Had a job interview and I have now got a job with the provincial public school system in Jeollanam-do in south-western South Korea.

This is a good job – with a very reputable recruiter, at a public school and not an iffy private school, and I have a higher salary because of my CELTA course (will make up the cost of the course in 8 months!)

Assuming I can get all the documents together in the next couple weeks, I will be leaving for Korea around the 15th of August.

That gives me a month and a half to see friends in Canada, get down tons of writing about Latin America before a completely re-orient myself towards a new region.

I’ve never had a strong interest in Asia, and I have heard mixed things about South Korea. However, this is good thing because it will get me out of my Latin comfort zone… and I’ll be shaken up again.

Morelia, we clicked.

At first glance you are steely and cool, and at second rosy and warm. Your buildings are almost all made of grey stone, but there’s a strong hint of pink amidst the grey.

You’re rough around the outsides, but beautiful on the inside. I like that rough ‘n tumble Latin look you’re sporting as I first approach you. But as I make my way deeper to your core, I realize you’re one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen.

Sometimes you’re modern, and other times old-fashioned. One moment you’re wearing a cowboy hat and charming me with your chivalry, and the next you have long dreadlocks and you’re throwing me a mischievous glance.

You bestow me with that tranquility I’ve been craving yet I don’t think you’re boring. I feel safe in your arms, and the air is fresh and clean. I can see the mountains in the distance, and it relaxes me to know that nature is so close. Your pace of life is slower, and I want to slow down with you.

But there’s certainly lots bubbling under your surface. I get the distinct impression that I would have a lot of fun and variety if I hung around you for awhile. You’re complex than you seem, I know it.

And damn, man, do you know how to cook!

So I’ve decided that I want you. You’re the one for me, and I want to stick with you for the long haul.

And here’s why it hurts: you don’t want me back. Here I am, willing to move here, and you don’t want me to.

I drop off resumes at every language school in town, and all I get are no, no and more nos. Am I not good enough for you?

You say it’s just not a good time for you. Maybe I could come back and apply in July, you say. Maybe you’ll have room for me then. But what if I’ve found someone else – a different city – by then? What if I don’t feel the same way about you anymore, Morelia? It might be too late!

So now I’m heartbroken, Morelia. I walk down your streets, marvel at the serenity in your breathtaking cathedral, I’m amazed at the friendliness of your sons and daughters, I enjoy the sunlight on my shoulders while I eat a refreshing cup of gazpacho. But I can’t really enjoy it, Morelia, because I know this romance won’t last.

The CELTA is certainly a great idea for anyone interested in teaching. It is interesting, practical, and made me feel pretty prepared to start teaching in a real classroom. However, it is pretty tough. Some advice I wish someone had told me:

1. Believe what they say: it is stressful. With class all day, and lesson planning/writing assignments all night, doing the CELTA is a lot of work. I have done a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters. The CELTA was more stressful.

2. You do, however, have a little time for fun. Not a lot, mind you, but take a break once in awhile. Go out for a beer with your classmates. Take a nice long walk. If you give your mind a break from teaching once in awhile, you’ll feel far more sane.

3.Creativity is good, but don’t let it get out of control. The CELTA is all about teaching teachers how to design their lessons. For each type of lesson, there’s a framework with very clear stages. Whatever you do, don’t change these! And if they tell you to do things a certain way, for Christ’s sake, listen to them! If you don’t follow the “CELTA way,” you won’t do well. You can always mix things up later as a teacher when you don’t have 2 grand riding on the line. The person that dropped out of our course did so because he couldn’t learn to just do things the way he was told.

4.Eat well! I wish I had taken this advice. For the four weeks of the course, my diet consisted mainly of pastries, tacos and instant vanilla cappuccinos from the vending machine at school. But when I did take the time to eat “real food” – salads, fruit, yoghurt, my body thanked me and I concentrated better. Why didn’t I do this more often, I don’t know. Try not to repeat my mistake.

5.Sleep. Luckily this I did. But there were several people in my course who stressed out TOO much, slept only a few hours each night, and didn’t do well as a result. Make sure to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, no exceptions.

6.Trying really hard won’t necessarily make you a better teacher. Teaching is a whole new kind of skill that gets better with practice, not over-preparing every lesson. If you try way too hard (like planning 5 hours for a 40 minute lesson) you will just put too much pressure on yourself and do poorly as a result. Limit yourself to 2 hours of planning for each lesson, hopefully a bit less. Then concentrate on how you teach and how this can be improved in the future.

I like teaching… while this might not be what I do forever, I’m gonna give it a whirl for awhile.

Big decisions come next.

First decision: stay in Mexico?

I love Latin America, and I’d really love to stay in Mexico. Still, though, part of me wonders if I should go somewhere more lucrative for a year before moving back here. I can make a decent-ish living here, but not a ton. While this is fine for me in the grand scheme of things, there are a couple pressing problems. First, I am almost completely out of money. I was doing fine budget-wise until I moved to Mexico City, but this damn expensive place put an end to that. Second: I have some student loans that need to start to be paid off soon. So part of me wonders whether I should jet off to Korea, the Middle East or Central Asia for a year, save up some money, and then settle back in beautiful Latin America.

Still, though, I’m leaning more towards taking a job here if I find one.

Second decision: if I stay here, where in Mexico?

If I get offered some sweet lucrative job in Mexico City, I might stay here. Otherwise, I’m starting to think that I should move outside the capital. Mexico City has a lot of great things going for it: a liberal population, lots to see, an amazing arts scene… but it’s just so damn big. After Xela, it’s almost too overwhelming. Maybe something in between would be more up my alley. And the pollution is pretty gross too… I’m not the world’s healthiest person to begin with, so maybe living in a place that exacerbates my asthma and deters me from going jogging isn’t the greatest idea.

Next week when my course is over I will travel around with what little money I have left to check out some other cities. When I find a place that I like and a job, I will stop and settle in. The itinerary is the following: Morelia, Guadalajara, Queretaro, Xalapa and Veracruz.

Any thoughts on these places? I wish I had more time to make up my mind at a leisurely rate, but that big fat zero in my bank balance is coming up awfully quickly.

Okay, maybe I should be creeped out by getting love letters from students, but actually I think it’s completely adorable. There’s nothing sweeter than corny lines written in broken English.

Halfway through the CELTA!

In two weeks I can have a life again.

That will also coincide with the date when I can start eating spicy food, citrus, coffee, pop and alcohol again. (See earlier posts about my kidney.) Hooray!

CELTA students enjoy one of our few free moments: