Job Discussion Forums

[Shaman]

Japan

What I Miss:
Yoshinoya (mmm... gyudon...)
Bento
Lots of cash coming in

What I Don't Miss:
The singing and dancing monkey act

France

What I Miss:
Ticket Restaurant
Good wine for as little as 3 euro a bottle

What I Don't Miss:
Playing turd-hopscotch on the sidewalks of Paris

I'm giving serious consideration to returning to the latter (regardless of the biological obstacle course).

Shaman

[Marcoregano]

Korea.

We miss Mokpo, Changsong and Haenam.
Weekend ferry trips around the little islands near Mokpo.
The food...we loved it. Still eat Korean here in HK but it isn't as good.
Flying up to Seoul for wild weekends, staying at the Hyatt, partying in Itaewon. It seemed so extravagant. I was never so rich, money-wise, before or since.
The expat bars in Mokpo and Kwangju, especially before the '97 crash. (The expat community never quite recovered from that).
The best spring, autumn and winter seasons I've come across (not the sweaty summers though).
Stormy the cat.
Most difficult to describe, and seemingly non-sensical, I miss the lack of choice....of there being only a very limited number of things to do.

[Lanza-Armonia]

What do I miss? Well, I haven't left China yet, but here is a list over the things I will (and will not miss).

I WILL MISS...

Most Chinese food.
The prices
Salary
Celebrity Status
My Fave DVD store
The Computer District
Hong Kong
BAo Tu Quan Beer

I WON'T MISS

The standards of living
Poverty
gei3 wo3 qian2 a4 (Give me money give me money)
Laowei!
Giggling every time one hears 'HULLOW', but I will miss the expressions on their faces when I turn around and say in perfect Chinese, I don't speak English, I'm Spanish, you Chinese people think there are only two languages in the world (Chinese and English) and tell them to ask a foreigner where they are from before trying to annoy them (and yes they do know it!!!) It's something inbetween these,

HEHEHEHE

LA

[Wolf]

Didn't I post to a thread like this? Oh, well.

Canada:

I miss

coffee
my friends
my family
clothes that fit and are easy to buy/find

I don't miss

the insular attitude
the unemployment rate
the tax rate

Japan

I miss

the food
my friends
my former students
cultural activities (they are there if you dig around a bit)
the public transportation system
anime/manga/video games (yeah, I'm one of those. )

I don't miss

The lack of interest in learning English (sure there's an interest in English, but not in putting in the effort required to learn it.)
My first job.
Being forced to socialize at gunpoint.
Costs of living.
The usual set of assumptions about gaijin that have been well documented here already.

China

I will miss

My job
My apartment
My students
My computer (faithful friend)
Oh, and my friends here too.

I won't miss

Everything I've been whinging about for the past year, including spitting, staring, hello, distance from civilization, low salary, and not feeling comfortable at any time outside of class.

Wow. Three lines. Not bad. At this rate, I'll actulally be a man of few words one day.

[Capergirl]

[khmerhit]

Wolf does not miss

[Tumteetum]

KOREA

Miss:
Food - I love the whole food culture of sharing and eating from the same dish. I especially miss haejangkuk, BBQs and kimchi (am I the only one here who misses kimchi!?)
Bars - taking chicken into bars, serving your own drinks, american pool
The ex pat community and mates I had there
Getting special treatment (being queue jumped etc) because youre a foreigner
Soju tents including that fried crap you get there
Dong Dong Ju
Koreans' silly excitedness and the whole energy of the place
Neon
PC Bangs


Dont miss:
Staring
Koreans' silly excitedness
Trying to make arrangements with Koreans
Ajusis (Ajumas are cool though)
Teaching kids
Being a year older in Korea than anywhere else in the world


POLAND

(ok Ive not quite left yet but anyway)

Miss
Girls!
Summers
Kebabs
Friends (people in general once you get to know them - very straighforward, welcoming and kind)
Barpa Pubpa - the best bar in Zabrze/Poland/Eastern Europe


Dont miss
Winters
Dour faced strangers
Lack of bars that do decent grub
Service - from bars and resturaunts to shops - its just the worst.
DIY nut neighbours
General lack of choice/things to do

[guangho]

Korea

Miss:

BBQ
PC Bangs
DVD Bangs
hiking opportunities
saunas
massages (keep yer minds clean )

NOT Miss:
Psychotic Korean students
Astonishingly corrupt nationalistic bosses
Forced kimchi consumption
Being the token paleface (I sort of miss hookers running after me on the hill )
General inability of Koreans to interact with non-Koreans

China

Miss

Some of the food was delish-that purple-skinned fruit whose name I can never remember
Crazy off-the-wall moments you would never see or experience in the West
People GENERALLY less opportunistic than Koreans
Easier language than Korean- I could actually see myself learning it one day-never felt that way about Korean

Don't Miss

Shocking poverty
Mothers sending their kids after you to beg for change
Pollution like you would not believe, including total lack of hygiene

