RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

The accepted dresscode or norm seems to vary heavily from school to school. My previous schools, most everyone dressed casually, men and women, regardless of age. Some might dress it up on certain days, but this was inconsistent and never followed a pattern. They just did it because they felt like doing it sometimes.

At my current school, they dress casual to business casual based on personal comfort. Either is treated as acceptable and only three men consistently dress more formally (the P, VP and an older male teacher). The only thing they require is that you're clean and your clothes are well-kept, that's it.

Personally, I don't see the point in dressing formally as a teacher. I understand dressing up for formal events and meetings, but, generally speaking, the schools I've interacted with prefer a more relaxed working atmosphere. I have friends who work for schools that mandate business casual/formal attire, though, but most of those are for private institutes that are trying to maintain a certain image for well-to-do parents.

Don't take this as pretentious or shallow, but I've always believed that the motivation to dress smart and look good should be intrinsic rather than an obligation or burden. You should enjoy looking good and slowly learn the arts of style and grooming. Every morning, it's fun playing with colours, patterns and textures, deciding what to put together and discovering what works, what's bland and what's a bit too bold. I don't care if the other teachers are going to wear wife beaters and crocs, I'll always dress smart, it's just part of my character.

Furthermore, learning how to dress (more so for dressing smartly) takes practice. If you're only going to get the practice on special occasions, you'll pretty much come off as awkward, uncomfortable and unconfident when you dress up to appear the exact opposite.

I was reading this and thinking "this sounds like Aristocrat...." Yuuuuuuuup.

The accepted dresscode or norm seems to vary heavily from school to school. My previous schools, most everyone dressed casually, men and women, regardless of age. Some might dress it up on certain days, but this was inconsistent and never followed a pattern. They just did it because they felt like doing it sometimes.

At my current school, they dress casual to business casual based on personal comfort. Either is treated as acceptable and only three men consistently dress more formally (the P, VP and an older male teacher). The only thing they require is that you're clean and your clothes are well-kept, that's it.

Personally, I don't see the point in dressing formally as a teacher. I understand dressing up for formal events and meetings, but, generally speaking, the schools I've interacted with prefer a more relaxed working atmosphere. I have friends who work for schools that mandate business casual/formal attire, though, but most of those are for private institutes that are trying to maintain a certain image for well-to-do parents.

Don't take this as pretentious or shallow, but I've always believed that the motivation to dress smart and look good should be intrinsic rather than an obligation or burden. You should enjoy looking good and slowly learn the arts of style and grooming. Every morning, it's fun playing with colours, patterns and textures, deciding what to put together and discovering what works, what's bland and what's a bit too bold. I don't care if the other teachers are going to wear wife beaters and crocs, I'll always dress smart, it's just part of my character.

Furthermore, learning how to dress (more so for dressing smartly) takes practice. If you're only going to get the practice on special occasions, you'll pretty much come off as awkward, uncomfortable and unconfident when you dress up to appear the exact opposite.

I was reading this and thinking "this sounds like Aristocrat...." Yuuuuuuuup.

I usually use a healthy cereal, like toasted muesli, however, I haven't been able to find it here, so I get the blueberry special K

I usually buy my muesli from a local store here, but I am positive I've seen it being sold in the cereal aisles in either Emart or Homeplus (could have been both, but definitely one of them).

Some bakeries will also have it, but not most -- this much seems really random, honestly.

Otherwise, there's always coupang or gmarket. xD

They haven't replaced my computer yet at today's school. Old computers are still just sitting out in the hall. Boo

Man I am about ready to give up on this hospital business.

I finally got my MRI yesterday, nothing was amiss. After discussing the results with me the neurologist just went on again like "hmmmmm I don't know" and then told me I should go to a university hospital.

It's really hard to focus when you constantly feel like your head is spinning and like you're going to vomit. But I don't have that much work to do anymore, and the semester is almost over. Even if I feel sick I can just lump around or take a nap without worrying. But they told me this all needs to get done within a week. So....?????

Have you gone to see a dentist? I spent a year in agony going from doctor to doctor, to specialist to specialist and getting scan after scan done. Each referral took me closer and closer to Seoul and to bigger and bigger hospitals. The university hospital I went to put me on epilepsy medicine with the diagnosis being possible TM Neuralgia because nothing else came close to matching. That medicine was something else and then some. I decided I wanted my mommy before I stabbed myself in the head to stop the pain and flew home. Went to the dentist while I was there and found out I needed a root canal and had 7 additional holes.

Hmm that's possible. I'm a little worried about going to the dentist in Korea bc I've heard some horror stories about unanesthetized surgeries, but I'm due for a cleaning and it's cheaper than back home...

@kimchimandu - thanks, I'll try calling them

Don't take this as pretentious or shallow, but I've always believed that the motivation to dress smart and look good should be intrinsic rather than an obligation or burden. You should enjoy looking good and slowly learn the arts of style and grooming. Every morning, it's fun playing with colours, patterns and textures, deciding what to put together and discovering what works, what's bland and what's a bit too bold. I don't care if the other teachers are going to wear wife beaters and crocs, I'll always dress smart, it's just part of my character.

Furthermore, learning how to dress (more so for dressing smartly) takes practice. If you're only going to get the practice on special occasions, you'll pretty much come off as awkward, uncomfortable and unconfident when you dress up to appear the exact opposite.

No, I get it for people who want to do it out of pure enjoyment of the fact.

