RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

Finding a decent place to live in Seoul is miserable. Everything that's new or remodeled has awful built-in washing machines and gas / electric ranges. Everything older is scummy and dirty.

And everything is offensively expensive.

This is my current rant too. The place my school gave me has been so awful so I'm taking the pittance of a housing allowance and trying to go it alone. Been looking online for months, and it's rare I see anything passable (clean, enough space for a double bed, not an hours commute).

I know I shouldn't complain about the housing allowance yadda yadda but seriously, that amount may have been okay 10 years ago, not now.

I was just told that because today is the last day before vacation, all teachers are going out for lunch for fish soup and I MUST attend. I really don't like fish. Even though I explained this to my coteachers, they assured me it's okay because "it's not spicy!"

No, spicy isn't the problem, it's the fish. Why can't I choose anything else? 

I normally don't mind camp, but this year I have three weeks of 4 hours a day with 25-28 students per class, 4 different levels I'm still teaching this week and camp starts on Monday and I have to do prep on my own

As soon as camp is finished I have to prep placement tests for the new teacher. I'm sick of here. Desk warming sounds like a rainbow unicorn situation to me.

My situation is almost identical, and I'm away all weekend, so going in cold on Monday. I also have a zero won budget. I found a well planned Frozen camp on Waygook for elementary grades 3-6. It's for 3 days, but I am making it work for 5. Anywhere there is a craft activity, I've substituted something which uses paper only. Anywhere there is paint, we will use colouring pens. The movie will fill three periods on a Thursday. The rest I will stretch with filler activities.

I don't care if they don't like Frozen. Neither do I.

http://www.waygook.org/index.php/topic,93631.msg598553.html#msg598553

Hope it works for you!

I was just told that because today is the last day before vacation, all teachers are going out for lunch for fish soup and I MUST attend. I really don't like fish. Even though I explained this to my coteachers, they assured me it's okay because "it's not spicy!"

No, spicy isn't the problem, it's the fish. Why can't I choose anything else? 

You are no longer required to attend hwehshiks.

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

Finding a decent place to live in Seoul is miserable. Everything that's new or remodeled has awful built-in washing machines and gas / electric ranges. Everything older is scummy and dirty.

And everything is offensively expensive.

This is my current rant too. The place my school gave me has been so awful so I'm taking the pittance of a housing allowance and trying to go it alone. Been looking online for months, and it's rare I see anything passable (clean, enough space for a double bed, not an hours commute).

I know I shouldn't complain about the housing allowance yadda yadda but seriously, that amount may have been okay 10 years ago, not now.

Oh. The money isn't really a big problem, but even if you're putting a 50 million deposit and paying like 800 a month rent, most places available in Seoul are still butt.

Well that's kind of what I mean. Will absolutely have to pay out of pocket and even then it'll still be a total sh*thole. Been saving all year for this deposit, even when the exchange rate was so sweet... it's not even going to make much of a difference. I miss my old city, I could be living like a king normal person with this budget.

I was just told that because today is the last day before vacation, all teachers are going out for lunch for fish soup and I MUST attend. I really don't like fish. Even though I explained this to my coteachers, they assured me it's okay because "it's not spicy!"

No, spicy isn't the problem, it's the fish. Why can't I choose anything else? 

Just say, "Sorry, I don't really dig on fish. Is it possible to order something small that I can eat?" Your coworkers aren't monsters.

Yeah I asked that too, but the answer was no. Apparently I'm not allowed to go out and get something on my own either. So soup it is for me then....I hope the sides are decent.

Yesterday at the main school went through the whole closing schtick; listen to the principal ramble on at the 방학식, supervise the students while they pretend to clean, go out for lunch 회식, wish everyone a happy new year and get to go home early. Fantastic.

Today at the second school it's business as usual, regular classes and no cancellations 

I'm really not feeling it. Can't we just call it a day already? ugh

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

Yeah, fuck dressing like a thrift store raggedy ann doll.

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

One of my friends had a "talking to" when she first got here because of a dress she was wearing. It wasn't revealing (even had sleeves) but the issue was that she had an average bum size which apparently equates to large here. Supposedly [elementary] school boys were complaining that it was distracting, or so sayeth her coT.

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

One of my friends had a "talking to" when she first got here because of a dress she was wearing. It wasn't revealing (even had sleeves) but the issue was that she had an average bum size which apparently equates to large here. Supposedly [elementary] school boys were complaining that it was distracting, or so sayeth her coT.

