intro post of dooooooom!

[coyotecolored]

since this is the single largest change/update/what-have-you I've ever made to my rather small, cozy f-list, I figured it was probably time to introduce myself, hey!

[short version]

name: fuujin
d.o.b: 1981.10.30
living in: seoul
interests (in no particular order): writing, reading, pretty boys who can't keep their hands off each other,

Comments

[coyotecolored]

no problem at all! ask away ;)

[coyotecolored]

haha, you have the best questions! you've obviously thought it out very carefully, and that's awesome

[coyotecolored]

2.) I do work at a hagwon, and one of the ones with the best ranking/reputation in the country. the things to remember there are... public schools are public schools. you may be pretty much left to devise your own lesson plan, there's no guarantee that the kids will speak ANY English, and sometimes you may be essentially playing or singing songs with them, depending on how old they are I guess. also, public schools slot you in from some hour of the morning (8:00 AM?) until mid-afternoon, every day. are you a morning person or a night person? public schools, though, will get breaks and holidays off, have school trips and special school 'camps'. public schools are also very reliable--they are always looking for teachers, I think the Korean government has sworn to have at least one in every school in the country--but the pay is comparatively low, and probably on a monthly salary basis. the classes are large, and you may be the only foreigner at the school, or even in the town, if you wind up someplace off the beaten track.

[coyotecolored]

3.) I really love Seoul. I know people have mixed feelings on Korea, depending on where they live and what they were expecting, but city life is good to me. I love being able to walk everywhere I need to go, navigate the entire city with ease between subways, busses, and taxis, and get some foreign foods once in awhile. it smells, but you get used to it and stop noticing it. I miss having a full kitchen that I could really cook in, I miss foods like cheese and easy access to fresh vegetables I recognize, and Mexican cuisine. I don't miss sharing a living space with my mother, haha. I really am well suited to living in a small apartment by myself (well, with my cat), it doesn't make me lonely. I know some other teachers get roommates and probably can afford nicer apartments that way, but I haven't really looked into that possibility yet

[coyotecolored]

5.) in terms of social issues, there really is very little concept of 'homosexual' as existing. it's growing slowly, but Korea is still the place where you can see grown men holding hands/stroking each other's knees on the subway. I've even seen a little old grandpa squeeze/pat his buddy's ass, I swear. one of the Korean front-desk teachers at the place I work, I believe, is a lesbian--she dresses EXTREMELY 'butch' (for a young Korean woman)--but I have never seen her do anything overtly homosexual, beyond the way she dresses and cuts her hair. I know there are places in Seoul where homosexuals are reputed to hang out, but I haven't really been there myself. it's pretty marginalized and not talked about

[coyotecolored]

7.) hmm... I think I'm bad at summaries! you've asked good questions (and it's refreshing to hear someone who DOES ask good questions instead of just being like HOMG I WANT TO GO AND STALK DBSK/SJ/___ IN ALL OF MY FREE TIME FOREVER). just figure out what your priorities are, while there--i.e, learning Korean? going to concerts? having a support system of experienced foreigners who know their way around S. Korea already? working in Seoul, or in the country