But I've never liked playing dress up. xD I have about three outfits I use for special occasions. It took me forever to find them and get them adjusted the way I like them so that I can just slap them on in five minutes and be comfortable while still looking good. They're simple but classy, and they were calculated to give me the least amount of trouble for those few days out of the year where I need to don the cape and cowl.

I figure I have a good five years before I have to replace them. I'd throw a full-on baby rage if I found out I had to start all over before that.

Man I am about ready to give up on this hospital business.

I finally got my MRI yesterday, nothing was amiss. After discussing the results with me the neurologist just went on again like "hmmmmm I don't know" and then told me I should go to a university hospital.

It's really hard to focus when you constantly feel like your head is spinning and like you're going to vomit. But I don't have that much work to do anymore, and the semester is almost over. Even if I feel sick I can just lump around or take a nap without worrying. But they told me this all needs to get done within a week. So....?????

Have you gone to see a dentist? I spent a year in agony going from doctor to doctor, to specialist to specialist and getting scan after scan done. Each referral took me closer and closer to Seoul and to bigger and bigger hospitals. The university hospital I went to put me on epilepsy medicine with the diagnosis being possible TM Neuralgia because nothing else came close to matching. That medicine was something else and then some. I decided I wanted my mommy before I stabbed myself in the head to stop the pain and flew home. Went to the dentist while I was there and found out I needed a root canal and had 7 additional holes.

Hmm that's possible. I'm a little worried about going to the dentist in Korea bc I've heard some horror stories about unanesthetized surgeries, but I'm due for a cleaning and it's cheaper than back home...

@kimchimandu - thanks, I'll try calling them

It is DEFINITELY not the same quality you'll be used to.  They don't even use floss.

Ok, so I need to take a day to go to the embassy and my school are refusing to give it to me as a business trip and are insisting I have to take a day's paid leave if it is not school related. Is this the norm? I have had Korean CTs take "business trip" for all sorts of reasons, or am I completely off the mark here?

Ok, so I need to take a day to go to the embassy and my school are refusing to give it to me as a business trip and are insisting I have to take a day's paid leave if it is not school related. Is this the norm? I have had Korean CTs take "business trip" for all sorts of reasons, or am I completely off the mark here?

I assume you're going for visa purposes? In that case, it should definitely count as a business trip...

Not for visa purposes, I have to have a teaching certificate certified.   All that way for a stamp, and have to take off a whole day because I am so far away from Seoul.

Not for visa purposes, I have to have a teaching certificate certified.   All that way for a stamp, and have to take off a whole day because I am so far away from Seoul.

What if you went the night before and got the first appointment of the day?  Couldn't you catch the last few hours of school then maybe?

That is actually not a bad idea, appointment is at 11am, so I could try and get earlier, will get back at 3pm so at least 2 hours saved. Better than nothing!!

ah, and so the english camp shenanigans begin.

came in 30 minutes early today to set up and prepare for english camp. of course since vacation at my school has started, there was literally ONE car in the parking lot.

try to get in the wing of the school the english room is in and everything is locked! i mean EVERYTHING. so i go around to the side of the building - the english room is on the ground floor - and i see the lights are on and one of the korean teachers is in there. so now i'm figuring, well, she managed to get in, there must be a door unlocked somewhere.

knock on the window, teacher opens it. "how did you manage to get in, everything is locked?!"

teacher: "oh, the window wasn't locked so i opened the window and climbed through".

EF. EM. EL. so, this morning i had to climb through a gawdamn window to get into the english room to set up for camp.

9am rolls round and there is still no-one else at school. 9:10 rolls round and the students are outside, still can't get into the building. finally at 9:20 someone from the admin office shows up to open everything 

oh and do you think the materials i asked to be ordered more than 2 weeks ago have arrived yet?

HAHA. of course not! that would take planning and actual work! when were they ordered? last freaking friday.

so now i can't do anything i planned to do today, the students are having "english cinema appreciation day", and i'm here typing on waygook.

lmao, kobayashi, sorry to hear that your camp is starting off so shitty.

Almost the same thing happened to me last year, only I was given the school credit card to buy my supplies at local stores, so at least I had that. Except one of the materials was ice cream, and it ended up half-melted because we were waiting so long for the admin person to come unlock the doors.

Regrettably, we aren't provided with "personal leave" days.

What is the purpose of your Embassy visit?

If I were you, I would take a sick day before I ever used a day of vacation for personal business.

You aren't missing any classes, right?

It's been a week, since I have had to teach, with a few more days of the same before our camps begin.

I imagine you are in a similar situation, no?

Good luck.

Regrettably, we aren't provided with "personal leave" days.

What is the purpose of your Embassy visit?

If I were you, I would take a sick day before I ever used a day of vacation for personal business.

You aren't missing any classes, right?

It's been a week, since I have had to teach, with a few more days of the same before our camps begin.

I imagine you are in a similar situation, no?

Good luck.

No, won't be missing any classes, no camp or class that day (which is why I specifically chose it). But I have to get a teaching certificate certified for EPIK, not an absolutely essential document, so I will let it go. It just winds me up that my CT has taken "business trips" for things not related to the school AT ALL, yet I cannot do the same.

Understandable.

As for your professional teaching certificate, if you are from the US, you shouldn't have to get it "certified" as there is a professional certification number on your license that your employer/EPIK can easily input into "the system" to verify that your teaching credential is valid.

What state are you from?

All I did was provided a scanned copy, and the information for where and how that information can be accessed online.

I'm not from the US so yeah, have to get it certified. :(

Am I the only one still teaching classes all through the end of this month?? 

Best not to compare ;)

How many gifts were under your tree?