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toonchoon
Joined: 06 Feb 2009
Location: Gangnam
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 Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:14 am Post subject: I remember... my first months.. |
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Fellow teachers advised me Korean toothpaste contained sugar. They told me never to trust Koreans, and gave me plenty of examples to support their viewpoint. People talked about how the food was dirty, especially the kimchi. Told me to stay away from the girls, as they wanted to get pregnant for the sole reason to marry a foreigner and get out of this country. Paranoid fricking people, they were!
I remember listening to all that was said to me. Yes, I was alone in this huge city of 12 million, trying to impress, trying not to disappoint, and most of all, trying to make new friends. I listened.
Listened... but that's about it. I sure am glad I took all that advice with a grain of salt. It was ALL BS. Sugar in toothpaste? Uh-oh. Kimchi is tasty! Koreans are NICE! And the girls, well, they sure weren't lining up in front of my officetel door (though I was ready with boxes and boxes of condoms, hopeful). After all, I had an awesome first year in Korea, and continue to into my 3rd year, while most of "them" complained the whole year, and ended up heading back to the USA/Canada bitter.
My point is... you'll meet people like this. Feel free to listen, but not too much. Your ears will start to hurt after a while. Instead, get out and experience it all for yourself. |
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Nester Noodlemon
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:33 am Post subject: Re: I remember... my first months.. |
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| toonchoon wrote: |
Fellow teachers advised me Korean toothpaste contained sugar. They told me never to trust Koreans, and gave me plenty of examples to support their viewpoint. People talked about how the food was dirty, especially the kimchi. Told me to stay away from the girls, as they wanted to get pregnant for the sole reason to marry a foreigner and get out of this country. Paranoid fricking people, they were!
I remember listening to all that was said to me. Yes, I was alone in this huge city of 12 million, trying to impress, trying not to disappoint, and most of all, trying to make new friends. I listened.
Listened... but that's about it. I sure am glad I took all that advice with a grain of salt. It was ALL BS. Sugar in toothpaste? Uh-oh. Kimchi is tasty! Koreans are NICE! And the girls, well, they sure weren't lining up in front of my officetel door (though I was ready with boxes and boxes of condoms, hopeful). After all, I had an awesome first year in Korea, and continue to into my 3rd year, while most of "them" complained the whole year, and ended up heading back to the USA/Canada bitter.
My point is... you'll meet people like this. Feel free to listen, but not too much. Your ears will start to hurt after a while. Instead, get out and experience it all for yourself. |
Don't you have anything better to do than come on here complaining about foreigners? Most of the foreigners I know are happy and have been in Korea for a long time. |
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Man on Street
Joined: 28 Aug 2010
Location: In the Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:52 pm Post subject: Re: I remember... my first months.. |
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| toonchoon wrote: |
Fellow teachers advised me Korean toothpaste contained sugar. They told me never to trust Koreans, and gave me plenty of examples to support their viewpoint. People talked about how the food was dirty, especially the kimchi. Told me to stay away from the girls, as they wanted to get pregnant for the sole reason to marry a foreigner and get out of this country. Paranoid fricking people, they were!
I remember listening to all that was said to me. Yes, I was alone in this huge city of 12 million, trying to impress, trying not to disappoint, and most of all, trying to make new friends. I listened.
Listened... but that's about it. I sure am glad I took all that advice with a grain of salt. It was ALL BS. Sugar in toothpaste? Uh-oh. Kimchi is tasty! Koreans are NICE! And the girls, well, they sure weren't lining up in front of my officetel door (though I was ready with boxes and boxes of condoms, hopeful). After all, I had an awesome first year in Korea, and continue to into my 3rd year, while most of "them" complained the whole year, and ended up heading back to the USA/Canada bitter.
