RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD

I made the creamiest goddamn bacon, chicken, and mushroom pasta with real ****** cream and cheese and cream cheese and more cheese, and some ****** teacher ****** ate it.

I went to the teachers' lounge to fetch my lunch and there the container was all washed-up (poorly) on the drainage board.

Muvva Fluffers.

Surely, this is not a case of cultural differences.

This has to be rude to people here, too, surely.

I made the creamiest goddamn bacon, chicken, and mushroom pasta with real ****** cream and cheese and cream cheese and more cheese, and some ****** teacher ****** ate it.

I went to the teachers' lounge to fetch my lunch and there the container was all washed-up (poorly) on the drainage board.

Muvva Fluffers.

Surely, this is not a case of cultural differences.

This has to be rude to people here, too, surely.

Quick question, did you burn the building down? That's 100% absurd. It's an actual joke.

I made the creamiest goddamn bacon, chicken, and mushroom pasta with real ****** cream and cheese and cream cheese and more cheese, and some ****** teacher ****** ate it.

I went to the teachers' lounge to fetch my lunch and there the container was all washed-up (poorly) on the drainage board.

Muvva Fluffers.

Surely, this is not a case of cultural differences.

This has to be rude to people here, too, surely.

Holy shit.
That would send me over the edge.

I made the creamiest goddamn bacon, chicken, and mushroom pasta with real ****** cream and cheese and cream cheese and more cheese, and some ****** teacher ****** ate it.

I went to the teachers' lounge to fetch my lunch and there the container was all washed-up (poorly) on the drainage board.

Muvva Fluffers.

Surely, this is not a case of cultural differences.

This has to be rude to people here, too, surely.

Holy shit.
That would send me over the edge.

I am honestly furious. I'll share whatever I have with anyone. But that pasta was part of a dinner a made last night, a dinner that took over 3 hours to make, and was made with love for my girlfriend. It wasn't made for some **** to chow down on.

Time for some public shaming in the office, man. What did you do?

Time for some public shaming in the office, man. What did you do?

**** all. I wanted to hulk-smash but remained calm as it's work. Most of the third grade teachers (it's the third grade staff room) saw me discover someone ate it. I gave them a disappointed, disapproving look, asked where it was, they all maintained their ignorance so I collected my tupperware and walked out.

I honestly can't understand the mindset of people who think it's okay to eat food that clearly isn't theirs. The whole idea of eating someone else's food is something that my brain stutters at and fails to process as a concept.

I haven't had anything quite as egregious as Space's experience, but I did come in to the lounge one day to see the school nurse giving her rugrat the bottle of orange juice I had brought with my lunch. I made a big show of looking in the fridge for it and conveying surprise on my face as I looked at her, and to her credit, she was terribly embarrassed. After she finished, she went to a nearby store and bought me a new one. Mine had a happy ending in that regard, I suppose, so I hope to hear something similar for ol' Spacey here. At least an apology, surely?

This isn't just a Korea thing, of course, before anyone jumps up my ass about it. I've seen plenty of people complaining or joking about that in the US, and it's probably on a TV trope website out there somewhere. I'd be just as baffled and/or angry where I to encounter it back home.

Going with the food stories:  During the summer break, something like that happened..... only with even less logic.

I brought a sandwich that was made with whole grain bread that was brought from a summer trip overseas (because that over-processed white bread here's total crap, and I can't deal with it anymore).  So, it wasn't just like wasting a bit of money..... it wasn't replaceable.  I went to the staff room to get it, and found something interesting...... One of the secretaries didn't know whose it was (only non-Korean, combined with the stereotype of foreigner's lunches wasn't a clue, apparently) so......  The way I see see it, you have four options: 1. (best) leave it  2. (after lunch has passed) ask/leave a note 3. (after a whole day) if it's been there awhile and is questionable, throw it away and 4. after reading all the stories on here, I knew that it was possible sometimes people may take and eat it.  No, she chooses the most logical option: take it out of the refrigerator after only 30 minutes into the work day and leaves it out in the 90+ heat with 110% humidity for 4 hours to completely ruin it.  (and throws a tomato into the bag that could have been who knows where, touching who knows what)

There was a total "Friends" moment of Ross screaming for his sandwich..... that day pigeons flew away in Central Park from the anger screams.  (Okay, not really.....)     

Why do so many expats walk around looking literally homeless with zero regard to their own personal appearance?

I see people unironically wearing oversized, ill-fitting clothes, with unwashed hair and unshaven faces all the time. In public places. Like, how far do you have to fall to not even remotely care about your appearance when other people have to look at you?

I know people in Western countries do this, too, but the percentage is much lower. But here, go out anywhere where there are lots of expats, and it looks like half of them just rolled out of bed.

Gross.

