I called Adventure Teaching looking for a way to get to Korea. I'd never travelled outside of North America; I didn't know the first thing about Korea, but I wanted to teach English. I wanted to see the world, meet new people, and get paid for it. Come on, who wouldn't?
Having no idea how to make this happen, however, I found myself relying fully on the generous assistance of the staff at A.T. They took great interest in my situation and, not only educated me on the fundamentals of life, language, and culture in Korea, but also advised me in detail as I struggled to decide which year-long contract to accept.
My first month in Korea was stressful, to say the least. I started teaching classes the day after I got off the plane. I lived in a temporary apartment. I couldn't sleep past 7:00 in the morning and I'm not a morning person. The only two people that I knew in the entire country lived too far away to meet up, except for on the occasional weekend. I didn't know where to buy groceries or how to order food. I lived off of the granola bars that I'd packed from home and the peanuts that I saved from the plane ride. I'm glad that month is over; I don't want to think about it anymore.
Fast-forwarding to the present, I'm half-way through my first year in Korea and, to my pleasant surprise, I'm happy. At the end of the first month, I moved to a brand new apartment, which is far nicer than anything I'd be able to afford back in the States, and began teaching regular classes at a new branch of the academy. My co-teachers are warm and welcoming and my middle school students are not only bright and interested, but hilarious! Outside of work, I study Korean, meet up with friends, and explore the city. The transition period was clearly not my favorite, but now that I've settled in, it's worth it and I'm enjoying doing exactly what I set out to do: seeing the world, meeting new people, and getting paid for it.
I never would've made it this far without the help and guidance of the friendly people at Adventure Teaching. They helped me find a good place to work in a great country and, although it took some time, the transition was way smoother than it would've been without them!
Whenever my friends back home comment that they're thinking of teaching English in Korea, I refer them to A.T. and tell them to go for it. You never know what's waiting for you on the other side of the ocean!