This very well may be my last post on this here blog. I entitle it "The Bad Things About Working At A Hagwon (Academy)"
When I first came to Korea, I didn't really think anything too bad about my job. My director treated me pretty well, which isn't bad compared to a few other directors I've heard about. When I started to get extra projects and had to work outside of work, it was a pain. I can't really complain too much about that, though, since doing that project got me my laptop. Work was fine. I worked long hours (10-7), but all in all, it's wasn't too bad. Over the months we lost a few students, not too uncommon here for a few reasons:
1) The parents want to send their students to the brand, spankin-new academy with the fancy computer lab. "Newer is better"
2) The parents decide that they don't like the program/books you're using and decide to take their kid elsewhere.
3) The parents decide they don't like the teacher (hopefully this hasn't been the case for our kids!!)
4) The student doesn't want to study anymore
5) The student wasn't to take a break from learning english
Moving on, after our 7 year olds "graduated" from our kindergarten program, we lost more students. When I say "graduated", I mean the 7 year olds were starting public school so they couldn't come in the morning anymore and had to change to coming in the afternoon instead. We didn't pick up a whole lot of new students in the morning, so we started to get a little concerned.
Then the really big concerns started coming about a month ago. We started to not get paid. Maybe just a part of our paycheck came in. This is also one of those things that stinks about working at a hagwon. If you ever have the desire to teach in Korea, you have to make sure you get paid. For some people, it's not a big deal, but for others it might be something you have to deal with. Reminding our director became a recurring issue, and what he would do was pay a part of our paycheck, then maybe the next week pay some more, pretty much stretching our one payday into pay installments over a duration of about 3 weeks.
The past 2 weeks have been a definite eye-opener of how serious our situation is here. When the water in my co-teacher's and my apartments was shut off, I thought it might have been contributed to our director having not paid the rent. I'm about 90% sure that's probs the reason why. Then I found out that rent is due in multiple places, including the building our school is in. My landlord wants me to move out of my apartment. Our school could close any day now. There is no money.
Scary. I've taken this week to pack things up and start shipping them back home. I'm basically preparing myself to be ready to leave at any point. I've thought about possibly staying longer, but since it's so close to the end of my contract, I've decided to just go home. The big concern is "Will I get paid??" Right now I'm owed a month and a half's worth of pay, which will equate to about 3 million won (approx. $3,000). If our school were to close at the end of today, then I'm owed 2 and half month's worth of pay. My contract also says that I get a severance at the end of my year. I'm hoping I get that! Even though I didn't work the whole year, I'm not the one quitting, so I should be able to get that money. I'm also supposed to be given a paid flight back home. Sure hoping I get that too. A friend of mine told me about a government office I can go to to get my money. And though I'm sure they can get my that money, I'm not sure if they'd give my the severance pay and money for the flight back. Gotta check my contract! Though I'm not sure if there's anything in there pertaining to if the school closes...
Anyway, that's the situation. Like I said, I'm preparing to come home and will most likely be home before my contract officially end. So for peeps back home, you'll see me soon! For those here in Korea, I'm going to miss you all. I've had a wonderful time here. The experiences I have been blessed to have are beyond numerous. To think that just a year ago I graduated from college! I definitely plan to come back, whether it's just to visit or to come back and teach (definitely choosing a public school job next!) I'm extremely thankful for everyone I've met and come to know (even if it was just once). Truly, how many people can say that they've taken a chance like this?!?! Well, really, quite a number of people can, because Korea is kind of obsessed with learning english, so there are a lot of teachers. But besides that, even though my english has slowly become terribly bad, and I've gotten used to Korean practices and customs (don't be surprised if you randomly here me speaking Korean or not saying "Bless you" after you sneeze), my time here in Korea has been extraordinary. I really can't say how much I've loved living here! Gah! Now I don't want to leave!!!! I'm beyond excited to see everyone back home and begin a new adventure back in the States. Gosh, I'm gonna start crying...no, I refuse!! Not yet! Ok, I need to stop. I'll keep everyone updated, so don't worry!!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
random. mer. title fail
So it's been a while...
There's been a lot happening now that the weather's much nicer. Festivals, trips, awkward situations, the usual. Korea's a great place to be in the spring because of Festivals. I've been to a few, mostly all flower related. Here's a list of the ones I've heard of:
The Sea-Parting Festival (I don't know if that is it's actual name, but I don't know otherwise)
Cherry Blossom Festival
Tulip Festival
Green Tea Festival
Strawberry Festival
Hi Seoul Festival
Lotus Lantern Festival
I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I've either been to/heard of that have already happened. There's also mud-fest coming up in July, which I'm super psyched for. Lately I've been thinking about how much I love living here, and that I definitely want to return here after coming home. Then that got me to thinking about things that I don't think I'll ever get used to while I'm here:
1) spitting
It's just nasty. Especially when they do that narsty sound that comes from getting prepared to spit. ugh.
