The new normal
Hey everyone!
It's been a while. How are you doing? Like, really, how are you? 2020 has been a year, right? I haven't been blogging at all but hopefully you've been following us on instagram, that's about all I've been able to devote any extra energy towards..
Honestly, 2020 started out ok! My childhood best friend-maid of honor visited Seoul and we rang in the new year with friends and dancing in Itaewon. It was crazy (and scary) how fast things changed.
Initially, being in Korea seemed like it might not be the best place to be as we watched our neighbor, China, explode with a new strain of the coronavirus. We were torn between making a run for it back to America or staying put and waiting to see what happened. Cases in Korea started popping up relatively slowly at first and then a huge boom from Daegu and all was shut down. Schools were closed, restaurants and bars were closed, movie theaters, shopping centers, everything, closed. The streets were vacant. It did not feel like we were living in a city of 30 million people. All classes went online and we woke up each morning looking at the Covid count. Italy got hit hard and soon all of Europe. When it hit the States it was like a raging forest fire. Numbers were astronomical from the get-go and then we were thankful we waited it out and stayed put. When we returned to school, it was required to wear masks all day everyday, temperature checks three times per day and constant hand washing. It sounds like a lot, but it's become the new normal and I'm ok with that. The students as a whole I would argue are healthier than usual because they can't put fingers and toys in their mouths!
In the meantime, we had actually decided that after our contracts finished this summer, we would head back to the States but when the virus became a bigger and bigger deal, we decided to stay, but it was too late and our school had already started the hiring process to replace us. Well, shit. It's now May, in the middle of a global pandemic. Home is getting worse and worse everyday and there looks to be a hiring freeze in Boise. COOL. We quickly signed up for a recruiting company called Search Associates (highly recommend by the way) and tes.com and started applying our butts off. Guys, I think we each applied for over 25 jobs. That's each of us. Over 25 different jobs each. and we weren't hearing back from many. I did get a couple of interviews at the beginning of our search that looked promising: a job in Hangzhou China and a job here in Seoul. I had two interviews with each company but China has changed their search to teachers that are already within China because they've closed their borders and the job here they decided that they weren't going to add a new position after all due to the virus. Brett had one interview with a hagwon here in Seoul but it would not be a step in the professional direction he is seeking so he turned them down. We got turned down by an amazing place in Thailand that we had been short-listed for but we quickly discovered that we were competing with so many people in the same position as us. Brett received and email from a school in Columbia that thanked him for his application but they had received over 4,500 applicants and he didn't make the final cut. 4,500. For a job in Columbia. Like, holy smokes. Things abroad were not looking good so we turned to the States. We knew we could probably find something in San Diego that would be temporary and could live with Brett's parents for a bit but not ideal for the long term.
My grandfather passed away May 14 (not due to Covid) and that sucked to be here and not there. I even went to work the day I found out. But it's not like I could have done anything if we were there so I just felt even more stuck than ever.
After all this job searching, we turned toward Eastern Idaho. We thought that might have more opportunity and we could be near my grandma. There were a few job openings in the high school and elementary school. Brett got a call about a History position but it was only part-time. He asked again about the potential in Boise but it was still looking grim. It is now June and we are still not sure what the next step is and where we'd be in a month. That's a terrifying thought. We reached out to our landlord in Boise because we could potentially move in to our house and do some online teaching while we wait for schools to slowly open up again and maybe a job would pop up so we booked flights to the States for July 20, three days after my last day. That was June 28, two days after our 10 year anniversary which was a lovely day but of course not quite the celebration we wanted as we entered double-digits of marriage. But nice, nonetheless. Oh and we got each other the same gifts! Ha. Silly us.
Alright so back to reality. Flights are booked, right? So we'll be flying out. We committed to going back even though the amount of cases in the States goes up daily by how many Korea has total. Alright, this will be nice. We'll see family, friends, do our best to get something to work and stay healthy. JUST KIDDING. Brett got an email TWO DAYS after we booked flights for basically a dream job position here in Korea teaching English to 9th and 10th grade students. Like, if Brett were to tell you what he wanted to teach next, that would be it and there it be, in his inbox. They arranged the interview for Thursday and it went very well but he would need to have another interview the following week with HR. More waiting. HR interview also went well and both interviews wanted to offer him the job but he had to do one more interview with the Head of Schools. Keep in mind, we still have flights and we are counting down the days to either fly out or not. We fly out in two weeks, 10 days...July 10 was the third and final interview and he was offered the job! (Thank you American Airlines for letting us easily cancel our flights-we've got credit to fly anytime between now and December 2021).
This is very exciting news and we were trying not to get our hopes up. In the meantime we had also been saying weird goodbyes to friends because it was like, we know we are leaving Seoul but the destination was still unknown. I know folks back home are disappointed that we will not be returning, as are we, don't get us wrong, we miss everyone but the likelihood of getting a job continues to go down as the Covid numbers go up. That being said, we will be moving to Jeju Island, a sub-tropical island off the southern most coast of Korea. It looks absolutely beautiful and has tons of outdoor opportunities. The school looks incredible as well and I am stoked for Brett's position and that Finn can go to this school. It is another two year contract but in these weird times, we are grateful to have a job for atleast one of us. I am hoping to teach online and start working on my Master's! It's nice to feel that we are in a position to be flexible like this and that I don't necessarily *have* to work. I will want to stay busy though. And extra money is always nice. There's also like maybe 20 contained cases of the virus on the island so who wants to visit?
If you want to take a look at the school, check out this link.
And here's some stuff about Jeju: Living in Jeju, Pictures
In conclusion, I still have one week of school left. It's been another challenging year in the books but we have persevered and made it through. Finn even had a dream the other night where we moved to China, he got the virus and died. I explained to him that dying in your dream is your subconscious telling you that you are leaving an old part of your life behind to start something new and in this case, I think better. I think this will be a very good change of pace for us.
