We have Bill Bryson to blame for this post, and indirectly, Simon, who gave me the book. The book being, that is, Mother Tongue, by Bill Bryson.
Being one for rules and that, I like the idea that one can learn grammar. I'm learning otherwise. It's not sitting very well with me.
I mean, if traditionally unapproved structures are adopted by society (e.g. "I'm well hungry"), or even to an extent, if you can make yourself unambiguously understood without employing perfect grammar (e.g. "Me go market now"), what's to say that these are 'wrong'?
I like to write using unfamiliar syntax, justified by the idea that it is 'idiomatic', or something, and yet I'll still strive to be grammatically correct. But what does that even mean? Who decides whether or not we can split an infinitive? When did it become acceptable to say, "I'm going, aren't I?" and yet we can't say, "I'm going, are I not?" It does concern me that I will find myself on a slippery slope if I continue to think about these things - it's one thing to edit every comma that gets published on a personal blog; another to debate the validity of every word that hits the page.
As far as written conventions are concerned I'll refuse to substitute cant for can't and dont for don't, yet I'm not about to write piano', 'phone or Hallowe'en. At what point can we accept change in our language? When will we agree that we can say, "Ten items or less", "To boldly go", or "I'm well hungry"? Or have we already done so?
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Showing posts with label Ramblings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramblings. Show all posts
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Musical English
To celebrate the coming of the summer holidays, this afternoon the kids performed the musical that they've been rehearsing in their 'Musical English' class. It was hilarious (stroke cringeworthy in places) watching the kids simulating the theatrical style of their wacky teacher, with emphasis on the hip wiggling and dramatic arm movements. I especially enjoyed the stage snogging by Snow White and her Prince. I will hunt down a picture.
Ooh talking of pictures (not that I took any), an apartment opposite our school caught fire today. Apparently some kids sprayed mosquito spray on the gas stove and it blew up in their faces. Eek.
We also had parent-teacher conferences today. Unfortunately my worst kids' parents didn't turn up. Kind of shows which parents care about their kids' education and which are fobbing them off on the English classes just 'cause they're available. Goodness I'm a cynic.
So I guess I've got caught up in the pre-holiday spirit of things; even though my kids are off on a field trip tomorrow morning and I don't technically have to go work, I think a picnic in the mountains sounds like a mighty fine idea. Sun, kimbap, mountains...and the Korean teachers'll be there to control their kids - woo!
Ooh talking of pictures (not that I took any), an apartment opposite our school caught fire today. Apparently some kids sprayed mosquito spray on the gas stove and it blew up in their faces. Eek.
We also had parent-teacher conferences today. Unfortunately my worst kids' parents didn't turn up. Kind of shows which parents care about their kids' education and which are fobbing them off on the English classes just 'cause they're available. Goodness I'm a cynic.
So I guess I've got caught up in the pre-holiday spirit of things; even though my kids are off on a field trip tomorrow morning and I don't technically have to go work, I think a picnic in the mountains sounds like a mighty fine idea. Sun, kimbap, mountains...and the Korean teachers'll be there to control their kids - woo!
Friday, June 27, 2008
If it's a competition, I'm there.
For reasons not totally unbeknownst to me, but certainly unnecessarily, I've been placing a lot of stress on myself this last week. Issues with unruly students have been coming to a head lately making my working day just a smidge less than tolerable, resulting in a tired and grumpy Chi-Hé. And she's not someone you wanna reckon with. But above all, today was the day that I would potentially take the unprecedented leap from BEGINNER to INTERMEDIATE level Korean class.
Now it wasn't that I wanted to level up for self-congratulatory purposes. I'm not really about to bust a gut over something that is ultimately a hobby with beneficial outcomes. For instance, if I felt I could do with the extra practice I would willingly - perhaps voluntarily, as I have previously done - retake a class. But it wasn't about how good I felt I was; it was about how good I felt I was in comparison to other people. Feeling that I was on a par with my classmates, the fact that the fate of my progress was at the mercy of a subjective aural/oral test and the whim of my teacher made me feel a little uneasy.
The teacher composed the level test as a kind of on-going competition, whereby each time you formed an accurate sentence or answered a question correctly you would score one point (or two, or three, depending on the generosity of the teacher at that particular moment; as I say: subjective). Now, by half-time I was already ahead. Not necessarily because I was the best, but because I was the most keen.
I often go out of my way not to be the irritating student who calls out all the answers as a Miss-Know-It-All. In fact, being a teacher, I now FULLY appreciate the merits of waiting one's turn and giving other students a chance. However, since there was a competition in play, I naturally made today an exception.
The fact that everybody in the class passed the test is irrelevant. The fact that I tripled some people's scores due to my speedy hand-in-the-air is clearly what matters.
Now it wasn't that I wanted to level up for self-congratulatory purposes. I'm not really about to bust a gut over something that is ultimately a hobby with beneficial outcomes. For instance, if I felt I could do with the extra practice I would willingly - perhaps voluntarily, as I have previously done - retake a class. But it wasn't about how good I felt I was; it was about how good I felt I was in comparison to other people. Feeling that I was on a par with my classmates, the fact that the fate of my progress was at the mercy of a subjective aural/oral test and the whim of my teacher made me feel a little uneasy.
The teacher composed the level test as a kind of on-going competition, whereby each time you formed an accurate sentence or answered a question correctly you would score one point (or two, or three, depending on the generosity of the teacher at that particular moment; as I say: subjective). Now, by half-time I was already ahead. Not necessarily because I was the best, but because I was the most keen.
I often go out of my way not to be the irritating student who calls out all the answers as a Miss-Know-It-All. In fact, being a teacher, I now FULLY appreciate the merits of waiting one's turn and giving other students a chance. However, since there was a competition in play, I naturally made today an exception.
The fact that everybody in the class passed the test is irrelevant. The fact that I tripled some people's scores due to my speedy hand-in-the-air is clearly what matters.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sticklers unite!
There are some standard questions one is destined to encounter on striking up conversation with a fellow Westerner or local alike.
"How long have you been in Korea?"
"What are you doing here?"
"What was your major?" ("Well, I didn't minor in anything...")
"Math? And you're an English teacher?"
It doesn't seem logical. Of course when you realise that your job requirements are a degree and a native passport, what it says on your graduation certificate is of little importance as long as you know a few English idioms.
I realise I'm teaching kindergarten. I can barely get them to sit still let alone sit through a lesson on plurals. I do teach a class of predominantly enthusiastic nine year old girls once a day, and in exchange for cute stickers I get my fix of basic grammatical and spelling quizzes in. It doesn't quite cut it, though.
If you're a fellow pedant, perfectionist or downright obsessive, and we've ever had an online chat (or indeed offline, but the spoken word is so much more subjective, especially if we're not from the same country, or indeed county) you may have been subject to a correction or two. In fact, I like nothing more than to be corrected myself, to then do nothing less than shake my head in disbelief and hide in shame as I see I've just pressed "enter" to the opening, "So, its just that..." Admittedly my apostrophe key does stick and has often been victim of severe banging to get the little dash in place, but this is often a case of a bad typist blaming her keyboard.
Anyway, it has occurred to me that this is why I studied maths. I'm a grammar freak; a punctuation fascist; a spelling enthusiast. I like rules, I like to stick to them, and I like things to be right.
Since I've started studying Korean more seriously, my obsessions with language have been cranked up a notch or six. How can I possibly master a foreign language if I've not even mastered my own? It's got so bad that these days I don't even trust my Korean friends to give me accurate spelling advice, and certainly any blog post is always subject to extreme scrutiny and will likely be edited for comma use several times after publishing.
