Korea

I've done tons of research over the past couple years about working overseas as an ESL teacher, and one of the places I've been interested in is South Korea...frankly, because the market is huge there and there is tons of money to be had. The starting pay is US$1900 (at the very, very least) and they pay for your flight and housing, and the cost of living there is very low which allows room for savings. I could use some money in my bank account, not to mention the experience is invaluable. What deterred me from going there is that my research told me that it's super hard for non-caucasian people to find a job there because they only want "real Americans."

Today I took a chance and wrote to a public school recruiter (public schools are more accepting of us"non-Americans"...derr) and asked her what my chances are. She said that if I want a job, she was sure she could get me one since I am indeed a native speaker of English. Yay. But what about the Peace Corps? Can I do both?? Maybe I should work in Korea for a year, save some money and then let it sit in an interest-bearing account for 27 months while I'm gone...why are there so many decisions to be made?!

The big reason for not going to Korea is that I'd be teaching kids, whom I don't really enjoy...but then again, I've only worked with them once in my life for nine days (summer camp) so who's to say that feeling couldn't change?

If only God or Allah or Buddha or one of those guys could just send me a sign, an email, a text message or anything, I'd really appreciate it...I'm at a loss.

Some organization of my thoughts:
(and if you're still reading, wow!)

Peace Corps pros:
1. Going somewhere that I couldn't really go on my own (and being taken care of)
2. Helping people in a way I can't really do on my own
3. It looks AWESOME on grad school applications (and scholarships)
4. I've always admired people who joined and I want to be the kind of person I admire.
5. I've just always wanted to do it. Period.

Peace Corps cons:
1. No money
2. Long time commitment
3. Null #1-2. I just really want to do it. Who cares about money, and time is on my side. I'm still young, for crying out loud.

Korea pros:
1. Money!! I need some!
2. Going to another country, fun and adventure w/ all the modern conveniences.
3. I can learn to speak Korean...the language of many of my future students in America.
4. A buttload of money. (Is there an echo in here?)

Korea cons:
1. I want to join the Peace Corps.

Theoretically, I know I can do both. Korea for one year, PC for two. But what if I go to Korea and then don't wanna join the PC? But what if I shouldn't be saying "what if?" Is that how life was meant to be lived??

AAAHHH...naptime. I'm done thinking about this for now. Maybe I'll dream about the solution.

Oh one more quickie. I can easily teach at a university in China due to a school connection. It's a UNIVERSITY...that's the real thing...but no money. Hardly any. But the experience is invaluable. Plus if you wanna talk about history and culture, you can't top China. What's the most important language to learn right now? Chinese. Plus I have an old friend there who loves the job, and she is looking for a traveling buddy. I wanna travel too! Why wouldn't I go to China??


Okay now it's really time for a nap, so I'm shutting up.