Relief and Confidence

Hello Hello!

Among a disastrous situation at my current job, I have found solace in the fact that it is temporary and that bigger and way better things are on the horizon!

We received a contract from the St. Louis school and upon initial review we were a little confused by it. After much discussion amongst ourselves, and with anybody else who was willing to read it, we came up with a list of questions. We sent the questions to the school as well as Dan at Teach ESL Korea (he has been our guide through this process). We had thirteen questions and we felt confident that our questions were fair and easy to understand. Shortly after, Dan emailed us and said that it was the most thorough set of questions he has seen and that we may "scare off the school"!! I was startled by the thought of that. So I immediately felt bad about asking so many questions, but then I realized that I needed them answered before I would dedicate myself to such an extreme lifestyle change.

So, after sulking over it for a bit, thinking we totally messed up, Barry sent an email. It was in response to our questions and I was terrified to open it, thinking it would say "sorry, we have offered the job to other applicants"....but this was not the case! Instead, it was a full response to each of our questions, answered better than I could have hoped for. No loose ends, no diluted statements, just straight answers. So, needless to say, I'm more than confident in this situation and I have posted the Q & A below. There are also some interesting links included for those who are interested.

Hi all,
Hopefully these answers will help Corinne and Alexandra! I havewritten the answers under the questions to hopefully keep things clear.

> 1. In your logo on the top left corner, why is international spelled without> an "a?"
A long time ago when the logo was designed, the second 'a' was missed,and now that everything has been set up using this logo, and there isa certain symmetry to the text, adding an extra letter will mess thisup!

> 2. When will we know our exact date of departure/arrival to Korea.
We will be able to arrange this after all the documents are processed.
During the interview process I told Alexandra that the school likesnew teachers to come over a few days before starting their first fullday. A provisional first full working date would be Monday November2nd. Ideally you would arrive in Korea on the previous Thursday,observe the school on the Friday, have the weekend to relax and startwork on Monday morning.Therefore, a provisional arrival date would be Thursday the 29th ofOctober. Your departure date depends on how long it will take you tofly from your closest international airport to Seoul.
If the visa process takes longer than normal, for whatever reason,these dates me be postponed. We won't be able to make a final decisionuntil all the documents have been processed.

> 3. How much will the resident tax be ( the income tax was mentioned)?
This is included in the income tax.

> 4. How close will the apartments be to the school?
As I said in the email with the apartment pictures, the school doesnot know what is going to happen regarding the acquisition of a newapartment at the end of October, so I don't know how far from theschool any new apartments will be. Currently, the apartments are a 15minute walk from the school and any new apartments will be the same or closer.

> 5. Do you know an average cost of utilities per month?
How long is a piece of string?!!!The cost of utilities is very dependent on the type of person you areand the season. In summer, the electricity bill is more because youwill probably use your AC unit. In winter, the gas bill is morebecause the under floor heating and water heater are gas powered. The more you use, the more expensive it is. However, they are probablymuch cheaper than what you would pay in The U.S.A.
A general consensus from other teachers is that an electricity billshould be about 10,000 won, while a gas bill should be about 35,000.You would also have a cell phone bill, dependent on how much you use it, and possibly internet, which could be 30,000 to 50,000 dependingon the service.

> 6. How much is our monthly premium for medical insurance, what does it> cover, and who is the provider?
The health insurance is a national scheme, and the best source ofinformation is the website
http://www.nhic.or.kr/eng/
The total health insurance contribution is 5.08% of your monthlysalary, we pay 2.54% and the school pays the 2.54%.

> 7. How much is the monthly pension contribution?
The pension contribution is 9% of your monthly salary, the school pays4.5%, we pay 4.5%,

> 8. If it is possible, we would like a copy of the "Code of Conduct for> Teachers."
Of course - it is attached!!

> 9. We were wondering if this is a copy of the translated Korean version of> the contract and will we be required to sign a Korean version upon arrival?
Nope, the English contract is the final and legally binding version.

> 10. Could we possibly get a list of the current textbooks being used to> teach English, so as to become familiar with the content beforehand.
There are a lot of different books being used in the school at themoment, and some books are only used periodically depending on thelevels of classes. The books listed below are for the most commonlyused books, and series that you would probably be using if you took the job.

LA: McGraw/Hill Treasures series, levels 1 to 3
Science: Scholastic Science, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill (New and oldseries) levels 1-3, Top Readers, Scott Foresmann Series 1-3
Conversation: Super Tots 1a-3b, Super Kids 1-4, Let's Go 1-6, Time forKids 1-4,
Reading: Boost Reading 1-3, Reading Juice 1-3, Bricks Reading 1-3.Chant and Read: Jack and Jill series 1-1 to 1-8
Writing: Writing Starter levels 1-2, My Writing Starter levels 1-2,Boost Writing levels 1-3. Sentences to Paragraphs levels 1-3, I CanWrite English levels 1-3
Math: Foresmann/Wesley Red and Green
Phonics: Modern Curriculum Press levels A and K. Happy House Phonics levels 1-4

> 11. How long has the school been open?
Michelle, the current boss took over from her sister in law a fewyears back. So, under its current management, about 4 years. Theschool started in January 2002.

> 12. Do you have any brochures or a website about the school we could look at> and share with our families?
Unfortunately the only brochure/website is the school's Korean website, http://www.stlouis.co.kr

> 13. Is there a way to contact the current native teacher?
There is no problem contacting any of the other native English speakers at the school.
If you are on facebook I can direct you to the pictures posted by teachers of field trips, birthday parties and school events.
Hopefully this gives you enough information. If you need anythingclarified or if you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Best wishes,
Barry