So, after this morning's ponderings on the Oxford comma, I left my apartment specifically to pick myself up a copy of Lynne Truss's "Eats, Shoots & Leaves". I remember it adorning every bookshop window at home on its first publication but was never aware of its contents. How I've been missing out. In the words of an old school friend, this book is orgasmic. It is feeding my incredulity at poorly punctuated signs, and consolidating my notions of when we should or should not use that poor apostrophe. Ms. Truss deems herself a "stickler" and, on racing through this book, it is evident I am one too.
Certainly badly signed shop windows are not something that I miss about England, but my fellow stickler friends I do. There are only so many people in one's social circles that you can share a good punctuation joke with.
"How long have you been in Korea?"
"What are you doing here?"
"What was your major?" ("Well, I didn't minor in anything...")
"Math? And you're an English teacher?"
It doesn't seem logical. Of course when you realise that your job requirements are a degree and a native passport, what it says on your graduation certificate is of little importance as long as you know a few English idioms.
I realise I'm teaching kindergarten. I can barely get them to sit still let alone sit through a lesson on plurals. I do teach a class of predominantly enthusiastic nine year old girls once a day, and in exchange for cute stickers I get my fix of basic grammatical and spelling quizzes in. It doesn't quite cut it, though.
If you're a fellow pedant, perfectionist or downright obsessive, and we've ever had an online chat (or indeed offline, but the spoken word is so much more subjective, especially if we're not from the same country, or indeed county) you may have been subject to a correction or two. In fact, I like nothing more than to be corrected myself, to then do nothing less than shake my head in disbelief and hide in shame as I see I've just pressed "enter" to the opening, "So, its just that..." Admittedly my apostrophe key does stick and has often been victim of severe banging to get the little dash in place, but this is often a case of a bad typist blaming her keyboard.
Anyway, it has occurred to me that this is why I studied maths. I'm a grammar freak; a punctuation fascist; a spelling enthusiast. I like rules, I like to stick to them, and I like things to be right.
Since I've started studying Korean more seriously, my obsessions with language have been cranked up a notch or six. How can I possibly master a foreign language if I've not even mastered my own? It's got so bad that these days I don't even trust my Korean friends to give me accurate spelling advice, and certainly any blog post is always subject to extreme scrutiny and will likely be edited for comma use several times after publishing.
So, after this morning's ponderings on the Oxford comma, I left my apartment specifically to pick myself up a copy of Lynne Truss's "Eats, Shoots & Leaves". I remember it adorning every bookshop window at home on its first publication but was never aware of its contents. How I've been missing out. In the words of an old school friend, this book is orgasmic. It is feeding my incredulity at poorly punctuated signs, and consolidating my notions of when we should or should not use that poor apostrophe. Ms. Truss deems herself a "stickler" and, on racing through this book, it is evident I am one too.
Certainly badly signed shop windows are not something that I miss about England, but my fellow stickler friends I do. There are only so many people in one's social circles that you can share a good punctuation joke with.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Oxford Comma
A fellow syntax enthusiast enlightened me of this delightful punctuation debate. It is not directly linked to my experiences in Korea (though I admit not all my posts of late are either), though as an interesting[1] aside - and something that may influence my writing style in the future - I am feeling compelled to share it.
The Oxford comma, or serial comma, is the last comma in a list of items preceding a conjunction: usually 'and' or 'or'. The list "red, white, and blue," uses the Oxford comma yet, while being identical in meaning, the list "red, white and blue," excludes it.
Apparently it is more common practice in American English than British English, though, and I imagine hence the name, the Oxford University Press recommends its use. There are arguments both ways for its use regarding standard conventions, ambiguity and redundancy.
Personally I have found myself making a conscious decision whether or not to include this comma, but until now have been unaware of its propriety, or indeed the scale of its worldwide debate[2]. Intuitively as I write I have felt it has been incorrect to include this comma, however I have been guilty of using it in order to emulate speech in its intended manner, or indeed to use the comma instead where semi-colons might also have been appropriate.
Since language is so subjective, ever changing and open to debate, I suppose I will continue to sit on the fence on this issue, use it where I deem necessary, and continue to blog in my occasionally haphazard way.[3]
[1] another debate
[2] this is another literary device. It is not the Oxford comma itself that is doing the debating as is literally suggested, but about the Oxford comma that there is debate. I forget the name for this and on searching am still none the wiser. Help would be appreciated.
[3] I purposefully (perhaps ironically) both used and did not use the Oxford comma in this sentence. In the first instance I felt it unnecessary since the meaning would not change with its inclusion; in the second I was replacing commas where semi-colons could have been used, and in which case the final semi-colon would always be used to indicate the list items clearly.
The Oxford comma, or serial comma, is the last comma in a list of items preceding a conjunction: usually 'and' or 'or'. The list "red, white, and blue," uses the Oxford comma yet, while being identical in meaning, the list "red, white and blue," excludes it.
Apparently it is more common practice in American English than British English, though, and I imagine hence the name, the Oxford University Press recommends its use. There are arguments both ways for its use regarding standard conventions, ambiguity and redundancy.
Personally I have found myself making a conscious decision whether or not to include this comma, but until now have been unaware of its propriety, or indeed the scale of its worldwide debate[2]. Intuitively as I write I have felt it has been incorrect to include this comma, however I have been guilty of using it in order to emulate speech in its intended manner, or indeed to use the comma instead where semi-colons might also have been appropriate.
Since language is so subjective, ever changing and open to debate, I suppose I will continue to sit on the fence on this issue, use it where I deem necessary, and continue to blog in my occasionally haphazard way.[3]
[1] another debate
[2] this is another literary device. It is not the Oxford comma itself that is doing the debating as is literally suggested, but about the Oxford comma that there is debate. I forget the name for this and on searching am still none the wiser. Help would be appreciated.
[3] I purposefully (perhaps ironically) both used and did not use the Oxford comma in this sentence. In the first instance I felt it unnecessary since the meaning would not change with its inclusion; in the second I was replacing commas where semi-colons could have been used, and in which case the final semi-colon would always be used to indicate the list items clearly.
Happy Birthday Lauren!
I'm probably always going to harp on about how-fast-the-year-is-going, and today is no exception. It's just a little head spinning to think that it was a whole year ago that we finished our final exams and were planning this little sojourn to the other side of the world. It's only four weeks until our summer holidays - for which I really cannot wait - but then Lauren's off! How different it will be without her.
So, as a reminder of the beauty that is this wonderful country, instead of blogging in the past week I've been making the mother of a mix tape featuring all the wonders of K-Pop that are. With less pleasant reminders of Girls Aloud-esque girl groups, I wasn't exactly a fan of the genre when I first arrived in Korea. However with few alternatives available to me as I walk down the streets of Seoul, I am nothing less than a convert.
Remember Tell Me by the Wonder Girls? Here's their new song. Not exactly the cutesy innocent look they had six months ago. I've chosen to link you here since this version has English subtitles which I feel are a necessary commodity to fully appreciate the delicate nuances of the song. Unfortunately the user disabled embedding, but I urge you to take 3 minutes for a listen.
We had a nice birthday dinner/drinks on Thursday to celebrate Lauren's big 2-2. It was lovely having all our friends in one place, and to meet up with our old co-workers from our old school. It's become a bit of a joke that out of all the ex-teachers, we're the only ones who have continued in the profession - and we don't even necessarily want to be here! Having said that, with no concrete plans post-contract I'm starting to consider staying on...
So, as a reminder of the beauty that is this wonderful country, instead of blogging in the past week I've been making the mother of a mix tape featuring all the wonders of K-Pop that are. With less pleasant reminders of Girls Aloud-esque girl groups, I wasn't exactly a fan of the genre when I first arrived in Korea. However with few alternatives available to me as I walk down the streets of Seoul, I am nothing less than a convert.
