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HIYA!

Hey, right now I've got two possibilities on my table. Neither has been offered just yet. I have seen one or both contracts. The one I'm more interested in is taking a bit longer in getting back to me. I don't like telling people to wait. You never know when they might decide they've waited long enough.

The one that is communicating with me more seems a bit scary. They seem to want me to work before I've got the proper visa. I will not do this. No chance. I've read what can happen to teachers working without a visa. Deportation is apparently common. It's not for me. There are other things in the contract that I'm not comfortable with. So I'll contact again the one that I'm more interested in. I'll do that tonight.

Teaching hours are Monday to Friday 2pm to 7:20. Wow! Less than other schools. Yet they still say it's 120 hours a month. That's standard. So I don't get it. Daily working hours, according to other schools' contracts, are longer yet the contract will still say 120 hours a month. I am not so great at math, but I don't get it. Something's not being said by someone.

So much regarding teaching English here in Korea seems so fishy, from so much of what I've read that it's scary. I'll only teach for a year. I don't want to sign a contract with a school that'll try to steal money from me, physically and / or verbally abuse me (I've read about such abuse), and use other ways to take advantage of me. I could just quit but it's not that easy either. So why even do this? I am told that it's easy, easy, to save a grand a month. Even $1,500 a month! Where else on Earth am I going to be able to save so much per month? Well, there may be a few countries though I don't know of any. But, to be able to practice Korean Zen AND save so much money, well.... And it seems that the situation has improved quite a bit in the past couple of years. Most of what I've read is from the late 90's to 2003 / 2004. And, if you investigate a school well, the chances of landing in hell are considerably lowered. So, I use all the resources I have easily available.

I've set a goal of saving $12,000 before going back home. But I was told that it'd be easy to save $15,000. So, we'll see. I'll save as much as I can. And though I haven't yet looked into how I can invest the money - through Socially Responsible Investing FOR SURE - I will.

Both jobs are on the southernmost island called Jeju. In a way I don't want to be so far from the peninsula because it's a long boat trip. So if I want to do something on the peninsul, say, in the capital Seoul, I won't have much time because so much will be eaten up on the boat. But still, it's the only place I'm considering.

Going out soon with a lady to walk to a shop several kms away. I want to get a food processor so I can make some fruit - vegetable smoothies in the mornings. Vegetables are free at the cafeteria. I've been buying fruit - mostly bananas - at a shop just outside the university where this camp is being held. I've been eating some of the food at the cafeteria. Some of it tastes pretty darn good. But vegetarian food is so scarce in that place that I don't eat much there. They've been told that there are vegetarians but it doesn't seem to have helped. There is one other vegetarian here. With a population of 48 million people, you'd think that there'd be some vegetarians, especially since Buddhism has long roots in this country. At least they've responded by putting out sliced carrots, onions, cabbage, and sometimes cucumbers. Some lettuce or other fibrous vegetables would be nice but I'm glad just to get this much.

Enough of this. We're going to eat at the cafeteria then go to the shop.

Troy.