8.29.2005

update and misc...

The good news is it looks like I will be going back to the States next week. The bad news is I'm paying for it.

Most teaching contracts in Korea come with severance pay. This is typically equal to one month's salary and is paid at the completion of the contract. My school also offers severance pay, but with the twist that it's paid one month after completion of the contract. For me this worked out perfectly as I should only be home for a month and when I return to Korea I would have a fresh paycheck. However, the only way my school has agreed to pay for my plane ticket is to advance me the money from my severance pay. A one-way ticket to the States is 1 million won (roughly $1000) and my severance is 1.9 million won minus taxes, etc. So, this won't leave me with a lot of money to come back to Korea. Though it's better than the alternative of living on the streets of Itaewon.

As for what I'll do when I'm home, I don't really know. I suspect a lot of my time with be spent in boredom, watching television, surfing the internet and what have you. To combat this I've recently purchased a fat new Korean grammar book and an electronic Korean-English dictionary, so I can spend some time studying Korean.

I also assume I will indulge in all the food I've been unable to eat over the past year and a half. Mmmm... Mexican... So, maybe I'll consider joining a gym for a month. This should not only help with the boredom but also prevent me from returning to Korea as an even bigger balloon than I've already become.

The job search for October is still in progress. I've had numerous calls and emails. Just today I received three emails and two phone calls for prospective jobs, but I've not been interested in most of the positions as I've been in Korea for some time now and have grown a bit picky. However, today I got a call that I've very interested in and am looking forward to hearing back about it.

The next few days I will begin the arduous process of packing up my apartment and getting things stored away. I say that now, but more than likely I'll wait until the very last minute as I'm want to do. I, like most people, hate moving.

2 comments:

robothands said...

Haha..I love that we can be mean to each other over the internet now. Are we getting silly on Saturday or what?

Jacob said...

i think silly might be a bit of an understatement. At some point we must hit a No Rae Bang...