Hello all 

I thought i'd better give you an update of sorts as I know a lot of you get all motherly and concerned with us *cough* young un's *cough* 

Some of you may be aware of my current situation, well those that have me on facebook will be, but for those that don't know I'd thought it best to give you an update.

And for those that have no idea who I am... Hi, I'm Rawky, I'm an English teacher in Korea.

So in mid-October I was told that I was to be made redundant, in a months time, due to them going into financial difficulties. My school isn't government funded, its a private school that is very much a business. Finding out that you are going to be jobless and homeless, in a foreign country, is a pretty scary scenario. To cut to the chase, I completely freaked out. One of the reasons why I chose to become an ESL teacher was to get away from my unfulfilling and slightly empty life back in England (some of you will know what i mean by that).

I was reassured by my school and my friends, out here, that I will find another job instantly and that I shouldn't worry. This made me feel a lot better so I decided rather than go back home, to start reapplying for new teaching jobs. If I'm in the country then I am at a much greater advantage as the school won't have to pay for me to fly out.

I must have applied to over 30 recruiters and I was only offered 3 interviews. I started to wonder if they even received my email and details. I attended all 3 interviews and they seemed to go pretty well, but I was never offered the positions. I then found out why. You see I have something that the schools don't want... a penis. Even though they wanted to interview me, they only ever wanted a female for the job, which was a complete waste of my time.

However, as I was all set to pack my bags and come home, one more interview offer came up. I begrudgingly attended, thinking that there wasn't much point. As usual the interview went very well, amazingly well. I was talking with the mangers for an hour and a half, most of it being about what we like to do on weekends and what movies we liked...in a sense we bonded. The school seemed really nice and they even dropped sly hints that I would be getting the job... but I didn't. They offered it to a girl who is currently living in Ireland, which means they will pay for her flights.

BUT!

This same academy are opening a new school, south of Seoul, and they told the recruiter that they REALLY want me to work there as they want an "approachable" and "enthusiastic" teacher to welcome in the new students. The position doesn't start until the end of Dec/early January and what's more my current school are giving me part-time hours so I can earn a bit of money until I fully leave. Plus, if I have enough time I may even be able to pop home for christmas.

So naturally I took the job, I've signed the contract today, and as long as there is no curve ball heading me way, I should be able to stay for another year.

Much love

Rawky