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joshuahirtle27
Joined: 23 Mar 2008
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 Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:37 am Post subject: Re: Things a foreigner would never say |
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| tomato wrote: |
I haven't been in Korea very long and I don't know very much about it,
so I think I'll reserve judgment about Korean culture until I learn more about it.
Said it!
It's nice to hang out with other foreigners sometimes,
but I would like to meet more Koreans so I can learn about their culture and their language.
Said it!
I like to be independent so I won't have to rely too much on Koreans who know English.
Say it every day!
My Korean isn't so hot either, so I won't make fun of how my students speak English.
I don't make fun of them unless they say something funny. Then it's cute. I make fun of my Co-teacher who has a degree in English and can't speak the language.
I would like to learn more about ESL so I could serve my students better.
Said it. Threatened to get my TESOL... going to get my B.Ed instead.
There may be some things I don't like about Korean culture, but I realize our own culture isn't perfect.
Said it (only I say MY because I don't use the royal we.)
It's not fair to make blanket statements about Koreans. Koreans are individuals, just like we are.
Individual just like the borg.
I admit I don't know everything either, so I won't flame anybody on Dave's ESL Cafe. |
Now here's my list:
"(Student's name)'s parents are right. It's all my fault their child is failing when the rest of the class is succeeding."
"Yes (co-teachers' name ) that is exactly what I meant when I said ______"
"Wow, the years of teaching English to Korea seems to have really paid off."
"She knows what her shirt means."
"Can I please have more of that horrid smelling gruel?"
"Dong chim is completely normal, every society teaches their kids to do it."
"*Canadian* OH PLEASE GOD YES! I WANT TO PAY FOR HEALTH CARE"
"All of my students can speak perfect English."
"I had no idea I was a foreigner. Thanks little random Korean kid for reminding me that I'm thousands of KM's away from my family." |
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ESL Milk "Everyday
Joined: 12 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:00 am Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| I never taught a day in my life and have never run a business, so I have no opinion about how to run an English hakwon and I am not an expert on education. |
This is a pretty funny thread so I hate to be the first one to get all negative, but a lot of the time hakwon/ bosses and managers have degrees and experience which are completely unrelated to management/team building/leadership as well, and so they end up making glaringly obvious and even insulting mistakes when dealing with us underlings. There's absolutely nothing wrong with making your job more of a two-way street-- good leaders can accept and learn from criticism.
Often, this is completely the opposite to most hagwon owners in Korea, who just get upset that you would even have the gall to challenge some incredibly stupid thing they did, like not paying you, or coming down on you for trying to teach instead of just bribing the kids so they don't complain, or for not acting like a monkey or something. |
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ESL Milk "Everyday
Joined: 12 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:10 am Post subject: Re: Things a foreigner would never say |
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| tomato wrote: |
| It's not fair to make blanket statements about Koreans. Koreans are individuals, just like we are. |
Maybe they're individuals, but they're not individuals in the same way we are. It seems to me that they're far more likely to react on you based on your reputation and your social circle, whereas Western people are more likely to focus on someone's personal qualities and form their own opinions based on how well they 'click'. |
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OnTheOtherSide
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:35 am Post subject: |
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"I love Korea. What a great country. I want to retire here."
"I can just hang out alone. I don't have to constantly be part of a big group of Westerners."
"I like to relax on the weekends."
"I don't drink too much."
"I'm not really into the bars."
"Korean clothes are so cool."
"I'm not here for the money, I have other reasons."
"I don't have any mental disorders at all. I'm perfectly normal." |
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rooster_2006
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:45 am Post subject: |
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"I'm so glad this random subway ajeosshi with red pepper powder stuck in his teeth started talking to me. I was getting SO lonely."
"I'm glad this ajeosshi is trying to communicate with me by barking and swinging his arms rather than using words. I hardly speak any Korean at all after only 1,200 hours at Yonsei University, and if he used normal verbal communication, I don't know what I'd do!"
"Korean women are SO easy. All you have to do is invite one of them to go to a DVD bang and then you get laid. If you're white, you're like a rockstar. The only reason white men (who can easily get laid with a new beautiful woman every night) are leaving in droves is that they hate having too much great, tantric sex."
"I recommend that Southeast Asian women who like the Korean Wave come here. If they do, their lives will be just like the dramas -- married to some rich, 29-year-old CEO sex symbol, not some leather-skinned ajeosshi on a farm in Gyeonggi-do."
"Similarly, I recommend that 40-year-old Japanese drama-watching women come here. Surely they will all end up married to Hyun bin."
