Giving some words of help.
I couldn’t help but feel the need to comment on Aaron’s post (it’s tough to get a link to a post when blogspot is banned here in China) from the other day. I’m still in a little disbelief that Aaron has nearly notched up 4 years in Korea. I vividly remember Aaron arriving in Korea, all bright eyed and eager to please, and being introduced to Jay, Michael, and myself. Admittedly, it wasn’t the best atmosphere in the apartment when Aaron arrived, it was after a good 12 months of Jay and Michael bickering (although both did have a fondness for each other, just a differing of opinion), but Aaron settled down extremely well and, well, here we are now, nearly 4 years on.
Aaron listed some annoyance’s has been experiencing while living in Korea. I thought I would off him some of my experience (although it won’t be long before Aaron has spent more time in Korean than me!) and my advise. Hopefully he can use it, along with others who may share the same annoyance in Korea, and make their time in Korea that little more comfortable.
Disappearing Rubbish Bags. That’s right. Someone is steeling rubbish bags from the corridor outside the apartment. Not just mine thou, my neighbors also. For the best part of 18 months no one has ever complained about tenants placing bags outside, but for the past month they have been disappearing.
Aaron, I wish someone would come up and take my rubbish for me. I fail to see the problem here. If you have an Oscar the grouch taking your rubbish, then you need never buy government garbage bags again. If they’re taking it to sell the cardboard or plastic inside, then think of it as someone helping reduce your carbon footprint.
Starring At Food. But one behavior that confuses me a lot is the practice of starring at the food I buy while shopping. Now I’m sure people are just interested in what kinds of foods foreigners eat, but a few weeks ago I watched in bemusement as this middle-aged fella lent over into my trolley, moved my food around and had a real close look at what I had purchased.
Seems like an Asian thing. Chinese people love looking at the food in my trolley, too. Prepare an A3 sheet of paper and with huge lettering write something along the lines of "What are you looking at?", or "I eat food, too.". Lay this over the top of your food and people will quickly understand that looking into your trolley makes you feel… psychotic. Better yet, go over to their trolley (or basket) and start going through their items and randomly pick something out of it and put it in your trolley. Starring them out also is a good strategy, but be careful, starring at hal-mae (old woman) too long who won’t shift her glare, can cause blindness.
Micro-Manage Me Please! So its been a serious shock to the system to have the assistant manager of the department take such an interest in the 4 week long TOEFL camp which started a couple of weeks ago. The level of micro-management has created a level of resentment that I’ve not experienced since I started working at a University.
Micro Management. Doesn’t it feel like someone actually cares what you’re teaching now? After nearly 4 years of almost zero-guidance teaching, starting with our (and almost every other English teacher in Korea) first class the day after getting off our 13 hour flights and being told to teach, all of a sudden someone care about those little things such as lesson planning. In all honesty, lesson planning is one of those amazing things I’ve discovered recently (although I did cover it during my TEFL) which has assisted me no end in the classroom.
No more Playground books for you Aaron, you’re a real teacher now!
Of all the many people I’ve met in Korea, Aaron by far seems like one of the more relaxed, take-it-as-it-comes characters, and dare I say had flourished well in the land of the morning calm. I have to admit, if these are Aaron’s biggest problems about Korea, he’s doing just fine.
12/7/2010 - Monday 8:14 am 2 Comments
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By Frugal Bastard, 15/7/2010 - Thursday @ 9:27 pm
Love the hal-mae comment. Sage advice.
By Aaron Miller, 19/7/2010 - Monday @ 11:37 am
Yes, I guess the annoyances I mentioned may seem trivial to some.
But for me, I’m use to having the freedom to design my own courses without interference. Typically, as long teachers at work follow University policy and student evals are high, then we have no problems. So yes, not being able to photocopy my own tests and having to get everything checked by someone else was a shock to system.
I don’t see it as someone actually caring. I see it as someone checking over my shoulder and treating staff like idiots.