RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

[flyingspider]

Dear parents,

Please don't send your children half an hour early to camp. My current class is still in full swing.
Also don't bother to send your kid to camp at all if they're going to be showing up ridiculously late every day because their soccer class overlaps with camp.

Sincerely,
the babysitter English camp teacher

[welcomebackkotter]

A compilation of foreigner based rants.  They've been building up for a while but are all around one theme:  Is it too much to ask to meet normal people?  Just one normal person?

These have all happened this past year:

- A dinner with a big group made up of smaller groups of friends.  "Oh hey, let's go around the table and everyone say three interesting things about themselves".  What?  No!!  Who is that fun for?

- "Why don't we just order one of everything and all share?"  No!!  I'm not paying for a meal and ending up eating two spoonfuls of food.

- We're having a party at the weekend if you want to come?
   Me:  Sounds good!
   Yea it's an Oscars themed movie party.  We're going to all dress as movie stars!
   Me: 

I think my point is; whatever happened to just having some beers and talking or just eating normally and talking.  Why does everything have to be a "quirky" game, or have a "whacky" theme?

Thoughts?  Am I a grumpy old man?   

Nope.  Well, maybe, but then so am I. 

I just want a wine/beer and to shoot the breeze, so I agree with you, you're not alone on that.

Actually, the older I get the more I dislike people, just people in general.  There are a few I like, but not many.  I think I need to retire to a farm of some sort. 

[yirj17]

A compilation of foreigner based rants.  They've been building up for a while but are all around one theme:  Is it too much to ask to meet normal people?  Just one normal person?

These have all happened this past year:

- A dinner with a big group made up of smaller groups of friends.  "Oh hey, let's go around the table and everyone say three interesting things about themselves".  What?  No!!  Who is that fun for?

- "Why don't we just order one of everything and all share?"  No!!  I'm not paying for a meal and ending up eating two spoonfuls of food.

- We're having a party at the weekend if you want to come?
   Me:  Sounds good!
   Yea it's an Oscars themed movie party.  We're going to all dress as movie stars!
   Me: 

I think my point is; whatever happened to just having some beers and talking or just eating normally and talking.  Why does everything have to be a "quirky" game, or have a "whacky" theme?

Thoughts?  Am I a grumpy old man?   

Nope.  Well, maybe, but then so am I. 

I just want a wine/beer and to shoot the breeze, so I agree with you, you're not alone on that.

Actually, the older I get the more I dislike people, just people in general.  There are a few I like, but not many.  I think I need to retire to a farm of some sort.

Maybe I'm more of an old curmudgeon than I thought.

[donuts81]

Dear parents,

Please don't send your children half an hour early to camp. My previously class is still in full swing.
Also don't bother to send your kid to camp at all if they're going to be showing up ridiculously late every day because their soccer class overlaps with camp.

Sincerely,
the babysitter English camp teacher

Can I add, please teach your children to flush the toilet and wash their hands.

And to the student who put their used toilet tissue on top of the upturned tissue basket, there is no hope for you. Please consider a fulfilling career in recycling collection or flier delivery.   

[grey]

Dear parents,

Please don't send your children half an hour early to camp. My previously class is still in full swing.
Also don't bother to send your kid to camp at all if they're going to be showing up ridiculously late every day because their soccer class overlaps with camp.

Sincerely,
the babysitter English camp teacher

Can I add, please teach your children to flush the toilet and wash their hands.

And to the student who put their used toilet tissue on top of the upturned tissue basket, there is no hope for you. Please consider a fulfilling career in recycling collection or flier delivery.

I'm at a new school and I could be wrong but far higher percentage of students are not all there. Not an English thing, just seem to be missing some sharpness. Hopefully this is something they will grow out of.

I'm putting it on parenting, about 90%.

Addition: Not in a 'special' sense either. Hard to describe properly.

[hiragardless]

So, today has been a pretty bad day all around. I think I'm going through the anger stage of culture shock because every little thing set me off today. I've also been really upset lately as well. I'm only three months in but I am burnt out. My co-teacher is beginning to get on my nerves too. For example, I had to teach an after-school class with high schoolers. My co-teacher got a call from the high school teacher about the after-school class this morning but he refused to tell me until after the class was over. He came up to me when I returned from the high school saying "Oh, you had a high school class today?" When I told him "yes," he stated that he already knew and that the high school teacher had called him earlier. He then told me later that I should change the class time to the mornings even though he knows I have no control over my schedule. He's also always asking me how much I get paid, and asking about my college debt. I think he's doing it with kind intentions but at the same time, it starts to grate on my nerves because it's not really any of his business. I can't tell if he is trying to build a better relationship with me, especially since I can't speak Korean. But then he always compares me to the last foreign English teacher who could speak Korean. And he will repeatedly ask me if I can understand Korean even though I've told him multiple times, that I'm still in the beginning stages of learning Korean.