I got a talking to about dresses I wore a few times. One had a sufficiently high neckline, but was fairly form-fitting around the bust, and I was told "you'd better zip up your jacket because the boys are very curious about the woman's body"

Uh ok

Another time I got in trouble for a dress which has a slit on the side although I was wearing opaque leggings because they could "see my leg" even though I've worn my courdoroy leggings as pants without incident... sigh

Yesterday we had the closing ceremony, and all the kids left the school around 11.
Teachers needed to stay until the 4:20 closing time.

At 4:15 the headteacher comes into the office and says we can go home early, and wishes me a great vacation. (The same headteacher who insisted I'll spend the next 3 weeks deskwarming, when I've previously been able to leave at lunchtime during deskwarming days, and the same headteacher who insisted that any early leave, i.e. exam days be deducted from my vacation, when previously it wasn't.)

Thanks for the extra 5 minutes, I suppose.

I mean, my place is nice, and I only have a 10 million deposit with 500 a month rent. But it's a one room, and I'm tired of having my kitchen in my bedroom. And it's too small to share with a significant other.

If you're only looking at one rooms, it's super possible to find modern, clean, and reasonably sized ones for a fairly affordable price.

I'm also looking for somewhere with space for a significant other, our stuff and a car. I'm trying to keep costs low though as he actually owns a place (his mother is there and I'm refusing to move in with her ha) and who wants to pay rent when you have somewhere you can live for free? He'll contribute, but I'd rather pay the bulk of it.

I hear you on the bedroom/kitchen front. It'd sure be nice to be able to eat dinner somewhere other than sitting on my bed or hear my fridge start up just as I'm drifting off to sleep. I often find as well the pictures of rooms all look okay, newly renovated, then the bathroom or kitchen looks like someone died in it in the 70s and it hasn't been done up since. Wishing us both luck.

Yeah, **** all of the above. I don't get how people aren't embarrassed by trying to force their own very obvious insecurities and hang-ups on innocent people. It just makes them look super petty and jealous.

In my own case, it's a small group of teachers who don't have any real pull in the school. They've been making remarks and trying to gain a following, but no one's really piling in on that bandwagon. My coTs kind of "warned" me about it, though, so that I'd be aware of what's going on, but I think they kind of think it's funny, too.

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

One of my friends had a "talking to" when she first got here because of a dress she was wearing. It wasn't revealing (even had sleeves) but the issue was that she had an average bum size which apparently equates to large here. Supposedly [elementary] school boys were complaining that it was distracting, or so sayeth her coT.

I got a talking to about dresses I wore a few times. One had a sufficiently high neckline, but was fairly form-fitting around the bust, and I was told "you'd better zip up your jacket because the boys are very curious about the woman's body"

Uh ok

Another time I got in trouble for a dress which has a slit on the side although I was wearing opaque leggings because they could "see my leg" even though I've worn my courdoroy leggings as pants without incident... sigh

The ol' double standard. I have a co-teacher who basically spent half of summer wearing hot pants (at least 80% of her thigh above the knee was visible). Another teacher wears exceptionally tight miniskirts. To be fair, they were both able to pull it off ^^

SURPRISE if you don't tell me to do something it won't get done

My coteacher told me we'd be doing winter camp "the same" as summer camp. Naturally I assumed this meant she was going to be in charge of the reading/writing portion of the camp, because she put herself in charge of it last time. Apparently not

I'm asked today for questions to stories that I never wrote because I was never told to do them. I need to write 20 questions each for 10 stories, all of which are max 5 pages long double-spaced. I already wrote a few questions for 10 stories from this book because I was asked to over the summer, so I jot down the names of those stories and tell her to use those. No, those aren't good enough. I can't use The Ugly Duckling and I must only choose between stories 9-23.

Whatever. I've chosen some stories now. And now I have to write 200 questions today and format them nicely in 10 worksheets. My coteacher is an ice queen who literally never expresses any feelings, and the look of shock on her face when I told her that no, I hadn't made worksheets and questions for these stories because no one ever told me to was priceless

I was already grumpy about yesterday and anxious about camp and now I am just in an even worse mood.

One of the male teachers in my office NEVER manages to shut the door. Literally never. This morning, he came into the office through one door and left it open, then left through the second door, also leaving it open. Are you frigging kidding me.

