Reflections

I’m getting ready to leave Korea so I’ve been thinking a little bit about my time here, how it has changed me and what my goals are for the next part of my life. Before I came here I had three goals for myself:

1.) Pay off some debt. I don’t feel that I have done that well in this area. I’ve paid off about $7,000 in credit card debt, while making my regular payments on my student loans and storage unit. I also paid off a small medical bill that was in collections from when I was 18. I didn’t realize how much I would want to travel and that my actual income would be worth so little in dollars. I know if I just spent one more year here I could make a big dent in my student loans, but I don’t think it would be worth it.

I’m glad to be out from under the credit card debt and I can always get a forbearance on my student loans if I need to.

2.) Teach! My goal was to simply see if I would enjoy teaching, and I do! Now I know I can go back to school to get a Master’s in Education without feeling unsure about spending the money.

3.) Be more creative. I’m not sure if I’ve really accomplished this goal. I guess writing could be considered creative… I don’t know if dancing in the club to bad Korean pop music counts but I’ve done a lot of that. I still want to continue working on this!

Living and working in Korea has taught me so much about myself and, as cliché as it sounds, life really. I’m now so far away from my childhood and adolescent situation, I am really a completely different person. Inside I will always have those memories, but now I know I can change and be different and become whoever I want to be. I’ve achieved so many goals, it seems like yesterday I was making the goal to attended high school at least 70% of the time (I skipped A LOT). Living here was so frustrating at times that it really brought out the silly side of me. In some situations I could scream, cry or laugh and I discovered laughing is by far the best choice!

The friends I’ve made here have had a big impact on me. I’ve never really had friends that were so adventurous, fun and smart before. We all did some stupid things, had embarrassing moments and because we’re all in the same boat we helped each other through it, or just laughed about it. I think I take life a little less seriously now because of them and it feels great. I love them and I will miss them!!

My goals for the future:

1.) Find my passion. I really want to find some way of helping to change the world for the better. There are so many things I care about, but I’ve just never found that one issue that was my cause. I want to find it!

2.) Further my education. Working sucks, I want to stay in school forever.

3.) See more of the world. South America, here I come!

I Quit!

So I’ve had a problem with the supervisor in my area (Damyang) since she arrived about a year ago. She really dislikes foreigners and makes it her personal goal to make our lives as difficult as possible. I’ve always done whatever she asked, I even went to an elementary school in the middle of nowhere for half a day, and basically just sat there because they had no clue why I was there.

Anyway, I worked this camp for her last winter and she promised us 650,000won. Then it went down to 30,000 overtime only (about 240,000) then the day before it was over she said it was 20,000 over time. I was like FFFFFUUUUUUU. She got away with it and I didn’t even say anything. None of the foreigners said anything.

So this summer, another camp is planned of course. This one is located in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. We’re talking like rice paddies to the base of a mountain, then a 2km hike straight uphill to the site. I’ve never been there before, so last week I e-mailed my fellow English teachers and asked about their plans for getting there. No response. So I asked my co-teacher. She said she had no idea how to get there on the bus, but I could ride out to Damyang and then go there with my students if I wanted. This was really my only option, so I took it. I arrived at my school at 7:45am (where and when she told me to be) to see no one. Not a soul. I’m like WTF. I call my coteacher. Nothing. Finally she calls me and tells me they are in a random parking lot across town. Of course. My students come find me. We load up the busses and we are on our way.

Upon arrival I was busy looking at the schedule (that had completely changed since I saw it last) and getting situated so I didn’t have a chance to say something to the other native speakers, like “hey, how did you get here?” I diligently taught my 5 classes to an unenthusiastic audience of first grade middle schoolers. At the end of the day I asked my co-teacher (who I don’t know at all, she works at a different middle school), “How do I get to the bus home? What time does it come?” She said she didn’t know. I looked around for the other native speakers. They had already left according to the supervisor. Now, I don’t dillydally around after school. I end my classes right on time and I GTF out of there. Apparently they knew something I didn’t. Like what time the bus comes (it runs every 50 minutes), where it comes, and how long it takes to get to the bus stop. The Koreans all stood around looking confused, the supervisor said it wasn’t her job to figure it out and I literally started crying.

Sidenote: On my way to school to meet my students and go to this camp, I saw a high schooler get hit by an SUV. He directly ran into traffic and it was his fault, but he had a head wound and it was bad. I stood over him, protecting him from the oncoming traffic while the driver called the ambulance. No one slowed down, none of the Koreans staring stopped to help. So that was the beginning to my day. Meaning I was a little sensitive.

Anyway, I proceed to walk down the mountain, crying a little, then resolved myself to simply do what I would have done back home. Call a friend, bitch a little, then hitch hike. I got to a bus stop after walking 40 minutes, but it didn’t go to Gwangju. I got 15 mosquito bites because of the rice paddies. So I stuck out my thumb and immediately got picked up by a well- off Korean couple. They took me to the closest town where I got a cab home.

