Half way through my contract

The ninth of March was my 6 month anniversary since I came to Korea. I think this a good time to reflect on some things.

First, I will most likely be coming back for another go around. It’s still too early to know for sure, but I am content here. It beats going back and not having a job, that's for sure. I set out to write this blog to help people who may want to come here themselves. I have found out, however, that no two people will share the same experience. That may seem obvious for anything, but I am struck by how much differences exist from one person to another that I meet here. It is really apparent between those who work in public schools and in the private academies, the hagwons. My friend works for a public school, teaches less classes, has a Korean co-teacher, and makes $1,300 MORE a month than I do. He has been here for three years at the same school, but it still seems quite a jump in pay. Clearly, it is better to get into the public school system. I see a one advantage in my private academy and that is I have smaller classes, and my kids have to pay to be there, so they aren't really being forced—except maybe by their parents. The fact that the academy is a business and its goal is to make money does add a bit of pressure. There is very little competition in my small town, but bigger cities many hagwons have a hard time because there are so many options for parents. The real factor to determine whether or not someone will enjoy working at a hagwon largely depends on the owner or administrator. Even in the same franchise, such as E. Bo-young, the experience varies greatly from person to person. The accommodation seems to be very different as well. Some people get flats with actual ‘rooms’. I wouldn’t know.

I met a guy last night in Jinju from Tennessee who has been here 3 months and is already counting the days until he leaves. I think it would be a good bet that he leaves before his contract is up. He teaches at the same franchise I do, and I'm pretty sure the guy he replaced only stayed 3 months. I couldn't understand what could be so bad with his boss that would cause him to hate this country so much. At least he isn't living out in the sticks like I am. Jinju is a pretty cool place. I wouldn't mind living there. He said that he hasn't met a nice Korean, which is absolutely b.s., because the place I met him in the owners and the employees are some of the nicest people I have met, Korean or otherwise. I told him that what really helped me was to find a hobby, like how I do Wu-shu. He was a bigger guy than I am (I'm a pretty big guy, but I would say a bit more athletic than this guy), so it wouldn't hurt him to do a little exercise. He said he already had a hobby, but they don't have guns here. Then he said something crude which I won't repeat verbatim basically how he can't find a girl to have intercourse with. I'd wager he has the same problem anywhere he goes. I laughed when the Sacheon Legend hit him with a pretty childish joke along the same lines I was thinking. I have met many people that are pretty cynical about their time here, but this guy was outright nasty about it. Sacheon Legend and I were about to leave to go to another bar, and I am really glad this guy didn't decide to tag along.

I will say this—coming to another country to teach English is not for everyone. Some people are just not physically or mentally able to cope. I think that half the people I attended orientation with have already left before their contracts were up. I've met a few other runners around here, and I just don't see the point. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have never quit anything—it's actually quite the opposite—but at least see it through. A year is not a long time in the grand scheme of things. I'm not saying that if you are miserable to just continue being miserable. Clearly that is not a good situation for anybody. But I find that the people that are miserable do not go into it with an open mind and have already committed themselves to being miserable, without really looking for something to find joy in. Some find solace in alcohol, which I am guilty of at times, which is counterproductive in so many ways. I am tired of going out and finding foreigners that sit around and do nothing but b***h about Korea. It makes the rest of us look bad. Every time I hear of someone leaving early I tend to take it personally. Some people are too set in their ways, and can't be bothered to change. If you wanted all the comforts the home, stay the Hell home. I question their motives as to why they came in the first place. If this is you and you are reading this, or you think that this might be you, please, just stay home. I do not want to meet you out here.

On a happier note, I believe I am a bit closer to finding my Korean future ex-wife. I met a girl that I thought would like to take the job—sweet little girl, 25, decent English, maybe 90lbs dripping wet, a dental 'technicianer' in her words—but someone has sadly beaten me to the prize. No ring on the finger, so there is some hope still. She sends me some of the nicest text messages I have ever received. She does however have some friends that she would love for me to meet. We'll see where that goes. I hope they are as beautiful and as nice as she is. Wu-shu Master hooked me up with a girl that works at a nursery school. We went on a few dates—one on Valentine's Day—but there was nothing there. Too many language difficulties, and she was just too bashful around me. I would look her in the eyes and she would just giggle and look away. This is a small, conservative town, and people tended to stare at us when we were together, and I don't think she liked that. Wu-shu Master informs me that she has gotten back together with the ex. Good for her, I guess.

I am going back to America March 25th to the 30th, not exactly a long time, and I am very mixed on how I feel about this. I am going back for a job interview with the State Dept.; a job I'm maybe 97% sure I won't get. This comes after what I hoped to be the culmination of a very long selection process that I started almost a year ago when I was back home, but I'm still maybe not even half-way through it yet. The interview is an all day affair, starting at 7am, almost 12 hrs after when I will have arrived in D.C. Needless to say, it will not be an enjoyable experience for me. I am going to spend a couple of days seeing family and friends, but I believe that with the short time frame it will just be too hectic to actually enjoy myself. I will be home for my Dad's birthday, so I guess that is a nice gesture. I get back to Seoul at 7pm on Monday night (then the 5+ hrs. it takes to Samcheonpo), and I am going to try to make it to work that Tuesday morning and of course the rest of the week. I will be a walking corpse, if I am indeed walking at all. Everyone I talk to here thinks that I'm crazy for doing this. I don't deny it. I am crazy. You have probably gathered that if you have read any of my other posts. I normal person would be ecstatic at the idea of going home, even if it is only for a short time. I am really saddened by the fact that my first trip out of Korea will be back to America. I was hoping to go to China and Japan and a thousand other places instead of back to the place that I left. This is a travelblog, where is all the traveling I was supposed to do? I think I might pick up a new computer back in the States, so maybe that will make it all worth it.

I feel like going back to America will shatter my doomsday images of the American economy that CNN has put in my head and I have built upon. I'm envisioning Depression-era tar paper shacks, breadlines, and guys with bindles thrown over their shoulders—anything less and I will be severely disillusioned. I never thought myself a trend-setter, but I was poor and unemployed long before it was popular. God, I hope the Won rebounds a bit though—it makes it hard to send money back to try to pay off my debt.

I wish I was in America for St. Patrick's Day. Guinness is expensive here.

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