Its not exactly the prettiest picture I've taken but, well, neither are the gas prices. I keep reading in the US news about how expensive gas is...and I'll be the first to admit that $3.oo a gallon is really expensive. Well, here's what gas prices are like in Korea. I read in the Korea Herald last week that Korea has the 6th highest gas prices in the World. The price on the top is for the gas they put into my tank per liter. At the current exchange rate, that's well over $6.00 a gallon! Its a good thing my motorcycle gets great mileage!
This being said, one of my favorite things about coming to gas stations in Korea is how fast it goes. All of the stations are Full Service. Right when you pull in, someone happily comes running up to serve you. I just tell them to put 10,000 won in, they fill it up and take the money. I'm out in less than 2 minutes!
Hi Dan, I've been reading your blog and it is really interesting! I'm hoping to come teach English in Jeju in September, and was wondering about your experience there so far...if it's a place you'd recommend? It seems really beautiful from your pictures. Also would you recommend CDI or are there other schools in Jeju that are also good to teach at? It's a bit hard doing the research from over here (Maine, USA), so I'd really appreciate any advice you have! Thanks, Hannah
ReplyDeleteps. my email address is flowernose@hotmail.com if you have a chance to write.
Hi Hannah! Good to hear from you!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to be vague about specifics, but I honestly don't know much about other schools. I will tell you that there's lots of them around and the majority of them are good. My school is great, but geared more towards a teacher who is willing to work. I enjoy it because my personality pushes me to do my best, but I know quite a few people that would hate working here. The money is better than most, but you have to work for it. It might be difficult to get a job here, since you have to talk to the CDI corporate headquarters to get placed on the Jeju campus.
It honestly seems like most people here seem to have at least decent schools. As for finding the good ones and bad ones, here's my advice: Check the newsgroup rhymeswithjeju (yahoo groups) There's been some posts about bad schools. You can even ask questions on the group to a wide audience if you want. Also, when interviewing for a school, don't hesitate to ask to speak with a current teacher. I can't think of any reason why the foreign teachers wouldn't be perfectly honest with you. Ask them for as many dirty details you can think of (teaching hours, prep-time hours, split shifts, overtime, contract issues). It's the one thing I wish I did when interviewing.
Many people love Jeju, but some people hate it. I personally think Jeju is a great place to live. I'm a bit turned off by the cold winters with little snow...it just makes for a cold winter (Dec-Mar), but that's my only complaint. Its easy to get out of the city and go to any number of beaches, hiking, or any activity you want. My favorites are rock-climbing, cruising on my motorcycle and learning Korean. Its no big deal about living on an "isolated" island. If you want to, Seoul is only an hour plane flight away. I haven't really been to the mainland so I can't really compare it, but everyone says Jeju has a much slower pace and is MUCH cleaner.
Good Luck!