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

Christmas in Korea

We had a great (but very different to normal) Christmas in Korea. Christmas eve we had dinner, some beers and a Secret Santa with a few of our friends. Then it was off to bed early, so we could be up bright and early for snowboarding Christmas day.

Brenton's present:
Snowboarding survival kit + a random toilet sign.

Ashley and James presents.

Desk warming survival kit: ramon, coffee and alcohol

Christmas Day we were up earlier than I ever was for Santa (3:45am) and on the bus to High1 resort at 4:30am. We reached the resort and were ready to hit the slopes by about 9:30 am. It was a beautiful clear day, but really cold (about -12). I think I did ok for my first attempt at snowboarding. I made it down the Jupitar run (about 900m) 3 times before lunch and once after lunch. Snowboarding is hard work! I fell over a lot and everything is sore now!

Korean medical system

Today I had my first visit to a Korean doctor. I have had a cold for almost 3 weeks now.  I don't really feel that sick. Although, in the last few days it has developed in to a bad cough, so today I finally followed the advice of all the Korean people I know and went to the hospital. It's not as dramatic as it sounds, in Korea you go to the hospital for anything. It's just liking going to the GP but they are at the hospital. I have heard a lot about the Korean medical system, like how cheap it is and that you always get a needle in the butt. So I was expecting to be sitting in a busy emergency room, see a doctor, get a needle in my butt and walk away wearing a little boot (judging by the amount of kids at school that are wearing booties I have developed the assumption that no matter what is wrong with you, you get one).

My experience wasn't quite like this. The hospital I went to was more like a large GP surgery, there were no emergencies getting wheeled in or blood anywhere. I went without an appointment and only had to wait 5 minutes. I saw the doctor for about 3 minutes he diagnosed me with a swollen throat and printed me a prescription. I didn't even get a needle in the butt or a bootie! This only cost me 3,400 KRW ($2.90). My prescription cost 4,700 KRW ($4).

They don't hold back with the drugs over here. For my swollen throat I have cough medicine I need to take 4X per day and tablets 3X per day. Not only that, but each time I take my tablets, I take between 3 and 5 different ones! I don't know what they all are but I hope they get me healthy before my Christmas snow boarding trip. The doctor also recommended that I wear a mask (uh.... not happening) and I don't go out in the cold (a little hard when its only 4 degrees during the day and I don't have a car!)

3 days worth of medication

My cough syrup and a
free ("service") vitamin drink

Supergook: Episode 1

This is a TV series that has been made about English teachers in Korea. If you are wondering what life is like teaching in Korea....this is the closest thing I have to show you how it is.

All of the things that they are forced to eat and drink, I have eaten/drank. Including moving octopus and silk worm larvae.
Loren and I actually went to the town where this show is set for my birthday. We drank at the same pub that is in many of the scenes.

I'm looking forward to the next episode of this show to come out. Enjoy.

Korean Study

The Korean education system is very effective. The latest generation to graduate from high school have had a very intense educational experience and in comparison to the US, Australia or the UK, Koreans are learning more at school. But at what cost? The average Korean student will study for a minimum of 12 hours a day. Stressful exams start for these students in grade 1 of primary (elementary) school.

As you can imagine, studying for 12 hours a day would be very tiring work. This of course takes its toll on the students. My students will fall asleep if I give them more than a 30 second break in between activities. I kid you not. I have an average of 5 students falling asleep in classes with no breaks.

Ok, so the Korean education system is very effective and produces some excellent results...but is it efficient? Definitely not. Students are studying all day but are only running at 20% as they have a lack of sleep and are constantly over worked. So students sit in class all day but pay attention 20% of the time.

The average Korean middle school student will arrive at school at 8:10am in the morning and stay at school until about 4:10pm. Next it is time to go to their first academy. Most students attend several academies with dinner in between and won't make it home until after 10pm.

Do the students like this? Would you? Sure studying all day makes you intelligent but also unhappy. Not to mention the amount of stress that is put on these kids. It is no surprise that Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Things I Love About Korea: #1 Love Motels

There are a lot of things I love about Korea. Brenton's posts tend to be on the negative side (he said "I can't write something interesting without it being negative"), so I decided to write a post about things I love about Korea. One of the things I love most about Korea are love motels. They might sound a little sleazy and really they are, but you get so much for such a cheap price.

Love Motels can be rented by the hour or overnight. In Korea people tend to live with their parents until they are married, so privacy is pretty difficult to come by. When I have stayed in Love Motels most other people there seem to be young couples. Although, I am sure they are also used by people having affairs and people paying for girls and the room by the hour. There are lots of dodgy Love Motels in Korea, but in my experience if you choose one that looks new and has lots of neon you are going to get a great room (Although, a more expensive room than the dodgier ones).

Love Motel's in Gyeongju

In mine and Brenton's experience really nice Love Motels cost between 50,000 and 120,000 Won ($43-$105) per night depending on location. For that price you can expect a room that averages between 2 and 3 times the size of our entire apartment here. You will also get a spa in the bathroom, a bigger than king size bed, 130cm+ flatscreen TV (with multiple channels that show English shows), free mini-bar (no alcohol), all the bathroom products you need, and 2 computers with internet.

Love Motel in Chuncheon:

Love Motel in Pohang:

A couch! A luxury we don't have in our apartment.

Free wine! It was pretty gross wine, but most wine is in Korea.
 It was re-stocked every day too.

Our Love Motel was right on the beach (the 2nd tallest building).
We had great views from our  room.

So basically Love Motels have better facilities than most "nice" hotels (like the Novotel or Rydges) for a fraction of the price. So if you can get past the renting by the hour and the tackiness of Love Motels they are the perfect accommodation in Korea. I am really going to miss them when we are slumming it in hostels around Europe for a similar price!.