Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dogshed]

I've been here just over a week now.

NetKorea. These people can't communicate but I got here and once I was passed off to the school official everthing went well. I'm glad I did not send my original degree to the NetKorea idiots. I'm also glad I did not buy my ticket until I had my passport and visa in my hand. There is always a glitch. While waiting on my transcripts I told them I could not get an appointment for a health letter from my doctor because I did not know what kind of medical they wanted and that it was hard to get a short notice appointment with a doctor if you are not sick. I didn't want to spend a lot of money for a checkup and then find out the documents are wrong. Finally they told me I could get it in Korea. They also told me I could bring my criminal background check with me. They couldn't tell me what kind of background check they wanted. I signed a letter with my contract that said I was not a criminal and will one to them later. I got an $8 printout from my local police station in Kansas City. It lists my fine for paint and repairs on the outside of my house as a housing arrest. That sounds like I was dealing drugs in government housing.

I got my ticket dirt cheap through www.bt-store.com . Although I'm supposed to get reimbursed I didn't have a lot of credit left on my credit card. Also, I don't know how long it will take to get reimbursed.

I was not assigned to a town within the school district until I arrived. I arrived early on a Saturday morning and the official could not get me to my town on Saturday. He did however take me shopping and sight seeing and paid for my hotel Saturday and Sunday night and then he drove me to my little town Monday morning.

Monday morning my guy tells me the wrangler at my school spend my 300,000 won on furnishings for the apartment. I convinced her to take back the vacuum. I have no carpet and a broom works better on vinyl than a vacuum I think. She had a desk lamp delivered when we sent back the vacuum. I have a bunch of kitchen stuff and bedding I most likely will never use. Some of it is strictly Korean and I don't know what it is. I honestly believe she was being maternal and not trying to pull anything however I was going to use that money for other things and buy kitchens stuff as I needed it. I intend to talk to her about it later.

The apartment is larger than I expected but that is probably because I'm in a rural area. I have a hand sprayer for a shower and I have to be careful not to get water on the electrical outlets.

My wrangler has been very helpful. She has the other set of keys to my apartment and let in the guy to fix the water last week and today let in the cable guy to put in my Internet. She didn't tell me she would be in my apartment until the cable guy asked to hookup my laptop and she didn't know where it was. I know this would freak some people out so I might tell her that some Americans would find this rude. I don't think I would have liked the guy messing with my laptop without me being there. It all worked out in the end.

A teacher drove down from another city to take me and another teacher to another to get our registration cards. He was here on a tourist visa and had been teaching in China. EPIK has a way of getting an E2 visa without sending you to Japan. He had to pay 60000 won and I'm not sure if he gets his airfaire reimbursed. I had to pay $50 for FedEx to and from Chicago, $45 for the VISA and the fee for the regristration card. I'm not sure if it was 10000 or 12000 for the registration card but we had to pay for our bus ride home.

I didn't do any teaching last week and this week they have testing. So far I've been studying Korean and playing on the Internet. The wrangler thinks I get paid for these weeks but she's checking on that.

-Jeff

[poet13]

I just started EIPK also, but I don't think they should have touched your 300k. Thats yours to spend as you like. Unfortunately griping about it might just change your situation from honeymoon to 10 years married.

You can get your health checkup here. it cost me 28 US. It's really mickey mouse. He said, "how are your teeth?" "fine". check. "Are you crazy?". "No". check etc

[kat2]

You had better stand up for yourself concerning the teacher being in your place. Koreans have no sense of personal space or privacy. Say something about it now before you come home and they are all htere waiting to have a party with you.

Is the 300,000 your "settlement allowance"? They really should n't have touched that. Thats basically part of your salary for the first month.

It sounds like the genuinely want to take care of you and make you happy, but they are doing it korean style. Just lay down some rules at the beginning and it will save you a lot of trouble later.

[Ekuboko]

[dogshed]

[Smee]

Yeah, somebody screwed you with your settlement allowance. Each jurisdiction has a budget allotted for foreign teachers, for their apartrments, and for their accommodations inside those apartments. Everything for your place should've come out of that budget.
Stand up for yourself on that account, and tell your whitey wrangler that you need that money.


Everything else you wrote sounds like my first week at my public school (not through EPIK). Except I didn't bitch about it, and I'm having a nice time.


NetKorea hosed me pretty good, too, and I'm also thankful I didn't send anything too important to them. After expressing two packages to them---at $60 US a piece---they told me the school wasn't going to open, and they didn't return any of the materials I sent them.

[dogshed]

[dogshed]