so a few things

I've decided that from here on out, this blog will be mostly Seoul/Korea/teaching content based. When everything is all said and done, I want this blog to be a testament to my experience of one year in the land of the morning calm.

I made a new tumblr for use as my personal blog. peep it here: follow me!

a friend of mine, Nelly, recently sent me this list of "10 things I need to know to survive at a korean public school." The list basically goes like this (but to fully understand what I'm about to write out, just click the link and read the explanations):

1. [Korean Co-Teachers] didn't know either
2. Sick Days are imaginary
3. Co-teachers have 6 jobs
4. Korean teachers don't eat their homemade lunches in the cafeteria
5. yes, they really did schedule this last minute
6. exams trump all else. including your class.
7. It's model airplane flying day!
8. your co-teacher is always late to class
9. "common sense" means something else in korea
10. "should" means "have to"

now, if this list is all I need to know to survive teaching, I feel like I should be relatively fine. Why? Because I have just enough asian in me, you know, and just enough Eastern ways of thought and practice, that I can associate with how it all works. I am disgustingly willing to please and throw myself into my work to the point where I can, and often do, become a slave to it. I work hard, I take on too much, I begin to define myself by the work that I do. And since I'm like this, I can imagine how actual korean teachers are. So it doesn't bother me in the slightest that things at school suddenly pop up & my schedule must be rearranged. I'd never get upset with a co-worker over something like that. Also, the whole "should"/"have to"... I have my parents. I know this all too well.

And I wouldn't want to eat my boan in a public place either. That's just weird.

The only things on that list that I think I would have a problem with are nos. 2 & 8. I was really looking forward to cashing in on those sick days to go on vacay--because it's not like I'd actually use those days for being sick, as I am, just that asian, that I wouldn't allow myself to get sick. Also, I value being on time...because not being prompt means that you don't value you the other person/people to care. You are willingly saying that you are more important than they are, and that your time is more significant than theirs...because they have nothing better to do than to wait for you. People constantly late would drive me crazy...because my time is valuable too.