"I love having other men touch the inner part of my leg. I'm glad that after spending 10 or 20 years pouring over books about my language and culture, they know that my culture loves platonic same-sex touching."
"That Korean-American girl has a right to get angry when I express displeasure at being refused entry to an establishment for being white, or being attacked by two ROK soldiers. After all, I'm not Korean, I have no right to complain about anything ever, and I should just leave."
"Dynamic Korea"
Last edited by rooster_2006 on Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:30 am; edited 1 time in total |
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joshuahirtle27
Joined: 23 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:56 am Post subject: |
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"The commercials on Korean TV are SOOOO much better than back home."
"Koreans are better drivers than Quebecois."
"Man I wish someone would stare at me when I walk down the street."
"That Korean chicks boobs are WAY too big."
"Where I come from there are skyscrapers in the 'country' too." |
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Shinnam
Joined: 16 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:08 am Post subject: Going home to... |
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.... live under the watchful eye of the US government.
.... become a telemarketer.
... work in the U.S. public school system, making the same pay but:
1. pay more taxes.
2. have to deal with administrators, parents, school boards, and main streamed students with ADD.
3. see metal detectors , drug dogs, and homeless/abused children.
4. even less social status.
I remind myself of these things every time I consider getting on the "what's wrong with Korea tirade. |
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endo
Joined: 14 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul...my home
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:38 am Post subject: |
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| joshuahirtle27 wrote: |
"The commercials on Korean TV are SOOOO much better than back home."
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Dude, they are! |
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DRAMA OVERKILL
Joined: 12 Apr 2005
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:40 am Post subject: |
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"Keep the change."
"I just couldn't find a thing at the foreign goods market today."
"Don't sweat it, guys. Dinner's on me!"
"Nah, I'm not gonna bother trying to sell that used drying rack for 5,000 won (  ). I'll just leave it behind for the next teacher who replaces me."
"Be right back fellas! Just gonna run down the street and return those 17 comic books I rented."
"My Mom's kimchi is better than your Mom's kimchi!!!"
"I have to get married this year. Afterall, I'm almost 30!" |
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Eedoryeong
Joined: 10 Dec 2007
Location: Jeju
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:53 am Post subject: |
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On Dave's:
Hmm, I'm going to write off that Korean as just an obnoxious individual and not a reference for anything.
In Hongdae:
God I'm such a dork! Why did I go and say/do that?
In the workplace:
You know, I bet I could turn this situation around with a little levity.
I wonder what'd happen if I use my indoor voice?
Outside Seoul:
Ooh! Another foreigner! There are so few of us here, I better go say 'hi'.
On the plane:
Thanks, Korea! |
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aka Dave
Joined: 02 May 2008
Location: Down by the river
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:40 am Post subject: |
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My employers keep communication channels open at all times and inform me, regularly, of what's going on.
Traffic safety in Korea is world class and second to none. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:41 am Post subject: |
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| ESL Milk "Everyday wrote: |
| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| I never taught a day in my life and have never run a business, so I have no opinion about how to run an English hakwon and I am not an expert on education. |
This is a pretty funny thread so I hate to be the first one to get all negative, but a lot of the time hakwon/ bosses and managers have degrees and experience which are completely unrelated to management/team building/leadership as well, and so they end up making glaringly obvious and even insulting mistakes when dealing with us underlings. There's absolutely nothing wrong with making your job more of a two-way street-- good leaders can accept and learn from criticism.
Often, this is completely the opposite to most hagwon owners in Korea, who just get upset that you would even have the gall to challenge some incredibly stupid thing they did, like not paying you, or coming down on you for trying to teach instead of just bribing the kids so they don't complain, or for not acting like a monkey or something. |
You pretty much missed the point of this thread, didn't you? It is not about how sometimes hakwon owners screw their employees...it's about how every 2nd hakwon teacher is an expert on teaching English even though 3 weeks ago they were an unemployed recent graduate in The Aesthetics of Modern Canadian Pop Music or whatever. |
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Dev
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:57 am Post subject: |
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| "This HITE beer is DELICIOUS! Too bad we don't have this at home." |
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Oreovictim
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:17 am Post subject: |
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Could someone tell that guy working in the meat department to speak a little louder? I can barely hear him.
I think I'll go to the nearest coffee shop for some peace and quiet.
It sure is sunny outside. Now where did I put my umbrella?
Korea is on the cutting edge of fashion. |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Oh fiddlesticks, I'm early. I'll pass the time by taking 200 pictures of myself with my phone. Don't forget to look coy! |
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