interviews

SO, I had two interviews in the last two days. Going to Gwangju two days in a row was not such a great idea. That is such a long long trip, and it takes a whole day to go there and back, it's likea day of work.
Let's begin with the bad interview...or the good. Oh man, let's just do some contrasting.

Location:
Number two SAID they were in Gwangju. I'm not sure if this is technically true, since it took a twenty minute ride from the bus terminal (Thank God cabs are so cheap here, only $8.50) and we had to go through a forested, undeveloped area to get there. So right there, it's just as expensive to get to downtown as it was from Yeongam, unless of course I took the bus, but let's be honest, this (points at self) was not made for public transit. Of course, anyone who knows me knows I get giddy about efficient bus systems, so nevermind.
Number one is a five minute walk from downtown Gwangju, about seven minutes from the Speakeasy, and two blocks from Art Street, so it means I'll have lots to do before and after work, and I am only a fifteen minute bus ride (I'm taking that to be a 45 minute walk or so) from work.

Pay:
Tie- both said 2.0, but I think I canget them to bump up to 2.1 quite easily. Err... Well, maybe.

Airfare:
Number one will reimburse me on arrival, and they have no money problems, with a waiting list of over 200 students, they have no reason to say they do. Ever.
Number two thought since I was already in Korea that I should not be given an air ticket. When I said that I would not work without a ticket, they said they had misunderstood the situation, and suddenyl they would "do their best" to get me money for a ticket. Then I was told that this would all change if I signed on for two years, then they would even find me a better apartment! Apparently, it is SO hard to find good native speakers... so they don't have the money for one year, but they have the money for two years. So, that smacks of "we are running on so low a budget that if a student leaves our academy, you may not get payed next month!"

Hours:
Number one tells me the hours are typically 4-9 or 5-10 each weeknight. During the summer, they go to a normal work day, but you work the whole day, you don't sit around and fill a desk (still bitter over my public school experience). That's 5 classes a day. Some weeks four, some weeks six.
Number two tells me normal hours are 2- 7:30, that's 7 forty minute lessons. It's more work...but when I asked about over time, I found out that lessons regularly go until 9:30, but they seemed really wishy-washy about comitting to any time.

Students:
So, Number two tells me nothing about their students, outside of the size of the classes. I ask, and I get nothing.
Number one invites me to sit in on two of their classes. The first class was a new class that the teacher had never had before. They asked me what my name was, where I was from, what my hobbies were, and if I was going to be their new teacher. They then LISTENED to my answers, and knodded that they understood, and asked me followups! The class was a little rowdy, apparently all of the trouble makers had been herded into the head teacher's class, and it was his job to "break them". He apologized after class for their behaviour, but it was like a dream compared to the boys' school here in Yeongam.
Number one also tells me that the students are not selected only on those who can pay, but based on entry test scores. The tuition is kept low so that everyone who does well enough can afford to attend. So it's all smart students, and they all are from different class groups, so it's very interesting. And not snobby!

Questions about me:
When you are meeting a person that you will hire to work with children under your care, this is a pretty important thing, right?
Number one asks me a lot. I was at the school for almost four hours. The head teacher and I talk about our hobbies, about my work experience, about why I want to come to Gwangju, about how I have enjoyed Korea this year. We talk about my students now, what I hope for next year, what I am looking to gain from the experience. In conversation with the owner of the Hagwon, he only asked "Why would you choose to work here when other places have more vacation?" So I talked about how public school had more vacation but that there were other problems, like classes that could not be controlled, classes with too much spread in level, and studens that I could not develop relationships with because I only saw them once a week. They seemed pretty impressed with that.
Number two asked me "Can you sign for two years?"

Now, in fairness, Number two had been told that I just wanted to come and look around, so they had not prepared for an actual interview. But still, it doesn't say much about your "school" if a teacher who you have already offered a contract to is coming by to look at your school, would you not want to ask them a question before you put ink on paper? I really wasn't impressed with their lack of interest in who I am.

SO, overall, the choice is clear. I ahven't had any more offers, but that's not surprising since I really limited my search to only one city, and I am looking so far in advance. I'm not worried about limiting myself by accepting an offer from number one, since I have a good recommendation for them and a good feeling on top of that.

I'm pretty excited.Last night number one e-mailed me to start getting things arranged for my visa, and I have another meeting with them on next Saturday.

Everything's coming up Milhouse.