Then, with my high school class, I'm supposed to have a two week one hour camp with them, but none of them really want to be there. I've made games and tried to play them but the students have been forcing it so that one team wins and the game is over really quickly. They will then say class over, and I'm just so burnt out. I then have to tell them, "No, class is not over, we'll do something else." I've had the high school classes four times each week since I arrived in October and I'm running out of things to teach. Plus, only a few people at my school call me by name, the rest call me by foreign teacher. Not waygookin but wanamin. I'm not sure how to spell it in korean but I know that it's the politer version of waygookin.  My students and my co-teacher all reference me as foreign teacher. While it doesn't seem like a big deal, there are days where it makes me feel like less of a person because I do have a name. I'm trying to make the most of my situation but at the same time, I just really needed to vent. It can be really frustrating when things like this happen and it's nice to know that others have experienced similar experiences and made it through.

[Loki88]

So, today has been a pretty bad day all around. I think I'm going through the anger stage of culture shock because every little thing set me off today. I've also been really upset lately as well. I'm only three months in but I am burnt out. My co-teacher is beginning to get on my nerves too. For example, I had to teach an after-school class with high schoolers. My co-teacher got a call from the high school teacher about the after-school class this morning but he refused to tell me until after the class was over. He came up to me when I returned from the high school saying "Oh, you had a high school class today?" When I told him "yes," he stated that he already knew and that the high school teacher had called him earlier. He then told me later that I should change the class time to the mornings even though he knows I have no control over my schedule. He's also always asking me how much I get paid, and asking about my college debt. I think he's doing it with kind intentions but at the same time, it starts to grate on my nerves because it's not really any of his business. I can't tell if he is trying to build a better relationship with me, especially since I can't speak Korean. But then he always compares me to the last foreign English teacher who could speak Korean. And he will repeatedly ask me if I can understand Korean even though I've told him multiple times, that I'm still in the beginning stages of learning Korean.

Then, with my high school class, I'm supposed to have a two week one hour camp with them, but none of them really want to be there. I've made games and tried to play them but the students have been forcing it so that one team wins and the game is over really quickly. They will then say class over, and I'm just so burnt out. I then have to tell them, "No, class is not over, we'll do something else." I've had the high school classes four times each week since I arrived in October and I'm running out of things to teach. Plus, only a few people at my school call me by name, the rest call me by foreign teacher. Not waygookin but wanamin. I'm not sure how to spell it in korean but I know that it's the politer version of waygookin.  My students and my co-teacher all reference me as foreign teacher. While it doesn't seem like a big deal, there are days where it makes me feel like less of a person because I do have a name. I'm trying to make the most of my situation but at the same time, I just really needed to vent. It can be really frustrating when things like this happen and it's nice to know that others have experienced similar experiences and made it through.

Keep your chin up.

Wanamin translates directly as foreign language instructor. Also using your job title is significantly more polite than using your name. Just wait. Eventually you'll be pissed off because you're being called on by name instead of title :p

As for the kids ending the game quick. Make them do it again. And again. And again. Eventually they give up.

[jomi]

Why is it that my coteachers think during camp it's perfectly fine for them to go to the office during break time and leave me alone with the kids. Like yeah I want a break and a moment of quiet too, but you can't leave kids unsupervised in a classroom and it's unfair as **** that you get to leave the room and have a breather while I'm left not just leading the camp classes but also having to supervise the breaks which is mostly me telling them to stop climbing on the desks and trying the get the girls to stop playing with my hair while I try to set up for the next period.
And the kids start arriving at like 8:40 before my KT has even shown up so I'm stuck with them alone for an extra 20 minutes -_- she dates to tell me it's tiring for her but like I'm with the kids from 8:50 to 12:10 uninterrupted with no breaks.
Sigh.