Remember Tell Me by the Wonder Girls? Here's their new song. Not exactly the cutesy innocent look they had six months ago. I've chosen to link you here since this version has English subtitles which I feel are a necessary commodity to fully appreciate the delicate nuances of the song. Unfortunately the user disabled embedding, but I urge you to take 3 minutes for a listen.
We had a nice birthday dinner/drinks on Thursday to celebrate Lauren's big 2-2. It was lovely having all our friends in one place, and to meet up with our old co-workers from our old school. It's become a bit of a joke that out of all the ex-teachers, we're the only ones who have continued in the profession - and we don't even necessarily want to be here! Having said that, with no concrete plans post-contract I'm starting to consider staying on...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Health warning
As I put the remaining frankfurters into the refrigerator, I am reminded of the fact that earlier this evening, I ate plastic. I didn't just chew for a while and spit out in disgust. I thought it was food, and I swallowed.
So I bit into the sausage. "This is very chewy," I thought. "Am I supposed to cook this first?"
Only when I got to the last mouthful I noticed a filmy texture in my mouth. Lo and behold, what did I pull out but a chewed up morsel of cling-film-esque sausage sheath.
Now when these sausages are coming in a vacuum packed package in the first place, why is it then necessary to wrap each one individually? And in what? Clear plastic? They really ought to write that on the wrapper.
So I bit into the sausage. "This is very chewy," I thought. "Am I supposed to cook this first?"
Only when I got to the last mouthful I noticed a filmy texture in my mouth. Lo and behold, what did I pull out but a chewed up morsel of cling-film-esque sausage sheath.
Now when these sausages are coming in a vacuum packed package in the first place, why is it then necessary to wrap each one individually? And in what? Clear plastic? They really ought to write that on the wrapper.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The single red rose
The single red rose, bought off-hand from an elderly lady preying upon young men in hope of conquering their latest target, by an unassuming male making a friendly gesture to a group of his new acquaintances. Why is it, being subject of such a meaningless gesture, that I then feel obliged to adorn myself with the encumbering item, even out of eye shot, when all it will do is ultimately suffer the inevitable and could have just as easily been tossed aside on my home? What is it about this flower that society has ingrained in us? Do we really associate such notions as "love" and "romance" with it? Or is it merely a metaphor for what it may represent: the initial passion that serves only to be admired before it wilts and dies?If this is the case, the person who you really want to receive such gifts from is the meaningless acquaintance, who will undoubtedly remain that way, from where there is no guilt about the nothing that is attached to the non-existent meaning.
Alternatively, my own notions of love and romance have been tossed aside in favour of cynicism and realism; baby we've been apart too long...
And I should probably chuck that rose; it's obviously bothering me^^
Friday, April 4, 2008
A verbal ramble,
as opposed to a ramble in the woods. But that'd be nice too, were there to be any woods in Seoul. There are parks around, not that I've ventured to any of the bigger ones - yet. But there are mountains - plenty of mountains - but again, despite there being a big one just down the road, I'm yet to get my hiking boots on.
I guess my reason for this inane post is because I don't really have a reason. But I've been meaning to give an update on our working situation for a while now (but it's so demoralising), so here it goes.
The whole working 9 to 6 thing kind of sucks. But I'm over it, nearly. What sucks more is that we've been in Korea over five months now and we're only just getting settled. OK, so our ride has been less than smooth, but what's an experience in Korea without a hagwon closing down on you, running away from a school who tricked you into working without signing a contract, then slogging out at a kindergarten with no other English speakers?
I know that we experienced lack of communication issues at our old hagwon; I mean, it closed within a month of us arriving for a start...who told us that was going to happen?! But in a way it was kind of amusing to see what new stories we'd hear each day. But when it becomes a daily pattern, it gets a little tiring.
The thing is, is because this is the first year that this school has had English lessons and/or teachers, (English teachers you pedant), we have sole responsibility over everything remotely English related. Except we don't! We plan all our lessons, we write all our plans, we make all our materials, just like good little angelic teachers. And WHAM! SMACK! "You should arrange your classroom this way," or, "Oh, no, I think too hard for children," or, "By the way, we have no English lessons tomorrow."
Another thing is that because it's still a Korean school, the kids aren't forced to speak in English in our lessons. The "NO KOREAN" tactic just hasn't taken off here, since I'm not sure they even understand that. They don't understand when they are being reprimanded and think it's funny when I say I'm angry. It's not totally surprising when each kid is only getting between 20 and 60 minutes of English learning in a day. Sure, there are these new afternoon lessons that are supposed to mirror a hagwon style environment, but the kids see these as an excuse to run around in our classrooms after their hard slog of singing songs at kindergarten.
All in all, after all that job hunting over Christmas, we landed ourselves with a less than ideal job. We'll know better next time. "Next time," she scoffs.
I sense this post has turned a little sour since its nice rambly outset. It's not all bad. We came to Korea to have fun, relax, and a cultural experience. The latter we've definitely had, if not in all the best ways. But the sun is coming out these days more and more, and that certainly makes the job worth going in for, if only to enjoy coming out to a bright day at the end of it.
My Korean learning hasn't been going that well lately, but in the spirit of good intentions, I hope that April will bring with it much practice and motivation. It's supposed to be the start of the Yeouido cherry blossom festival now so hopefully the streets will start to look pretty, and next weekend we're heading out with WorknPlay - our original recruiting agency - to the city of Jeonju.
Oh! And yesterday we found out that next Wednesday is voting day - so no work! (Nice of them to let us know when they all found out, *grumble grumble* :D) The campaigns around here have certainly been eye catching, generally involving keen followers dancing and singing the number of their chosen candidate. I don't even know what they're being elected for, but I will welcome the unexpected day off.
For now, I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of Spring and is not too stressed with their own jobs/dissertations/looming exams. Roll on the sunshine!
I guess my reason for this inane post is because I don't really have a reason. But I've been meaning to give an update on our working situation for a while now (but it's so demoralising), so here it goes.
The whole working 9 to 6 thing kind of sucks. But I'm over it, nearly. What sucks more is that we've been in Korea over five months now and we're only just getting settled. OK, so our ride has been less than smooth, but what's an experience in Korea without a hagwon closing down on you, running away from a school who tricked you into working without signing a contract, then slogging out at a kindergarten with no other English speakers?
I know that we experienced lack of communication issues at our old hagwon; I mean, it closed within a month of us arriving for a start...who told us that was going to happen?! But in a way it was kind of amusing to see what new stories we'd hear each day. But when it becomes a daily pattern, it gets a little tiring.
The thing is, is because this is the first year that this school has had English lessons and/or teachers, (English teachers you pedant), we have sole responsibility over everything remotely English related. Except we don't! We plan all our lessons, we write all our plans, we make all our materials, just like good little angelic teachers. And WHAM! SMACK! "You should arrange your classroom this way," or, "Oh, no, I think too hard for children," or, "By the way, we have no English lessons tomorrow."
Another thing is that because it's still a Korean school, the kids aren't forced to speak in English in our lessons. The "NO KOREAN" tactic just hasn't taken off here, since I'm not sure they even understand that. They don't understand when they are being reprimanded and think it's funny when I say I'm angry. It's not totally surprising when each kid is only getting between 20 and 60 minutes of English learning in a day. Sure, there are these new afternoon lessons that are supposed to mirror a hagwon style environment, but the kids see these as an excuse to run around in our classrooms after their hard slog of singing songs at kindergarten.
All in all, after all that job hunting over Christmas, we landed ourselves with a less than ideal job. We'll know better next time. "Next time," she scoffs.
I sense this post has turned a little sour since its nice rambly outset. It's not all bad. We came to Korea to have fun, relax, and a cultural experience. The latter we've definitely had, if not in all the best ways. But the sun is coming out these days more and more, and that certainly makes the job worth going in for, if only to enjoy coming out to a bright day at the end of it.
