Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rock]

Strange, weird, anti-social, these are just a few words that come to mind about your character and others upon being out of your social clime. I'm looking for serious comments about your view and experiences on how being out of your social comfort zones have made you change, and if you've found it necessary to act different overseas compared to back home.

I mean, I'm finding you have to associate with just about anyone that's from a Western speaking country just for the fact that not to do so makes you too much of an isolated individual and probably, unhappy. Yet I'm not into the nightlife anymore, hate all the addictions that come with it, and feel, at times, that you must go it alone.

But after talking to a fellow countryman tonight I felt that you need some kind of social interaction in whatever shape or form it comes. Except sometimes I feel as if I'm acting out of character in doing so, associating with people I'd rather not know back in the West.

Just wonder what your take is on this.

I know that after being back home for a couple of years my problems in this area pretty much ceased. I could be my old self. Here, however, I can't. My old self just seems too different and strange to the expat community and the general social strata of Asians in general.

[sojourner1]

I would definitely say that how I act differently overseas is that I drink beer overseas, but don't at home. This is consistent fact as I have been on more sojourns than this teaching English in Korea gig. Even in Germany where there is great hash, beer drinking is norm, but not at home. In other countries outside of Korea, I had a rich social life, but not in Korea as there seems to be few others locally where I am. Korea is a place where you sit in your cubicle on your time off, but it may be different for those of you in Seoul.

In other counties, I was in close proximity of other foreigners and associated with them a great deal in beer drinking and chatting, but not on weekend trips such as going ot the big city on Saturday morning to experience culture, music, and food of a country. No one ever seemed interested to do that sort of thing; just beer drinking, screwing hot women, and sleeping in late on weekends. Here I drink alone, do computer, and sleep in late any day that is not a work day. That's it. Pretty boring. I do go on walks by myself such as on local mountain trails and fill my water jugs up at a mountain spring. This is my favorite activity outside of chilling in my apartment.

Korea is a very different sojourn for me in that I am not in close proximity of other foreigners which makes it a very lonesome and depressing experience abroad, but forces me to face the challenge of living in a local community all by myself. I think it would be better to immerse yourself in a poor country such as Cambodia or Bosnia when going this route as to get a rich cultural exchange experience were locals warmly welcome you and invite you to experience their way of life with them. Wouldn't you love to be warmly invited to your neighbors houses for dinner and then invite your neighbors to your place? It could be a lot of fun if it were so. I chose Korea since it pays good money to do this English teaching and money is what I so needed while I am at it.

As for being out of my social life at home, I sure miss people and wish I had a rewarding career there that offers 1 month of vacation a year to travel to the other side of the world. There is nothing like warm and friendly people to have in your life, but it sure takes an independent self led person to be in a rich country alone with few other expats locally present. Rich countries tend to be unfriendly and you stay to yourself indoors or allowed to mind your own business while out and about, while poor countries are warm and welcoming where you come out and be a part of the local action, but don't have so much anonymity that rich countries afford.

[PigeonFart]

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[Lao Wai]

Hey,

I was 21 when I first went to Korea. I had just graduated and wanted to do something different. Anyway, the friends I had back in Canada were nice people...fun to get drunk with and we all went to the same university (I also went to high school with them).

In Korea I hung out with Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, etc. Most of them were nothing like my friends back in Canada. I'm so thankful for this because it was then that I realized how little I had in common with my friends back home. My friends in Korea liked to read the same types of books as me. They liked to discuss philosophy, watch foreign language films and a whole host of other things my friends back home never did (so I didn't either even though I wanted to).

I'll always be friends with my group in Canada (the uni people). Still, I'm lucky in that a core group of my closest friends from Korea now live a few hours drive from me in Canada. When I get together with them we have the best time. Sure, we rehash the Korea days but we also have a lot of other stuff in common too.

I think my uni friends would think a lot of my other friends I've met in my travels are 'weird'. That's okay because I'm weird too.

[The_Conservative]

[Julius]