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

One of my friends had a "talking to" when she first got here because of a dress she was wearing. It wasn't revealing (even had sleeves) but the issue was that she had an average bum size which apparently equates to large here. Supposedly [elementary] school boys were complaining that it was distracting, or so sayeth her coT.

I got a talking to about dresses I wore a few times. One had a sufficiently high neckline, but was fairly form-fitting around the bust, and I was told "you'd better zip up your jacket because the boys are very curious about the woman's body"

Uh ok

Another time I got in trouble for a dress which has a slit on the side although I was wearing opaque leggings because they could "see my leg" even though I've worn my courdoroy leggings as pants without incident... sigh

The ol' double standard. I have a co-teacher who basically spent half of summer wearing hot pants (at least 80% of her thigh above the knee was visible). Another teacher wears exceptionally tight miniskirts. To be fair, they were both able to pull it off ^^

What school do you work at? Of course my curiosity is entirely due to scientific purposes

I just found out that there's been some talk about the way I dress.

I actually don't really dress any differently than any of the other teachers here, but my clothes look different on me because I have a very, very different build. All the same, I'm not showing any skin that would be inappropriate in the Korean workplace, and nothing is tight.

While most of the staff and faculty don't see a problem with my clothes, there's a small group who feel like I should "cover up" more, which basically means that they want me to start wearing clothing two sizes too big for me or to wear a jacket constantly throughout the day.

Are they ****** kidding me?

One of my friends had a "talking to" when she first got here because of a dress she was wearing. It wasn't revealing (even had sleeves) but the issue was that she had an average bum size which apparently equates to large here. Supposedly [elementary] school boys were complaining that it was distracting, or so sayeth her coT.

I got a talking to about dresses I wore a few times. One had a sufficiently high neckline, but was fairly form-fitting around the bust, and I was told "you'd better zip up your jacket because the boys are very curious about the woman's body"

Uh ok

Another time I got in trouble for a dress which has a slit on the side although I was wearing opaque leggings because they could "see my leg" even though I've worn my courdoroy leggings as pants without incident... sigh

The ol' double standard. I have a co-teacher who basically spent half of summer wearing hot pants (at least 80% of her thigh above the knee was visible). Another teacher wears exceptionally tight miniskirts. To be fair, they were both able to pull it off ^^

Yeah, at my first elementary school, there was a teacher who would wear skirts so short if she even bent at a 75 degree angle you could see her underwear.

I mean, my place is nice, and I only have a 10 million deposit with 500 a month rent. But it's a one room, and I'm tired of having my kitchen in my bedroom. And it's too small to share with a significant other.

If you're only looking at one rooms, it's super possible to find modern, clean, and reasonably sized ones for a fairly affordable price.

I'm also looking for somewhere with space for a significant other, our stuff and a car. I'm trying to keep costs low though as he actually owns a place (his mother is there and I'm refusing to move in with her ha) and who wants to pay rent when you have somewhere you can live for free? He'll contribute, but I'd rather pay the bulk of it.

I hear you on the bedroom/kitchen front. It'd sure be nice to be able to eat dinner somewhere other than sitting on my bed or hear my fridge start up just as I'm drifting off to sleep. I often find as well the pictures of rooms all look okay, newly renovated, then the bathroom or kitchen looks like someone died in it in the 70s and it hasn't been done up since. Wishing us both luck.

Yeah. I'm super fussy about not wanting a built-in washer and gas range, too. So that doesn't help. Also, I can't help but imagine a lot of the fancy bling bling remodeled places are just covering up terrible unrepaired stuff behind the walls.

I'm curious what it is in particular that you have against built-in washers? I preferred having one built in as it took up less space and was a more energy-efficient front loader. My current place has a washing machine included but was just thrown up on bricks in a corner of the bathroom as there's no other real place for it.

I feel your complaints about living in a one-room. I tried to convince my wife to move in to a larger place once we were married, but she insisted on staying at my current place to save money until we have our child. It was small enough - but livable - living there myself. Incredibly 답답해 with two.  We're making it work for the time being, but only one of us can be on our feet at a time Now that she's pregnant it's even harder. She can't stand most smells so cooking is out (though I'm not at all opposed to going out for ours meals), and I can't even open the fridge with her in the room without her having a very visceral reaction. Two people living there has also increased the moisture content of our room significantly enough that we began having mold problems in some corners. I caught it early enough that it never got too bad and have taken steps to ensure it won't recur, but it's left unsightly stains on the walls. TIME TO MOVE!