RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

I can't freaking stand my coteacher. She's such a b*tch. She already doesn't like me because I speak American English, not British English (she learned English in England, and for some reason refuses to realize/admit that not all English is the same). Plus, my accent comes out when I'm angry or talking to my family, so she's heard my accent and me not using Standard American English. Earlier today, she overheard me on the phone talking to a friend in French. So naturally she's decided that that means I'm not actually a native English speaker. Because no one can possibly speak two languages. According to the KOREAN who teaches ENGLISH. Apparently she's going around telling the other teachers that I don't actually speak English, and offering up the dialectical differences between American and UK English, and my ability to speak French as proof.

I'm going to go scream into my pillow for a while.

Ugh, she's digging for literally any reason to get you sacked probably.

Did you learn it in school or from family members btw? I'd throw it in their face personally that you're edging into/are trilingual but if it keeps up that she's acting like that you can just threaten her with "I'm gonna report you for defamation" etc etc.

Pretty much. Luckily for both of us, I have zero intentions of renewing my contract with them.

I learned it through school and self-study. I just really wanted to learn another language. Closest French-speaking family I have is a French Canadian who married my cousin a few years ago. And honestly, while I'm definitely an advanced level in French, I'm not fluent, and any French speaker can tell immediately that I'm not a native French speaker.

The Jisan Valley Rock Festival has been cancelled for this year.
The already miniscule amount of international acts that come here just got smaller for the year.

My Co-teacher said it's due to the decline in popularity of rock music.

See y'all at Ultra, I suppose.

Do people still make 'rock music'?

https://t.co/Vd40tL0t86

country rockish from the wild west of Leeds

The Jisan Valley Rock Festival has been cancelled for this year.
The already miniscule amount of international acts that come here just got smaller for the year.

My Co-teacher said it's due to the decline in popularity of rock music.

See y'all at Ultra, I suppose.

i'd like to see a&b again. i've never been to ultra before. i imagine it's full of dickheads though. am i right?

i'd like to see a&b again. i've never been to ultra before. i imagine it's full of dickheads though. am i right?

Dude, it would be worth the price of admission ALONE just to see the girls that go. Seriously.

The Jisan Valley Rock Festival has been cancelled for this year.
The already miniscule amount of international acts that come here just got smaller for the year.

My Co-teacher said it's due to the decline in popularity of rock music.

See y'all at Ultra, I suppose.

Do people still make 'rock music'?

Rock is the deadest genre of music there is.

Most festivals are music festivals, not rock festivals.

The Jisan Valley Rock Festival has been cancelled for this year.
The already miniscule amount of international acts that come here just got smaller for the year.

My Co-teacher said it's due to the decline of popularity in rock music.

See y'all at Ultra, I suppose.

They probably couldn't get any decent bands to show up. Even Summer Sonic is tame this year.

There's some decent acts for Summer Sonic this year, but not the unbelievable dream lineup it usually is. Weird.

The line up off all the festivals is usually the acts that also play Fuji rocks in Japan.  It will be interesting to see who they have.

Summer Sonic tends to have a better lineup than Fuji these days.

Fuji Rock has Bob Dylan, Kendrick lamar. A few other biggish acts.

Some Summer Sonic acts play side shows here sometimes.
Though the line up doesn't have anything super exciting. Except Mastodon. Maybe Beck. But he was here pretty recently.

Some Summer Sonic acts play side shows here sometimes.
Though the line up doesn't have anything super exciting. Except Mastodon. Maybe Beck. But he was here pretty recently.

Beck, Chance and QotSA are pretty huge.

St. Vincent, Tame Impala and Paramore all have pretty huge fanbases, too.

But yeah - it's underwhelming.

The Jisan Valley Rock Festival has been cancelled for this year.
The already miniscule amount of international acts that come here just got smaller for the year.

this festival has been mired in mis-management for ages. it was already cancelled one year before recently - i think 2014 or 2015 - because they couldn't pull their finger out.

last time i went was 2016, turn out was good. but each year the lineup has been getting worse and worse too.

Some Summer Sonic acts play side shows here sometimes.
Though the line up doesn't have anything super exciting. Except Mastodon. Maybe Beck. But he was here pretty recently.

Beck, Chance and QotSA are pretty huge.

St. Vincent, Tame Impala and Paramore all have pretty huge fanbases, too.

But yeah - it's underwhelming.

the summer sonic lineup is actually mega.

Noel Gallagher, the Charlatans, Friendly Fires, Bloody Beetroots, Bullet for My Valentine, Mike Shinoda.

And .... Nickelcrap.

NINE INCH NAILS are playing at Summer Sonic Osaka. Flying Lotus too. holy crap. might try jet over there this year.

that jisan 2012 lineup was amazing

stone roses and radiohead

anyone else go to that?

The woman in the office is like it's lunch time let's go. I should be happy, i know, but I'm not 73 years old and I don't eat lunch at 11:45 on weekdays.

