Say NO to waiting...

If you know me, and I mean really know me, then you’ll know that I dislike 3 things in life. Waiting, long goodbyes and waiting for long goodbyes. At the moment I feel like all I am doing is waiting, and especially waiting for goodbyes, which funnily enough makes them LONG.

 I am now at the point of breaking. Waiting is driving me slightly crazy and if I have to wait any longer then I will surely forget how to physically move all together. It is as if I am stuck in a huge que at a supermarket, or a theme park, or better yet a doctor’s surgery, just waiting for my time to come around so I can get on with things and MOVE. Days, weeks and even months will go by and I will still be sat here, waiting, or at least that’s how it feels. So yeah, I pretty much HATE waiting.

At the moment I am actually just waiting for the time to pass so that I can once again order my Disclosure Scotland check, and once again send this off to my solicitor Allison, and then of course, to the government.  As I have mentioned before, and as I will mention again, it is important to get the timing of your documents just right. You do not want to be too late ofcourse, but you also do not want to be too early, otherwise you will have to spend out even more money in applying for things all over again. This is the case with my Disclosure Scotland check, so please PLEASE bear this in mind if you are going through this process. Trust me, it will save you a hell of a lot of time and a hell of a lot of money. As I am spending most of my time waiting, this has also led me to spend a ridiculously large amount of time, thinking. Yes, thinking. I thought I’d mention this as no other blogs that I have read seem to. 

Doubts. You will have doubts and it is perfectly normal to have them. This is something that anyone making such a dramatic change in their life will face. Is this the right thing to do? Am I making the wrong decision? Should I just stay here and pursue other interests? And probably the most daunting and doubt provoking question of all… what will I do when I come back? Also the question of what happens if I don’t like it, make no friends and ultimately want to sulk into my own pillow every night for pure dread of doing it all over again the next day. THAT’S IT I’M STAYING! ….No, no you are not.

I have been having these thoughts a lot lately, and many doubts but mainly because I don’t really want to leave the convenience of my comfortable and stable life here in London, and of course my wonderful Family and Friends. But, I have been re-assured by many people that it is perfectly natural to have these such doubts, so if you are feeling the same then I recommend reading more books about your chosen destination, or taking up a new hobby or a new course even. Waiting can be a terrible activity, especially if you’re slightly impatient like myself, when it comes to waiting that is.

So my advice: Fill the waiting time as much as you can, and do not doubt that you will have these doubts themselves. It will happen, and it will be horrific. But just remember, you started this journey for a reason. So say yes to life and continue what it is, that you want to continue.

The word 'Busy' doesn't even cut it!

As promised I thought I’d write a little post about the dreaded Recruitment Agencies. Last week I signed up to two different sites to help me in my quest for a new and hopefully rewarding job, and life in South Korea. I found these by literally google’ing everything. Seriously, I googled ‘Teaching in South Korea’, ‘Recruitment agencies for short people’ and even ‘I would like a job in South Korea…SEND HELP’! As you can imagine everything from the appropriate to the less so came up. Thankfully I also had a couple of recommendations through friends and the various different blogs I have been reading.

With so many different options however, it can seem like an absolute minefield and can be very difficult to know which one to go with, which is why I thought I'd write this little post to try and make it all a bit clearer. I’d say that the most important thing to bear in mind whilst doing your research is just that…do your research! Do it and then do it all over again. Read everything and then read everything all over again. Look at different reviews and read everything on their site TWICE! I cannot stress this enough, as it is extremely important to know exactly what you are signing up to, and on that note DO NOT PAY! A legitimate and trusted agency will receive their payment from the school in question, so if you have to pay then it’s probably not a very legitimate company and they probably do not have your best interests in mind. Remember as with everything in this venture, if something sounds too good to be true - then it probably is.

After hours and even days of searching the internet, my eyelids felt like they would never be able to close again. All I was seeing was a brightly lit computer screen, but eventually I was able to regain some sense of focus and made a decision to go with a recruitment agency called Teacheslkorea. They are an American based company who had been recommended to me by a friend who is currently teaching in South Korea. Having read through the information on their site, I decided that this was the one for me.

So far they have been absolutely fantastic. They have talked me through everything from the visa requirements, right through to which school would be right for me, and have also helped me gain a better understanding of prioritizing documents in regards to the time restrictions they each have. For example, my Scottish Disclosure (CRB check) is only valid for 6 months, which I found out the hard way. The Korean Embassy will only except these within this 6 month period, which means I have had to apply all over again for a new one. So my advice - do not apply for this too early, BUT do not apply too late, as it can take up to 6 weeks to come through, and then you have to get it apostilled of course.

I also chose to go with a second recruitment agency called Flying Cows, who have so far been less than helpful (if indeed there is anything less than that). They seemed to slightly ignore my location request, stating that there are currently no jobs in South Korea but China on the other hand have plenty. Who said anything about China?! They then went on to tell me that they have a suitable job starting NEXT WEEK, and I don’t need any documents and can leave straight away. Really?! 

It was slightly frustrating as I wasn’t looking to move to China in the first place, and I certainly didn’t want to rush into anything. It seemed as if I was just a huge lump of cheese casually moving along a conveyer belt with all the other lumps in line, waiting to be processed and packaged. Whereas Teacheslkorea, told me to aim for a February/March starting time, and ensured me that they would be concentrating on finding a job and location that was absolutely right for me. Once again do your research guys, it certainly pays off.

This week I also had the painstakingly unpleasant experience of moving house, which actually wasn't too bad thanks to some amazing friends and family of mine. I feel at this point it is important to mention that the day to day business of life does still go on, so you have got to be prepared during your TEFL experience to work extremely hard in all aspects of your life, which unfortunately includes mundane things like moving house. The word 'Busy' doesn't even cut it...

Until next time...