Some folks find the college habits hard to break, but this is the normal transition phase, at least for me it was. The worst was at my renewal interview, when another NET rocked up to his interview wearing a huge black hoodie, headphones around his neck, baggie jeans and Jordans. As long as I make sure I look well put together, whenever I leave my apartment it doesn't bother me; I find the tacky and juvenile appearance of fellow NETs more of an amusement than a gripe.

I honestly can't understand the mindset of people who think it's okay to eat food that clearly isn't theirs. The whole idea of eating someone else's food is something that my brain stutters at and fails to process as a concept.

I haven't had anything quite as egregious as Space's experience, but I did come in to the lounge one day to see the school nurse giving her rugrat the bottle of orange juice I had brought with my lunch. I made a big show of looking in the fridge for it and conveying surprise on my face as I looked at her, and to her credit, she was terribly embarrassed. After she finished, she went to a nearby store and bought me a new one. Mine had a happy ending in that regard, I suppose, so I hope to hear something similar for ol' Spacey here. At least an apology, surely?

This isn't just a Korea thing, of course, before anyone jumps up my ass about it. I've seen plenty of people complaining or joking about that in the US, and it's probably on a TV trope website out there somewhere. I'd be just as baffled and/or angry where I to encounter it back home.

So some of my kids have ten pound (roughly 5kg?For the Euros) pencil cases. My teacher was like yeah, they are huge.

I said, why don't you put them in the desk, and leave them there?

You leave them in the desk? Well, I had a pencil box, and you just leave it all day in your desk.

Teacher was like, kids to take it?

I dropped the, well in the USA people don't touch others belongings with out asking.
However, I guess I understand in Korea, that people are just allowed to walk in and start putting their hands on everything they can find...


She didn't say anything...

I honestly can't understand the mindset of people who think it's okay to eat food that clearly isn't theirs. The whole idea of eating someone else's food is something that my brain stutters at and fails to process as a concept.

I haven't had anything quite as egregious as Space's experience, but I did come in to the lounge one day to see the school nurse giving her rugrat the bottle of orange juice I had brought with my lunch. I made a big show of looking in the fridge for it and conveying surprise on my face as I looked at her, and to her credit, she was terribly embarrassed. After she finished, she went to a nearby store and bought me a new one. Mine had a happy ending in that regard, I suppose, so I hope to hear something similar for ol' Spacey here. At least an apology, surely?

This isn't just a Korea thing, of course, before anyone jumps up my ass about it. I've seen plenty of people complaining or joking about that in the US, and it's probably on a TV trope website out there somewhere. I'd be just as baffled and/or angry where I to encounter it back home.

Last year, I was asked/told to have my lunch in the cafeteria. I was at a new school, so a bit of PR wouldn't hurt too much. I sat near the VP and principal and the lunch discussion was pretty casual, with my CT translating the questions they were asking me. Reluctantly, I opened my lunchbox (I bring my own lunch, since I refuse to eat Korean crapeteria food). Innocent and pristine, is my big slice of Lasagne, which was made the night before.

I made a show of not being happy of all the Korean staff sticking their noses near my food and everyone went back to their meal. They offered Kimchi and I politely declined mentally I said, "If that stinking sh*t comes another cm closer to my lasagne, I will end you"
Half way through the meal, the VP picks up a big pile of stinking Kimchi, plomps it on my lasagne and says 'Kimchi good, delicious'. I managed to reign in my fury, but I wasn't confident for how much longer. The other teachers also seemed uncomfortable with what he did. I picked up the kimchi, dropped it on his plate and left the cafeteria.

I wanted to bash that c*nt's head in and chock him with his sh*tty hairpiece. Predictably, he didn't warm up to me, after that, but the joys of going to 5 schools, and getting transferred regularly (happens in my city) is that you don't have to worry too much about getting on the staff's bad side.

I am tired all the time. No matter how much or little sleep I get. I eat pretty well, I exercise, I take vitamins.... I don't know what gives.  Some days are worse than others. But I've basically tired for weeks... On Friday I could barely function... and I JUST started my new (and final) contract.  Its starting to show in my face and people keep asking me if I'm sick.   

I am tired all the time. No matter how much or little sleep I get. I eat pretty well, I exercise, I take vitamins.... I don't know what gives.  Some days are worse than others. But I've basically tired for weeks... On Friday I could barely function... and I JUST started my new (and final) contract.  Its starting to show in my face and people keep asking me if I'm sick.   

Depression.

I am tired all the time. No matter how much or little sleep I get. I eat pretty well, I exercise, I take vitamins.... I don't know what gives.  Some days are worse than others. But I've basically tired for weeks... On Friday I could barely function... and I JUST started my new (and final) contract.  Its starting to show in my face and people keep asking me if I'm sick.   

