Drift Reality > South Korea > Why Korea? 2

I did know my one software package very well. It was just the other six thinks which made me start to imagine myself, this time at age forty, playing video games while waiting for my Mother to drive me to the theater. I had not even gotten promoted to ticket booth at the theater. The reason was that the ticket booth required that I know ASP, VB Script, MQ, TQ, R2D2, etc.

I was beginning to give up on the whole job search thing, when my eyes alit on a single icon, "international." I remembered that my Father had mentioned something about teaching English in foreign countries, so I clicked on the icon.

A list sprung onto the screen, and I clicked on the first job, "ESL teacher." I nervously began to scrutinize the job qualifications.

- native English speaker - check
- BA required - so far, so good
- Enthusiasm about teaching - why not?
- Likes working with children - sure.

Then, all of a sudden, the list ended. My heart leapt and immediately, the image of the forty year old me disappeared and was replaced with an image of me dancing and laughing with cute little Asian children.

I had basically learned that in a cover letter, you need to explain why you are interested in the job, and why you would be well suited for the job. This is what I came up with:

Dear Ms. Mikeson,

In response to your advertisement on Jobweb, I am applying for the position of English teacher. I am extremely interested in the professional experience that this job opportunity would afford me as well as enthusiastic to learn about such an illustrious culture.
I am a recent graduate of University, where I majored in English and minored in Music. My English major has helped me to develop strong writing, speaking, and analytical skills. I spent my junior year at a College in London, where I focused on the study of English literature and English speech patterns. I would welcome the opportunity to utilize the skills that I have acquired in a professional atmosphere. Additionally, my position as marketing associate at I-site Communications brought me into contact with all sorts of people in various positions. I feel extremely comfortable relating to people of all types and would enjoy the opportunities that a student/teacher relationship would afford me. I have attached my resume for you to review. I will contact you via e-mail within the next week to discuss the possibility of coming to Korea. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I think that if I had been more honest about my cover letter, it would have come out like this:

Dear Mr. Whatever your name is,

I don't know how to use CICS, MQ, TSO, COBOL, DB2, or Oracle. I don't want to teach really, but to reiterate my initial point, I don't know how to use CICS, MQ, TSO, COBOL, DB2, or Oracle. What I do know how to do, is to pretend like I'm enthusiastic about working at your school, at first. Gradually, I will become familiar with all of the intricacies of your working environment with the intention of learning how to slack off without getting caught.

I went to a University. I paid a lot of money to go there so I shouldn't really have to elaborate on this point too much. I have enclosed a copy of my tuition bill. Oh yeah, I went to London for a year. In London, I learned how to take food from the communal kitchens and blame it on the quiet kid from India, I also became familiar with the location of various pubs in the Southwark area.

Please give me a job because if you don't, then I will be living in my parent's house until I am 40 years old and I will work at the snack bar in the movie theater.

I went with the first letter though, and within one week, I had heard back from about five different schools in South Korea. Satisfied that I would not encounter any problems finding a job in Korea on short notice, I promptly disregarded all of the letters of response and forgot about the whole thing really.

My final semester passed quickly and before I knew it, I was ambling along the front lawn at my University, garbed in a black robe and holding a College diploma. My friends would be traveling to Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City in order to begin their lives as Investment bankers, Financial analysts, medical students, etc. I was going to Cleveland to live with my family while I decided what the hell I was going to do.

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