RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD

The creepy groundskeeper of my school comes into the main teachers office sometimes for coffee but he stands over my shoulder. Almost always. I hope he can read English as he's standing behind me as I type.   He could easily walk over to the teacher he's talking to. But instead he chooses to stand directly behind me and snort and slurp his coffee and he smells like dirt. When he's not speaking to the teacher he's watching me. Its really uncomfortable. 

$50 says he's checking out your breasts.

Well its a rare sight in Korea. Anyway I was showing a bunch of middle school classes this American drama and the biggest reaction came when some woman was leaning forward and the camera was shotting down her top. They were all like "oooooohhhhh", even the girls.

Is it just me, or do people talk to themselves more here?

Seriously wondering. I'm not trying to be a bitch or anything, but I feel like everyone has a constant monologue and it's kind of distracting when I'm trying to work.

A rant about the local cops where I live.

I teach an after school class in one elementary school to grade 2 students once a week. There is a Nigerian girl in the class who is a native English speaker but was born here and is perfectly fluent in Korean. I taught her brother 4 years ago in grade 6, he too is fluent and is now in his 1st year of high school..

When I arrived here in early 2011 I met their mother and father, both Nigerians. I saw the mother once or twice but haven't seen either of them for a long time.

I asked the grade 2 Korean teacher how things were with the boy. He was really bright and a nice kid. The teacher told me that life was difficult for them both now because the father has been in Nigeria for 3 years and mom has been in the USA for about the same length of time. They send money to the kids to pay for their rent and food, but the brother is the caretaker of his little sister. There is no adult supervision in their lives and hasn't been for a long time. The boy has been taking care of his sister since she was in Kindergarten.

I was gobsmacked. I asked her if she had called the police. I thought surely this is illegal and something could be done. The teacher told me she had called the police and she was told:

and I quote her, "The police told me there is nothing they can do because they are African children."

Wow! Just freaking wow.

Apparently not only will I be changing schools in the middle of the year, I'll be changing from elementary to middle school. For the three and a half years I've been here so far, I've only ever taught at elementary schools. I have zero experience teaching middle schools, so I don't know why they've chosen me of all people as the person to make this move. I can only assume it was either arbitrary, or they heard I'm good at my job at the elementary school and assume the skills will translate. Even if the former was the impetus, I really hope the latter is true.

Now that my anger and frustration at the situation have had time to simmer down, a bit of nervousness is starting to rise to the top. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they prefer middle school, and I've heard countless horror stories. My main school will be the largest middle school in the area, so I'll be going from elementary schools with no more than 70 students total, to a school that's probably larger than all the schools I've worked at in the past combined. I'll be going from small class sizes with little kids to large classes with pubescent teens and preteens. Ugh.

Mister Tim, just to offer a bit of encouragement - this is my first year here, and prior to coming I had zero teaching experience and fully expected to teach elementary since I'd heard most middle/high school positions had been cut. Surprise, surprise - I ended up with two middle schools. I was terrified and 95% positive I would be miserable.

Fast forward 5 months later and I love teaching middle school. The kids are so fun. Because they're older, you can connect with them on a different level. In my experience / from what I've heard, middle school NETs get more control over their lessons as well (I view that as a good thing). Granted, I haven't experienced teaching elementary here, but I highly doubt I would enjoy it more than middle school.

Are there the occasional moody, sullen, and rebellious kids? Sure. But IMO they're far better behaved as a general rule than middle schoolers in America. (I know this can depend on the school; however, I was warned before coming here that my school has a reputation for "bad kids," and these kids are seriously some of the sweetest and funniest I've ever met.)

So basically what I'm saying is, don't let it get you too anxious. It will be different and the transition might be rough at first, but it could be a really great change as well!

(Sorry everyone for posting encouragement on the venting thread!  )

The last couple days of deskwarming has been hard. Nothing to do, but it's okay, because I'm a problem solver.

play.pokemonshowdow n.com lets you build your pokemon team, or just have the computer generate a random team for you, and fight to become the pokemon champion with thousands of other users. I will see you all at the Elite Four.

Here's the Cherry Vanilla makgeolli that I mentioned. A few of you seemed excited so here it is! Really dry and boozy but the cherry adds a certain tartness to it. Really nice. Bottle conditioning in the fridge should tone it down a bit.

You'll ship me a bottle, right? 
 

A rant about the local cops where I live.

I teach an after school class in one elementary school to grade 2 students once a week. There is a Nigerian girl in the class who is a native English speaker but was born here and is perfectly fluent in Korean. I taught her brother 4 years ago in grade 6, he too is fluent and is now in his 1st year of high school..

