We lived in the beautiful Cardiff Bay. Andrew wasn't too far from home and I had a wonderful Church family close by. We had a choice of bars and restaurants on our door step and work was just over the road from where we lived. We were very happy.
But something was missing. We were living to work with little time to enjoy the things we loved. Whilst we were both grateful to have jobs related to our degrees (a rarity for graduates or so we're told!) we knew they weren't jobs we wanted to develop in to a career. The majority of our wage was spent on rent and bills with little left over. We either needed to win the lottery or try something new. Unfortunately, despite several attempts, the former never worked out for us.
A holiday to Turkey in the middle of June renewed my passion to travel and learn new languages even if my attempts of ordering a cuppa (çay lütfen) was often met with "would you like milk and sugar with that?"
We knew we didn't have the funds to simply travel outright so we considered the opportunities available for work abroad. Having already completed a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course alongside my degree and spending a summer at a summer school in France, it seemed like the perfect choice.
But where to go?
European countries required too many teaching qualifications for the best positions and are reasonably expensive in regards to cost of living. A quick Google search confirmed that Asia is the place to go to teach English with excellent rates of pay and plenty of positions available.
So we contacted a few agencies and before we knew it we were having interviews with several different schools. We focused on South Korea as I'd been before and loved it and would love to see my friends in Busan again.
After a few different offers from schools in different parts of South Korea we decided to move to Suncheon, a small city on the south coast in South Jeolla Province. We are so excited to go and start teaching!
The school wants us to start on the 31st October so gives us a chance to spend time with friends and family before leaving. Will keep you updated as we prepare to move!