My Korean learning hasn't been going that well lately, but in the spirit of good intentions, I hope that April will bring with it much practice and motivation. It's supposed to be the start of the Yeouido cherry blossom festival now so hopefully the streets will start to look pretty, and next weekend we're heading out with WorknPlay - our original recruiting agency - to the city of Jeonju.
Oh! And yesterday we found out that next Wednesday is voting day - so no work! (Nice of them to let us know when they all found out, *grumble grumble* :D) The campaigns around here have certainly been eye catching, generally involving keen followers dancing and singing the number of their chosen candidate. I don't even know what they're being elected for, but I will welcome the unexpected day off.
For now, I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of Spring and is not too stressed with their own jobs/dissertations/looming exams. Roll on the sunshine!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Juno
If I were to make a list of my favourite activities, as I am indeed guilty of having done with such social networking sites such as Facebook that today's generation of computer users are all too familiar, I would put "cinema" somewhere near the top. On reflection, I'd hope that the list wouldn't be too long anyway, for fear of boring the bored person who would be reading this list, and thus the bottom of the list would too be near the top. So you understand that it is a particular pastime that I am fond of.
To my disappointment I have not recently been able to attend one of these establishments. There has been film watching, naturally, after all, I do have MegaTV. But the big screen and plush seats have been absent from the experiences. Since otherwise this would be among the more pointless blog posts I will have published, you may have guessed that yes, tonight, I went to the cinema.
If you are particularly astute, you may too have suspected that Juno was the film that I saw, what with it being the title of the post.
Unusually I have few cynical comments to pass on this film. The protagonist was endearing; the theme was emotive and topical; the conclusion was satisfying. The light-hearted presentation allowed the humour to be accessible without dampening the significance of the subject. Many questions were raised regarding "morals" and one's "faith in humanity".
- How can we ever be sure that love will last forever?
- In view of this, is a loving single parent a good substitute for a two parent family that may ultimately break down?
My GCSE RE teacher taught me that a Buddhist would answer, "Treat each circumstance on its own merits," to many of the stock morality questions that students are faced with. He didn't teach me that there are approximately a gazillion streams of Buddhism, all of which follow varying variations of the religion. That's right, varying variations. Nonetheless, this simplified view of views rather seems to have it down with my throwaway thoughts.
Apologies for the unnecessarily pretentious tone of this post. It's what comes of listening to Radio 4 immediately prior to blogging.
To my disappointment I have not recently been able to attend one of these establishments. There has been film watching, naturally, after all, I do have MegaTV. But the big screen and plush seats have been absent from the experiences. Since otherwise this would be among the more pointless blog posts I will have published, you may have guessed that yes, tonight, I went to the cinema.
If you are particularly astute, you may too have suspected that Juno was the film that I saw, what with it being the title of the post.
Unusually I have few cynical comments to pass on this film. The protagonist was endearing; the theme was emotive and topical; the conclusion was satisfying. The light-hearted presentation allowed the humour to be accessible without dampening the significance of the subject. Many questions were raised regarding "morals" and one's "faith in humanity".
- How can we ever be sure that love will last forever?
- In view of this, is a loving single parent a good substitute for a two parent family that may ultimately break down?
My GCSE RE teacher taught me that a Buddhist would answer, "Treat each circumstance on its own merits," to many of the stock morality questions that students are faced with. He didn't teach me that there are approximately a gazillion streams of Buddhism, all of which follow varying variations of the religion. That's right, varying variations. Nonetheless, this simplified view of views rather seems to have it down with my throwaway thoughts.
Apologies for the unnecessarily pretentious tone of this post. It's what comes of listening to Radio 4 immediately prior to blogging.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Pancake Man R.I.P.
I refer you to my first ever blog entry. We were greeted into this land by the friendly 호떡 man, forming a deep and powerful friendship through the daily 안녕하세요 that we exchanged.I guess it was a couple of months ago that we noticed that his little green cart was not in frequent use. Lauren asked the neighbouring vegetable lady where he was, where she gained the understanding that his hand was hurt. A tragic loss for such a fine craftsman. We wished him a speedy recovery.
Not able to get a fix of his honey-filled goodness, we began to turn to other street sellers. They just weren't as good. Too greasy. Not enough honey. "It's a shame our man is dead," we'd say in vain.
Yesterday his cart was gone. Shocked and dismayed we asked the lady of his whereabouts. She motioned that he has left. Moved house. She smirked at our disappointment. He didn't even say goodbye.
Mr Green Pancake Man, we wish you well. The best 호떡 in Seoul will be missed, but not as much as your grumbly demeanour.
Friday, January 25, 2008
The end of a long week
This week has been horrendously tiring; even though we're not always DOING things, the cold weather and long days have been taking it out of us somewhat. We considered a renegotiation of hours again, but the boss is never in, always stressed, and difficult to get hold of. We'll see.
Today wasn't so bad though. For one, it was Friday. That means, for those of you unsure of your days of the week, it's Saturday tomorrow. And THAT means: no school tomorrow. Or the day after that. So maybe with that in mind there wasn't the stress of, "Eugh">, the week STILL isn't over," because it was. W00t.
So.
A comparatively fun day, but I'm definitely running on overdrive now. Been waking up every day this week without fail having emerged from one bizarre dream or another. Something to do with sleep cycles or whatever; perhaps my alarm is set for that particular hour where I'm in the dreaming stage. I'm not expert, but it might be nice to sleep through them tomorrow and wake up not remembering what my subconscious has managed to dream up for me. Ha ha.
Today wasn't so bad though. For one, it was Friday. That means, for those of you unsure of your days of the week, it's Saturday tomorrow. And THAT means: no school tomorrow. Or the day after that. So maybe with that in mind there wasn't the stress of, "Eugh">, the week STILL isn't over," because it was. W00t.
So.
* Lauren and I both made animal puppets which induced much animal sound making. You know Korean people say mung mung mung for a dog, and nyaong for a cat?
* I spent the afternoon making several versions of "Grandma's House" which I'll get the kids to make on Monday. It's exciting - you open the door and there's Grandma with all her stuff.* Olive, our Korean co-teacher/babysitter, made a duck mask, and modelled it beautifully. See the picture.
* It was one of the other teacher's birthdays today, so we had real Domino's pizza. Made a change from sloppy Korean style kimchi pizza. And we ate with our hands; not chopsticks and a spoon!* We witnessed some major dodgy advertising by a couple with clown faces and crazy costumes. The picture just doesn't do it justice.
* Lauren and I headed to Can More to swing in the swing chairs and cosy up with some fruit, yoghurt and cornflakes. Ah, with a side dish of toast and cream. Bit of a couples paradise this one.
A comparatively fun day, but I'm definitely running on overdrive now. Been waking up every day this week without fail having emerged from one bizarre dream or another. Something to do with sleep cycles or whatever; perhaps my alarm is set for that particular hour where I'm in the dreaming stage. I'm not expert, but it might be nice to sleep through them tomorrow and wake up not remembering what my subconscious has managed to dream up for me. Ha ha.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
After a week in the UK suffering some intense jetlag, I arrived back in Korea in time to see the new year in. Since I’d not properly got over the time difference at the other end (indeed my attempts to do so were futile) alongside the fact that my flight this end got in at midday opposed to late at night as it had in England, I was able to get a good proper first nights sleep and eradicate any grumpiness that might potentially have followed.
