Job Discussion Forums

[yangyoseop]

Not understanding ambiguous language on an Internet discussion board has nothing to do with understanding a society, but okay, stay pressed. I'm just saying, from my experience teaching in Korea, many coworkers and peers had been living there for years and years and had a great deal of experience in the country, and were convinced they were experts on the society and culture, when in fact that were so off it wasn't even funny.

[seklarwia]

[yangyoseop]

Uhh, isn't that implied (actually more than implied) in what I just said? That there are people who've lived there for years and years yet have no true understanding of the culture or society, and logically, that would mean that there are those who've lived there for a short period of time with a deep understanding.

Also, no "foreign" is quite ambiguous. I've been called "foreign" while in my home country by people from Japan. It's all about perspective.

[Apsara]

Yes, Japanese people do that, because they are translating "gaikokujin", which actually means "not Japanese", but they shouldn't, since it's incorrect.

If you were to call Japanese people foreigners in Japan though, you would be the only one doing it- I'm pretty sure everyone else on this forum knew that Glenski meant non-Japanese. For people like me from a tiny country, that would make 95% of my friends "foreign", because there isn't a huge number of New Zealanders running around here compared to other nationalities anyway, so it would be meaningless. It doesn't make sense to refer to Japanese people as foreigners here, just like Japanese people shouldn't use the English word "foreigners" to refer to nationals of the countries they are visiting.

And I don't think you are in any position to judge who knows Japanese culture to what extent- it's such a subjective thing anyway.

[projectrook]

It is quite easy to make friends if you put yourself out there.

It all depends on what kind of friends you want to make. If you are just looking for other Westerners, then obviously hang out with staff and other Westerners. But if you are looking to make Japanese friends, then I suggest passing on going out for an "after-work" beer with the staff and instead go to other locations and events. Try and become friends with people around your apartment complex or living conditions. It only really takes meeting a few to get the ball rolling. Those few will introduce you to their friends and so on.

As for the person who is talking about how things are done in Korea, are you aware that you are talking about a different country? Not all Asian people are the same nor are Asian countries. Have you ever lived in Japan? If you haven't, then your opinion really doesn't have any weight in this conversation, now does it?

[Bread]

Having lived in both Korea and Japan, the foreigners in Japan are, on average, WAY more immersed in the culture than the ones in Korea. It's like night and day.

edit: With the exception of JETs. The JETs I've seen reminded me of Korean hagwon teachers.

[yangyoseop]

[ShioriEigoKyoushi]

--

[yangyoseop]