English Teachers' Orientation: What to Expect (And What Not To)

Every job--even within the same field--will be different.  And every orientation, even within the same company, can be different.  Some throw you out there on your first day and watch as you sink or swim.  Others hold your hand and hammer their way of doing things into your head, denying you any freedom to experiment and improve the system.

No comment.

I've held a variety of jobs  and participated in a range of activities over the last decade, and I've experienced countless orientations that fall all over this spectrum.  When I came to Korea in August of 2014 to teach English as a second language, I didn't know where our program's orientation would entail or how much it would or wouldn't help me in my new teaching job.  Obviously even within the same orientation everyone's personal experience of it will be different, but here is what I took away from mine:

DON'T EXPECT everyone to be on the same level.  There were some people I met that I was incredibly impressed with.  One girl spoke gorgeously fluent Korean (and blew away all the Korean co-teachers at our introduction!), and others still had years of teaching experience or were working on Master's degrees while abroad.  And others were new, just like me.  In fact, you may even meet some people whose qualifications you strongly question, but at the end of the day, take everything as a learning opportunity.  Pick up good tips from the more experienced teachers and learn what not to do from those who set bad examples.  You have control over what kind of teacher you want to be!

DO EXPECT to meet some awesome people.  Not only are you all in the same boat, but that boat is floating in a foreign sea, and you're all feeling equally out of place.  Orientation sort of feels like being a freshman in college all over again--friend groups are formed, everyone is a little awkward and out of their element, and no one wants to seem like they don't know what they're doing.  But everyone is new to something--whether it's teaching, or Korea, or both.  Orientation is a huge opportunity to make friends...and go visit them in their respective placement cities later!

My Korean Milestones

Coming to a new country and not knowing any of the language can be frustrating.  Here are some of the big milestones I've accomplished since coming to Korea:

Week 0 (July):

- Managed to catch a bus from Seoul to Daejeon and meet up with my friends before starving to death.

- Can say my friend's address in Korean and catch a taxi home on my own if necessary.

Week 1 (August):

- Can successfully navigate the subway in Seoul alone....although the stops are all written in English too, and I have a travel card I can top up.

- (Can't read or write)

Week 2: 

- Can order coffee or tea with the Konglish name (Korean pronunciation of English words), as well as beer and soju.

- Can navigate a familiar bus route on my own using my travel card.

- (Still can't read or write, still haven't eaten a meal alone)

Week 3:

- Can read consonant characters and a few vowels.

- Have picked up on a few Korean words and phrases.

- Can tell everyone my height in Korean.

- Am getting really good at charades.

Month 1 (September):

- Can properly greet, thank, and say good-bye to people using the correct level of politeness.

- Can read, albeit slowly and often without understanding what I'm saying.

- Slowly learning a few more phrases and getting used to using them every day.

- Am really, really good at charades.

- (Names are so, so hard to remember, you guys...)

- Can communicate with Korean guys when we go out to clubs.

- Have a pay-as-you-go phone

- Have a Korean bank account

Start Saving for a Ticket to Visit Korea, Because I'm Not Coming Home.

You guys, I'm so, so sorry, but I absolutely love Korea.

Please remind me of this in 5 months when I'm homesick and lonely, craving Mequon Taco Bell and have gotten sick of rice.

About a month ago, I bought a one-way ticket and hopped on a plane, traveling over 30 hours to get here.  I'd never been to Korea before, I don't speak or read the language, and I knew a grand total of four people in a country of 50 million.

Officially the last photograph of me in the USA.

I haven't had a chance to truly sit down and study the language yet, but I now know a handful of phrases and am able to (slowly) read and write.  In the span of a week my circle of friends and family has expanded to eighteen.  In Korean culture, friends are made by being "introduced" by a mutual friend.  Striking up a casual conversation with a stranger is strange and uncomfortable, but with an introduction, people are quick to be friendly and keep in touch on KakaoTalk*.  For example: my friend from college, CJ, introduced me to his friend D on Sunday.  D brought along another friend, B, who I ended up grabbing lunch and hanging out with on Tuesday when my other friends were busy.

Coping with Language Barriers & Becoming a Charades Master

Moving to a new country is never easy.  There are foreign customs, strange foods (that may or may not agree with you), bizarre stereotypes, and every day tasks like grocery shopping or ordering a cup of coffee can become incredibly challenging.

Help.

I lived abroad in London, England for a semester and found plenty of frustrations during my stay--and that was in an English-speaking country.  A step up from that, traveling throughout France (where I speak the native language well) has been manageable.  Even other countries that I have visited in Europe have used Latin alphabets that I have been able to read.

Somebody Time Me, I'm Heading to Korea

Traveling to South Korea from the United States is far more than "just a 13 hour flight".   I've traveled enough (both domestically and abroad) over the last few years to know you should always give yourself extra time between each leg of your journey.  However, the longer you travel, the more these unexpectedly add up.  I got up at 6:45AM on Tuesday, July 29th and was prepped for the following itinerary:

• Leave home in Cedarburg, Wisconsin at 7:45AM CST to make it to Mitchell Airport (35min)
• Catch flight from Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 10:30AM CST to Chicago, Illinois. (2h 45m)
• Sit at the O'Hare Airport for ~2 hours. (5h, and we haven't even left the US yet...)
• Catch the 12h 40m flight from Chicago, Illinois to Tokyo, Japan (17h 40m)
• Sit at the Narita Airport for ~1h 30m (19h)
• Catch the 3h flight from Tokyo, Japan to Seoul, South Korea (22h)
• Catch a bus from Incheon Airport to Daejeon, where I would connect with CJ. (24h)

So hypothetically this should only take me around 24 hours of traveling, right?  Wrong.  So very, very wrong.  Catching all of my connecting flights went over very smoothly.  However, I am neither graceful, fast-moving, nor collected when I am juggling a purse, a computer bag, a 65L backpack, a suitcase, and a second 75L hiking backpack zipped in a carrying case.

Packed and ready to go!