Check your vitamins at the doctor. Could be a lack of Vitamin A or something simple. Could be a condition!

I am tired all the time. No matter how much or little sleep I get. I eat pretty well, I exercise, I take vitamins.... I don't know what gives.  Some days are worse than others. But I've basically tired for weeks... On Friday I could barely function... and I JUST started my new (and final) contract.  Its starting to show in my face and people keep asking me if I'm sick.   

Check your vitamins at the doctor. Could be a lack of Vitamin A or something simple. Could be a condition!

The vitamins are just multi-vitamins from homeplus, the most generic ones. Am thinking of going to the doctor when I get paid if it doesn't improve. I don't think its depression.

So...

I was looking to get back into music.

Was thinking of ordering a trumpet, but for the style I want to pursue, trumpet didn't suit my needs, and is also hard to find a practice space for, as it's very loud.

I decided on clarinet.


Needed something nice, as I am not a noob to music or instruments....

Local shops only had the plastic student models.... (bleah)


Wanted to to go with a wooden yamaha. Well the only shop that I could find that had it, wanted 1600+ for it. 

I can buy it in the States for 1200.

Ordered from Japan (same price as the states, and shipping was only $40.)


I knew I was going to have to pay a customs fee.

Well, customs sent me some simple forms to fill out (in Korean) I happily did so.

Sent them back....

OH, you're a foreigner?!

Yes....

OH well you need to send us a hand written letter IN KOREAN, Why you are buying a clarinet! Also, You need to send us your passport number and ARC.

Why? I filled out the forms you already requested, and you already have my ARC info, which makes needing my passport moot.

Well, you are a foreigner... oh, you ordered from Japan right?

Yes....

OKay, we will contact you with tax info..

??????

Have to pay 325,000 won... 30% tax. 

Still 100$ cheaper than buying it here, so ****'em.

^always baffles me that no-one at customs seems to speak English. it's a department that deals with international packages. you'd think that a department that deals with international packages would have at least one person working for it that speaks the international language of English, but nope.

my rant....getting perfect on open class....well known as a great teacher in the city, and yet due to a temp coteacher **** up (blatantly deliberate as he was young and hated me..not sure why since I helped out with problems with his gf many times), my position was eliminated in the city.  Meanwhile, a guy who got hired around same time as me, who went through about 5 hagwon jobs (kept getting let go because he wasn't good and kids didn't like him) gets to stay on for the same pay as i was getting...because he was at a bigger school than me.   OH and the students don't like him there either.  I'm over being angry as I scored a sweet job in China but...even after 8 years here,  I will never understand Koreans or Korean bureaucracy.

About twice a year, I help prepare my students for the infamous 'speech contest'. It's always the same story; my CT downloads awfully translated and shamelessly ripped  English article/story from Naver and teaches it to the students. After the students spend a week memorising it, my CT asks me to proofread the article (AFTER THEY MEMORISED THE STUPID THING!). I try to be as lenient as possible, but the translation is pretty much useless. It's obviously part of my job and I'm not complaining about this.

What gets to me is that no matter how many times I tell my CT to stop using Naver do download English contest material, she should use google or ask me to download something before just rushing to Naver. Now the students have to memorise a new article from google. This time after we went through the same process, after a week, she relayed the students complaint to me that the article was too long to memorise (obviously, since they only started preparing for it last week and the contest is next week).

I edit and shorten the article and give it to her... Today, I found out that they wanted it even shorter. SO my CT threw out my article and downloaded a new one, off Naver naturally, and 'edited' it by basically just cutting off half the text. The students are now frantically memorising a terribly translated and shamelessly ripped story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which ends in the middle of a sentence... Oh, and all 12 participants will be using exactly the same text. So, everyone will be sitting there listening to this same nonsense being regurgitated 12 times over, while I 'judge' this crap.

Lord, give me strength.


(typed in a rush, please excuse the errors)

My favourite from back in the day was scheduling nonesense.

I'd work at 3 schools, main Mon/Tue/Thu, one on Wed, other on Fri.

With the new school year, my handler and schedule changed. I rolled up to the main school on Monday ready for work etc. My new handler, a kind, frail, and wispy looking woman evetually plucked up the courage to speak to me.

"Chimp, why didn't you go to x school today?"

Me: "I have to go there on Mondays? I wasn't told, I'll go there on Monday's from now on"

"Ah, did you forget?"

[Next Monday at the other school]

[Another new teacher]

"Chimp, why didn't you come here last Monday? Did you forget?"

Me: "No, they didn't tell me what my new schedule is"

"Ah you forgot. Remember to come next week."

Me: "My contract ends this week, I'm leaving"

"What?" [I was a last minute hire, the previous teacher had run away, so my contract ran from the second week of the school year]