When I arrived here in early 2011 I met their mother and father, both Nigerians. I saw the mother once or twice but haven't seen either of them for a long time.

I asked the grade 2 Korean teacher how things were with the boy. He was really bright and a nice kid. The teacher told me that life was difficult for them both now because the father has been in Nigeria for 3 years and mom has been in the USA for about the same length of time. They send money to the kids to pay for their rent and food, but the brother is the caretaker of his little sister. There is no adult supervision in their lives and hasn't been for a long time. The boy has been taking care of his sister since she was in Kindergarten.

I was gobsmacked. I asked her if she had called the police. I thought surely this is illegal and something could be done. The teacher told me she had called the police and she was told:

and I quote her, "The police told me there is nothing they can do because they are African children."

Wow! Just freaking wow.

Ok what the f^ck, really? God this makes me want to personally help them. The police is utterly useless here. ******* c***s. Racist pieces of

What the???? How could you abandon your kids in another country ?? How is this not the police's problem??? WHERE IS THE CHILD PROTECTION?

A rant about the local cops where I live.

I teach an after school class in one elementary school to grade 2 students once a week. There is a Nigerian girl in the class who is a native English speaker but was born here and is perfectly fluent in Korean. I taught her brother 4 years ago in grade 6, he too is fluent and is now in his 1st year of high school..

When I arrived here in early 2011 I met their mother and father, both Nigerians. I saw the mother once or twice but haven't seen either of them for a long time.

I asked the grade 2 Korean teacher how things were with the boy. He was really bright and a nice kid. The teacher told me that life was difficult for them both now because the father has been in Nigeria for 3 years and mom has been in the USA for about the same length of time. They send money to the kids to pay for their rent and food, but the brother is the caretaker of his little sister. There is no adult supervision in their lives and hasn't been for a long time. The boy has been taking care of his sister since she was in Kindergarten.

I was gobsmacked. I asked her if she had called the police. I thought surely this is illegal and something could be done. The teacher told me she had called the police and she was told:

and I quote her, "The police told me there is nothing they can do because they are African children."

Wow! Just freaking wow.

This is horrible. Jesus. Is there any way you can get in touch with the boy? Is there a large Nigerian community in your area that these kids are a part of?

This made me so angry that my scalp itches. Holy shit, I'm furious.

Having to submit a "plan" for what I'll do on my vacation...where will you go? ...what activities will you do there?...who is paying for your vacation?... where did you vacation for the last 2 years and what did you do there?
What I do during my free time and vacation has NOTHING to do with anyone and I don't see the need to officially document it...very big brother

OMG. Seriously????????? I'm so cranky these days and your story makes me second-hand cranky. Jesus.

A rant about the local cops where I live.

I teach an after school class in one elementary school to grade 2 students once a week. There is a Nigerian girl in the class who is a native English speaker but was born here and is perfectly fluent in Korean. I taught her brother 4 years ago in grade 6, he too is fluent and is now in his 1st year of high school..

When I arrived here in early 2011 I met their mother and father, both Nigerians. I saw the mother once or twice but haven't seen either of them for a long time.

I asked the grade 2 Korean teacher how things were with the boy. He was really bright and a nice kid. The teacher told me that life was difficult for them both now because the father has been in Nigeria for 3 years and mom has been in the USA for about the same length of time. They send money to the kids to pay for their rent and food, but the brother is the caretaker of his little sister. There is no adult supervision in their lives and hasn't been for a long time. The boy has been taking care of his sister since she was in Kindergarten.

I was gobsmacked. I asked her if she had called the police. I thought surely this is illegal and something could be done. The teacher told me she had called the police and she was told:

and I quote her, "The police told me there is nothing they can do because they are African children."

Wow! Just freaking wow.

This is horrible. Jesus. Is there any way you can get in touch with the boy? Is there a large Nigerian community in your area that these kids are a part of?

This made me so angry that my scalp itches. Holy shit, I'm furious.

Sad to say, I can believe he said that. However, it could just be something else. Since it's a direct quote, it could just be a misunderstanding. Maybe what you're CT meant was that, since perhaps the kids aren't Korean citizens (I'm guessing), the police's hands are tied.

I've been sharing an office w/ assorted staff since March. I don't like it.

I share an office with 3 dudes and 4 other ladies and it's noisy and annoying and kind of constant. I mean, this is an occupational hazard. From Oct to the end of Feb I just shared w/ the other English teachers, but someone saw it fit to change, which made sence as now there are only two English teachers (including me) instead of four. I'm already kind of annoyed at having to just teach w/ the co-teachers (the only bright side is that I can ditch the terrible book when I see fit) and this just adds to it. I wear headphones, but they can only do so much.

