Making Phone Calls in South Korea

Making Phone Calls in South Korea

The first time I visited South Korea, my wife and I stopped just outside the baggage claim area to make a phone call to her folks' house to let them know that we had arrived safely.  When she was finished making the call, she set the phone receiver down on the small tray underneath the pay phone instead of hanging up.

I asked her why she did this and she said that there was still time left for another phone call.  If someone else came along and saw the receiver in the not-hung-up position, they would be able to make a quick call.  Everyone takes care of everyone else.

See also:
Tell me more about Korean Telecom service (landline) and Cable TV

Weekend farming in Korea

I read this wonderful article from Bobby's Awesome Life about weekend farming in Korea.  Check it out: The Weekend Farmer

Typical Day Teaching English in South Korea

For anyone out there who has, in the past, or who is currently teaching English in Korea, I would like to know what a typical day looks like.  I realize from my own experience teaching that there are no truly "typical" days and that when teaching young kids, you often need to think on your feet, but I would be very interested in what a daily schedule might look like.

Five Reasons Why Teaching Abroad Is a Great Idea

Five Reasons Why Teaching Abroad Is a Great Idea

Traveling is always an experience.  Visiting new places always opens your eyes to learn new things, meet new people, and expand your worldview.  Teaching English abroad will heighten the experience of travelling and bring even more wonderful things into your life!  The market for teaching English in Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and other points east) is strong and opportunities abound for individuals with the right qualifications.  Here is a quick list of some great reasons to teach abroad:

1. Unparalleled experience.  Leaving home and going out on your own is a big decision that will change your life in new and unexpected ways.  Going to live and work in a foreign will surely take you out of your comfort zone, introduce you to a fascinating new culture, and give you the opportunity to visit exciting new places.  There are not a lot of 9-5 jobs out there that would give you this kind of experience.
2. Learn a new language.  What better way to learn a new language than to live it?  Imagine going grocery shopping, to the bank, or to the doctor in a foreign country and being able to practice the language with everyone you see.  Learning a new language will serve you well not only during your time abroad, but also when (or if) you decide to return home, this would be a great resume item.
3. Refine your teaching skills.  Whether you are planning to be an elementary school teacher, college professor, corporate trainer, or whatever, having experience teaching will benefit you in the future.  Being on your own, you will probably have a learning curve while you try to figure out what your teaching style is.
4. Save money.  Many schools will offer free housing for foreign English teachers and this is a huge savings to your overall expenses.  You can use these savings to travel abroad in Asia, make a down payment on a house, buy a car, or whatever you so choose.
5. Meet new people.  Unless you have friends that you are planning to meet abroad, everyone you meet will be new to you.  This will give you the chance to make new friends from your new home as well as with other English teachers.

See also:
Say Kimchi!
Thoughts III - 10 Reasons I Should Teach in Korea

First Impressions of Korea

The first time I visited Korea I was traveling with my wife.  It was exciting to fly overseas, even though the flight was a good twelve hours.  The announcements on the plane were all done in English, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese.  For each meal, you had your choice of a Korean meal of a Western meal.  The service was fairly decent and the movies were pretty good.  We even got some decent sleep on the flight.  After we landed at the Incheon International Airport (it is actually outside of Seoul), we made our way towards the customs and immigration area where there were only two large signs:

KOREANS                             FOREIGNERS

That pretty much sums up how it is: Korea is a homogenous society with one language, culture, food, etc., and everything else is foreign.  That is what makes it so interesting to visit Korea as a foreigner, at least for me!  Everything is so different than anything in America.  Anyways, I remember seeing these signs and thinking, “Well, now I will be a foreigner for once so I will know what it is like.  This should be interesting.”  After passing through immigration, we collected our baggage, changed a few dollars into won, and passed into the large atrium at the ground transportation level.  For me, this was like passing into another world!  Everything was in Korean- Korean TV, Korean announcements, Korean advertisements, Korean snack shops, and everybody speaking in Korean.  I was so happy I had my wife with me, because it was a little disorienting, but amazing nonetheless.  If I was on my own that first time visiting Korea, I think that it could be overwhelming without having a good knowledge of the Korean language.  The other thing I noticed right away was how many people were there.  It was packed!  There were so many people gathered and I didn’t realize how sparsely populated America is until I experienced this crowd.

We purchased tickets for a “limo bus” that would bring us to the neighborhood where my in-laws live where we would be picked up by my brother-in-law.  The seats reclined on the limo bus, so it made for some smooth riding and we even caught a few winks of sleep.  Looking out the windows, all of the road signs were in Korean.  Everything, I mean everything, was in Korean!  I saw a speed limit sign with the number “120” on it and I just about panicked!  I asked my wife, “Do the buses really drive 120 miles per hour?”  She just smiled and said, “They sure do.”  I thought for a minute, then realized that Korea must use the metric system, at which point my wife burst out laughing!  It was a pretty good joke, albeit at my expense.

I don’t remember a whole lot else, since I fell asleep pretty soon after that, but I do remember these three things from my first trip to Korea:

1.      Everything is different from America.

2.      It’s crowded.

3.      They use the metric system.

More adventures to follow from my trips to Korea.