My point is... you'll meet people like this. Feel free to listen, but not too much. Your ears will start to hurt after a while. Instead, get out and experience it all for yourself. |
Yes, you probably ran into those whiny, good-for-nothing, intolerant, hypocritical because they shart in their undies when they hear of cultural intolerance but do the exact opposite while they are here, linguistically incompetent, mammary suckling wimps who grew up begging daddy to scrape the black pieces off the barbecued chicken. You just have to take them with a grain of salt and show them you are having a good time, making them feel emptier inside so they hurry up and leave. |
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mm
Joined: 01 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Jesus, what year did you come here? |
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wiganer
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 5:31 pm Post subject: Re: I remember... my first months.. |
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| Man on Street wrote: |
| toonchoon wrote: |
Fellow teachers advised me Korean toothpaste contained sugar. They told me never to trust Koreans, and gave me plenty of examples to support their viewpoint. People talked about how the food was dirty, especially the kimchi. Told me to stay away from the girls, as they wanted to get pregnant for the sole reason to marry a foreigner and get out of this country. Paranoid fricking people, they were!
I remember listening to all that was said to me. Yes, I was alone in this huge city of 12 million, trying to impress, trying not to disappoint, and most of all, trying to make new friends. I listened.
Listened... but that's about it. I sure am glad I took all that advice with a grain of salt. It was ALL BS. Sugar in toothpaste? Uh-oh. Kimchi is tasty! Koreans are NICE! And the girls, well, they sure weren't lining up in front of my officetel door (though I was ready with boxes and boxes of condoms, hopeful). After all, I had an awesome first year in Korea, and continue to into my 3rd year, while most of "them" complained the whole year, and ended up heading back to the USA/Canada bitter.
My point is... you'll meet people like this. Feel free to listen, but not too much. Your ears will start to hurt after a while. Instead, get out and experience it all for yourself. |
Yes, you probably ran into those whiny, good-for-nothing, intolerant, hypocritical because they shart in their undies when they hear of cultural intolerance but do the exact opposite while they are here, linguistically incompetent, mammary suckling wimps who grew up begging daddy to scrape the black pieces off the barbecued chicken. You just have to take them with a grain of salt and show them you are having a good time, making them feel emptier inside so they hurry up and leave. |
Shush noob, you have only been in Korea for five minutes. 
This is coming from a guy whose daddy still deposits money into his bank account.  |
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toonchoon
Joined: 06 Feb 2009
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:00 pm Post subject: Re: I remember... my first months.. |
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| Nester Noodlemon wrote: |
Don't you have anything better to do than come on here complaining about foreigners? Most of the foreigners I know are happy and have been in Korea for a long time. |
you must be a part of secret "happy foreigner society"  kudos!
most of the foreigners I know are happy and have been in Korea for a long time too.
in my original post I was referring to my first few months... not my experience 3 years later... |
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Hotwire
Joined: 29 Aug 2010
Location: Multiverse
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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I glance over my shoulder through spacetime at my first month, nay first year even, with dewy-eyed nostalgia, a fond smile and a phantom-limbed, long -since- dulled fire stirring through my over caffeinated blood...
26 years old, without the beginings yet of the paunch and receeding hairline that would later plague me, and a cocky spring in my step. The first time in my life I'd had my own, non shared, non campus digs to bring girls back to plus enough dispoable income to live wild and free... feeding off of a spiritual heady rush and staying out having fun from fri night - sun evening!
The neon lights and energetic crowds of Gangnam, Hongdae, Itaewon (which less crowded and merely being an okay looking white guy was enough to get you laid a few times a month with a decent looking girl from Korea or elsewhere) and that unmistakeble, daily re-awakened, soul soaring feeling of 'being in Asia' and living on the edge.
Oh what I wouldn't surrender to relive even the lowliest most disspointing of those 2003 weekends as that wild, crazy 26 year old!
Sigh...
Still 1 or maximum 2 years more of this and I am hoping that the fires will rekindle when I land in Andalucia for the next chapter... (non ESL.)
I'm hoping I've still enough elasticity of heart, spirit and mind to be shaken and remoulded, able to feel like that again in my mid thirties in Spain. Revivied and oncemore able to walk in a room and attract women just through the seemingly naive and sheer fresh faced enthusiasm I used to have...
I no longer know as I haven't left Korea for 3 years, so this Xmas will tell when I go to visit the folks for Xmas back home whether being on vacation in a new environment will refresh and revive me (home will actually feel like a vacation to me now.) I find like old belaboured and beleaguered Air76 that there is something about staying here a long time that drains the vitality, though it may be the same in any job / country for people like me - not just Korea.
Last edited by Hotwire on Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:40 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Kurtz
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Location: ples bilong me
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Hotwire wrote: |
I glance over my shoulder through spacetime at my first month, nay first year even, with dewy-eyed nostalgia, a fond smile and a phantom-limbed, long -since- dulled fire stirring awake through my over caffeinated blood...