Also, they brush their teeth in the room. We have two sinks and I know teeth-brushing is important here, but it is so freaking disgusting to me. I cannot get used to it. I used to leave the room so I could avoid the foamy party. They also like to talk while their mouths are full of foam. The smell of the toothpaste now triggers me. I just needed to get that out!!!

Having to submit a "plan" for what I'll do on my vacation...where will you go? ...what activities will you do there?...who is paying for your vacation?... where did you vacation for the last 2 years and what did you do there?
What I do during my free time and vacation has NOTHING to do with anyone and I don't see the need to officially document it...very big brother

OMG. Seriously????????? I'm so cranky these days and your story makes me second-hand cranky. Jesus.

I have a similar tale. Last October, we had a long weekend. I booked flights to Hong Kong, leaving Thursday evening and coming back to Incheon Sunday night. I wanted to see my friend who just moved there, who used to live in Korea. Plus, I'd been to HK before and loved it!

At that time, the democracy protests were taking place. When I asked my co-teacher to leave early on the Thursday, she panicked! The vice-principal then came into my classroom and sat down with my co-teacher and myself. panicking.

Co-T"Martin, there are protests in Hong Kong. It is not safe."

Me "They are peaceful protests. Hong Kong is a very safe city. It's not like Tienanmen Square protests."

VP translated by Co-T "You could get hurt by the protesters. Please let us know where and what you do."

Co-T prints a tourist map of HK.

Co-T "Please mark where you will go".

Me "Why? Hong Kong is safe. I have been before."

I highlighted the protest sites and just marked random attractions away from the protest sites.

VP "Hong Kong is not safe. You should not leave Korea unless it is school vacation."

I was p*ssed off then.

Me "I'm 32 years old. A grown adult. I am responsible and I can look after myself."

Co-T "Please Kakao me when you arrive in Hong Kong and when you arrive in Incheon".

The school agreed to let me leave early as I eventually just told them what they wanted to hear.

FFS, it's not like Koreans have ever taken part in pro-democracy protests!

you need to distinguish between the EPIK coordinators and the head coordinators of your MOE/POE. it seems like the person you're talking about above is the coordinator for you MOE/POE. they don't work for EPIK. they work for your MOE/POE. EPIK doesn't pay their salary, and has nothing to do with their position.

EPIK is basically a big government recruiting firm that handles the recruitment, training, and to a certain extent, the placement of NETs. EPIK does have coordinators working for them, but what they do is a bit different to what the coordinators at the MOE/POEs do. EPIK doesn't select the MOE/POE coordinators, the MOE/POEs select those themselves.

once you've gone through orientation EPIK really has very little to do with you.

Ok. So if you read the post again then mentally change EPIK coordinator to POE coordinator.

i was simply pointing out the different between the two and you choose to come back with a snide remark.

ok then. how about in future you just use the correct terminology so that it looks like you actually know who your coordinator is instead of like a dumbass who doesn't even know who's in charge of them.

Having to submit a "plan" for what I'll do on my vacation...where will you go? ...what activities will you do there?...who is paying for your vacation?... where did you vacation for the last 2 years and what did you do there?
What I do during my free time and vacation has NOTHING to do with anyone and I don't see the need to officially document it...very big brother

OMG. Seriously????????? I'm so cranky these days and your story makes me second-hand cranky. Jesus.

I have a similar tale. Last October, we had a long weekend. I booked flights to Hong Kong, leaving Thursday evening and coming back to Incheon Sunday night. I wanted to see my friend who just moved there, who used to live in Korea. Plus, I'd been to HK before and loved it!

At that time, the democracy protests were taking place. When I asked my co-teacher to leave early on the Thursday, she panicked! The vice-principal then came into my classroom and sat down with my co-teacher and myself. panicking.

Co-T"Martin, there are protests in Hong Kong. It is not safe."

Me "They are peaceful protests. Hong Kong is a very safe city. It's not like Tienanmen Square protests."

VP translated by Co-T "You could get hurt by the protesters. Please let us know where and what you do."

Co-T prints a tourist map of HK.

Co-T "Please mark where you will go".

Me "Why? Hong Kong is safe. I have been before."

I highlighted the protest sites and just marked random attractions away from the protest sites.

VP "Hong Kong is not safe. You should not leave Korea unless it is school vacation."

I was p*ssed off then.

Me "I'm 32 years old. A grown adult. I am responsible and I can look after myself."

