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allnitedj72
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2003 10:38 pm Post subject: import duties, blacklists, electronics, good experiences... |
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Ok, I've been reading the posts and discussions on here for the last few days. I've laughed, I've cried, I've gotten up to get a jelly donut. I think I've made up my mind to try to teach english I just want some more information:
1) One of the post mentioned a "Black list" of schools and/or recruiters made by some of the ESL teachers. Where can I find this?
2) Is there any taxes/charges for personal electronics that I would ship or bring from home (i.e. my computer, DVD player...)
3) Why does it seem that so many people have had good experiences and so many people have had bad ones? Is there a way to limit this?
I would appreciate any feedback at all. |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2003 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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Let me take a stab at #2 and #3:
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2) Is there any taxes/charges for personal electronics that I would ship or bring from home (i.e. my computer, DVD player...) |
Basically, no taxes for personal use stuff.
You might consider leaving the monitor home and just bringing the computer itself , and buying a used monitor here (leave the mouse and keyboard too... they're cheaper to buy here than to pack in luggage). For that matter, if you're computer-inclined, just bring the mainboard, HD, CD-RW & cards separately (wrapped in static protect bags & socks, etc) and leave the heavy case and power supply home too.
I recommend bringing a cheap DVD player - especially the cheapo ones they sell at Wal-Mart - they're about 1/2 the price of here, and the dirt-cheap ones can usually be made to play DVDs from other regions (like Korea). It's harder to make Sonys and other real brands to do this trick. Do a search for "DVD region hack" - it usually involves a series of secret keypresses on the DVD remote.
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3) Why does it seem that so many people have had good experiences and so many people have had bad ones? Is there a way to limit this? |
It's basically because so many people have had good experiences and so many people have had bad ones . You can expect that these boards tilt to the negative, since happy and content people don't have the same burning impulse to vent on the Internet. But, for sure, there are dangers and pitfalls to teaching here.
The way to limit the risks is research and education. You're doing it now. Get really good with search engines (good enough that you don't need to ask where blacklists are). Pour over this and similar sites. Read any and all of the various "Prisoner of Wonderland"-style journal sites to give you an idea of what can go really seriously wrong. Most of all, don't be afraid to ask for help and advice regarding schools and contracts here (and on other sites too).
These are just some of my ideas and opinions - looking forward to reading what others have to add.
Good luck - hope to see you here soon! |
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crescent
Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: yes.
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2003 12:04 am Post subject: |
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If you bring an electric appliance from the west, you can't use it in Korea unless you also have an adapter for Korean outlets. The Korean power outlets have different shaped receptacles and use 220volt power...not the 110 volts that we use back home.
crescent |
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denz
Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: soapland. alternatively - the school of rock!
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2003 1:29 am Post subject: yesh well |
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ok, well you may need to buy an adapter for the plug in thing. this is true, but for many really cool tech things (like digital cams, laptops etc) you can check the label on the big old power AC adaptor. if it says something like "input: 100-240v", then you are laughing. it will probably work just about anywhere. my sony notebook only needs 19.5 volts to run. the rest of it is just sucked up by the AC adapter (dont ask me how).
you can pick up a handy multi point adapter (for the plug part) at any good electronics store in the US (or you can get one here once you know your way around).
have fun
denz |
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allnitedj72
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2003 6:42 am Post subject: |
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hehehe.. well, duh, on me. Considering how computer literate I am there are some days that it just doesn't pay to log on. I didn't even really think of doing an internet search. Shame on me.
Thanks for the info. One more question though. How much are computers and computer parts in Korea? |
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The Great Wall of Whiner
Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Location: Middle Land
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2003 9:44 am Post subject: computer parts |
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About the same as they are back home.
But if you speak farely good Korean, you can sift through classified and buy 2nd hand stuff. |
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