Lately in Korea
Lately, I have been frustrated, annoyed, impressed, intrigued and overall confused about a lot of things. Life across the Pacific Ocean has been full of excitement, boredom, and everything in between. I have some good news!! I am finally going to have my own apartment (or possibly a small house) within the next couple of weeks. But if my director screws me over I will break my contract and seek work somewhere else in Korea. Because he should have been looking for an apartment since October, but I think he is just being cheap because it costs a lot of money to rent an apartment (things are very different here). You have to pay thousands of dollars in deposits, key money (money to the landlord for allowing you to rent his apartment) and other expenses before I can move in. Luckily, all of this will be paid for by my director. But I don’t think it will come to that because he needs me and he knows finding another foreign teacher is such a hassle. Although living with a host family was a culturally significant experience I am more than ready to trade-off cultural insight for convenience and privacy (for reasons I will discuss later). However, I am grateful that I am the only English teacher I know who has stayed with a Korean family but the time has gone to leave.
On a positive note, living with a rural Korean family gave me insight into the daily routine of a small town Korean family. For a while they were waking me up everyday at 9AM to eat breakfast but I would go straight to bed afterwards for a couple of hours until shortly before noon. I think my drowsiness was a combination of adjusting to a new time schedule, environment, food, culture and everything else that comes with moving abroad. Also, teaching is a very draining occupation to have and I teach less than 20 hours a week. I have great sympathy for all my previous teachers back home (= Needless to say, the family stopped inviting me to breakfast; however, I didn’t mind waking up to eat.
The father is a very hard-working man he spends at least 10 hours a day at work (and it takes him 1 hour to drive to work). Hence, his relationship with his daughters seemed almost non-existent and the relationship with his son was more formal. The father studies English very hard in order to bring the Korean traditional medicine market, in this case, selling his bamboo salt to foreigners. Also, he has been very kind to me during the first couple of weeks. He would take me to dinner occasionally (along with my director), pick me up from work several times a week (so I wouldn’t have to ride my bike), teach me some Korean, and spend an hour every evening watching Discovery Channel or Arirang (one of a few English TV stations). But soon my newness wore off. For the last month I haven’t enjoyed any of the luxuries (= Probably because I sleep until around 11AM and he goes to work around 12PM and spends the morning doing yard work and who knows what else. Also, if I get home early around 9PM (he doesn’t get home until as late as 11PM
As for the daughters, I only know one of their names. Because in a Korean household they are seldom referred to by their names, instead they are called daughter, younger sister, or older sister. The eldest daughter speaks to me occasionally when I talk to her first but her English speaking skills are very limited. The younger ones never speak to me unless saying hi or goodbye, which could be a combination of their shyness, my foreignness, and their role as young girls in Korea.
Living with a family I soon learned the importance of education in Korea. Last month the daughters were on winter break, yet the studied Math, English, and other school subjects everyday. They were always going to the library or studying in their bedroom. Unfortunately, the focus of English in the public schools is on grammar and vocabulary rather than speaking. Therefore, the two eldest daughters know unbelievable amounts of vocabulary but have difficulty using the correct tense when speaking and forming basic sentences. I learned about their extensive knowledge in several ways. The first time I was being nosy and I looked in one of their notebooks and textbooks they left on the table. Inside the notebook were hundreds of handwritten English words and their Korean translation. Also, the other day I went in their room to grab the iron and ironing board and their four closet doors were covered with a few hundred post-it notes with nothing but English words and their Korean translation. I was very impressed and I felt bad for not knowing more than a hundred vocabulary words in Korean. I could probably learn a lot from them.
* On a side note, although education is extremely important all education in Korea is not free. To send your children to high school costs about $700 every year, plus they must buy text books, uniforms, and supplies. Fortunately for my host father he served in the military for 22 years so he receives money from the government to cover these expenses.
As for the son, one of the few things we have in common is that we’ve both been to India and we both like soccer. His father and he went to India for a month last year (a business trip for his father and vacation for him). The reason I find him dull is that for the past month he played computer games all day!! (seriously) He would wake up in the morning, we’d have breakfast together, I’d go back to bed and then he’d play computer games. I’d wake up go to work and come home and he’d be playing computer games until midnight. Sometimes he would play baseball with his friends but that’s about it. His father would ask me if his son had been studying English and I would casually reply “No, all he does is play computer games.” The father soon decided his son was going to get a part-time job since he doesn’t start college until March (but he still hasn’t). Then, he moved the computer from our room to the living room to address his son’s addiction to computer games. I thought it was funny, but the son probably hates me.
