Things I wont miss about Korea

I have had a great time in Korea. I have met lots of wonderful people, had lots of great experiences and overall loved getting to live in another culture. But, there are somethings I am not going to miss about Korea (Don't worry I'm not going to just focus on the negatives, there will be a follow up "Things I will miss" blog).

When we leave Korea in less than 6 weeks here is what I wont miss (in no particular order):

1.School lunches. It is nice not having to bring lunch to work, but I'm not going to miss the (mostly) horrible food the school serves. I also wont miss what I do and don't eat being studied by the other teachers and the numerous comments about how I "don't like spicy food", "must be on a diet" because I don't eat much, and that I "don't like Korea food". All of which are false.



2. The lack of rubbish bins. I have written about how rubbish collection in Korea works previously. I am not going to miss the result of this method of rubbish collection combined with very few public bins (rubbish all over the street).

3. My tiny apartment. Not only is it tiny but it has bad insulation (so is hot all summer and freezing all winter) and it was so cheaply made that sometimes it seems like they didn't even bother to finish it.

4. Freezing winter, humid summer. I now realise how great we have it with weather in Melbourne.

5. Aspects of my job. I will miss many things about my job but I wont miss not really knowing what is happening day to day, finding out about compulsory after school activities shortly before they happen, not really being able to communication and get to know most of the teachers and my students, and the crappy textbook.

6. Not being able to buy all the things I am used to easily. I can't wait to be able to buy dip, cheese, bread that isn't sweet, lamb, and bras that fit.

7. Communication problems. It is going to be so nice to be able to read and understand an entire menu and then be able to speak to the waiter! It will also be great to be able to do things like go to the post office, bank or doctor and be able to communicate with them without having to rely on someone else to help me.

Like I said earlier I love Korea and wouldn't change this year for anything, but it is such a different country with such a different culture to Australia that there are plenty of things I miss form home!

Ok, now it's Brenton's turn. I will add to the list Loren has above:

8. The stares. Don't you hate it when you get some stares on the train. You panic and think you have some food on your face or something coming out of you nose. Imagine that feeling every single day. It is not rude in Korean culture to stare. It seems that Western cultures may be missing out here because it's ok for Koreans to stare and they love doing so. Imagine walking down a somewhat busy street and knowing that every step is being watched by someone.

Imagine these bad boys on you all day

9. I have to mention temperatures. I have realised that Melbourne has some very very good temperatures year round. Korea gets very warm and humid in the summer and very very cold in the winter. This is a big change from Melbourne which has less extreme temperatures.
This isn't the problem though. I am quite happy to live in the cold and can.....tolerate the heat. My problem is going from a freezing temperature outside into a train/bus/taxi/restaurant/shopping mall/etc and being hit with 30 degree heat. Picture this: wearing all the clothes you own: pants, t shirt,  hoodie, socks, termal underwear, coat, scarf, beanie, gloves....and then going into a room that is 30 degrees. Why? WHY? You may be asking. Well this is a very normal situation in Korea. Drives me crazy. In the summer if my classroom was warmer than 25 degrees my students would demand the air con be turned on. Now I get on a packed train which is 30 degrees and everyone keeps their coat on. I have asked people but no one can explain this bazaar phenomenon.

10. The biggest thing that I will not miss is one of my co-teachers at school. I have mentioned this particular teacher in previous blogs. Basically all the bad things I have mentioned about teachers in Korea is based on her. You may have seen one of the animation videos about her. No surprises for me to be extremely happy when I say goodbye to her.

Teacher dinners

Ever had the desire to be critically watched as you take every mouthful of your dinner? Ever wanted to dine with many other people who can't speak your language but still ask you questions? Ever felt like being ridiculed for not eating for 90 minutes like the rest of the dinner table? Well, I have the solution you have been searching for! Come teach English in Korea and attend a teacher dinner.

Working 8 hours a day is a breeze while teaching English in Korea. That is until you are expected to put in overtime attending the dreaded "teacher dinners". For me these only occur bi-yearly but I have heard of tragic cases where they occur on a weekly basis.

Let me step you through the average teacher dinner:

You are advised that there will be a dinner and that you must attend it, approximately 2 hours before it takes place. 

You will leave school at about 4pm and go straight to dinner. You will be eating at 4:30 so you better hope you didn't have a big lunch. 

You will usually be seated with the Korean English teachers but they will speak little to no English as they talk to everyone around you in Korean. 

The dining process for Korean's at these dinners typically takes about 90 minutes. This is an extremely long time to be eating so you must eat very slowly. You must also remember to save some room for the next course as they ALWAYS bring more food out. 

You must try to eat everything that is given to you as to not offend anyone. This isn't as bad as it seems. Try a little bit and if you don't like something, move on to another food. Keep in mind there will always be a Korean staring out you and giving you dirty looks whether you are eating all the food or not. 

It is not impolite to eat/talk with your mouth full of food in Korea. So during your meal you will be listening to what sounds like a herd of cows chewing grass all around you. If you think that sounds bad, wait for the soup. Hearing a table full of Koreans slurping soup is similar to being surrounded by bath tubs that are almost finished draining. That SSSSHHHHRRRRRLLLLLLPPPPPPPP sound will be delivered in full DOLBY surround sound as loud as you would get at the cinema. 

Note: The pained look on my face as I attempt a fake smile