It's been a while. How are you doing? Like, really, how are you? 2020 has been a year, right? I haven't been blogging at all but hopefully you've been following us on instagram, that's about all I've been able to devote any extra energy towards..
Honestly, 2020 started out ok! My childhood best friend-maid of honor visited Seoul and we rang in the new year with friends and dancing in Itaewon. It was crazy (and scary) how fast things changed.
Initially, being in Korea seemed like it might not be the best place to be as we watched our neighbor, China, explode with a new strain of the coronavirus. We were torn between making a run for it back to America or staying put and waiting to see what happened. Cases in Korea started popping up relatively slowly at first and then a huge boom from Daegu and all was shut down. Schools were closed, restaurants and bars were closed, movie theaters, shopping centers, everything, closed. The streets were vacant. It did not feel like we were living in a city of 30 million people. All classes went online and we woke up each morning looking at the Covid count. Italy got hit hard and soon all of Europe. When it hit the States it was like a raging forest fire. Numbers were astronomical from the get-go and then we were thankful we waited it out and stayed put. When we returned to school, it was required to wear masks all day everyday, temperature checks three times per day and constant hand washing. It sounds like a lot, but it's become the new normal and I'm ok with that. The students as a whole I would argue are healthier than usual because they can't put fingers and toys in their mouths!
 |
| Waiting for the bus on Nature Day. How cute are their binoculars?! |
In the meantime, we had actually decided that after our contracts finished this summer, we would head back to the States but when the virus became a bigger and bigger deal, we decided to stay, but it was too late and our school had already started the hiring process to replace us. Well, shit. It's now May, in the middle of a global pandemic. Home is getting worse and worse everyday and there looks to be a hiring freeze in Boise. COOL. We quickly signed up for a recruiting company called Search Associates (highly recommend by the way) and tes.com and started applying our butts off. Guys, I think we each applied for over 25 jobs. That's each of us. Over 25 different jobs each. and we weren't hearing back from many. I did get a couple of interviews at the beginning of our search that looked promising: a job in Hangzhou China and a job here in Seoul. I had two interviews with each company but China has changed their search to teachers that are already within China because they've closed their borders and the job here they decided that they weren't going to add a new position after all due to the virus. Brett had one interview with a hagwon here in Seoul but it would not be a step in the professional direction he is seeking so he turned them down. We got turned down by an amazing place in Thailand that we had been short-listed for but we quickly discovered that we were competing with so many people in the same position as us. Brett received and email from a school in Columbia that thanked him for his application but they had received over 4,500 applicants and he didn't make the final cut. 4,500. For a job in Columbia. Like, holy smokes. Things abroad were not looking good so we turned to the States. We knew we could probably find something in San Diego that would be temporary and could live with Brett's parents for a bit but not ideal for the long term.
My grandfather passed away May 14 (not due to Covid) and that sucked to be here and not there. I even went to work the day I found out. But it's not like I could have done anything if we were there so I just felt even more stuck than ever.
After all this job searching, we turned toward Eastern Idaho. We thought that might have more opportunity and we could be near my grandma. There were a few job openings in the high school and elementary school. Brett got a call about a History position but it was only part-time. He asked again about the potential in Boise but it was still looking grim. It is now June and we are still not sure what the next step is and where we'd be in a month. That's a terrifying thought. We reached out to our landlord in Boise because we could potentially move in to our house and do some online teaching while we wait for schools to slowly open up again and maybe a job would pop up so we booked flights to the States for July 20, three days after my last day. That was June 28, two days after our 10 year anniversary which was a lovely day but of course not quite the celebration we wanted as we entered double-digits of marriage. But nice, nonetheless. Oh and we got each other the same gifts! Ha. Silly us.
 |
| The traditonal gift for 10 years is tin so of course we got each other Makkeoli kettles. Mine is on the right from Donggmyo flea market and Brett ordered his and got it engraved. |
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| The Korean is nonsensical and is phonetically spelling out Partners in Crime as "Pah-tuh neh-suh een kuh-crah-eem"-clever |
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| Just a few more wrinkles and gray hair than 10 years ago but we still look fab! |
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| Ugly Society for the win :) |
This is very exciting news and we were trying not to get our hopes up. In the meantime we had also been saying weird goodbyes to friends because it was like, we know we are leaving Seoul but the destination was still unknown. I know folks back home are disappointed that we will not be returning, as are we, don't get us wrong, we miss everyone but the likelihood of getting a job continues to go down as the Covid numbers go up. That being said, we will be moving to Jeju Island, a sub-tropical island off the southern most coast of Korea. It looks absolutely beautiful and has tons of outdoor opportunities. The school looks incredible as well and I am stoked for Brett's position and that Finn can go to this school. It is another two year contract but in these weird times, we are grateful to have a job for atleast one of us. I am hoping to teach online and start working on my Master's! It's nice to feel that we are in a position to be flexible like this and that I don't necessarily *have* to work. I will want to stay busy though. And extra money is always nice. There's also like maybe 20 contained cases of the virus on the island so who wants to visit?
If you want to take a look at the school, check out this link.
And here's some stuff about Jeju: Living in Jeju, Pictures
In conclusion, I still have one week of school left. It's been another challenging year in the books but we have persevered and made it through. Finn even had a dream the other night where we moved to China, he got the virus and died. I explained to him that dying in your dream is your subconscious telling you that you are leaving an old part of your life behind to start something new and in this case, I think better. I think this will be a very good change of pace for us.
Thanks for reading and hopefully I will get back on the blogging train! Stay well all!
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