Recruiting companies act as the go-between from you to the Korean schools. They interview you and once they accept you, they help find you a job, set up the interview with the school and "in theory" help you through the visa process and everything else you need to do to get to Korea. Again, this is a much wider issue I'll cover later. Anyhow, when I got the original job description for Samsung from my recruiter on a Monday or Tuesday, I had to send in some pictures and then my interview would be set up with the school. I sent one batch in the next day and then another set shortly afterwards and my recruiter said an interview would be set up for next week.
Then I woke up Saturday, April 30th, checked my iPhone for facebook and e-mail and I see something odd in-between the class emails and spam. The sender is Tamara Bolk and the subject line is Greeting from a current Samsung teacher...
"...AND a UW-L Alum!!! (Crazy small world!)
Hey there,
I'm one of the English teachers at Samsung in Gumi, and I just found out that you will be coming to Korea to teach at Samsung! I was shocked when I heard you were also from La Crosse (I graduated last year)! You'll actually be taking over all my classes, and considering it looks like we'll only have a day together before I head home, I thought it would be great if we could get in touch before you came out! I didn't have any contact with any of the other teachers before I came out, and I really wish I would have....so feel free to ask any and as many questions as you'd like! I'd be happy to answer them :) "
At this point, I am extremely confused as I have not had an interview yet but after some e-mails from Tami, phone calls with my recruiting company and my parents, and extensions on homework to allow me to think and make this life-changing decision, I got the job.
The honest God-send in this whole situation was being able to contact Tami throughout the whole process. I didn't plan on going to Korea until August and wasn't prepared to make such a quick decision but it was so helpful that she could answer my million questions. I knew exactly what I was getting into...my new boss, the living situation, dress code, Samsung facility, everything. Another thing that helped was getting to read Tami's blog (Link on the right!). I saw what a great relationship she developed with her students and the places she got to see in Korea. I knew that although this job wasn't perfect (aka the 6:30am class time : / ), getting to teach friendly, caring, and fun students is what really matters at the end of the day.
And after my whole passport fiasco and it barely getting to me before my proposed departure date, it came in the mail, I hopped on 3 airplanes and ended up in Korea. I was fortunate to arrive 5 days before Tami left and she was able to show me around Samsung, introduce me to the classes and I got to partake in her good-bye dinners. I noticed that actual pictures of me in Korea are minimal so I got to steal some from Tami. So here is me, Tami, and some of my current students:
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| Good-bye party w/ Power English + Ajay |
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| The guy on the far right(Jim)=proof that not all Asians are short : P |
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| As long as you're Asian, you're never to old to flash the peace sign ^ ^ |
So here's my thank you to Tami - we had so many crazy coincidences both being UW-L students, Korean adoptees and sociologists...but I really believe God knew that I needed that extra-reassurance for my move to Korea and it was in His plan all along for us to connect. Best of luck in grad school and we shall meet again!
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