Co-T "Please Kakao me when you arrive in Hong Kong and when you arrive in Incheon".

The school agreed to let me leave early as I eventually just told them what they wanted to hear.

FFS, it's not like Koreans have ever taken part in pro-democracy protests!

I've never had to submit a plan for this job. I have had to "ask permission" to my principal in order to go somewhere. I take it that they are trying to include with me the faculty. I was told Korean Public Servants have to ask and get permission from their higher ups . It could be a legacy from the dictatorship of Park the Elder or it could simply be wanting their state workers available should the Norks go mental. After all if the country goes to war we don't want to be without school teachers.

Either way you don't really have to do anything but it's really not worth the hassle of fighting. I recommend you go deep and find the most smug and most condescending part of yourself. Do as they want but treat like you are indulging a 4 year old girl who is playing boss. See it as a sort of cute thing. When your principal "grants" you permission think to yourself: "Bless! It thinks it's people!"

A rant about the local cops where I live.

I teach an after school class in one elementary school to grade 2 students once a week. There is a Nigerian girl in the class who is a native English speaker but was born here and is perfectly fluent in Korean. I taught her brother 4 years ago in grade 6, he too is fluent and is now in his 1st year of high school..

When I arrived here in early 2011 I met their mother and father, both Nigerians. I saw the mother once or twice but haven't seen either of them for a long time.

I asked the grade 2 Korean teacher how things were with the boy. He was really bright and a nice kid. The teacher told me that life was difficult for them both now because the father has been in Nigeria for 3 years and mom has been in the USA for about the same length of time. They send money to the kids to pay for their rent and food, but the brother is the caretaker of his little sister. There is no adult supervision in their lives and hasn't been for a long time. The boy has been taking care of his sister since she was in Kindergarten.

I was gobsmacked. I asked her if she had called the police. I thought surely this is illegal and something could be done. The teacher told me she had called the police and she was told:

and I quote her, "The police told me there is nothing they can do because they are African children."

Wow! Just freaking wow.

This is horrible. Jesus. Is there any way you can get in touch with the boy? Is there a large Nigerian community in your area that these kids are a part of?

This made me so angry that my scalp itches. Holy shit, I'm furious.

Sad to say, I can believe he said that. However, it could just be something else. Since it's a direct quote, it could just be a misunderstanding. Maybe what you're CT meant was that, since perhaps the kids aren't Korean citizens (I'm guessing), the police's hands are tied.

Perhaps, but I seriously doubt it. We chat a lot and her English is quite good. She's one of those rare breed of Koreans - especially females - who travel alone. last summer vacation she went to China for 2 weeks, this summer she's backpacking around Thailand, Cambodia and Taiwan.

Besides, the girl is a Korean citizen. Born here, never out of the country, her Korean is better than her English and she has a Korean passport. I believe her brother was born in Nigeria.

Nope, for my money the cops don't care because they're black. I would dearly love to be wrong about this, but I fear I am not.

I asked my co-teacher if I could do anything and she said it would be best to stay completely out of it because Korean authorities may lose face. She said it pains her too but she stays completely out of it for the same reason.

Lord God Almighty it just blows my mind.

A rant about the local cops where I live.

I teach an after school class in one elementary school to grade 2 students once a week. There is a Nigerian girl in the class who is a native English speaker but was born here and is perfectly fluent in Korean. I taught her brother 4 years ago in grade 6, he too is fluent and is now in his 1st year of high school..

When I arrived here in early 2011 I met their mother and father, both Nigerians. I saw the mother once or twice but haven't seen either of them for a long time.

I asked the grade 2 Korean teacher how things were with the boy. He was really bright and a nice kid. The teacher told me that life was difficult for them both now because the father has been in Nigeria for 3 years and mom has been in the USA for about the same length of time. They send money to the kids to pay for their rent and food, but the brother is the caretaker of his little sister. There is no adult supervision in their lives and hasn't been for a long time. The boy has been taking care of his sister since she was in Kindergarten.

I was gobsmacked. I asked her if she had called the police. I thought surely this is illegal and something could be done. The teacher told me she had called the police and she was told:

and I quote her, "The police told me there is nothing they can do because they are African children."

Wow! Just freaking wow.

This is horrible. Jesus. Is there any way you can get in touch with the boy? Is there a large Nigerian community in your area that these kids are a part of?

This made me so angry that my scalp itches. Holy shit, I'm furious.

Sad to say, I can believe he said that. However, it could just be something else. Since it's a direct quote, it could just be a misunderstanding. Maybe what you're CT meant was that, since perhaps the kids aren't Korean citizens (I'm guessing), the police's hands are tied.