[memorabilis]

India

I will DEFINITELY not miss:

- the indescribable Bangalorean pollution
- crappy coffee (although it doesn't sound as bad as the Japan/Taiwan situation. At least there was South Indian coffee - sweet enough to rot every tooth out of your head!)
- disgusting betel nut spitting and horking
- landlords that are intimately involved in every aspect of your life (although there is a certain nostalgia for them)
- mutilated child beggars
- having a leprous hand shoved in your face
- working all night long

But I'm longing for big time:

- yummy, yummy Indian food
- all my wonderful friends
- the crazy drama of everyday existence there
- breathtaking views and gorgeous artchtecture
- living somewhere where everyone speaks English
- the colours of the market and the smells of jasmine
- the festivals
- making a wage so good you lived like a king
- the Leela Palace
- masala chai

[travelingirl68]

Memorabilis - we miss you too!! Could you send me some information on Sausseur?! (sp)

Kazakstan:

Miss:

Wide Open Spaces
The smell of burning plastic on Banya night
Yummy Uighur Food
Good friends and sense of community
Riding horses on the steppe
Uzbek/Turkish/Uighur/Kazak and Russian Disco music
Dancing in clubs, houses, backyards, front yards, apartment buildings, school gymnasiums, etc. with people of all ages - 8 months to 95 years!
The hospitality of everyone once you get into their homes and hearts...
The generous, excited, interesting students

Don't Miss:
The 'clan' mentality
The power-distance relationships within the university, actually everywhere...
The forced hospitality - "Do you respect me?? Do you want friendship between our countries?? Then DRINK TO THE BOTTOM!!"
Having to sing a song, make a speech, say a toast at every every every event or gathering - in English, OK, in Russian, better, in Kazak - WOW!
Handwashing all clothes, sheets, etc. in buckets for two longgg years.


India List, yet to come!

[basiltherat]

[travelingirl68]

That is a tough one Basil... Especially for a man. You can claim health reasons - but be prepared to hear that vodka cures all ails. You can say your religion forbids it - but as many Muslims drink there, that may not smooth the waters too much either. And please remember, if you drink with one group, it will be known, and expected from all groups. The best I can offer is be polite but firm, and really play up the toasts and songs with a glass of juice in hand!

[fadedgirl]

France
Miss
weird French movies
cafes
coffee
cheap wine and champagne
my students badgering me to hook them up with the Chilean teacher

Don't Miss
the broken bed that I had even though I was PROMISED and new mattress several times
dog shit on the sidewalks
feeling isolated (small town with no university)
my students badgering me to hook them up with the Chilean teacher
"you're from Houston, Texas? Bush is from Houston, Texas. Do you like Bush? You must believe the same things he does."

Egypt
Miss
La Rose Pizzeria
Bua Khao --Thai Food
lying by the pool
my kids giving me unexpected hugs and kisses (even IF it is to stall me from teaching the letter t..or u...or v for that matter)
expats
Cairotel Pool

Don't Miss
NOT having a work visa (there are two rates, resident's rates and foreigner rates...guess which one I get)
administrative hypocrisy
Egyptian men feeling entitled to do whatever they want
the lack of common courtesy with SEVERAL of the teachers that I work with
the Egyptian men STARING when I'm covered up (not veiled) but wearing a winter coat, scarf, etc and they STILL try to look at my boobs

[anninhk]

Papua New Guinea

What I miss

the unpredictability
the students and the people in general
meeting fascinating people from many different backgrounds and countries
markets
the sea
the scenery
walking in the bush
not having to worry about what you wear
not having to iron

Don't miss

betelnut and red teeth plus all the spitting
travelling on the roads and small planes - both hairy
blackouts due to people cutting down power poles
being woken by pigs in the garden grunting under the window destroying the plants
waiting for 2 hours for a boat that might come or a bank that might open

Ghana

What I miss

the people
the food
the 'concerts'
the funerals

Don't miss

malaria
unhygienic conditions in general
observing students trying to teach 60 P1 children in a classroom with only benches and slates - no books or materials of any kind!
being mobbed by young kids
travelling on dreadful roads on crowded buses together with an assortment of animals
no electricity or running water
cooking on a coal pot
ironing with a charcoal iron

It is over 12 years since I was in Ghana though and I think most places now have electricity so I'm hoping to find different conditions when I go back and I won't have to use a charcoal iron ever again!

[expatben]

SPAIN
Don't miss:
teaching 5 year olds
the heat
my landlady
the bordem of a small Spanish town

miss:
the awesome staff
the music
the tapas-man, I had some GREAT tapas over there
the beer
The Rey Louis bar in Vitoria-all the pubs were nice but this one gave me free tapas once or twice.
A really cool gilato stand
this really hot woman who worked there:D
*sigh* I guess I miss more things than I thought.
China
miss
my apartment
internet cafes being really cheap

don't miss
the schools
the propaganda
public urination being OK
the smoking
the beer