Blogs from Daegu, South Korea, Asia - page 16

Another week gone by and I can’t believe it went so fast. Yesterday the kids at my hagwon had an English festival. They performed their memorized scripts in front of their parents. And now I understand them and why their behavior is the way it it. Mmmm, where should I begin? I should start by saying that there is no “theatre etiquette” in Korea as far as these parents are concerned. They were so rude. They were the only person that mattered, talking amongst themselves. Not whispering but full out talking, walking up standing in the way of other people just because they don’t want to sit anymore, and not taking responsible for their child when he’s running around screaming. I think I was starting to go a little crazy! After the festival my boss insisted ... read more

This was my first weekend in Daegu and I have to admit it was a lot of fun. On Friday I met with my boss and recruiter to talk about my situation and I told them at that I was frustrated and unhappy. He seemed somewhat willing to work with me to makes things better. I told them that my number one reason for being miserable and the reason that I’d leave was that I wasn’t happy about the location of where I was living. I didn’t sign up to live in the country. They said that they would be ok with me moving to Daegu but that my commute to work would be about an hour. I said I was ok with commuting. So it looks like I’m moving to downtown Daegu. After meeting for ... read more

Last year at this time I was slaving away as a Manager at one of the coolest venues on the east coast, toiling away in a semi-stuper, working toward some unknown goal. I had no motivation and very little thought of mobility within the company, all the same I worked hard and tried to make each day pass without incident. Then suddenly one day in January, just after my birthday, and with some overseas correspondence between myself and my friend Kat, I decided to up and leave it behind and move to Korea. I am still not sure what my motivations were, but I do know this, I needed a change. As my parents would say I “needed to grow up.” So off I went, in almost a blink of an eye and much to the ... read more

I'm working on my third week here in Korea. I can't believe it's been that long already. Things are going well. This past weekend was busy but good. Friday I went to Betty's house for a wine "party". We sat on the floor of her studio apartment and drank very sweet Korean red wine. I tried to teach them some American drinking games and they tried to teach me a Korean card game. After about five bottles, we decided to go to a Norabang, Korean style karaoke. You and your group get your own room and karaoke machine. No waiting to sing. So we sang and drank some more. Korea has no law on when bars and restaurants have to close. They close when the people leave. We finally left at around 3:30 and I ended ... read more

Remember when I said, “if I get screwed in the process, at least I’ll have some stories to tell”? Well, I’ve got some stories to tell. I have no idea where to begin, so I guess I’ll begin with work. Actually, let’s back up and begin with where I am actually living. When I finalized plans to come to Korea, I was under the impression that I would be going to Daegu, well I’m not actually in Daegu. I’m in a town called Hayang. Hayang is about 45 minutes away from Daegu by bus and then subway. According to Koreans I’m living in the country and I agree. And now work. I love my co-workers, they are all friendly and all Korean. I am the only foreign teacher in my school and it is at times ... read more