So for those of you that are following Lauren’s blog in conjunction with this one, (if in fact you are following this blog, and haven’t chanced upon this entry as a one-off), you will be familiar with the notion of MegaTV. Not yet set up in my own apartment, I’ve been taking the opportunity of rekindling my *long lost friendship with Lauren via the means of copious numbers of films – old and new – that are on demand at the press of a button. It is most exciting. Since “live” Korean TV isn’t at the forefront of our list of needs in Korea, having menus upon menus of TV series and films (English and Korean alike) is far more convenient than having to decipher online TV guides and hoping you’ll stumble across something vaguely worth watching every time you switch on the box. *week
Now I was warned before I left to go to England for Christmas that I might not want to come back again. At the time I thought, “Nah…I’m just going home for a holiday; this is my home now,” but in reality with the intermingling feelings of extreme tiredness, festivities (or lack thereof) and the prospect of leaving the boyfriend at home for months on end, I did start to ponder some of those existential concerns that one occasionally admits oneself to.
However, after several days pottering (sub in moping) and taking mid-afternoon naps, on seriously considering getting a “real job” I realised that applications and interviews are not things that I am sprinting to get ahead with – and thus the purpose of the “gap year” became more evident again – and that Ian, my boyfriend, is still studying and thus even if I were to be living in the same country, it would be unlikely we’d see a whole lot of each other anyway.
It is so that I essentially wasted my intended holiday in the UK by partaking in the aforementioned activities, namely moping and napping, contemplating the nature of my future and getting stressed that I barely had any time to enjoy myself. Totally counter-productive, I am aware. Nevertheless, the positive side of these thoughts has meant that I have come out on top; I am now revitalised in mind and body and content with my current position in life, and of course it was lovely to see my friends and family at home. Excellent.
It is at this point that I realise I am somewhat rambling, and brings me on my next consideration: is this blog an excuse for a personal diary, where I recall my thoughts and, god forbid, feelings of my year abroad and potentially beyond – in which case perhaps I should spare the eyes of those that might read for the intended purpose of this place: to merely relay events and observations so that I might save myself from repeating the same story over and over to those genuinely interested, and those with a pretence interest. Regardless, I am indulging the former and it is this realisation that I bring myself to turn to the latter.
Last night Lauren and I had a most enjoyable evening negotiating the crowds of half the city to get to the Bosingak Bell. It was nice to be wrapped up warm in the -5ºC heat, taking in the lights that engulfed the manmade stream in a palatial manner, revelling in the multitudes of Korean couples, friends and families dressed up in matching coloured capes (with ears on the hoods, of course), avoiding the sparks of hundreds of people setting off their own fireworks openly sold on the streets New Year Celebrations Marred by Accidents, and striking up conversation with the excited policemen that had clearly been recruited just for the occasion to appease the raucous crowds.
The atmosphere was magical *gag* as the streets were littered with smiling, rosy cheeks and sounds of “Happy New Year!” that rang as clear as the Bosingak Bell itself. Or maybe that was just to us, since the majority of the crowd was probably speaking in Korean. Oblivious, we lit our heart shaped sparklers sending policemen coughing and forbidding the next round, but won over the hearts of a couple of high school girls, sparkly eyed at the beauty of our gunpowdered delights. Or maybe that was just the reflection in their eyes from the dazzling bright light.
Either way, they were pleased when we gave them our spare ones, which then brought on the cheek of some chavvy Korean girl asking if she could have one too. We didn’t have any left, and er, we weren’t free sparkler venders, *rolls eyes*. Still, she had her fun as some
guys came round taking polaroids with regular, un-heart shaped sparklers, glosticks and animal hats to anyone who would give them money. On an initial 400 won asking price we too indulged their trade, but didn’t have the energy to argue when they’d accidently knocked off a nought on the end of his price. We got one of the cameramen at the televised event to take our picture, which became slightly more than a bit weird when we practically got our own photoshoot out of the asking. Still, maybe some nice pictures to follow if he ever emails me back…
And there we have it. A nice evening of dancing and fireworks as the clocks struck midnight, followed by chaos as we were shoved this way and that toward the exit of the mass of people. Luckily someone had decided it was a good idea to run the subway late that night and we got home safely and easily.
So maybe in the spirit of it being the first of the year an’ all, I should come up with some of those resolution-y things that people like to make. Hm.
So for those of you that are following Lauren’s blog in conjunction with this one, (if in fact you are following this blog, and haven’t chanced upon this entry as a one-off), you will be familiar with the notion of MegaTV. Not yet set up in my own apartment, I’ve been taking the opportunity of rekindling my *long lost friendship with Lauren via the means of copious numbers of films – old and new – that are on demand at the press of a button. It is most exciting. Since “live” Korean TV isn’t at the forefront of our list of needs in Korea, having menus upon menus of TV series and films (English and Korean alike) is far more convenient than having to decipher online TV guides and hoping you’ll stumble across something vaguely worth watching every time you switch on the box. *week
Now I was warned before I left to go to England for Christmas that I might not want to come back again. At the time I thought, “Nah…I’m just going home for a holiday; this is my home now,” but in reality with the intermingling feelings of extreme tiredness, festivities (or lack thereof) and the prospect of leaving the boyfriend at home for months on end, I did start to ponder some of those existential concerns that one occasionally admits oneself to.
However, after several days pottering (sub in moping) and taking mid-afternoon naps, on seriously considering getting a “real job” I realised that applications and interviews are not things that I am sprinting to get ahead with – and thus the purpose of the “gap year” became more evident again – and that Ian, my boyfriend, is still studying and thus even if I were to be living in the same country, it would be unlikely we’d see a whole lot of each other anyway.
It is so that I essentially wasted my intended holiday in the UK by partaking in the aforementioned activities, namely moping and napping, contemplating the nature of my future and getting stressed that I barely had any time to enjoy myself. Totally counter-productive, I am aware. Nevertheless, the positive side of these thoughts has meant that I have come out on top; I am now revitalised in mind and body and content with my current position in life, and of course it was lovely to see my friends and family at home. Excellent.
It is at this point that I realise I am somewhat rambling, and brings me on my next consideration: is this blog an excuse for a personal diary, where I recall my thoughts and, god forbid, feelings of my year abroad and potentially beyond – in which case perhaps I should spare the eyes of those that might read for the intended purpose of this place: to merely relay events and observations so that I might save myself from repeating the same story over and over to those genuinely interested, and those with a pretence interest. Regardless, I am indulging the former and it is this realisation that I bring myself to turn to the latter.
Last night Lauren and I had a most enjoyable evening negotiating the crowds of half the city to get to the Bosingak Bell. It was nice to be wrapped up warm in the -5ºC heat, taking in the lights that engulfed the manmade stream in a palatial manner, revelling in the multitudes of Korean couples, friends and families dressed up in matching coloured capes (with ears on the hoods, of course), avoiding the sparks of hundreds of people setting off their own fireworks openly sold on the streets New Year Celebrations Marred by Accidents, and striking up conversation with the excited policemen that had clearly been recruited just for the occasion to appease the raucous crowds.The atmosphere was magical *gag* as the streets were littered with smiling, rosy cheeks and sounds of “Happy New Year!” that rang as clear as the Bosingak Bell itself. Or maybe that was just to us, since the majority of the crowd was probably speaking in Korean. Oblivious, we lit our heart shaped sparklers sending policemen coughing and forbidding the next round, but won over the hearts of a couple of high school girls, sparkly eyed at the beauty of our gunpowdered delights. Or maybe that was just the reflection in their eyes from the dazzling bright light.
Either way, they were pleased when we gave them our spare ones, which then brought on the cheek of some chavvy Korean girl asking if she could have one too. We didn’t have any left, and er, we weren’t free sparkler venders, *rolls eyes*. Still, she had her fun as some
guys came round taking polaroids with regular, un-heart shaped sparklers, glosticks and animal hats to anyone who would give them money. On an initial 400 won asking price we too indulged their trade, but didn’t have the energy to argue when they’d accidently knocked off a nought on the end of his price. We got one of the cameramen at the televised event to take our picture, which became slightly more than a bit weird when we practically got our own photoshoot out of the asking. Still, maybe some nice pictures to follow if he ever emails me back…And there we have it. A nice evening of dancing and fireworks as the clocks struck midnight, followed by chaos as we were shoved this way and that toward the exit of the mass of people. Luckily someone had decided it was a good idea to run the subway late that night and we got home safely and easily.