I am just sick and tired of being treated like an indentured servant. Yes, I do get paid. But I did not sign up to be treated like a serf who will just do whatever I am told no matter how I am treated. Honestly, all I really want is to be informed about matters that are pertinent to me. In Korea, that means how and when to be somewhere. All my supervisor cares about is if I am in the classes, occupying the students. She cannot grasp the concept that this camp is COMPLETELY different that my regular job. Different place, no resources (including printers), different students of all levels, different schedule, more classes. I got up at 6am to be at this camp. But no one can tell me when and where to catch the bus? FUCK YOU. I quit.

I will be going to my regular school to desk warm tomorrow. I want to make it clear that I am willing to work. I love teaching and I would have such a good time teaching a camp that is supposed to be about fun and learning, not image and money.

Class Stupidity

As many of you know, I work at an all boys, public, middle school. I work 9-5 and generally do the same work as my Korean co-teachers, although I am able to do many more fun things with my classes than they are. Anyway, this semester the Office of Education (I’m not sure if it’s the one in Seoul, or in Jeollanamdo) has decided that all the English teachers must “open their classes.” This basically means a lot of extra paperwork, and on specific days parents, teachers, and the supervisors can come into your classroom and observe while you are teaching. So normally, if I wasn’t in Korea, I would say this sounds like a good idea. I would actually like feedback on my teaching methods since I’m such a new teacher and all. But in Korea this idea takes on an entirely different meaning. Basically it’s all for show, just one big charade that totally fucks up my day/week and causes my students a lot of stress. People just wander in and out of the classroom, talking amongst themselves and distracting the students. Usually the students are “prepped” for these classes, they are given the material before hand and we have to run through what we’re going to do the week before just so they are prepared. After my first open class I have refused to do this though. Why? Because it totally fucks up the rhythm of the lesson. Not to mention only five parents came to my first open class, anyway.

What really pisses me off about this situation is that they changed my schedule so that I can have three open classes back to back on Monday morning next week. All low level classes. In general, I’m not sure why I teach these classes anyway, the students don’t know English. They basically refuse to learn it. So we play games, I teach them basic vocabulary words and just generally try to entertain them for 45 minutes a week. So WTF do the parents and supervisors want from me? Who knows. But I’ll bet they’ll be expecting their students to speak English in my “conversation” class. Well, they don’t. Sorry. I get it; my co-workers don’t want to open their classes so they changed my schedule so that my classes will be open and they can just stand in the back, translating when necessary. This is how it works in Korea.

Today I asked one of my co-teachers why we have to do the open classes. He said, because the office of education said so. I said, I know, but WHY? What is the purpose? He said he didn’t know. Hey, I went to college, I can think critically about things, I just can’t figure out what the point of these open classes is.

Next month I have an open class where all the native speakers and Korean English teachers in my area will come observe my class. They will probably miss classes to do that. Afterward I will not be assessed in anyway, instead the Korean teachers and supervisor will have a meeting, all in Korean about who knows what, while the native speakers just chat. It's a complete waste of everyone’s time.

This semester, in all, I will have four open classes. These classes are a total waste. They just can't allow things to go on without stressing out as many people as they can. If they haven't stressed enough people out that week or month they feel like they're not doing their jobs. If anyone knows why the fuck we’re doing them, let me know!

I need that pamphlet!

Do you remember when planning your next move in life was a simple as 1,2,3? Like, hmmmm I just got out of junior high, what should I do?? Go to high school. Well, I graduated from high school, what should I do?? Go to college. Or get a job. Now that I've graduated from college (or have a job), what should I do?? Get a job. Or get a better job. Or travel. Now I have a job, have traveled, or make ample amounts of money, what should I do?? Get married, have a baby, buy a house... WAIT ONE MINUTE HERE! WTF? Where did that come from? That's what OLD PEOPLE do! (no offense old people, or young people who act old)

Now that I'm sober, I've decided to try to plan my next life move. This is harder than it may seem to some-what normal people. Most would say, just do what you want, do what makes sense, do what would make you happy. I, on the other hand, am not most people. I insist on thinking about just about every single thing a young, college educated couple with teaching experience and a love for travel MIGHT possibly do. Currently the list includes (but is not limit to):

1. Staying in Korea for as long as needed to pay off my student loans.
   
2. Take the money we have saved and go on an epic trip around the world (on a very thin shoestring).
3. Take the money we have saved and live in an under-developed country (e.g. Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica) for as long as possible, while living the dream of no job and no responsibilities.
4. Go back to the states, enroll in a state university and get graduate degrees and teaching certifications.
   
