Did My Obligatory "Eat Like a Westerner" With a Group of Koreans today
The boss at our Hagwon bought us lunch. Most people who know me know that I'm really not a fan of any cuisine that is different than that I eat on a daily basis. Not a fan of Asian food, at all. So, one of my co-teachers brought a menu from a Korean restaurant that was going to deliver, and I found some chicken item that didn't look like it was going to crawl out of the plate and attack me, and then lunch was delivered.
First off, while I have no idea what it was I ordered, it was actually pretty good. It was a breaded chicken thing with some veggie stuff hanging off it (that quite easily was slid off with my handy chopsticks). Speaking of chopsticks, that was the obvious brunt of the joke for the westerner's first meal with the group. Yeah, I really can't hold chopsticks. One of the girls was concerned and wondered why no one asked for a fork for me, but I said it was no big deal, and I continued to eat. If I had to eat with those things every day, well, I'd starve very slowly. But every now and then I managed to get a chopstick full of rice, and I was able to eat again. Yeah, that's how someone uses chopsticks when they never learned to use them and really never intended to (and still have no intentions to).
But the meal was good.
Soon after the meal was over I got to go teach another debate class. Now, to those debaters out there that think this is actually teaching debate, that's not really it. What I do is babysitting. And every now and then the kids get up to a platform and argue over issues they know nothing about. Well, nothing more than I've spoonfed them during prep. It's really not debate, although every now and then someone will say something that surprises me, and I remember this COULD be debate. Instead, it's debate disguising itself as English learning, which is really a mask for the fact that this is glorified babysitting. I never thought I'd reach a point in my life where I'd hear: "Teacher, may I use the bathroom?" Yeah, it's babysitting.
But you know, that's not a horrible thing. The kids are somewhat cool, although some of them drive me freaking nuts. Yeah, I'm not a real kid person. Other teachers tell me that the kids really like me, but that doesn't take away from me the realization that I don't feel like I'm good with them. I treat them as I would college students, and I think that actually gets them to somewhat like me, because I don't treat them as kids. They're usually around 12-14 years old, so I don't really feel right treating them as kids. I give them a certain amount of respect, and I hope that they'll return that as well. I never imagined I'd be teaching middle school kids, so this does have me a bit off kilter at this point in my life. I always thought I'd be teaching college students, and this just really feels odd.
Money is a problem right now, although my boss has actually been pretty good at fronting me some of the money I need until the first paycheck. It took me awhile to realize what my real purpose was for being here, but I started to find out from the other Korean teachers who I have started to befriend here. It appears that having an American who has skill in speech and debate is pretty good, but what really seems to be the selling point is my two MA degrees and my ABD status for the Ph.d. AND what kind of surprised me was the inclusion of the fact that I'm a novelist who has written 12+ novels. What I discovered is that my boss has been telling this to all of the parents of students who have started to enroll in the academy here. I kind of kept the whole writing thing on the down low, but it turns out that everyone knows about it because he spouts it out all the time whenever he's trying to convince parents to send their kids to our school. I guess I should be flattered, but it always feels like I'm some kind of fraud, even though all of the accolades he is using actually happen to be true. I guess I've never really felt comfortable being perceived as some kind of selling point for a school; I'm very self-conscious about myself, as most people who know me can attest to.
It's starting to get cold here already. I have two small jackets that are kind of doing the job right now, but I have a strong feeling it's going to get really cold, really soon. Already at night I'm having some difficultly sleeping because I don't really have a decent blanket to put over myself like I use to have at home. I have a comforter I bought when I got here, but contrary to its name, it's not all that comfortable. I had three really good blankets at home that I have had for many years (one of them I think I bought in Korea 20 years ago). I may have given 2 of 3 of them to Goodwill, and if I did, I'm kind of depressed about that. But I'd be so grateful if I could have one of those here now. I haven't been able to find a place that sells any of them so far while here, and even if I found a place, I'm not really going to have any money to buy them anytime soon.
However, I do get paid on the 10th of November, which is not that far away. I'm thinking my perspective on a lot of things will become a lot more comfortable once that happens. It hasn't been nice being in a destitute situation of life, as I have been for so long now. Going back to school was not a great idea financially, although it was a great idea when it comes to mind and soul. Now, I have to start paying back money to the government for all that time in school, and that's one of those looming headaches that I'll have to start dealing with very, very soon.
