Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kermo]

I was just going through some memories in my journal about when I came to Korea and everything was so fresh and weird. Some things have become mundane, but others are worth rehashing. For starters, this was written when I was a teacher at a public elementary school:

English As She Is Spoke


Here's a little dialogue I found in the curriculum this morning:

Student 1: Where are you?
Student 2: I'm in the kitchen.
Student 1: I'm in the kitchen.
Student 2: What are you doing there?
Student 1: I'm making hamburgers.
Student 2: I'm making hamburgers.
Student 1: You are my friend.


It's little conversations like this that really motivate me to learn Korean, and find out whether they talk like this to each other in their native tongue.

[kermo]

And remember the days when it was surprising when Koreans made frank assessments of your figure? Man, I actually look forward to it these days.

I seem to have several post-it-notes, which are invisible to me, but legible to everybody at my school, attached to my forehead.

"Tell me how fat I was when I got here, compared to how thin I am now!"
I hear this every few days from teachers who barely know me. Today, one woman held up her arms to demonstrate a roughly beluga-sized Kermo when she arrived, and then held her hands a foot apart to illustrate my current svelteness. My vice-principal actually wanted the number of kilos I have lost (I have no clue). I have learned to intepret the looks of concern on their faces, and quickly explain that it's exercise, not starvation, that has brought about this change. I have learned that tact is not chief among Korean virtues, but frankness ranks rather highly.

"Tell me what you think of my complexion!"
There is a mirror in every classroom, in the staff-room, and in the entrance hallway of the school. If I've had too little sleep, I don't need to look into any of these mirrors, because I have a number of talking mirrors (called random-fellow-co-teachers) who are quick to inform me if there's a change in the colour of my cheeks. "You look tired!" they will exclaim. "Your face is pale.. and mild." I don't know what this means, or what I'm supposed to say, but I've learned to apply blush in the morning to hide whatever worrisome palour may appear on my face.

It's pretty convenient! If I suddenly become rotund and ruddy, I'll certainly hear about it! If my figure turns pear-shaped, and my cheeks take a greenish hue, there's no danger that I'll miss the transformation, because my co-workers are so very informative.

[RACETRAITOR]

[kermo]

[Milwaukiedave]

[TheBrain]

kermo-Keeping in character, I guess you've boinked a lot of pigs since you got to Korea? I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

[kermo]

[kermo]

[amberflannery]

i'm still new here- but in one of my books the other day the lesson was all about:

where is mike? he is between the police officers- and one of his friends was in the police car.

lol