Seeing green: Funding your travel plans.

Teacher orientation put on by the EPIK program

I have green on the brain this week with it being St. patty’s, and I got to thinking about how nice it has been to see more of the color in the contents of my wallet these last six months. More than I ever saw as a tuition paying student, working two or three jobs in order to get by. And more than I was hopeful of seeing after graduation with a less than inviting job market. So Here I am on another great trip and I have friends back home wondering how on earth I could have just graduated university, and be jet-setting off to Hong Kong or Tokyo for the weekend? I am amongst a growing group who is bent on making the most of their life while seeing the world, and not willing to let an economic crisis stand in our way. This does mean that we have to work for it, but we get to be a little more creative with our approach.

I have exceptionally creative friends. Friends whose job titles have included: road kill maintenance crew, Argentinian circus intern, horse vaulting choreographer, fiddle tutor, Condor tagger and researcher, ski instructor in the Swiss alps, Italian au pair and personal assistant/beach bum on Kauai. What these friends all share is the love of travel and the willingness to seek out a job that will allow them to do this. The internet is filled with sites offering opportunities to earn big bucks abroad and it can be daunting sifting through these ads. Here is a list of my favorite go to sites to finding creative jobs around the world are, in no particular order:

• www.daveseslcafe.com (mostly teaching opportunities categorized by most recent and by region. The site also offers great lesson plans, tips and support once you have landed a job.)
• http://www.themoscowtimes.com/careercenter/ (This site is particularly of interest to me as my fascination with working in Russia grows.)
• http://www.aupair-world.net/ (I had personal luck on this web site about five years ago when I decided to work as a nanny in Europe for the year. The site does however charge a membership fee)
• http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/ (A recruiting agency based in Vancouver who helps place teachers in locations throughout Asia)
• http://www.wwoof.org/ (This is a volunteer only site but offers free room and board and a good opportunity to re-fuel during a long trip, while giving back in the sake of organic farming)
• Your international job opportunities counselor in your university as well as International job fairs held on most campus’.

The Korea Herald reported over 17,000 E-2 Visa holders working as foreigners in Korea. Most of us are teachers between the ages of 21-30. I decided to take the teaching route and opted further to go through a recruiting agency based in Vancouver. The process seemed tedious at the time (I was finishing my undergraduate degree, working three jobs and newly engaged attempting to plan a wedding.) My recruiting agency kept me organized with time lines of when and where paperwork needed to go, and was within reach constantly. If you have applied for a visa before and know the drill, it might save time to go directly to your hopeful employer and by-pass the recruiter. It took about six months from the time Matt and I first submitted paper work to start our contract process for a Korea work visa, until we boarded our plane to Seoul. In that time we handed over our passports, a total of 8 photos, finger prints, criminal background checks, around $100 each in processing fees, two letters of recommendation, sealed transcripts from our university (in my case a letter stating I was soon to be graduated) and for Matt a copy of his teaching certificate and for me a resume detailing experience volunteering in public schools. This seems like the standard list of requirements with  many programs requiring now a CELTA or equivalent TEFL certificate to teach English as a second language.  Our application culminated with a phone interview that, truth be told, was with a native Korean whom I could barely understand forcing me to give only polite “yes’ ” to unrecognizable questions. It turned out OK I guess. When all was said and done the paper work involved was well worth the job I landed and the experience, travel opportunities and “green” that has come along with it.

This is my third experience working as a foreigner and its rewards continue to challenge and thrill me. I am eager to eventually return to my home country and score my dream job there, but even then, travel opportunities will be welcomed.

If you want some more information or first hand accounts of expat life, lonely planet has a great forum: “The long haul, living and working abroad” http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=30

Our first pay check in Korea

Happy travels!