Write and eat 2: What now?

So, you've made the plunge. You've found a good place to work. What next? Well, the school should be providing at least the cost of a plane ticket from the nearest major international airport to the city you'll be working in. The next thing you need to know about is your visa. It should be easy to ask your new boss. The main concern is will I have my visa before I arrive or will I need to get it after. There are advantages to both. If you have the visa before you arrive it will be much easier to get past immigration. You won't need a ticket out of Korea to fly in. You will be working legally from the start. If you are to get the visa when you arrive you will get a free day trip to another country. Make sure your employer pays for this up front. Your visa will start when you get it, so it will actually cover your year's contract. You won't need to leave home early to get the visa before you leave.

Personally I prefer to have the visa in my passport before I arrive. It makes the bureaucracy easier to deal with, and It means there will be no legal problems. Even if the visa expires a few days before your contract, there shouldn't be any problems. I just don't like the idea of having to purchase a flight out of the country I'll be working in, especially when I may never get a chance to use it.

One other thing to consider is what kind of visa you want. You will have to have a work visa to work legally. If you don't have one, you can be fined heavily and deported. What you will need to decide is if you want to get a multiple entry visa. The normal visa let's you enter the country once. Since you have to get the visa outside the country you're one entry is used up when you arrive. If you want to take a trip out of country, you need a multiple entry visa.

Getting one shouldn't be too difficult. It costs around 40,000 won ($40 US), but when you make almost 2,000,000 a month that is't bad. You will need to go to a local immigration office, but you will probably have to do that anyway to register as a legal alien. You should be able to get both done at the same time. I recommend it highly. If you are going to spend a year in Asia, see as much as you can. Of course, once you've spent a year teaching here, you can probably come back any time you want to too.

Now comes the biggest question. What should I pack for a year. First of all, be ready to pay extra at the airport, especially if you have to fly to an international airport. A year's worth of luggage weighs a lot. On the up side, I've done this twice now and never had a problem or had to pay a fee.

To start your packing, you will need clothes. Luckily you won't need parkas and ski pants for most places. I would advise you to ask your school about proper work dress. If they are casual (many are) bring several nice shirts and at least three pairs of good pants/skirts. I recommend pants regardless of gender. You never know what a preschooler will do with/to a dress. When I came I packed 8 shirts. You will probably have to change every day or more often is summer. You will sweat a lot. Make sure to bring some casual clothes for your time off.

Next, you will want some toiletries. Definitely bring a year's supply of deodorant. It seems to be a tough product to find in Asia. Bring enough soap, toothpaste, and so forth to last a few weeks. You can get those easily and fairly cheaply. Washcloths and towels are a good idea too. If you take medicine regularly, it is a good idea to get enough to last several months. That will give you time to find out where/if you can get it in the country you live in. It shouldn't be too much of a problem. I take insulin and had no trouble getting it shipped. Do get a note from a doctor/hospital before you go. It wouldn't be nice to spend your first days in a foreign country in jail on drug trafficking charges.

What else you bring depends on your interests. If you are an avid reader bring lots of books. Some places sell English books. Many don't. If you are a music fan, the news is better. You can get most of the popular music from home in Asia. You may also be exposed to bands you've never heard of before. I bought more CDs the last time I was in Korea than in the past five years in Canada. If you have other hobbies, especially ones with materials that get used up, bring what you need with you. If all this fills too much space, try mailing some stuff. This trip I sent to boxes of books and CDs by surface post to my address in Korea. They arrived within two months in fine shape. Make sure you insure your goods, though. Just to be safe.

Before you leave, make sure you have a good phrasebook/english-native language dictionary. It will be invaluable. Practice some of the most common survival phrases to make sure you can get them exactly right. Like English, there are a number of words that sound close but mean very different things. The last thing you want when asking for directions to the bathroom is to be given a dead squid. If you know someone who speaks the language, get some help. One hint you won't find in any travel book. Learn the common cuss words first for two reasons. First, you don't want to say them be mistake. Second, you may want to know what some of your students are saying behind your back. Children don't change much where ever you go.

Now, you are packed. You've got a ticket, and maybe a visa too. You've learned enough of the language to get by. You are on your way to a terrific adventure. So, how does all of this relate to writing?

Well, unless you have a really bad contract, you will have free time. TV will mostly be in a language you don't understand. Depending on where you are the same may be true for movies. You won't have nearly as many distractions to contend with where you are. You can some serious writing done. You are in an exotic culture too. Do some research. Visit local sites of interest. Take pictures. Read tourist information. This can be a gold mine of information for you.

In short, teaching English can be a great way to travel, get paid, and get time to write. If you can live for a year in a foreign culture, it is an valuable experience. I wouldn't have missed it for anything. If you have any further questions about teaching overseas, email me. I'll do my best to get an answer for you. Bear in mind, however, that I am in Korea, so I can't quickly get information on Japan, China or other locations.