Stumble It!
First off, while I have no idea what it was I ordered, it was actually pretty good. It was a breaded chicken thing with some veggie stuff hanging off it (that quite easily was slid off with my handy chopsticks). Speaking of chopsticks, that was the obvious brunt of the joke for the westerner's first meal with the group. Yeah, I really can't hold chopsticks. One of the girls was concerned and wondered why no one asked for a fork for me, but I said it was no big deal, and I continued to eat. If I had to eat with those things every day, well, I'd starve very slowly. But every now and then I managed to get a chopstick full of rice, and I was able to eat again. Yeah, that's how someone uses chopsticks when they never learned to use them and really never intended to (and still have no intentions to).
But the meal was good.
Soon after the meal was over I got to go teach another debate class. Now, to those debaters out there that think this is actually teaching debate, that's not really it. What I do is babysitting. And every now and then the kids get up to a platform and argue over issues they know nothing about. Well, nothing more than I've spoonfed them during prep. It's really not debate, although every now and then someone will say something that surprises me, and I remember this COULD be debate. Instead, it's debate disguising itself as English learning, which is really a mask for the fact that this is glorified babysitting. I never thought I'd reach a point in my life where I'd hear: "Teacher, may I use the bathroom?" Yeah, it's babysitting.
But you know, that's not a horrible thing. The kids are somewhat cool, although some of them drive me freaking nuts. Yeah, I'm not a real kid person. Other teachers tell me that the kids really like me, but that doesn't take away from me the realization that I don't feel like I'm good with them. I treat them as I would college students, and I think that actually gets them to somewhat like me, because I don't treat them as kids. They're usually around 12-14 years old, so I don't really feel right treating them as kids. I give them a certain amount of respect, and I hope that they'll return that as well. I never imagined I'd be teaching middle school kids, so this does have me a bit off kilter at this point in my life. I always thought I'd be teaching college students, and this just really feels odd.
Money is a problem right now, although my boss has actually been pretty good at fronting me some of the money I need until the first paycheck. It took me awhile to realize what my real purpose was for being here, but I started to find out from the other Korean teachers who I have started to befriend here. It appears that having an American who has skill in speech and debate is pretty good, but what really seems to be the selling point is my two MA degrees and my ABD status for the Ph.d. AND what kind of surprised me was the inclusion of the fact that I'm a novelist who has written 12+ novels. What I discovered is that my boss has been telling this to all of the parents of students who have started to enroll in the academy here. I kind of kept the whole writing thing on the down low, but it turns out that everyone knows about it because he spouts it out all the time whenever he's trying to convince parents to send their kids to our school. I guess I should be flattered, but it always feels like I'm some kind of fraud, even though all of the accolades he is using actually happen to be true. I guess I've never really felt comfortable being perceived as some kind of selling point for a school; I'm very self-conscious about myself, as most people who know me can attest to.
It's starting to get cold here already. I have two small jackets that are kind of doing the job right now, but I have a strong feeling it's going to get really cold, really soon. Already at night I'm having some difficultly sleeping because I don't really have a decent blanket to put over myself like I use to have at home. I have a comforter I bought when I got here, but contrary to its name, it's not all that comfortable. I had three really good blankets at home that I have had for many years (one of them I think I bought in Korea 20 years ago). I may have given 2 of 3 of them to Goodwill, and if I did, I'm kind of depressed about that. But I'd be so grateful if I could have one of those here now. I haven't been able to find a place that sells any of them so far while here, and even if I found a place, I'm not really going to have any money to buy them anytime soon.
However, I do get paid on the 10th of November, which is not that far away. I'm thinking my perspective on a lot of things will become a lot more comfortable once that happens. It hasn't been nice being in a destitute situation of life, as I have been for so long now. Going back to school was not a great idea financially, although it was a great idea when it comes to mind and soul. Now, I have to start paying back money to the government for all that time in school, and that's one of those looming headaches that I'll have to start dealing with very, very soon.
Labels: Korea
Stumble It!
posted by Duane @ 3:36 AM
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