Overall, I rarely see any of the family because the children go to school before I wake up and are usually in bed by time I come back to their house in the evening. The mother cooks, cleans, and runs her own pottery shop in town so I rarely see her. The son is usually around but we don’t talk much and nowadays he goes to bed around 9PM since he can’t play computer games, which sucks because I share a room with him and I can’t do much except use my laptop (without an internet connection) and I have to keep the bedroom light off.
On to the negative aspects of life with this particular family. First and foremost is location, living in a small mountain village wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t 1) bitterly cold; 2) so dark (no street lights, remember I have a headlight), and 3) so far. Riding uphill to a mountain home that is 25 minutes walking (or 10 minutes on bike) is quite inconvenient. The house is usually very cold because they only source of heating is the furnace in the living room. They have traditional Korean style heating which uses hot water pipes beneath the floor to generate heat. However, the father doesn’t use it because it’s too expensive. So I spend my nights freezing, meanwhile the son has a heating pad on his bed to keep him warm and always keeps the door open because he’s warm at night. Also, the days it rains or snows I have to call my school director for a ride because it is far too messy to ride a bike in the rain or snow and a walk with the umbrella would take between 25-30 minutes. But this means I have to get picked up an hour before I usually need to be there.
Moreover, I can’t do much in town without taking into consideration what time it is. Since my host family has children that go to school the house lights are off shortly after 9PM sometimes. And after work I like to stick around and take care of lesson plans, visit my English teacher friend, go to the noraebang (karaoke room) with my coworker or adult students, or even have dinner with anyone I am always reminding myself not to get home too late. I feel bad when I get home anytime after 10PM and the lights are all turned off, the family’s two little dogs bark hysterically and alert everyone in the house (or the village for that matter) that someone is coming. Then I walk in the pitch dark home and have to use the light on my cell phone to navigate my way to the bedroom.
But perhaps the most annoying aspect of living here is that I share a room with an 18 year old boy who can’t seem to use the bathroom, shower, or alone time to meet his physical needs. The first time, he must have thought I was sleeping so I ignored it. The second time, I just made it clear that I was awake so he stopped. The third time I had just finished brushing my teeth and returned to the room and he rolled over a pretended to be sleeping. And last night I was getting ready for bed and my computer was turned on and sitting on my bed. Meanwhile I was using my cell phone light to grab my pajamas and what do I hear…….well you can imagine. I was not only disgusted but pissed off that he could be so disrespectful. So I casually turned on the bedroom light and asked him if he was having fun. He immediately stopped and in a daze opened his eyes as if I woke him up by turning on the light. He then rolled over and pretended to sleep again.
In sum, I am looking forward to having my own place!!! But that means no more home cooked Korean food )=
On a positive note, living with a rural Korean family gave me insight into the daily routine of a small town Korean family. For a while they were waking me up everyday at 9AM to eat breakfast but I would go straight to bed afterwards for a couple of hours until shortly before noon. I think my drowsiness was a combination of adjusting to a new time schedule, environment, food, culture and everything else that comes with moving abroad. Also, teaching is a very draining occupation to have and I teach less than 20 hours a week. I have great sympathy for all my previous teachers back home (= Needless to say, the family stopped inviting me to breakfast; however, I didn’t mind waking up to eat.
The father is a very hard-working man he spends at least 10 hours a day at work (and it takes him 1 hour to drive to work). Hence, his relationship with his daughters seemed almost non-existent and the relationship with his son was more formal. The father studies English very hard in order to bring the Korean traditional medicine market, in this case, selling his bamboo salt to foreigners. Also, he has been very kind to me during the first couple of weeks. He would take me to dinner occasionally (along with my director), pick me up from work several times a week (so I wouldn’t have to ride my bike), teach me some Korean, and spend an hour every evening watching Discovery Channel or Arirang (one of a few English TV stations). But soon my newness wore off. For the last month I haven’t enjoyed any of the luxuries (= Probably because I sleep until around 11AM and he goes to work around 12PM and spends the morning doing yard work and who knows what else. Also, if I get home early around 9PM (he doesn’t get home until as late as 11PM
As for the daughters, I only know one of their names. Because in a Korean household they are seldom referred to by their names, instead they are called daughter, younger sister, or older sister. The eldest daughter speaks to me occasionally when I talk to her first but her English speaking skills are very limited. The younger ones never speak to me unless saying hi or goodbye, which could be a combination of their shyness, my foreignness, and their role as young girls in Korea.