5. Go to a different country and teach English.
   
6. Have a baby. Everyone knows this means pretty much everything else is out the window. :) If I want kids, I sure as hell don't want to be old and pregnant.
   
7. Get married. I don't know why, but Dan LOVES this idea. Not today, of course.
   
8. Learn to built platforms high up in jungle trees and become zip-line tour guides.
9. Move back to Oregon, get stupid jobs and have fun showing Dan all around the coolest state in the union.
10. Attempt to gain admission to an awesome university abroad, where we could get our master degrees without selling whats left of our souls to the CitiBank evil empire. The UK perhaps? Australia or New Zealand?

As you can see, I've got a lot of options here. I'm so grateful to realistically have all these options. But seriously, how the hell am I supposed to know what to do? One big down side of having an incredibly intelligent and wonderful partner is he keeps coming up with even MORE things we could do. I don't know how other people decide this stuff, but if I could get that pamphlet at the next "What to do with your life when everything seems like a good idea" meeting, that would be great. Thanks!

It ain't all bad

So in light of my last post I thought it was high time to write my "Korea is not so bad" post. I've lived in the land of the morning clam... er... i mean calm, for almost 20 months now and I'd say I have a pretty good grasp on what makes this country and culture suck, AND what makes it cool. Here are some things I like about living and working in Korea:

1.) The money and job security. A#1 top reason fo sho. Free apartment (besides utilities), pension, severance pay, paid vacation and sick leave make this job pretty sweet.

2.) The food. Don't get me wrong I like Thai food more... but you can't go wrong with some delicious Korean BBQ. It's cheap to eat out, and everyone knows I love eating out! And come on, who can say they don't like kimchi? ;)

3.) I LOVE teaching! So much fun. Sure I gripe about it (it's a JOB after all), but especially now that I've finagled my way into teaching pretty much whatever I want, almost all my classes are successful. It's a beautiful thing. My students are hilarious and sometimes we spend the entire class just laughing about stuff. Don't get me wrong, I have some real asshole students, but since I know my students pretty well now, they know I mean business!

4.) Excellent transportation system. I hate driving and I'm happy to take a cab or the bus. In Portland, the bus drivers drive at least 10 miles under the speed limit. I hate that! Here they drive like they have somewhere to be. Love it, love it, love it (except when I am fearing for my life).

5.) Location. Conveniently located in central Asia, it is very easy to travel to other, cooler, places.

6.) Safety. Yousoek's blog aside, I feel safe here. I know I can walk any dark street at night and no one is going to put a gun to my head and rape me. Plus, I'm taller than half the men here, and my white ass scares the crap out of the other half, so I don't think they'll mess with me. I still lock my doors, I'm just not as worried about it.

7.) Good friends and cool people. Lots of the people coming to teach here are cool. Everyone has a college education, everyone is pretty liberal. My kinda crowd.

8.) Korea is not the USA. I don't like what the government does with our tax dollars and I don't want to live in a police state. Thanks but no thanks!

So as you can see, there are some perks of living among the Kim's and the Park's. I'll never be one of them, and hell, I won't even try to be like them, but it's not all bad. Maybe another six months won't hurt?

A

Thinking of Teaching in Korea?

Before you decide to teach in Korea, check out this blog. This guy taught at an all girls Middle School in Anseong (probably one of the easier jobs in Korea) for one year and writes in detail about what the work environment is like. Obviously, everyone has a different experience, but I would agree with 95% of what he has to say. I would also like to say that teaching in public school is a much better job than teaching in a private hogwon, and I would NEVER recommend someone to even think about working in one. Why? Less vacation. More work. Period.

I have had a very similar experience to him... I came here with an optimistic attitude, I enjoy teaching, I am over qualified and I strive to do a good job. I'm leaving with a very negative attitude about Korean culture and I truly hope I never have to come back. Anyway, check it out! Just keep in mind, he is strictly talking about the work environment, not living in Korea or anything else outside of work! A

Dear Korea,

You Suck.

I’m often asked how I like living in Korea. I generally answer that it’s okay, and then list off some perks of living here. For some reason I don’t like telling the truth about this country, probably because I don’t think all Korean people are that bad, they just do things in a way that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Here is my real opinion of Korea:

1.) Korean people have no idea what time management or efficiency is. They think that spending 10 hours at work, doing nothing, is better than 5 hours, being productive. Their work ethic is raved about around the world, but anyone who has ever worked here knows this is complete bullshit. They spend a whole lot of time doing nothing at work. I don’t want to do nothing at work! I want to teach and go home! I don’t care if I have 7 classes or 1 class per day, after those classes I want to go home.

2.) Due to #1, Koreans miss out on many of the joys of life. Like seeing their children grow up, relaxing, spending time with friends and family, traveling or just doing what they want. They are constantly stressed out and exhausted.