So maybe in the spirit of it being the first of the year an’ all, I should come up with some of those resolution-y things that people like to make. Hm.
- Be good so Father Christmas might visit next year. Oh wait…
Saturday, December 22, 2007
We apologise for the delay...
So as I forced myself to relax as we missed the turnoff for the airport, it was futile once I realised my flight home has been delayed by one and half hours.
Hence, the increased facebook activity and pointless blog post.
So. News. Ha!
Hence, the increased facebook activity and pointless blog post.
So. News. Ha!
- "Happy Birthday Jesus!" we exclaimed into a video camera, approached by churchy types on the street in exchange for free choco pies.
- Being such a frequent goer of the PC방, they made me a member, lol. Now I get to clock up mileage points, or something. And since I don't know my address, they just filled that part in with PC Bang. Ha ha.
- Saw Ghost for the first time last night in the DVD방. Despite despair at the cheesiness, I cried as Patrick leaves Demi forever...
- I have 1 minute left of my time online at the airport. Guess I'd better wrap up this thrilling entry.
Ciao!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Immigration office
We had a call from one of the men informing us that he was terribly sorry with the way we had been treated; they were very angry with the Korean kindergarten for the way they treated Lauren and he is going to quit the education business. I can't imagine we were the only reason behind this decision so it makes us realise that there were probably underlying problems before we got there. Anyway.
Went to the immigration office to transfer our visas and registration cards over to the new school - with which we have signed the new contract. The hour long queue made for a very long and boring process, and thus I've not done much today but ride the subway and learn some Korean. But at least the process is under way.
Super tired now, and that deadline of Saturday evening is seeming somewhat close for finishing errands - especially since I've not started on any of them...
Went to the immigration office to transfer our visas and registration cards over to the new school - with which we have signed the new contract. The hour long queue made for a very long and boring process, and thus I've not done much today but ride the subway and learn some Korean. But at least the process is under way.
Super tired now, and that deadline of Saturday evening is seeming somewhat close for finishing errands - especially since I've not started on any of them...
Thursday, December 13, 2007
To the moon and back
Or that's where it feels we've been since Sunday night. In retrospect, and in fact at the time, it was bizarre that we took the chance interview with the Comedy Duo on Friday, and come Monday, we were working. Well, Lauren was. I was just "getting paid" to sit around and relax.
This school, the "Castle in the Countryside", is in fact two schools: a traditional Korean kindergarten and a new all-English hagwon. We were told we would have to work in one each, and were asked to decide between us which we'd prefer. Intuitively I went for the English school, and Lauren went for the Korean one. So that was easy.
As we were picked up from Seoul at 8.30am on Monday morning, we believed that we would be seeing our new apartments and signing the new contract. When we asked when we would start work, we were somewhat taken aback when they said 'today' - and even more so when there wasn't even so much of a mention of the contract. Still, we believed there were good intentions floating around, and obliged as we were asked to start work.
I seemed to have a good deal - the English school wasn't open yet and I was asked to help devise the new curriculum. I would have free reign over decorating the classrooms and choosing books; I'd have my own office and would have the power to delegate tasks to other staff members. Very exciting.
Lauren on the other hand was thrown into teaching several classes consecutively without any guidance or teaching materials, with a Korean teacher in each class who would interrupt the lesson and no personal office space. Very frustrating.
Even more frustrating was that when it was clear who had the better deal, on asking if Lauren could come and work with me, I was told 'no'. Very disappointing. Since they were still working on finding us apartments, we were driven the two hour drive back into Seoul where we stayed the night at our old apartments, where we were to do the two hour commute again the next morning. At least we didn't have to take public transport as our heads were nodding.
With the promise of moving, we took a load of stuff with us on Tuesday morning. We were assured that they'd properly scoped out the location of our new places, they'd make sure they were fully furnished and cleaned before we moved in, and that they'd be within walking distance of the school. Appeased by this information, we worked the day again. Lauren in her Korean school, less frustrated now that she was getting into the swing of things, and me going through all the potential English books and talking to the various teachers milling around about how to decorate the school. I was being asked questions as if I were the guru on English kindergartens, and they were all looking at me expectedly when they asked what would be on an English noticeboard. Clearly having never stepped outside of Korea, I'm not sure what they were expecting me to say.
At 3 o'clock we were driven round for two hours shopping for bedding for our new beds. This gave us a long time to contemplate our situation. We both agreed that it wasn't ideal that we were working in separate schools, and that even though I had an opportunity to flex my leadership skills, it felt disorganised and unorthodox that just because of my nationality I would be an expert on English pre-schools.
Not only this, but the English speaking father-figure, the "killing two rabbits with one stone" guy, wasn't really a part of the school and was just helping out his mate. So he wasn't always around - and when he wasn't, we were stuck in an all-Korean speaking environment. I even found that they were talking to me in Korean a lot of the time, and I've got so accustomed to nodding and smiling that I forgot that perhaps it would be beneficial to actually understand what they were talking about.
Finally we visited our apartments. Despite having complained about our old apartments, they were seeming like palaces compared to what we were presented with. It was clear that the director hadn't seen them before as he struggled to turn on my heating. There wasn't any furniture in either of our rooms and we were living in separate buildings opposed to literally next door to one another as we'd been told. Lauren's only window was blocked up by kitchen units - but there was enough of a gap to still let in the street lights - a wet bathroom floor, no toilet seat on the toilet, and we immediately saw a beetle run across the floor. It wasn't a great first impression of our new homes.
The director phoned his wife to sort out bedding for us, and it now being several hours on from when we left the school, it was 'yummy time'. He'd promised to take us out for sushi which we were enthusiastic about, ensuring him that we'd eaten it before and that we like all kinds of food. We weren't really prepared for the courses upon courses of slabs of raw fish that kept appearing, but we ate nonetheless - to the dismay of our stomachs. The director himself didn't eat very much at all, and left us with the conductor of his orchestra (who he'd also invited to dinner) as he went to meet his wife to sort our places.
This was another opportunity for us to discuss our options. We considered the woman from the kindyschool, and felt bad that we'd let her down. We decided to give her a call - just to keep our options open. After all, we'd not signed a contract with this new school and we were bound to nobody. As Lauren talked to her I kept the conductor occupied with discussion of double basses to stop him from spreading rumours that he might pick up from the disjointed telephone call.
After dinner we feigned sleepiness in order to get away from the Korean speaking posse that joined us. With beds and pretty bed linen, perhaps things were beginning to look up. However both our places were stone cold despite having the heating 'on', had rock solid pillows, and the poor insulation meant that the pneumatic drill outside was somewhat of a hindrance in getting to sleep.
Before going to bed we visited the PC방 next door, where we formulated our master plan...
As we discussed more about how we felt, it became obvious that on paper this job seemed fantastic: short hours, high pay, the opportunity of having high positions in the school, long holidays, the possibility of tutoring, close proximity to Everland. However, something in the way we'd been dealt with - working illegally without having signed a contract, poor communication, talk of beautiful living conditions when what we were presented with was sub-standard - made us realise that perhaps this wasn't the ideal job for us.
This led to agreeing to meet up with the kindy woman after school the next day, which led to feeling bad that we were stringing along two sets of people, which led to deciding to quit the job we weren't even supposed to have started, which finally led to planning to do a runner the next morning ^^
Here was the plan:
This school, the "Castle in the Countryside", is in fact two schools: a traditional Korean kindergarten and a new all-English hagwon. We were told we would have to work in one each, and were asked to decide between us which we'd prefer. Intuitively I went for the English school, and Lauren went for the Korean one. So that was easy.