Living with a family I soon learned the importance of education in Korea. Last month the daughters were on winter break, yet the studied Math, English, and other school subjects everyday. They were always going to the library or studying in their bedroom. Unfortunately, the focus of English in the public schools is on grammar and vocabulary rather than speaking. Therefore, the two eldest daughters know unbelievable amounts of vocabulary but have difficulty using the correct tense when speaking and forming basic sentences. I learned about their extensive knowledge in several ways. The first time I was being nosy and I looked in one of their notebooks and textbooks they left on the table. Inside the notebook were hundreds of handwritten English words and their Korean translation. Also, the other day I went in their room to grab the iron and ironing board and their four closet doors were covered with a few hundred post-it notes with nothing but English words and their Korean translation. I was very impressed and I felt bad for not knowing more than a hundred vocabulary words in Korean. I could probably learn a lot from them.
* On a side note, although education is extremely important all education in Korea is not free. To send your children to high school costs about $700 every year, plus they must buy text books, uniforms, and supplies. Fortunately for my host father he served in the military for 22 years so he receives money from the government to cover these expenses.
As for the son, one of the few things we have in common is that we’ve both been to India and we both like soccer. His father and he went to India for a month last year (a business trip for his father and vacation for him). The reason I find him dull is that for the past month he played computer games all day!! (seriously) He would wake up in the morning, we’d have breakfast together, I’d go back to bed and then he’d play computer games. I’d wake up go to work and come home and he’d be playing computer games until midnight. Sometimes he would play baseball with his friends but that’s about it. His father would ask me if his son had been studying English and I would casually reply “No, all he does is play computer games.” The father soon decided his son was going to get a part-time job since he doesn’t start college until March (but he still hasn’t). Then, he moved the computer from our room to the living room to address his son’s addiction to computer games. I thought it was funny, but the son probably hates me.
Overall, I rarely see any of the family because the children go to school before I wake up and are usually in bed by time I come back to their house in the evening. The mother cooks, cleans, and runs her own pottery shop in town so I rarely see her. The son is usually around but we don’t talk much and nowadays he goes to bed around 9PM since he can’t play computer games, which sucks because I share a room with him and I can’t do much except use my laptop (without an internet connection) and I have to keep the bedroom light off.
On to the negative aspects of life with this particular family. First and foremost is location, living in a small mountain village wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t 1) bitterly cold; 2) so dark (no street lights, remember I have a headlight), and 3) so far. Riding uphill to a mountain home that is 25 minutes walking (or 10 minutes on bike) is quite inconvenient. The house is usually very cold because they only source of heating is the furnace in the living room. They have traditional Korean style heating which uses hot water pipes beneath the floor to generate heat. However, the father doesn’t use it because it’s too expensive. So I spend my nights freezing, meanwhile the son has a heating pad on his bed to keep him warm and always keeps the door open because he’s warm at night. Also, the days it rains or snows I have to call my school director for a ride because it is far too messy to ride a bike in the rain or snow and a walk with the umbrella would take between 25-30 minutes. But this means I have to get picked up an hour before I usually need to be there.
Moreover, I can’t do much in town without taking into consideration what time it is. Since my host family has children that go to school the house lights are off shortly after 9PM sometimes. And after work I like to stick around and take care of lesson plans, visit my English teacher friend, go to the noraebang (karaoke room) with my coworker or adult students, or even have dinner with anyone I am always reminding myself not to get home too late. I feel bad when I get home anytime after 10PM and the lights are all turned off, the family’s two little dogs bark hysterically and alert everyone in the house (or the village for that matter) that someone is coming. Then I walk in the pitch dark home and have to use the light on my cell phone to navigate my way to the bedroom.
But perhaps the most annoying aspect of living here is that I share a room with an 18 year old boy who can’t seem to use the bathroom, shower, or alone time to meet his physical needs. The first time, he must have thought I was sleeping so I ignored it. The second time, I just made it clear that I was awake so he stopped. The third time I had just finished brushing my teeth and returned to the room and he rolled over a pretended to be sleeping. And last night I was getting ready for bed and my computer was turned on and sitting on my bed. Meanwhile I was using my cell phone light to grab my pajamas and what do I hear…….well you can imagine. I was not only disgusted but pissed off that he could be so disrespectful. So I casually turned on the bedroom light and asked him if he was having fun. He immediately stopped and in a daze opened his eyes as if I woke him up by turning on the light. He then rolled over and pretended to sleep again.
In sum, I am looking forward to having my own place!!! But that means no more home cooked Korean food )=