3.) I feel terrible for the children in this country. They are expected to go to school 6 days a week, then off to the hogwon for afterschool classes, often being away from home from 7am until 9pm. ELEMENTRAY SCHOOL STUDENTS! Dan literally has students who go to 10 different hogwons during the week. Don’t even get me started on the high school students who LIVE at their school and sleep 5 hours a night. This type of schooling deprives them of any chance they might have at developing the social skills and creative thought needed to excel in today’s marketplace. Korean’s think they are securing a place for their children in the world, but instead they are preventing them from developing into well rounded human beings who have critical thinking skills.

4.) Everything in this country is about image. In my classroom I have a new computer, huge flat screen TV, and a state of the art projector. My desks and chairs are all new, as well as the windows, doors and blinds. When they did this $30,000 remodel on my room, I asked for basic flashcards, paper and pencils for the students. I was turned down. My students do not have an English curriculum that makes any sense. I have students that have been studying English for 6 years and do not know the alphabet. If my students do not have the basic tools needed for learning, why the fuck would I need all this technology?

5.) They cannot do basic things. Especially when building anything is concerned. In my last apartment the corners of my bedroom were not square. This was a brand new apartment. On the front of the building a huge piece of granite just fell off into the parking lot. WTF??? In my current apartment they attempted to “fix” the toilet and sink by attaching them to the tile with cement. Not grout, cement. Cement is not a sealant! It all just washed away and now my bathroom floor is just covered in little cement particles. Water pours out from under the sink onto the floor. This type of thing is not usual at all. They might be okay at making electronics, but I would NEVER hire a Korean to build anything I wanted built correctly.

6.) They lie. This is called “saving face.” In western culture it is LYING, pure and simple. If they fuck something up, instead of just saying they are sorry and fixing it, they push the responsibility onto someone else (preferably a foreigner) and try to cover up their mistake. This drives me INSANE. Please just be straight with me! The language barrier is bad enough without the lying!

7.) The nationalist pride is insane. Early on in life Korean children are taught that Koreans basically invented the wheel, the only food proper to eat, the best language, that they are by far the smartest people, strongest people and simply the most perfect country on the face of the planet. Heaven forbid their athlete is disqualified from an Olympic event; this has to be the fault of someone else. Ugh, this shit gets old real quick, especially considering I’ve been to 10 countries and I’d rate about 8 of them above Korea in every way possible.

8.) Confucianism is bullshit. Sorry, it just is. Believing that someone is smarter than another because they are older is stupid. And men are above women in society? Give me a break. I understand some people do gain experience and wisdom with age, and we should learn from that. But some people don’t learn or change, and frankly I’m not going to bow down to them just because they are older than me!

9.) Koreans sometimes lack an understanding of basic science. Kimchi cures AIDS and cancer? WTF? They think fermented cabbage with red pepper paste can cure just about anything. In reality, it can cause stomach cancer and ulcers if eaten too often. Then you have “fan death.” A significant portion of Koreans believe that if you fall asleep with the fan on and the door of your bedroom closed you will die. Seriously. The fan will somehow suck all the oxygen out of the air and you will die. I don’t even know how to respond to Koreans when they bring this shit up.

10) The driving practices in this country are rude and downright dangerous. Koreans in general, have no respect or regard for pedestrians. In my new neighborhood, the streets are pretty narrow and clearly not wide enough for cars to park on both sides with space for people to drive between them. Additionally, there are no sidewalks. So every day I am honked at while I walk to the bus stop because I am taking up their precious space in the street. THERE IS NOWHERE ELSE TO WALK! All of this would be solved if they just made the streets one-way, and only let people park on one side.

I truly believe every single Korean should be forced to go to driving school. I am a big fan of driving like you have somewhere to be. In the states I get pissed because people drive under the speed limit. But here, either they drive way too fast or way too slow! They are on the phone, texting, watching their television (yes TV in the car, on the dash, specifically so the driver can watch it) or their navigation system. Completely distracted and driving too fast. Running red lights, not yielding to pedestrians, I could go on and on. I have been genuinely afraid many times.

11) There are more things that drive me insane about this country such as K-Pop passing as music, Koreans thinking they know English but they don’t, their racist views on black people (and pretty much anyone not Korean), their inability to decide anything in a punctual manner and changing things for no reason at the last minute. The incredible ignorance about differences in people, including learning disabilities and mental illness is difficult to deal with. I work with children who are clearly autistic or have Down syndrome, and it is not acknowledged at all.

So why, you might ask yourself, would I want to continue living here? Well, like any place, there are good things and bad things about Korea. Also, some of this is shit I’d have to deal with, on some level, back home anyway. When I get back to teaching, after a solid month of sitting at my desk doing nothing, I might remember why I enjoy living here. Then I’ll write about it!

Peace!
A