Also the only things I thought the coteacher was organising was the snacks and the videos for the last period and she apparently did neither. Like okay I'll manage to organise 3 periods of classes for 3 weeks, make all the materials, but you can't organise snacks and the video? K

[moonbrie]

So, today has been a pretty bad day all around. I think I'm going through the anger stage of culture shock because every little thing set me off today. I've also been really upset lately as well. I'm only three months in but I am burnt out. My co-teacher is beginning to get on my nerves too. For example, I had to teach an after-school class with high schoolers. My co-teacher got a call from the high school teacher about the after-school class this morning but he refused to tell me until after the class was over. He came up to me when I returned from the high school saying "Oh, you had a high school class today?" When I told him "yes," he stated that he already knew and that the high school teacher had called him earlier. He then told me later that I should change the class time to the mornings even though he knows I have no control over my schedule. He's also always asking me how much I get paid, and asking about my college debt. I think he's doing it with kind intentions but at the same time, it starts to grate on my nerves because it's not really any of his business. I can't tell if he is trying to build a better relationship with me, especially since I can't speak Korean. But then he always compares me to the last foreign English teacher who could speak Korean. And he will repeatedly ask me if I can understand Korean even though I've told him multiple times, that I'm still in the beginning stages of learning Korean.

Then, with my high school class, I'm supposed to have a two week one hour camp with them, but none of them really want to be there. I've made games and tried to play them but the students have been forcing it so that one team wins and the game is over really quickly. They will then say class over, and I'm just so burnt out. I then have to tell them, "No, class is not over, we'll do something else." I've had the high school classes four times each week since I arrived in October and I'm running out of things to teach. Plus, only a few people at my school call me by name, the rest call me by foreign teacher. Not waygookin but wanamin. I'm not sure how to spell it in korean but I know that it's the politer version of waygookin.  My students and my co-teacher all reference me as foreign teacher. While it doesn't seem like a big deal, there are days where it makes me feel like less of a person because I do have a name. I'm trying to make the most of my situation but at the same time, I just really needed to vent. It can be really frustrating when things like this happen and it's nice to know that others have experienced similar experiences and made it through.

Keep your chin up.

Wanamin translates directly as foreign language instructor. Also using your job title is significantly more polite than using your name. Just wait. Eventually you'll be pissed off because you're being called on by name instead of title :p

As for the kids ending the game quick. Make them do it again. And again. And again. Eventually they give up.

+1 on the fact that wonomin is more polite. You know who never calls me by my title and only by my name? Jerk Boss. Everyone else who frequently calls me wonomin seem to actually respect me.

[yirgacheffe]

So, today has been a pretty bad day all around. I think I'm going through the anger stage of culture shock because every little thing set me off today. I've also been really upset lately as well. I'm only three months in but I am burnt out. My co-teacher is beginning to get on my nerves too. For example, I had to teach an after-school class with high schoolers. My co-teacher got a call from the high school teacher about the after-school class this morning but he refused to tell me until after the class was over. He came up to me when I returned from the high school saying "Oh, you had a high school class today?" When I told him "yes," he stated that he already knew and that the high school teacher had called him earlier. He then told me later that I should change the class time to the mornings even though he knows I have no control over my schedule. He's also always asking me how much I get paid, and asking about my college debt. I think he's doing it with kind intentions but at the same time, it starts to grate on my nerves because it's not really any of his business. I can't tell if he is trying to build a better relationship with me, especially since I can't speak Korean. But then he always compares me to the last foreign English teacher who could speak Korean. And he will repeatedly ask me if I can understand Korean even though I've told him multiple times, that I'm still in the beginning stages of learning Korean.

Then, with my high school class, I'm supposed to have a two week one hour camp with them, but none of them really want to be there. I've made games and tried to play them but the students have been forcing it so that one team wins and the game is over really quickly. They will then say class over, and I'm just so burnt out. I then have to tell them, "No, class is not over, we'll do something else." I've had the high school classes four times each week since I arrived in October and I'm running out of things to teach. Plus, only a few people at my school call me by name, the rest call me by foreign teacher. Not waygookin but wanamin. I'm not sure how to spell it in korean but I know that it's the politer version of waygookin.  My students and my co-teacher all reference me as foreign teacher. While it doesn't seem like a big deal, there are days where it makes me feel like less of a person because I do have a name. I'm trying to make the most of my situation but at the same time, I just really needed to vent. It can be really frustrating when things like this happen and it's nice to know that others have experienced similar experiences and made it through.

Keep your chin up.

Wanamin translates directly as foreign language instructor. Also using your job title is significantly more polite than using your name. Just wait. Eventually you'll be pissed off because you're being called on by name instead of title :p

As for the kids ending the game quick. Make them do it again. And again. And again. Eventually they give up.

+1 on the fact that wonomin is more polite. You know who never calls me by my title and only by my name? Jerk Boss. Everyone else who frequently calls me wonomin seem to actually respect me.

OMG my main co-teacher at my first school used to do that. She would call me by name and also use banmal... Sooooo glad I left.

[kriztee]

Apparently I can't read numbers anymore cuz I got freaked out thinking my passport was good until the end of April this year but I looked adn it said Feb. After a lot of freaking out and being half way out the door to take a 2 hour trip to cry to the embassy in Seoul about getting an expediated renewal I looked again and I have until Feb next year.... I'm the worst...