As we were picked up from Seoul at 8.30am on Monday morning, we believed that we would be seeing our new apartments and signing the new contract. When we asked when we would start work, we were somewhat taken aback when they said 'today' - and even more so when there wasn't even so much of a mention of the contract. Still, we believed there were good intentions floating around, and obliged as we were asked to start work.
I seemed to have a good deal - the English school wasn't open yet and I was asked to help devise the new curriculum. I would have free reign over decorating the classrooms and choosing books; I'd have my own office and would have the power to delegate tasks to other staff members. Very exciting.
Lauren on the other hand was thrown into teaching several classes consecutively without any guidance or teaching materials, with a Korean teacher in each class who would interrupt the lesson and no personal office space. Very frustrating.
Even more frustrating was that when it was clear who had the better deal, on asking if Lauren could come and work with me, I was told 'no'. Very disappointing. Since they were still working on finding us apartments, we were driven the two hour drive back into Seoul where we stayed the night at our old apartments, where we were to do the two hour commute again the next morning. At least we didn't have to take public transport as our heads were nodding.
With the promise of moving, we took a load of stuff with us on Tuesday morning. We were assured that they'd properly scoped out the location of our new places, they'd make sure they were fully furnished and cleaned before we moved in, and that they'd be within walking distance of the school. Appeased by this information, we worked the day again. Lauren in her Korean school, less frustrated now that she was getting into the swing of things, and me going through all the potential English books and talking to the various teachers milling around about how to decorate the school. I was being asked questions as if I were the guru on English kindergartens, and they were all looking at me expectedly when they asked what would be on an English noticeboard. Clearly having never stepped outside of Korea, I'm not sure what they were expecting me to say.
At 3 o'clock we were driven round for two hours shopping for bedding for our new beds. This gave us a long time to contemplate our situation. We both agreed that it wasn't ideal that we were working in separate schools, and that even though I had an opportunity to flex my leadership skills, it felt disorganised and unorthodox that just because of my nationality I would be an expert on English pre-schools.
Not only this, but the English speaking father-figure, the "killing two rabbits with one stone" guy, wasn't really a part of the school and was just helping out his mate. So he wasn't always around - and when he wasn't, we were stuck in an all-Korean speaking environment. I even found that they were talking to me in Korean a lot of the time, and I've got so accustomed to nodding and smiling that I forgot that perhaps it would be beneficial to actually understand what they were talking about.
Finally we visited our apartments. Despite having complained about our old apartments, they were seeming like palaces compared to what we were presented with. It was clear that the director hadn't seen them before as he struggled to turn on my heating. There wasn't any furniture in either of our rooms and we were living in separate buildings opposed to literally next door to one another as we'd been told. Lauren's only window was blocked up by kitchen units - but there was enough of a gap to still let in the street lights - a wet bathroom floor, no toilet seat on the toilet, and we immediately saw a beetle run across the floor. It wasn't a great first impression of our new homes.
The director phoned his wife to sort out bedding for us, and it now being several hours on from when we left the school, it was 'yummy time'. He'd promised to take us out for sushi which we were enthusiastic about, ensuring him that we'd eaten it before and that we like all kinds of food. We weren't really prepared for the courses upon courses of slabs of raw fish that kept appearing, but we ate nonetheless - to the dismay of our stomachs. The director himself didn't eat very much at all, and left us with the conductor of his orchestra (who he'd also invited to dinner) as he went to meet his wife to sort our places.
This was another opportunity for us to discuss our options. We considered the woman from the kindyschool, and felt bad that we'd let her down. We decided to give her a call - just to keep our options open. After all, we'd not signed a contract with this new school and we were bound to nobody. As Lauren talked to her I kept the conductor occupied with discussion of double basses to stop him from spreading rumours that he might pick up from the disjointed telephone call.
After dinner we feigned sleepiness in order to get away from the Korean speaking posse that joined us. With beds and pretty bed linen, perhaps things were beginning to look up. However both our places were stone cold despite having the heating 'on', had rock solid pillows, and the poor insulation meant that the pneumatic drill outside was somewhat of a hindrance in getting to sleep.
Before going to bed we visited the PC방 next door, where we formulated our master plan...
As we discussed more about how we felt, it became obvious that on paper this job seemed fantastic: short hours, high pay, the opportunity of having high positions in the school, long holidays, the possibility of tutoring, close proximity to Everland. However, something in the way we'd been dealt with - working illegally without having signed a contract, poor communication, talk of beautiful living conditions when what we were presented with was sub-standard - made us realise that perhaps this wasn't the ideal job for us.
This led to agreeing to meet up with the kindy woman after school the next day, which led to feeling bad that we were stringing along two sets of people, which led to deciding to quit the job we weren't even supposed to have started, which finally led to planning to do a runner the next morning ^^
Here was the plan:
- Take the taxi to the school, which the director was to phone for us.
- Ask the taxi driver to wait at the school before taking us to the subway station back into Seoul.
- Run into school, give a rushed explanation that Lauren was unhappy with the situation and that we were not going to work any longer.
- Give them the keys.
- Run!
Even better, when we got to school in the morning there was no one to be found. This gave us the excuse to - very professionally - scrawl a note to accompany the keys and run away. You could hear the echoes of "빨리 빨리!" (quickly quickly!) in our wake as we zoomed off into the distance. ^^
Totally exhilarated, we topped up our fuel levels with bagels and coffee before braving the two hour subway journey all the way back to our cosy spacious, well-lit apartments that we had come to appreciate so much more. Once a safe distance away from the school, we began to get the predicted phone calls asking where we were. We explained our situation, to get the equally predictable buttering up of "There is nothing that we cannot solve", and "I want to treat you like my daughters". We were not convinced.
Since we'd got home early, we phoned the kindy woman to see if we could meet her earlier. We met up with her straight away, but the adrenaline had gradually turned into extreme fatigue as we embarked on negotiations. Too tired, too stressed at the prospect of not having anywhere to live after December, too disheartened at the failure of our previous job, too concerned about jumping into another job we were dissatisfied with, talking about a new job was the last thing I felt like doing. I let Lauren do the talking.
Since the school has several weeks Christmas vacation, we won't start work until mid-January, giving us time to relax and take our minds off job-related business. We negotiated hours; since it is a kindergarten and not a professional institute classes will consist of games rather than formal learning; we are able to keep our apartments for as long as it takes for her to find us places closer to the school (it is currently a 5-10 minute bus ride away); and best of all, she has a condominium on Jeju Island where we were planning to go for a winter break and she's letting us use it. It may have seemed like a snap decision but we knew it was the right one all along. We know now not to be cajoled by money ^^
We left the meeting relieved and free to relax. We went straight for the 찜질방 (massage room) where we got our nails done, sweated in the sauna, had our feet tickled as the dead skin was nibbled at by fish (yes, you read that right), relaxed in the baths, and scrubbed each other until there was no more dead skin to be seen. After five hours we were well and truly refreshed, and after a bowl of chicken rice porridge we were relieved to retreat to our homes. And even though my bed was stripped and all my belongings are in boxes in the middle of the room, it had never felt cosier ^^
Today has been the first stress free day in what feels like an age. We really do feel like we've been to the end of the earth (moon, if you will) and back in the last few days, and it was refreshing to have nothing to do. We headed for Yongsan and did some Christmas shopping:
- It is our friend's baby's 1-year birthday party this weekend and we bought him a super cool bowling set made from cute beanbag toys. I want one. A baby. Or maybe I want Lauren to have a baby so I can just buy it cute things.
- We spent an hour in a huge bookshop choosing Korean learning books. I've been making an effort to learn some since I've been here, but life keeps getting in the way of studying time. Well now's my chance, lol.
- We went into copious numbers of stationery shops and overdosed on the cute stuff available to us.
