "maintenance" (elevator/trash/"security guard (old man who watches TV in a little room with cameras) and other building fees like that) is about $36.00, electric is about $10, and rent is about $150? I think (the school pays for our rent). OK, after living here in the heat and in the cold, our gas and electric bills were HIGH! They were about 150 for August and January.
BUT our food budget at home is about $250---here it is almost $750 or more.
Clothes are easy (for both kids and adults)
$30 + for shirts
$75+ for dresses
$30 + for pants
We are starting to find deals hidden in stores--$15 pants, $6 shirts, and more "walmart" prices, but that is for cheaply made clothing.
We are very open about money--.
We lived VERY cheaply in America--we lived on less then $2500 a month for EVERYTHING (cell phone, mortgage, food, insurances, everything!) so we had sticker shock when we moved here!
The first month was really hard because we had to buy so many little things--We easy spend $2500 our first month--train tickets, trash can for apartment, bed mats for kids, (our school gave us a bed and 2 dressures and an armoire thing), pens, paper, a few sand toys for the kids since we live by a playground, all that type of stuff.
We joined the facebook group for foreigners in our area and got a lot of stuff for cheap from people moving out (August is the big time of year when the public schools send teachers home and get new teachers coming in.
I know I have horrible spelling, and I jump all over, but I am just writing stuff as it comes to me.
My Hagwon is owned by a larger company and they tell us what books to use, when to use them, and how long it should take us. There is a lot of change--I have been at my hogwan since June 5 and our schedules have changed 3 times, our books that we use twice, and which classes I teach once. The students are dropping and joining weekly so nothing is every really steady, but you just keep working at it. (this part was written around August--it has changed since them twice. Which I guess is normal because Schools have a break during Summer for a month and Winter for a month--)
I am really lucky cause my hagwon is nice. My Go-To woman 'retired' a week after I was hired--but she didn't really speak English anyway. Luckly we are very active in a church in the States so when we moved to Korea the church over there was super helpful--they helped us get our cellphones and things like that.
Also until you get your ARC (I have no idea what that stands for--we call it our waygooking cards) you can't get a cell phone, a bank account, or anything---not even a point card to a local grocery store.
BUT I am giving you a very limited view. We went to a bigger city this past week and there were $5-$10 clothes everywhere! Food was $9-$18 a plate (which is common --chicken here--like KFC chicken is like $22.00 for a small bucket that didn't fill us up!), but the prices in a bigger city were much more varied.
I have no idea how preschool or kindergarten teachers work. My kindergarten age child goes to school from about 8:00-3:00, but my 2nd grader goes from 8:00-2:00. So I don't know how they figure it all in.
I think the school wouldn't want to deal with a non korean since there is paperwork, money stuff ($30 to go swimming--$30 a month for school milk) and random stuff like their schedule changing--week before vacation they get out 20 minutes early 3 days a week--and stuff like that--BUT AGAIN that is my limited experience in this small town.
Really I suggest finding a good group on Facebook to join---AFIK American families in Korea is a good one. They have groups for the different areas also. The Suncheon group is super helpful.
As for apartments---again I think they are really cheap, but it is the downpayment that is expensive. I know the bigger the city, maybe the smaller the apartment. We were looking at one room (loft) in Seoul, but in Ulsan (the rich area of Korea) our friends have a 3 bedroom, full kitchen, big living room apartment--so it really depends.
I always asked for a picture of the apartment from my recruiter when we were looking at being hired.
One thing that surprises me is how much little kids are on their own. I see kids Peppers age all the time walking around alone. It makes me nervous, but it is very common. They walk to school, walk home, walk to the corner market, walk to friends houses--they are just out and about. Another thing is that kids look younger then they are because they are smaller. The kids Peppers age look like 4 year olds to me. I have to be really careful guessing students ages. I always look at what I think they are and add 2 years.
South Korean's don't home school-I think that is a totally strange concept to them because they send their kids to SO much school, but many foreigners do. There really aren't a lot of people with school aged kids-and those who do have most likely married a Korean and the kids speak Korean. I know places that have a foreigner school, it is expensive--so many homeschool.
Some schools wants you to teach private lessons on the side (which is illegal but they don't care) and other really care--I haven't asked mine, so I don't know.
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Life is still good! School is going ok. They change my schedule about once a month, which is fine, just a little frustrating to come to work and be told--by the way to are suppose to teach a class in 25 minutes! (ok that happened twice, but still it is a little strange)
The girls are doing great and are in school. Their teachers speak a little English, but they do fine. Sedona is decided if she wants to stay in school or not, but I think she will. She likes it, but I think she gets frustrated, which is TOTALLY understandable! Pepper is just great where she is. She is starting to read English so we are working on that with her. She keeps getting weird rashes -- I think we will take her to the doctor tomorrow---they don't bother her, but she has had it on her face and now her leg and back! strange!
Peppers rash is a neurological virus. It only manifests itself when she is stressed, or ill. She had a small cold when she got it, so I am not sure why she is so stressed. I will look into mediation and other things to help her call down.
I did start TeaKwonDoe (spelling?) I go twice a week with a whole group of foreigners. I have lost a little weight since I started going. You start as a white belt and then move up to yellow belt? I don't know--I will test up at the end of this month--I started mid August, but missed some with Korean holidays and such.
Life is still great here, for a few weeks Lucas and I had the "we don't like Korea" part of our adjusting, but we like it again. So we are doing great!
Girls still are enjoying school and Wheeler is still driving us crazy!
(Again all this was written in September)
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This morning the lady that gives us a ride to church called and said that another foreigner would be joining us today! A really nice girl met us at the bottom of our apartment. Latrice (La-Treese). She is really kind.
She is really neat and I can't wait to become better friends with her. They started a "foreigner" Sunday school class-and Lucas is teaching it -They gave him that calling officially. It is the missionaries (we have both elders and sisters here), Latrice, and Lucas--I teach Primary so I don't go.
Lucas has gained weight--a combo of working out everyday--which he was doing before--but now he sits around and doesn't use all his extra calories working.
Yesterday, Saturday (sometime in October I think), we went to a art museum with a guy Lucas met. He was very kind and we went to Yesou (about 25 minutes away). They featured american, french, and Korean children artists. They had some fun hands on exhibits! They had Anthony Brown(e?) works there. He draws Willy the Wimp books---if you don't know them--check them out at the library! Very fun. Every year I try to include at least one of his books in the line-up because they are just as fun to read as they are to look at.
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Next week is the biggest Holiday in Korea. It is like Thanksgiving. I have 3 days off work! We are heading up to Ulsan again and going Camping with Lucas's friends the Grandy's. It should be fun. We will take a train on Wednesday and come home Saturday most likely. Have Sunday to recoop and start life again Monday. It is common to give gifts and there are gift sets everywhere, but instead of America--which is bathproducts --- fruit and meat are the big gifts, but they are super expensive! $100 for 10 apples I think is the most expensive thing we have seen. The school is giving the boss "very good beef". We each (about 15 of us) are giving $10 each. The Korean money is Won---it is about $1.00 to 1,000 won.
"Hello Whitaker and McFadden family's. Life is wonderful in Korea. Wheeler is a monster, but we are enjoying life. I miss living in America because the cars here suck and I am very bored. I have no artistic outlet which is driving me crazy. When I start getting grumpy I go and hike a mountain and feel better."
Lucas says I am not even close, but it sounds good.
Alright I better go and eat dinner. We bought chicken for the first time since we lived here! Meat is so expensive, so we stick to Pork--with is about $10 for one meal for a few pieces of bacon like pieces. But this chicken smells so good!
I was set apart as the kids primary teacher.