[The Arm]

I know I'm grouchier than most people but even I'm not offended when my coworkers dare to address me using my actual name 

[HyooMyron]

Plus, only a few people at my school call me by name, the rest call me by foreign teacher. Not waygookin but wanamin. I'm not sure how to spell it in korean but I know that it's the politer version of waygookin.  My students and my co-teacher all reference me as foreign teacher. While it doesn't seem like a big deal, there are days where it makes me feel like less of a person because I do have a name. I'm trying to make the most of my situation but at the same time, I just really needed to vent. It can be really frustrating when things like this happen and it's nice to know that others have experienced similar experiences and made it through.

Keep your chin up.

Wanamin translates directly as foreign language instructor. Also using your job title is significantly more polite than using your name. Just wait. Eventually you'll be pissed off because you're being called on by name instead of title :p

+1 on the fact that wonomin is more polite. You know who never calls me by my title and only by my name? Jerk Boss. Everyone else who frequently calls me wonomin seem to actually respect me.

x2. When I first came here, I used to get butt hurt when people called me 원어민. I finally confronted a co-teacher about it and she explained that it is very respectful. She also told me that if I were to listen, people call each other by their title instead of their name all the time. I felt like a fool, but it was a good learning experience 

I'm shocked that they don't tell us this during orientation. I feel like this is a very subtle, but incredibly important difference between Korean and Western culture.

[yirj17]

Awhile back when I went to renew my ARC, they didn't even look at my passport. So when I got all the way back home, I was all "oh frick" thinking I'd messed up and needed to update my visa. CoT finally gets a call through the next day, and we're told that they just update the ARC and that the visa doesn't matter.

[yirj17]

Plus, only a few people at my school call me by name, the rest call me by foreign teacher. Not waygookin but wanamin. I'm not sure how to spell it in korean but I know that it's the politer version of waygookin.  My students and my co-teacher all reference me as foreign teacher. While it doesn't seem like a big deal, there are days where it makes me feel like less of a person because I do have a name. I'm trying to make the most of my situation but at the same time, I just really needed to vent. It can be really frustrating when things like this happen and it's nice to know that others have experienced similar experiences and made it through.

Keep your chin up.

Wanamin translates directly as foreign language instructor. Also using your job title is significantly more polite than using your name. Just wait. Eventually you'll be pissed off because you're being called on by name instead of title :p

+1 on the fact that wonomin is more polite. You know who never calls me by my title and only by my name? Jerk Boss. Everyone else who frequently calls me wonomin seem to actually respect me.

x2. When I first came here, I used to get butt hurt when people called me 원어민. I finally confronted a co-teacher about it and she explained that it is very respectful. She also told me that if I were to listen, people call each other by their title instead of their name all the time. I felt like a fool, but it was a good learning experience 

I'm shocked that they don't tell us this during orientation. I feel like this is a very subtle, but incredibly important difference between Korean and Western culture.

Other teachers in the office called me by my name from the start. We're all pretty laid back though; I just call them [name]+샘 as that's how I heard the others do. The students, on the other hand, took a while to warm up to calling me by name. Many of them still call me "teacher" or even "샘" or "[name]-teacher." I guess because I blend in here, they see a Korean teacher even though they know I'm the foreigner. The students address the other teachers by [subject+teacher] in Korean.

When the Korean teachers are talking about me, I usually hear my name + 선생님 or 샘. I only recall hearing them refer to me as 원어민 as a brief explanation when some random person is in the office and attempting to speak to me in Korean.

[moonbrie]

Seriously? my coteacher left the school for a good 2 hours during the break between morning and afternoon camp sessions, and when questioned where she had been by the office admin lady she said she had been "going to get her lunch box"

suuuuuuure 

I wouldn't care if I was also allowed to leave but I'm not even supposed to go to the convenience store on the corner.

[Pecan]

That lunch hour is yours to go where you please.

[moonbrie]

I've been told I'm not allowed to leave :(

But maybe I'll test my luck tomorrow, and if I get in trouble I'll just say I thought we were allowed to because she had left today...

[Pecan]

Forgive me, but you are with a public school, are you not?

If you are, they most certainly can not dictate where/what you do while on your break, so long as you aren't drinking alcohol.

All of the Korean male teachers leave school to smoke during lunch, as the rule for "no smoking" on school grounds is finally being enforced.

[moonbrie]

There are a lot of things that are different in Korea than in America... I assumed this was one of those things. I would've been leaving for lunch all year if I thought I could.