- Inspired by "chicken + charcoal = good combination" we ate barbecued chicken for dinner, but were less than impressed at the gristle we experienced. It swings in roundabouts though as the waiters were less than impressed with the pile of change we gave them to pay for the meal. ^^
We've agreed to sort out our apartments (I need to clean off that mould and unpack again^^) and tick off the list of errands we each need to run in order to get our lives into order after all this chaos. Being very particular sorts of girls, neither one of us would feel settled until we've done this. We've given ourselves the deadline of Saturday evening when we will go to the baby birthday party, watch The Golden Compass at the army base on Sunday and become tourists for the next week until I fly home for Christmas.
A sound plan, if I do say so myself.
...and if you got to the bottom of this, then I'm very impressed with your dedication to my cause. Either that, or you've got to get yourself a hobby.^^
Friday, December 7, 2007
Well I woke up in the morning, love,
and the sunshine hurt my eyes...Then I spoke to the crazy guy - and just one look at him, then I knew it was gonna be: a lovely day! **Lovely day...lovely day...lovely day...**
Uh oh...Chi-He drank too much coffee...
And uh oh...Chi-He's drinking coffee these days...
Well I just can't resist those calorific white chocolate/caramel lattes that the coffee shop lifestyle and festive season bring with them...
Anyway! I was emailed this job post from a recruiter which looked like short hours and high pay, so naturally I got in touch. Immediately after I replied I got a phone call requesting an interview with the director the next day. That's now today.
So we met up with him (the director) in a posh hotel coffee shop in Itaewon (I drank green tea, but secretly wanted the mocha) where our hearts melted at his
Returning on Monday to confirm the contract and check out the accommodation. Location is a bit out of the way, but then it is close to Everland, possibly my favourite place in Korea, and the Korean Folk Village - touristy things one should experience if one is going to partake in such activities at all.
It's a bit strange that they don't seem to have anybody else applying for the job, and that they are so keen to employ us specifically. I do like the way that they really like the fact that we're British opposed to American, and that "If [they] are good to us then [his - the director's big bro's] daughter will be looked after in England" -- 'cause that's how it works, isn't it? But in all seriousness, the employers seem like such fun loving guys I think it will be a blast to work for them.
See Lauren's blog for a more in depth description of the director's lookalike... ^^
Uh oh...Chi-He drank too much coffee...
And uh oh...Chi-He's drinking coffee these days...
Well I just can't resist those calorific white chocolate/caramel lattes that the coffee shop lifestyle and festive season bring with them...
Anyway! I was emailed this job post from a recruiter which looked like short hours and high pay, so naturally I got in touch. Immediately after I replied I got a phone call requesting an interview with the director the next day. That's now today.
So we met up with him (the director) in a posh hotel coffee shop in Itaewon (I drank green tea, but secretly wanted the mocha) where our hearts melted at his
- slightly poor, but understandable, English,
- belief that for a good teacher the heart is more important than experience, and
- his description of the communication problems between him and his Russian wife.
His big bro came along later where we laughed at his
- jokes that it is the director's prerogative to be tardy,
- jokes that he doesn't see how people see the Korean peninsula as being shaped like a rabbit, and
- his own revised idiom "killing two rabbits with one stone".
Returning on Monday to confirm the contract and check out the accommodation. Location is a bit out of the way, but then it is close to Everland, possibly my favourite place in Korea, and the Korean Folk Village - touristy things one should experience if one is going to partake in such activities at all.
It's a bit strange that they don't seem to have anybody else applying for the job, and that they are so keen to employ us specifically. I do like the way that they really like the fact that we're British opposed to American, and that "If [they] are good to us then [his - the director's big bro's] daughter will be looked after in England" -- 'cause that's how it works, isn't it? But in all seriousness, the employers seem like such fun loving guys I think it will be a blast to work for them.
See Lauren's blog for a more in depth description of the director's lookalike... ^^
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Greetings,
my readers, who are yet few and far between. I introduce to you now what I hope will become a rich and delightful (and imminently less pretentious) collection of my experiences here in the Republic of Korea.
I am currently residing in a small studio apartment of which when I walk in through my front door (admittedly there are only 2 doors - the other of which leads to the bathroom - so to specify front is rather unnecessary) I am greeted by the unpleasant smell of must, appeased only so far by the act of maintaining both the small window and the door open. This is in turn an invitation for the cold air - occasionally icy air, of which I've been informed will only get icier - that flows through the corridor outside to waft into my otherwise heated room, not to mention any curious neighbours in need of an escape from their own cosy abodes, or the occasional door-to-door seller excited by the prospect of saving the energy from knocking. Still, by regularly doing my washing up and airing the airlocked bathroom this is not so much a problem as an inconvenience that I am getting used to. And regarding washing up - I only have one set of cutlery so in order to eat this is a necessary chore anyway.
Now it's not all bad. There is a small supermarket just a thirty second walk down the road outside, and a regular street seller just downstairs with his inviting smells of 호떡 (honey-filled pancake). I say there is a small supermarket, but it holds the majority of one's food needs - especially when one is not one would describe oneself as a foody. It is certainly bigger than your average Tesco Metro. But I realise that I write as though this is my only food source! There are, in fact, dozens of cornershop-esque shops all the way down the small stretch of road that I live on all selling apparently the same produce; one does walk by wondering how they all stay alive/why they all exist when all one's basic needs are covered by the aforementioned grocery store. Nevertheless, they do, and with friendly old people often sleeping inside until they hear your rustle at the door, eager to practice their limited English and help you with your poor grasp of the Korean numbering system.
I doubt this is a sufficient introduction to my new life, but my chosen current occupation does force me to "conk out" - as it were - rather sooner than my regular bedtime. My initial dreams of lessons filled with colouring in and singing songs have been shattered by a replacement image of energetic small children insisting on running/jumping/spinning/sitting anywhere but their designated seat in the classroom. And as far as they look cute on the outside -- they're little devils inside.
I am currently residing in a small studio apartment of which when I walk in through my front door (admittedly there are only 2 doors - the other of which leads to the bathroom - so to specify front is rather unnecessary) I am greeted by the unpleasant smell of must, appeased only so far by the act of maintaining both the small window and the door open. This is in turn an invitation for the cold air - occasionally icy air, of which I've been informed will only get icier - that flows through the corridor outside to waft into my otherwise heated room, not to mention any curious neighbours in need of an escape from their own cosy abodes, or the occasional door-to-door seller excited by the prospect of saving the energy from knocking. Still, by regularly doing my washing up and airing the airlocked bathroom this is not so much a problem as an inconvenience that I am getting used to. And regarding washing up - I only have one set of cutlery so in order to eat this is a necessary chore anyway.
Now it's not all bad. There is a small supermarket just a thirty second walk down the road outside, and a regular street seller just downstairs with his inviting smells of 호떡 (honey-filled pancake). I say there is a small supermarket, but it holds the majority of one's food needs - especially when one is not one would describe oneself as a foody. It is certainly bigger than your average Tesco Metro. But I realise that I write as though this is my only food source! There are, in fact, dozens of cornershop-esque shops all the way down the small stretch of road that I live on all selling apparently the same produce; one does walk by wondering how they all stay alive/why they all exist when all one's basic needs are covered by the aforementioned grocery store. Nevertheless, they do, and with friendly old people often sleeping inside until they hear your rustle at the door, eager to practice their limited English and help you with your poor grasp of the Korean numbering system.I doubt this is a sufficient introduction to my new life, but my chosen current occupation does force me to "conk out" - as it were - rather sooner than my regular bedtime. My initial dreams of lessons filled with colouring in and singing songs have been shattered by a replacement image of energetic small children insisting on running/jumping/spinning/sitting anywhere but their designated seat in the classroom. And as far as they look cute on the outside -- they're little devils inside.
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