RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

I'm having to squirrel away my English camp and classroom supplies. A new teacher (and TBF, another old CT who is now a homeroom teacher) has the very open-minded view:
What's yours is mine. What's mine is mine. Give me.
(That "give me" is a direct quote.)

They keep going through my cupboard and taking stuff because they "need it". They can't even manage to go down to the admin office to get basic office supplies!!

At the back of one of the cupboards I have a small bag of vitamin sweets to be used as prizes for camp. This new teacher went through everyone's cupboards while we were all out teaching. She came across this bag and got all excited because now she can give candy to the students every lesson. And more candy if students play a game! Because games can't have losers, the losers will get 1 candy and the winners will get 2.

4 days into the 2nd semester and my winter camp budget is screwed and my classroom games are now hobbled.

Steal it all back.

I would def make some noise about how my things were missing. Looks like you're gonna need a lock or some form of security with such sticky fingers around. I detest your school's new teacher already. 

I thought of that, too but the sweets are gone, the stickers are handed out to the students and the rest of the stuff is lost.

I tried to be direct, tried to make a fuss, I even offered to get stationery for them from the admin office. I need to level my English more. 

So I tried to change my thinking: we are all part of a global family. Sharing is good. Share and share alike. I was making some progress. And then I was hit with another "give me" but this time for my personal computer files. Now I'm happy-happy-smiley-smiley-passwordlocked-very-sweetly, "No."

I didn't know I could smile this widely. I also didn't know how essential the word please is to my universe.

Fire back, "Give me my candy.  Give me my stickers.  Give me [insert everything else she's pinched]." 

All with a big smile! 

I had to level what I was saying so much I ended up sounding like one of the gulls from Finding Nemo. It didn't work.

It's OK. Tomorrow's a new day! A new start!

It's be cool if this school would decide on a solid English schedule. Or at least tell me when they make changes.

Lets find out if anyone shows up to the class that should have started already :}

Decided to forgo bringing my sad lunch to eat lunch at school.

It was curry. 

Going to Europe with the wife and her in-laws are coming for part of the trip. Meals for everyday? Wife says they want to eat Korean food. I mean what's the effing point for Koreans traveling overseas if half their suitcase is filled with kimchi and ramen.

Going to Europe with the wife and her in-laws are coming for part of the trip. Meals for everyday? Wife says they want to eat Korean food. I mean what's the effing point for Koreans traveling overseas if half their suitcase is filled with kimchi and ramen.

Please understand their lack of respect for other cultures.

Going to Europe with the wife and her in-laws are coming for part of the trip. Meals for everyday? Wife says they want to eat Korean food. I mean what's the effing point for Koreans traveling overseas if half their suitcase is filled with kimchi and ramen.

Ko fills half his luggage with instant noodles for his international business travels, a lesson he learned after assuming on his first trip that three packages would suffice for six days. “Man, was I wrong. Since then, I always make sure I pack enough.”
-AP

Going to Europe with the wife and her in-laws are coming for part of the trip. Meals for everyday? Wife says they want to eat Korean food. I mean what's the effing point for Koreans traveling overseas if half their suitcase is filled with kimchi and ramen.

Ko fills half his luggage with instant noodles for his international business travels, a lesson he learned after assuming on his first trip that three packages would suffice for six days. “Man, was I wrong. Since then, I always make sure I pack enough.”
-AP

The only explanation I can fathom is that while most people travel to see a different part of the world and experience the culture, many Koreans and pretty much the whole of mainland China travels for 2 reasons, prestige and shopping.

Your typical 6 day Korean/Chinese package deal involves getting on the bus, driving to as many tourists traps as possible, stopping just long enough to take a few selfies, in front of famous monuments, before spending the final day of the trip at a luxury goods outlet store.
They come home and can brag they've travelled to 10 European countries in as many days. The thousands of photos they took will help the climb their social and professional ladders.

Eating the local food or immersing into the local culture is seen as a waste of time and inconvenient. I do sympathise a bit, as Koreans have developed a... shall we say, unique palate, but seriously, opting to ingest copious amounts of poison (supermarket ramen) over local food seems pretty damn stupid no matter how you cut it.

Going to Europe with the wife and her in-laws are coming for part of the trip. Meals for everyday? Wife says they want to eat Korean food. I mean what's the effing point for Koreans traveling overseas if half their suitcase is filled with kimchi and ramen.

As I'm sure you know, ramen is Japanese, however I know what you mean. In UK culture eating your own food on holiday is a working class/ordinary people thing to do, judging by the kind of places in Spain that are awash with English food restaurants. Do your in laws have humble origins? Actually, I guess virtually everyone in that generation in Korea could be described in that way.

Going to Europe with the wife and her in-laws are coming for part of the trip. Meals for everyday? Wife says they want to eat Korean food. I mean what's the effing point for Koreans traveling overseas if half their suitcase is filled with kimchi and ramen.

As I'm sure you know, ramen is Japanese, however I know what you mean. In UK culture eating your own food on holiday is a working class/ordinary people thing to do, judging by the kind of places in Spain that are awash with English food restaurants. Do your in laws have humble origins? Actually, I guess virtually everyone in that generation in Korea could be described in that way.

