Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sannag]

edit:

i posted a melodramatic poem of how i feel about korea and of course the next day i feel like an idiot. thanks for the supportive comments though. after having a much better day...i don't feel the same way at all. it's just culture shock-one day i like korea, one day i want to throttle every korean i see, esp. the old people who meander slowly and diagonally in front of me whenever i am in a hurry. when i'm not deeply depressed by korea...i find many things to laugh about it.

[Globutron]

No, I feel great almost constantly.

And if not great, then very good.

However the other two foreign teachers working and living in the same environment here is hating it. I can see why, but I suppose I'm just more tolerant of the 'change' from the comfort zone of home. Which I stopped having years ago, technically.
Think positive, yo

[mises]

[oldtactics]

This country isn't soulless and it's certainly not lacking in beauty or fresh air - you need to get out of the city.

Sign up for a group or workshop and meet some new people. You've hit the beginning of what will likely be about 2 months of culture shock, so mix it up as much as possible until you get through it.

[perkxplosion]

Look I don't know you or your background, and I'm not going to critisize you. But, I've had a pretty rough time in Korea for my first year. I've been through two schools, fired at the first for reasons unclear and the second is going bankrupt so I'm going back due to a "family emergency." Honestly I felt similarly to you my first 6 months and it depends a lot on your job and the people you work with and how many other foreigners you make friends with. I'm artistic, but damn man you've never seen a dead cat or dog before? Sorry to say, but who cares. Plenty of places on earth have dead bodies that people walk by without thinking twice. In my opinion Korea yes is a culture shock, but it's also a great opportunity. Attitude is everything.

[madoka]

[DorkothyParker]

Aww, the kitty breaks my heart.

[Tundra_Creature]

[murmanjake]

Interesting how experiences can be so similar.

Upon arrival here(sept. 0 I was tormented by the mosquitoes, and wrote a number of poems on that very subject.

And then there was this one, which I've sanitized for sake of the dave's filter. Can't they make an exclusion for "art?"


Coming back from work
in the middle of the road
i saw a hairy lump
from afar
up close
only 200 feet from my building
i saw it as a mangled cat corpse:
eyeballs as figuratively popping
as the poet suggests.
And I surged with anger.
The drivers here;
no stopsigns, impatient speeding
uturn, red means green,
mini-tv up front insane
inconsiderate motherfrackers
ran over this cat
I'll fracking dent your doors in
and bash your teeth.

and i tried to stop.
What good comes of this anger, I thought.
And it didn't pass.
I could not right the wrong.
I could only consider its insignificance.
And convince it to fade away
like the furtive
dirty
staring example
of what I cannot change
it died to be.



I've stabilized a bit since then, but the driving still gets to me on a daily basis....

Hope it helps to know that others feel what you feel. And that things can and will improve...

[dumpring]

Get a girlfriend, will make life seem a whole lot brighter!

[Globutron]

[Globutron]

My point being, it can be brighter, but it can also be a whole lot duller with a girlfriend. When she kicks up and moans about whatever, or cries because you didn't text back within 14 seconds AGAIN.

What you need, in order to be brighter is... perspective. Look where you are, what you're doing/achieving. I've learnt more about life in the last 6 months than I have in the last 5 years (3 of which at uni which is basically isolation from life in my case).

Bad times and good times are simply both times, ones that will turn into memories, and very unlikely to be painful ones. I generally see the bad times as good - character building.

[eperdue4ad]

You absolutely can't assume that your neighbors don't find the kitty tragic...they probably just think it is germy and don't want to touch it. But I'm sure it bothers some of them.

It's images like that, though, which can really be a symbol of a dark part of life, if you are falling into culture shock or depression. Bring up your feelings about this and talk with someone you trust-- you'll find many people had similar experiences at one point or another.

[discostu333]

This thread is full of emo fail......

[Globutron]

Yeah, failed in that I bring a massive ray of sunshine that makes everyone almost as happy as I always am. Which is a singularity in itself.