Is it just me or is there a "giving up" culture here? It seems like everyone is quicker to give up than to try anything they either deem difficult or don't quite understand.

Easiest example is obviously students with English (Especially in the countryside schools). But in other situations it seems to be the case as well. When I was with several friends in Seoul, one restaurant almost didn't allow us in (despite having seats available) because they didn't want to deal with the "struggle" of serving English-speaking foreigners (that, or they were racist).

The woman in the office is like it's lunch time let's go. I should be happy, i know, but I'm not 73 years old and I don't eat lunch at 11:45 on weekdays.

I don’t get it.

What does age have to do with it?

The woman in the office is like it's lunch time let's go. I should be happy, i know, but I'm not 73 years old and I don't eat lunch at 11:45 on weekdays.

I don’t get it.

What does age have to do with it?

Everything.

Is it just me or is there a "giving up" culture here? It seems like everyone is quicker to give up than to try anything they either deem difficult or don't quite understand.

Easiest example is obviously students with English (Especially in the countryside schools). But in other situations it seems to be the case as well. When I was with several friends in Seoul, one restaurant almost didn't allow us in (despite having seats available) because they didn't want to deal with the "struggle" of serving English-speaking foreigners (that, or they were racist).

I think people in general have a tendency to give up when there are no negative consequences for doing so. Unfortunately for English teachers here, English class is one situation where there are no real consequences for not trying. I've been trying for years to impress it upon my students that I'd much rather they try and get the answer wrong than not try at all, but it just isn't sticking. Even for textbook exercises that are multiple choice, I can walk around the classroom and find several students who didn't even bother to circle random answers just to make it even look like they tried. It's...   frustrating.

I wonder if it isn't more or less the same thing for cases like denial of service for foreigners. If a restaurant denied service to foreigners in the US, the ACLU would be breathing down their neck faster than you could say "DAS RACISS." In Korea, not so much. That does seem to be improving here, though, for what it's worth.

You two are too old to realise that old people eat lunch at 11am and dinner before 5pm.   

The woman in the office is like it's lunch time let's go. I should be happy, i know, but I'm not 73 years old and I don't eat lunch at 11:45 on weekdays.

I don’t get it.

What does age have to do with it?

Neither do I.  If I have no fourth period class then I'll have my lunch at 11:30, probably because I'm a little bored.  I kind of like to eat lunch early, and I usually always have dinner about 5pm.  During the holidays, we had a family gathering and my sister was against booking the restaurant for 5pm because 'it was too early for dinner'.  I equally don't understand my wife or Koreans on their dinner eating/midnight snack policy.  My wife will have dinner anytime from 6pm-1am, and my students regularly eat chicken or other delivery food before bed.

Growing up in Canada, supper was when Dad got home... so 6ish.  I suspect Korean dads get home later.

Lunch? Whenever the company lunch break is.

OP: Still not seeing a tie to age, but my wife (Canadian) asks “Bingo night?” if I suggest an early supper, as homage to her late grandmother.

Is it just me or is there a "giving up" culture here? It seems like everyone is quicker to give up than to try anything they either deem difficult or don't quite understand.

Easiest example is obviously students with English (Especially in the countryside schools). But in other situations it seems to be the case as well. When I was with several friends in Seoul, one restaurant almost didn't allow us in (despite having seats available) because they didn't want to deal with the "struggle" of serving English-speaking foreigners (that, or they were racist).

I've noticed this too, it's no coincidence that China has the same issue. Since Korea pretty much owes 90% of it's culture to China and shares the same philosophy (Confucianism), they probably inherited it. Anyways, the Chinese call it "Mei Ban Fa", which literally translates to 'no solution', it's kind of the western equivalent of 'c'est la vie' or 'sh*t happens'.

'Mei Ban Fa" has become abused in recent times as a socially acceptable way to simply not be arsed to solve a problem. Remember, out the box thinking is still something many Chinese and Korean people struggle with as it's not encouraged as a Confucianist virtue so, some Chinese and Korean folks will simply give up if the obvious method/approach they've been taught fails to work. Furthermore combining the Confucianism thought of not challenging authority and the hardships during the cultural revolution, 'Mei Ban Fa' is a big reason of why authority is never undermined and people are content with accepting their hardships instead of rising above it.

Finally, liability is absolutely comical and ridiculous here. Rightly so, establishments and institutions in Korea will put ridiculous rules in place. The reason is to avoid liability.

- You get in an accident while walking down the road on Monday at 4:28PM... schools fault.
- Want to go for a swim at the beach. 1ft waves are too dangerous and lifeguards will call you out.

To westerners, this seems absolutely ludicrous, but personal responsibility is still a western cultural import for the most part.
While things are changing, the laws are the most archaic and stubborn to change, probably not enough pressure from civil society... Mei Ban Fa?