Ramen is a proper meal but Ramyeon isn't; just junk food. British folk are lucky that Spanish resorts cater to their tastes but it's not like they are packing baked beans from Waitrose because they don't rate the Spanish equivalent. It would also be like Germans packing some bratwurst because they think that Spanish sausage is inedible.

Just been out shopping for food with wife and FIL and he bought some Korean food for their trip, around 9KG's worth - and that's just what my wife has to pack in her suitcase for them. I'm sure they are packing their own cases with Korean food. Total days of their trip - 8 days.

Not humble origins but part of that older generation who are so accustomed to eating Korean food all their lives that they have no willingness to try anything else.

Ramen is a proper meal but Ramyeon isn't; just junk food. British folk are lucky that Spanish resorts cater to their tastes but it's not like they are packing baked beans from Waitrose because they don't rate the Spanish equivalent. It would also be like Germans packing some bratwurst because they think that Spanish sausage is inedible.

I think Brits bringing stuff you can't get abroad on holiday is pretty well recognised. E.g. the first few seconds of this Mr Bean video. HP sauce and tea bags are are also popular choices.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r0dr_juOiI

Ramen is a proper meal but Ramyeon isn't; just junk food. British folk are lucky that Spanish resorts cater to their tastes but it's not like they are packing baked beans from Waitrose because they don't rate the Spanish equivalent. It would also be like Germans packing some bratwurst because they think that Spanish sausage is inedible.

I think Brits bringing stuff you can't get abroad on holiday is pretty well recognised. E.g. the first few seconds of this Mr Bean video. HP sauce and tea bags are are also popular choices.

I think bringing a small accompaniment of British tea bags or small bottle of HP sauce pales in comparison to what Koreans stuff into their suitcase.

Ramen is a proper meal but Ramyeon isn't; just junk food. British folk are lucky that Spanish resorts cater to their tastes but it's not like they are packing baked beans from Waitrose because they don't rate the Spanish equivalent. It would also be like Germans packing some bratwurst because they think that Spanish sausage is inedible.

I think Brits bringing stuff you can't get abroad on holiday is pretty well recognised. E.g. the first few seconds of this Mr Bean video. HP sauce and tea bags are are also popular choices.

I think bringing a small accompaniment of British tea bags or small bottle of HP sauce pales in comparison to what Koreans stuff into their suitcase.

Yes possibly. Koreans are also probably bringing all that crap over to save money, but are less likely to admit that. If you're going on a grand tour of Europe these days there's probably a Korean restaurant in every major city with just as good food, but twice the cost.  I assume your average Korean has got an app on their smart phone that shows up all the Korean restaurants in every European city and exactly how to get there.   

Going to Europe with the wife and her in-laws are coming for part of the trip. Meals for everyday? Wife says they want to eat Korean food. I mean what's the effing point for Koreans traveling overseas if half their suitcase is filled with kimchi and ramen.

As I'm sure you know, ramen is Japanese, however I know what you mean. In UK culture eating your own food on holiday is a working class/ordinary people thing to do, judging by the kind of places in Spain that are awash with English food restaurants. Do your in laws have humble origins? Actually, I guess virtually everyone in that generation in Korea could be described in that way.

Ramen is a proper meal but Ramyeon isn't; just junk food. British folk are lucky that Spanish resorts cater to their tastes but it's not like they are packing baked beans from Waitrose because they don't rate the Spanish equivalent. It would also be like Germans packing some bratwurst because they think that Spanish sausage is inedible.

Just been out shopping for food with wife and FIL and he bought some Korean food for their trip, around 9KG's worth - and that's just what my wife has to pack in her suitcase for them. I'm sure they are packing their own cases with Korean food. Total days of their trip - 8 days.

Not humble origins but part of that older generation who are so accustomed to eating Korean food all their lives that they have no willingness to try anything else.

Waitrose? No....the kind of people who take beans on holiday only take Heinz  I have seen people do it too.

Man, why did the ref stop Mayweather beating up that that cocky Irish bast#!d ?? I was loving rounds 8/9 and 10.

Not humble origins but part of that older generation who are so accustomed to eating Korean food all their lives that they have no willingness to try anything else.

I will never, ever understand the ability that Koreans have to eat the same damn thing for every single meal of their lives. That used to be a Would You Rather scenario we'd play in school.

I made spaghetti last night for the PILs, and despite FIL complaining it was greasy, they ate it right up. MIL did require kimchi as a side though, saying they went well together. Progress!

I got hot sauce in my bag

Not humble origins but part of that older generation who are so accustomed to eating Korean food all their lives that they have no willingness to try anything else.

I will never, ever understand the ability that Koreans have to eat the same damn thing for every single meal of their lives. That used to be a Would You Rather scenario we'd play in school.

Not to play the apologist, but I was brought up on a very steady diet of milk, meat and potatoes in rural Canada. I imagine much of that has to do with both sets of grandparents making much of their living off the land and my parents carrying on the tradition. It wasn't until I was a teenager that my mother started cooking things that weren't boiled, baked, mashed or whipped (her pizza was terrible.) It wasn't too long ago Koreans were in the same boat.