South African in South Korea

I have bee living in South Korea, Mokpo City for just about three months now. I found out about CIEE through doing a quick internet search for agencies to help one teach abroad and I immediately made contact with them. I'm South African and at first I had no idea that they were situated in the states, but I continued my process with them. During my application process I hit a few bumps and decided(a few months into the whole process) that I want to change agencies due to financial issues. I found a agency in South Africa and started the whole process again. Long story short, my SA agent was the worst! It was already August and I knew that fall term starts from September in South Korea, as a result my new agent just told me he's sorry but I won't be able to leave until next year February and gave me all sorts of lame excuses for this. I was very disappointed and decided to contact my CIEE coordinator again to clarify a few things for me and within one week we continued my application process, I managed to sort out my finances and in September I was on a plane on my way to South Korea.

Leading up to my departure I had the full assistance of my coordinator, Luke Beland. He helped and guided me through everything and I had never had to wait one full day for a response from him irrespective of the difference in time. I was introduced to my SK coordinator (Bradley Brennan) who has been extremely helpful throughout this whole process. I can write a whole new review just about our fun orientation weekend and how much the workshops had helped me to adjust and settle in as a new teacher.

The academy I am teaching at has been exceeding my expectations, both my boss and his wife have been extremely helpful and just very caring in general. We have a good working relationship and I can go to them with anything. My apartment is a small studio apartment for one person. It was neat upon arrival and I have not had any issues with utility bills or noise or anything else.

I'm having a great time so far and have met a lot of new friends through CIEE, which is super awesome considering no one speaks English around here and it's hard to establish friendships due to the language barrier. Thanks to the CIEE orientation. I can't complain about anything from the start of my application process right up until today. I would recommend CIEE to anyone who wants to teach abroad. Mokpo City is beautiful and quiet and has a lot of outdoor activities to do. Catching a KTX or bus to anywhere is very easy and convenient too.

Thank you CIEE.