Perhaps, but I seriously doubt it. We chat a lot and her English is quite good. She's one of those rare breed of Koreans - especially females - who travel alone. last summer vacation she went to China for 2 weeks, this summer she's backpacking around Thailand, Cambodia and Taiwan.

Besides, the girl is a Korean citizen. Born here, never out of the country, her Korean is better than her English and she has a Korean passport. I believe her brother was born in Nigeria.

Nope, for my money the cops don't care because they're black. I would dearly love to be wrong about this, but I fear I am not.

I asked my co-teacher if I could do anything and she said it would be best to stay completely out of it because Korean authorities may lose face. She said it pains her too but she stays completely out of it for the same reason.

Lord God Almighty it just blows my mind.

I don't understand how the girl can be a Korean citizen, I thought just being born here wasn't enough and you had to be born to a Korean parent?

I think you should make a big fuss about it, because they deserve to lose face. Keep contacting the police, ask every Korean you know to do it.

The police are dicks :/ It doesn't even matter if they are citizens they should at least attempt to contact the parents.

Besides, the girl is a Korean citizen. Born here, never out of the country, her Korean is better than her English and she has a Korean passport. I believe her brother was born in Nigeria.

I don't understand how the girl can be a Korean citizen, I thought just being born here wasn't enough and you had to be born to a Korean parent?

Yeah, are you sure this Nigerian girl is a Korean citizen? I believe in terms of granting citizenship at birth, Korea follows jus sanguinis, i.e. your citizenship is inherited/based on your parents' citizenship and not based on your birthplace. Since both her parents are Nigerian, I don't see how she could have acquired Korean citizenship, despite that she was born in Korea since being born in Korea doesn't automatically make you a Korean citizen.

Regardless, her (and her brother's) situation sounds unfortunate. I wish there was something that could be done to help her and her brother.

Besides, the girl is a Korean citizen. Born here, never out of the country, her Korean is better than her English and she has a Korean passport. I believe her brother was born in Nigeria.

I don't understand how the girl can be a Korean citizen, I thought just being born here wasn't enough and you had to be born to a Korean parent?

Yeah, are you sure this Nigerian girl is a Korean citizen? I believe in terms of granting citizenship at birth, Korea follows jus sanguinis, i.e. your citizenship is inherited/based on your parents' citizenship and not based on your birthplace. Since both her parents are Nigerian, I don't see how she could have acquired Korean citizenship, despite that she was born in Korea since being born in Korea doesn't automatically make you a Korean citizen.

Regardless, her (and her brother's) situation sounds unfortunate. I wish there was something that could be done to help her and her brother.

Well, I could be wrong about the Korean citizenship thing. The girl tells me she's Korean and has a Korean passport, but she's 7 years old. It's quite possible she's mistaken and simply repeating what her parents told her.

However, that's not germane to the point is it. What we have is a 16 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. The boy is 100% responsible for both of their welfare and has been for years, The cops know and don't care.

Korea...Sparkling.

Is it just me, or do people talk to themselves more here?

Seriously wondering. I'm not trying to be a bitch or anything, but I feel like everyone has a constant monologue and it's kind of distracting when I'm trying to work.

I've wondered the same thing. It seems like people just going about their daily business do a lot of talking to no one in particular. Never noticed this in any other country..

Ok so as a very sensitive person who isn't made for the teaching environment I have to say that I'm exhausted by the regular lack of discipline and abundance of chaos at school.  I'm on my last contract and I'm fortunate that in my very rural area the teachers and kids are pretty down to earth...but you know it's just the moderate and smaller things that actually get to me... like one of the day care teachers just screams at the kids all the time when I'm with them and generally I believe it makes it worse.  That's actually a big deal.  There's a lot of control issues and interruptions and it's draining and stressful.  People come and go as they please in the middle of class, both students and teachers.   my observation is that some people exercise the same behavior in school as they do outside, which is a lack of consideration and awareness of boundaries. 

Again, my school doesn't have its own English classroom so I go back and forth to all the homerooms to teach the kids.  Today the 2nd grade teacher (also head teacher) was yelling at one of his students from the window while I'm trying to concentrate on teaching in the same room....the thing is I think he just has no clue how wrong this situation is in terms of productivity and respect...

Another peeve right now is there is no awareness regarding noise level inside a building.   I know it's a usual thing but it's just so wrong in my book... and especially since my work space is in the library, not a separate office or English classroom, students just use it as another playground.   

...etc

... I'm just....tired of dealing.