Korean Job Discussion Forums

[poeticjustice]

I've been at the same PS for more than a year. Before that I was at a hagwon.

I'm new to Dave's having just heard of it a few months ago for the first time, and to be honest, I wish some of the crazy nonsense you guys talked about happened in my life because lately my life has been quite boring.

Since I've been in Korea everything has gone pretty smoothly. I've had no major problems and the majority of Koreans I've interacted with are good people who have grown on me over time. I have a lot of Western friends here too. No one complains, really.

The problem is that I'm getting a bit stir-crazy at my PS. Last semester, the "cocktail" of teachers in my office seemed to be so much better. Everyone was talkative and supportive, and we all used to do things as a group each week (restaurants, ski trips, road trips etc.) This year, no one in my office talks to anyone else and I feel so lethargic and tuned out to everyone.

This began when the new semester started and we started getting replacement teachers. They were like "do you like Kimchi? It's too spicy... Wow, your chopsticks are good. In Korean, we say 'Annyeonghaseyo', it means... hello!" Completely oblivious that I've been here for two years (I did tell them this, they still insisted on regurgitating all these queries). I got a little annoyed by it and kind of shut down to some teachers. Not intentionally.

The school days just seem so boring now. I've a year of lesson plans behind me, which I can revise and teach again to the new students. So I have nothing to do. On average, I spend 3-4 hours a day just browsing the internet at work and doing dick all. Maybe I should relish in this, but I find I'm the kind of person that needs a challenge or companionship in order to thrive... and quite frankly, I have neither. My office is sterile and boring this year as is the greater school. The students aren't even as interesting as last year's students. I also went from having 3/4 great co-teachers down to having 3/6 great co-teachers.

I feel like I work inside a vacuum cleaner.

Can anybody sympathize?

[Straphanger]

Can you tutor your own students in your spare time? It's more interesting if you can choose who you want to teach.

[Pwillig]

I'm going FRIGGING INSANE just sitting here. I'm about to steal away to the other classroom and play WoW or something.

[roadwork]

If you want some extra cash, try getting your school to set up an extra class in the afternoon. They can be fun and entertaining.

[Underwaterbob]

I've got a lot of free time at my PSes; however, I'm not chained to my desk. I spend quite a bit of time wandering outside and in the hallways when I'm bored. Sometimes I play some dodgeball, soccer or whatever the PE class happens to to be doing now.

[ekul]

I can see this happening to me slowly, especially if I stay here another year. I'm learning to read Korean right now, just the alphabet so I can read menus, kills a bit of time. So far I know all the consonants but still struggle with the vowels, they look far too similar. I salute you linguistic geniuses that learnt to read in an afternoon!

Other than that I like to write, that also kills a lot of time. If we were more involved in the school as a whole I'm sure we wouldn't have quite so much spare time. However I do not resent my spare time, I just need to organise it better.

[hugekebab]

[Otherside]

OP, your situation seems very similar to mine.

Twice a week, I only have 2 classes, (at 40mins each) which means I'm literally free for 6.5 hours of the school day. The other days are busier, but there is still some free time.

The trick is, find something you are interested in and can do while at your desk. At the end of last year, I started getting into share trading, and this year I've put my large amount of free time to use, by analyzing shares, following the live asian markets and then predicting trends and putting that to use in the European time zone markets. I might not be very good, but I've learned alot, it kills the time and is quite fun...oh and I've made some great cash

[BS.Dos.]

Study. If you've got the money and desire, then check-out the OU (History of the OU). They offer hundreds of different courses and study programmes etc. Both the materials and support are excellent and you'll have more than enough to keep you busy. Could be expensive for non Brits though, but it's something for you to consider.

[bogey666]

get a computer game and play it on your laptop

that's what I do - religiously.

I'm also not chained to my desk, I can go anywhere, even to the seperate "lab" in the English room and catch a nap

I can use the small school gym if I want..

go out and get a candy bar or Coke, etc.

no complaints on MY end.

what I SHOULD be doing is using that time for something constructive like learning Korean (or another language.. in fact time to relearn my French and Russian I think)

the only thing that REALLY sucks is that the main teacher's office where I am at is kept ridiculously hot... and I feel the energy being sucked out of me by the minute. and feel extraordinarily lethargic come afternoon.

I could go to the English room, where it's better, but the computer in there sucks.

[Papa Smurf]

hmmm, sounds like the opposite of my hagwon job. i have great coworkers but the boss works you like a bastard. seems difficult to find a happy medium.

[jahson4]

I have a considerable amount of down time and have only been here for a little over a month now. I'd suggest buying some books, maybe a computer game, etc. I'm attempting to teach myself Korean - I can say very little at the moment, but it's slowly coming along. I also spend a decent amount of time working on French, which is a hell of a lot easier, mainly because I took classes in college. Just pick something you enjoy, or start a new hobby

Oh, and a good site for English books: http://www.whatthebook.com/

[Forward Observer]

Science tells us that if we nap at least 30 minutes in the afternoons, we can increase our life span!