2) "health" habits
Korea has some interesting perspectives on what is healthy for you to do. Such as smacking your stomach after eating to help aid in digestion, or really just hitting anything that seems tense or in pain. I've done it before, but I'm not sure if it's actually doing anything. There's also the idea where if you're experiencing indigestion, you can wrap your thumb with thread, then poke the area just under your nail bed with a needle. Supposedly if the blood is a dark red, then you definitely have had some indigestion, but the release of the "bad" blood will get rid of the indigestion
3) Public walking
Ok, I've been here for a little over 9 months and have STILL never figured out which side of the sidewalk to walk on. For reals. It doesn't help that Korean people will NOT move from their path, making you the decision maker. I've done everything. Gone on the left, right, through the middle, and the awkward 2-person shuffle while you both try to go the same direction at the same time. In Seoul, they have signs designating which side to walk on (the right), but how often is it followed? Some of the time. Oh well.
4) Physical ideologies
The mentality around plastic surgery is very different than back home. Back in the states, if someone has plastic surgery, it's almost a scandal and very looked down upon. In Korea, plastic surgeons are the most prevalent. So many surgeries are done, and it's not a big deal at all. Surgeries done on eyes, noses, everything. Which, first of all, I don't understand why Koreans want to get surgery on their eyes to make them bigger. I've tried explaining this to some of my korean friends, that their eyes are gorgeous, they don't need to go on a diet, etc. But it's just a completely different perspective for them. They are so bombarded with western advertisements and concepts that they feel they need to have whiter skin, big eyes (or in some cases, a double eyelid) and high noses.
5) The school system
I've mentioned a few things before, about how kids study for most of the day, moving from school to academy to academy to academy until very late at night. You can see it the most in middle school and high school students. Completely ridiculous. On the other hand, it definitely makes me feel like I don't study enough and that I can learn so much more if I were more dedicated to learning (*ack* *cough* korean studying fail *cough*)
Well, there you have it. Kind of a lame post, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment. Tomorrow is Buddha's birthday, so we have the day off. Woohoo!!!
There's been a lot happening now that the weather's much nicer. Festivals, trips, awkward situations, the usual. Korea's a great place to be in the spring because of Festivals. I've been to a few, mostly all flower related. Here's a list of the ones I've heard of:
The Sea-Parting Festival (I don't know if that is it's actual name, but I don't know otherwise)
Cherry Blossom Festival
Tulip Festival
Green Tea Festival
Strawberry Festival
Hi Seoul Festival
Lotus Lantern Festival
I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I've either been to/heard of that have already happened. There's also mud-fest coming up in July, which I'm super psyched for. Lately I've been thinking about how much I love living here, and that I definitely want to return here after coming home. Then that got me to thinking about things that I don't think I'll ever get used to while I'm here:
1) spitting
It's just nasty. Especially when they do that narsty sound that comes from getting prepared to spit. ugh.
2) "health" habits
Korea has some interesting perspectives on what is healthy for you to do. Such as smacking your stomach after eating to help aid in digestion, or really just hitting anything that seems tense or in pain. I've done it before, but I'm not sure if it's actually doing anything. There's also the idea where if you're experiencing indigestion, you can wrap your thumb with thread, then poke the area just under your nail bed with a needle. Supposedly if the blood is a dark red, then you definitely have had some indigestion, but the release of the "bad" blood will get rid of the indigestion
3) Public walking
Ok, I've been here for a little over 9 months and have STILL never figured out which side of the sidewalk to walk on. For reals. It doesn't help that Korean people will NOT move from their path, making you the decision maker. I've done everything. Gone on the left, right, through the middle, and the awkward 2-person shuffle while you both try to go the same direction at the same time. In Seoul, they have signs designating which side to walk on (the right), but how often is it followed? Some of the time. Oh well.
4) Physical ideologies
The mentality around plastic surgery is very different than back home. Back in the states, if someone has plastic surgery, it's almost a scandal and very looked down upon. In Korea, plastic surgeons are the most prevalent. So many surgeries are done, and it's not a big deal at all. Surgeries done on eyes, noses, everything. Which, first of all, I don't understand why Koreans want to get surgery on their eyes to make them bigger. I've tried explaining this to some of my korean friends, that their eyes are gorgeous, they don't need to go on a diet, etc. But it's just a completely different perspective for them. They are so bombarded with western advertisements and concepts that they feel they need to have whiter skin, big eyes (or in some cases, a double eyelid) and high noses.
5) The school system
I've mentioned a few things before, about how kids study for most of the day, moving from school to academy to academy to academy until very late at night. You can see it the most in middle school and high school students. Completely ridiculous. On the other hand, it definitely makes me feel like I don't study enough and that I can learn so much more if I were more dedicated to learning (*ack* *cough* korean studying fail *cough*)
Well, there you have it. Kind of a lame post, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment. Tomorrow is Buddha's birthday, so we have the day off. Woohoo!!!
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