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MorneauRules
Joined: 28 Jun 2009
Location: Your face
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 Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:10 pm Post subject: What about lunch? Do you eat with anyone? |
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I eat with my wife. If she's not eating, I don't eat with any of the Koreans. I take my lunch outside or go to a different room and eat by myself. I can't stand how they stare at me and talk at me. Am I THAT interesting that over a year later they are still making the same faces every single day? They are STILL amazed when I don't take rice. It's been 13 months. They cannot adapt to a new person or new things.
Lucky I have my wife here or I would be smashing so many people. |
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Clockout
Joined: 23 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Eating lunch with my co-workers was the most effective way to build rapport with the non-english speakers. It's the best part of my day. |
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Suwon4AGT
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| I eat lunch with the kids at the hagwon everyday. The food sucks big time, but I eat enough of it to fight off the pangs until dinnertime. Why do Koreans think fermented/pickled food and cold/mushy soup is delicious? This is the kind of crap my dead grandparents would have enjoyed. |
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MorneauRules
Joined: 28 Jun 2009
Location: Your face
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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brainfreeze
Joined: 04 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Suwon4AGT wrote: |
| Why do Koreans think fermented/pickled food and cold/mushy soup is delicious? |
As opposed to high calorie/kilojule, processed foods? |
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Suwon4AGT
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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| brainfreeze wrote: |
| Suwon4AGT wrote: |
| Why do Koreans think fermented/pickled food and cold/mushy soup is delicious? |
As opposed to high calorie/kilojule, processed foods? |
Whatever... 
Not all Korean food is bad, obviously. But the stuff they serve at my hagwon isn't fit for my dead grandparents. I would be glad to go across the street and snack out on some chips or fruit for lunch. But, some feelers would be hurt by my rude behavior, as it would be against the cryptic customs of this hagwon. Oh no, not that. |
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Rusty Shackleford
Joined: 08 May 2008
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Clockout wrote: |
| Eating lunch with my co-workers was the most effective way to build rapport with the non-english speakers. It's the best part of my day. |
This would be the most important piece of advice I would give to new teachers (not that I'm a vet or anything). Eat the dam food! Unless you are allergic, put up with it! |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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I plan where I sit and when I go around trying to avoid sitting across from or beside the biggest pigs at the table. My two MS CTs have reasonably civilised table manners so if I can go to the cafteria with and sit across from one of them it makes lunch much more tolerable. A couple of guys from the school admin office, a history teacher and the caretaker are worse than many animals when it comes to eating. It's taken me a great amount of willpower not to get up and move tables when I've had the misfortune of finding myself across the table from one of them.
I wonder if Koreans have any conception how appalling westerners would find many of their table maners. |
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brainfreeze
Joined: 04 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
I plan where I sit and when I go around trying to avoid sitting across from or beside the biggest pigs at the table. My two MS CTs have reasonably civilised table manners so if I can go to the cafteria with and sit across from one of them it makes lunch much more tolerable. A couple of guys from the school admin office, a history teacher and the caretaker are worse than many animals when it comes to eating. It's taken me a great amount of willpower not to get up and move tables when I've had the misfortune of finding myself across the table from one of them.
I wonder if Koreans have any conception how appalling westerners would find many of their table maners. |
Are you talking about the slurping sound when drinking soup? I don't think it's unique to Koreans, I've seen the same with many different East Asian ethnicities...but it's certainly a lively time when eating. |
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Straphanger
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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I eat alone. I was asked why. I said "I don't like eating with other people around."
And that's the truth. With the exception of certain dinners out and whatnot, I'd just as well eat alone.
Now if someone would just open up a lunch kitchen here...all we've got is kimbap cheonguk  |
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ekul
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Location: [Mod Edit]
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:16 pm Post subject: Re: What about lunch? Do you eat with anyone? |
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| MorneauRules wrote: |
| They cannot adapt to a new person or new things. |
Says the guy who doesn't do rice or sit with Koreans.
I usually try and eat with English speakers, the best ones to sit with are the ones who are not English teachers. For them conversation is fun and you can actually talk about an interesting subject. Today was dak galbi, salad and yoghurt, and the obligatory rice/soup/kimchi. Perhaps getting nice food cheers everyone up around the dinner table. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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| brainfreeze wrote: |
| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
I plan where I sit and when I go around trying to avoid sitting across from or beside the biggest pigs at the table. My two MS CTs have reasonably civilised table manners so if I can go to the cafteria with and sit across from one of them it makes lunch much more tolerable. A couple of guys from the school admin office, a history teacher and the caretaker are worse than many animals when it comes to eating. It's taken me a great amount of willpower not to get up and move tables when I've had the misfortune of finding myself across the table from one of them.
I wonder if Koreans have any conception how appalling westerners would find many of their table maners. |
Are you talking about the slurping sound when drinking soup? I don't think it's unique to Koreans, I've seen the same with many different East Asian ethnicities...but it's certainly a lively time when eating. |
Slurp! Smack Smack Smack! Slurp!
Any sound you can think of making while eating, they make. One of the admin guys even grunts while eats. I couldn't do a better pig ipersonation if I tried. |
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brainfreeze
Joined: 04 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| brainfreeze wrote: |
| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
I plan where I sit and when I go around trying to avoid sitting across from or beside the biggest pigs at the table. My two MS CTs have reasonably civilised table manners so if I can go to the cafteria with and sit across from one of them it makes lunch much more tolerable. A couple of guys from the school admin office, a history teacher and the caretaker are worse than many animals when it comes to eating. It's taken me a great amount of willpower not to get up and move tables when I've had the misfortune of finding myself across the table from one of them.
I wonder if Koreans have any conception how appalling westerners would find many of their table maners. |
Are you talking about the slurping sound when drinking soup? I don't think it's unique to Koreans, I've seen the same with many different East Asian ethnicities...but it's certainly a lively time when eating. |
Slurp! Smack Smack Smack! Slurp!
Any sound you can think of making while eating, they make. One of the admin guys even grunts while eats. I couldn't do a better pig ipersonation if I tried. |
I admit it's certainly rude to our ears, but then again those are our customs, we certainly can't expect other countries to share them?
And yeah it's not unique to Korea, it's wide spread in East Asia. |
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Clockout
Joined: 23 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Don't mind the eating sounds at all. I find it pretty natural to slurp boiling hot soup and slippery noodles. I wouldn't do it just because of western custom but it doesn't bother me to listen to. |
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MorneauRules
Joined: 28 Jun 2009
Location: Your face
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| Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:39 pm Post subject: Re: What about lunch? Do you eat with anyone? |
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| ekul wrote: |
| MorneauRules wrote: |
| They cannot adapt to a new person or new things. |
Says the guy who doesn't do rice or sit with Koreans.
I usually try and eat with English speakers, the best ones to sit with are the ones who are not English teachers. For them conversation is fun and you can actually talk about an interesting subject. Today was dak galbi, salad and yoghurt, and the obligatory rice/soup/kimchi. Perhaps getting nice food cheers everyone up around the dinner table. |
Well I still eat rice, but not every morning, noon, and night. They find it unbelievable and three times a day they ask me the same thing. Also, they like to tell me how everything is prepared and cooked (or not cooked) over and over. They stare at me with these terrible faces and fake smiles and say, "Delicious?" like every 10 seconds. I just want to eat in peace and not have 10 different people tell me how to eat my food, or criticize me.
I actually love kimchi and have been very open to their culture. It's just that I have found there is none... |
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