How it all began: Installment three

The first question my skeptics ask is why do you want to go to Asia?

My response is usually that I want to see the world, experience other cultures, and they're hiring English teachers over there. Most people from Canada tend to do the backpacking-through-Europe thing and feel satisfied with themselves after that. I figure that I can see Europe at any time, but the opportunites to go as far as Asia will be slim once I get wrapped up in things.

The next question that one might wonder is why Korea? People do not understand the choice because when thinking of Asia it is often Japan or China that come to mind.

There are a few reasons why we chose Korea (and South Korea at that... ). First of all, I met a girl last year at this time who went there and loved it so much that she was going back to learn Korean. Since then I've met countless people who have went or who know someone who went and who found it incredible. Then, when looking at the Footprints site it seemed as though Korea was a better deal for us. The employers offer return airfare from Canada to Korea, an apartment paid for, a salary of about 18,000,000 to 21,000,000 won (which translates to $1,800 to $2,100 Canadian) a month, and about ten paid vacation days. With the only expenses being food and entertainment it's a pretty good deal. Plus, Japan has a higher cost of living. Then again they probably pay their teachers enough to make up for the difference.

Anyway, we kind of got stuck on the idea of going to Korea and so that is the plan. While we're there I hope to be able to travel to a lot of the surrounding countries, particularly Japan, China, and Thailand. I'm not sure if I'll travel to these places during my year of teaching, or if I will take a month afterwards to do extra travelling before returning to Canada. We shall see what seems most appropriate.

Next up: Dealing with my parent's reaction... (Mom and Dad, this must be discussed. My dedicated readers depend on the whole truth. Ha ha.)