(no subject)
This post is not just to annoy my brother. ;)
I've been pretty busy over the past few weeks. To begin with, I was sick. It wasn't anything monumental, but interesting over here. To being with, it's much more difficult to take a sick day here. I remember back in the States when bosses would send me home and I'd be annoyed. As in most Asian countries, the needs of the group outweigh the needs of the individual. It's seen as a very selfish act to be out sick as your coworkers will have to compensate for your absence. I only was allowed because I lost my voice and wouldn't be much use at school. I went back the next day and got hauled off to a pediatrician's office. Apparently it's fairly common practice with something minor like a cold. The doctor spoke some English, but not the usual "Hello" or "How are you?" He used my boss to translate to get my name and age but was able to ask directly if I had a productive cough, difficulty breathing, or nausea. I was diagnosed with a bad cold and sent away for a shot and medication. I got little packets of 5 pills each and was told to take one packet after every meal for two days. I thought it was overkill.
A couple of weekends ago, we packed up and headed out to the country for the weekend. My friend Ryan has a friend whose mother owns a persimmon farm. The mother is in her 80's now and rents out most of her land but keeps some for personal use. The plan was to get a group of us together to go help with the persimmon harvest. We ended up helping more with the chili peppers and pumpkins, but it was still lots of fun. Halmoni (Korean for Grandmother) got us addicted to pumpkin pancakes and we made a jack o lantern out of the remains. It was just really nice to get away from the city. I brought a few friends with me and Ryan had invited some of his internet buddies. We spent most of the night in front of the fire and made everybody try s'mores. I think that the plan is to try to get everybody back out there for Lunar New Year and in the spring to help plant everything.
I found out that one of my favorite musicals was performing in our town and my friend helped us get VIP seats. The performance was lovely but the cultural difference were amazing. To begin with, there are multiple actors for each role. It's a bit of a crap shot as to who you'll see. It's not just an understudy thing either. My souvenir program lists three people for each role and then alternatives. I was also very surprised to see how the story was changed for the culture. In the play, one of the characters cheats on his fiancee. In the west, he is depicted as a real slime ball. But over here, he was shown in a much kinder light. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that fidelity isn't as highly regarded. It's normal for married men to have a girlfriend. But at the same time, a person can got to jail if they're caught with anybody other than their spouse. I don't get it. It's also a very different thing if a woman is found with a man other than her husband.
I got a new coworker at the beginning of October, a British guy named Andrew. I really like working with him and it's nice to be able to talk to somebody at a normal speed. When the kids are good, we reward them by giving them stars on their charts. When they're bad, we take them away. The system works really well with the little kids but not so much with the older ones. I've actually had a last year middle school kid tell me to give his star to his little brother. We had a big Halloween party for the kids on the 31st where the kids could trade in their stars for snacks and prizes. Halloween is known over here as an American holiday and not really celebrated. But of course all the foreigners got together for a party after work.
I was planning on doing a picture post, but then I lost my camera. It had a lot of photos I hadn't uploaded yet so I was a bit bummed. I know that I can easily get another camera over here, but I probably won't be rushing out anytime soon.
I've been pretty busy over the past few weeks. To begin with, I was sick. It wasn't anything monumental, but interesting over here. To being with, it's much more difficult to take a sick day here. I remember back in the States when bosses would send me home and I'd be annoyed. As in most Asian countries, the needs of the group outweigh the needs of the individual. It's seen as a very selfish act to be out sick as your coworkers will have to compensate for your absence. I only was allowed because I lost my voice and wouldn't be much use at school. I went back the next day and got hauled off to a pediatrician's office. Apparently it's fairly common practice with something minor like a cold. The doctor spoke some English, but not the usual "Hello" or "How are you?" He used my boss to translate to get my name and age but was able to ask directly if I had a productive cough, difficulty breathing, or nausea. I was diagnosed with a bad cold and sent away for a shot and medication. I got little packets of 5 pills each and was told to take one packet after every meal for two days. I thought it was overkill.
A couple of weekends ago, we packed up and headed out to the country for the weekend. My friend Ryan has a friend whose mother owns a persimmon farm. The mother is in her 80's now and rents out most of her land but keeps some for personal use. The plan was to get a group of us together to go help with the persimmon harvest. We ended up helping more with the chili peppers and pumpkins, but it was still lots of fun. Halmoni (Korean for Grandmother) got us addicted to pumpkin pancakes and we made a jack o lantern out of the remains. It was just really nice to get away from the city. I brought a few friends with me and Ryan had invited some of his internet buddies. We spent most of the night in front of the fire and made everybody try s'mores. I think that the plan is to try to get everybody back out there for Lunar New Year and in the spring to help plant everything.
I found out that one of my favorite musicals was performing in our town and my friend helped us get VIP seats. The performance was lovely but the cultural difference were amazing. To begin with, there are multiple actors for each role. It's a bit of a crap shot as to who you'll see. It's not just an understudy thing either. My souvenir program lists three people for each role and then alternatives. I was also very surprised to see how the story was changed for the culture. In the play, one of the characters cheats on his fiancee. In the west, he is depicted as a real slime ball. But over here, he was shown in a much kinder light. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that fidelity isn't as highly regarded. It's normal for married men to have a girlfriend. But at the same time, a person can got to jail if they're caught with anybody other than their spouse. I don't get it. It's also a very different thing if a woman is found with a man other than her husband.
I got a new coworker at the beginning of October, a British guy named Andrew. I really like working with him and it's nice to be able to talk to somebody at a normal speed. When the kids are good, we reward them by giving them stars on their charts. When they're bad, we take them away. The system works really well with the little kids but not so much with the older ones. I've actually had a last year middle school kid tell me to give his star to his little brother. We had a big Halloween party for the kids on the 31st where the kids could trade in their stars for snacks and prizes. Halloween is known over here as an American holiday and not really celebrated. But of course all the foreigners got together for a party after work.
I was planning on doing a picture post, but then I lost my camera. It had a lot of photos I hadn't uploaded yet so I was a bit bummed. I know that I can easily get another camera over here, but I probably won't be rushing out anytime soon.