26 years old without the beginings yet of the paunch and receeding hairline that would later plague me, and a cocky spring in my step. The first time in my life I'd had my own, non shared, non campus digs to bring girls back to plus enough dispoable income to live wild and free and feeding off of a spiritual heady rush and staying out having fun from fri night - sun evening!
The neon lights and energetic crowds of Gangnam, Hongdae, Itaewon (which were lot less crowded then and merely being an okay looking white guy was enough to get you laid at least twice a month with a decent looking girl from Korea or elsewhere) and that unmistakeble, daily re-awakened, soul soaring feeling of 'being in Asia' and living on the edge.
Oh what I wouldn't surrender to relive any one, even the lowliest most disspointing of those 2003 weekends as that wild crazy 26 year old recent grad!
Sigh...
Still 1 or maximum 2 years more of this and I am hoping that the fires will be renewed when I land in Andalucia for the next chapter... (non ESL.)
I'm hoping I still have enough elasticity of heart, spirit and mind to be shaken and remoulded, able to feel like that again in my mid thirties in Spain. To be reivived, to be able to walk in a room and attract women just through the outwardly seeming naive and sheer fresh faced enthusiasm I used to have...
I no longer know as I haven't been out of Korea for 3 years now so this Xmas will tell when I go to visit the folks for Xmas back home whether being on vacation in a new environment will refresh and revive me (home will actually feel like a vacation to me now.) I find like old belaboured and beleaguered Air76 that there is something about staying here a long time that drains the vitality, though it may be the same in any job / country for people like me - not just Korea. |
May I ask who your old Dave's name was? Your posts are quite entertaining, just like when old circa 2003 posts pop up, people seemed a lot more interesting back then in the Dave's community.
OP, If you're happy as the horror stories didn't pan out, well surprise surprise, that's called experiencing things for yourself, you just shouldn't listen to other people should you?! |
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Man on Street
Joined: 28 Aug 2010
Location: In the Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:40 pm Post subject: Re: I remember... my first months.. |
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| wiganer wrote: |
Shush noob, you have only been in Korea for five minutes.
This is coming from a guy whose daddy still deposits money into his bank account. |
#2 was blatant sarcasm
#1 is untrue, because I just made a profile on Dave's after about 9 years working on and off in Korea  |
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Man on Street
Joined: 28 Aug 2010
Location: In the Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Hotwire wrote: |
I glance over my shoulder through spacetime at my first month, nay first year even, with dewy-eyed nostalgia, a fond smile and a phantom-limbed, long -since- dulled fire stirring awake through my over caffeinated blood...
26 years old without the beginings yet of the paunch and receeding hairline that would later plague me, and a cocky spring in my step. The first time in my life I'd had my own, non shared, non campus digs to bring girls back to plus enough dispoable income to live wild and free and feeding off of a spiritual heady rush and staying out having fun from fri night - sun evening!
The neon lights and energetic crowds of Gangnam, Hongdae, Itaewon (which were lot less crowded then and merely being an okay looking white guy was enough to get you laid at least twice a month with a decent looking girl from Korea or elsewhere) and that unmistakeble, daily re-awakened, soul soaring feeling of 'being in Asia' and living on the edge.
Oh what I wouldn't surrender to relive any one, even the lowliest most disspointing of those 2003 weekends as that wild crazy 26 year old recent grad!
Sigh...
Still 1 or maximum 2 years more of this and I am hoping that the fires will be renewed when I land in Andalucia for the next chapter... (non ESL.)
I'm hoping I still have enough elasticity of heart, spirit and mind to be shaken and remoulded, able to feel like that again in my mid thirties in Spain. To be reivived, to be able to walk in a room and attract women just through the outwardly seeming naive and sheer fresh faced enthusiasm I used to have...
I no longer know as I haven't been out of Korea for 3 years now so this Xmas will tell when I go to visit the folks for Xmas back home whether being on vacation in a new environment will refresh and revive me (home will actually feel like a vacation to me now.) I find like old belaboured and beleaguered Air76 that there is something about staying here a long time that drains the vitality, though it may be the same in any job / country for people like me - not just Korea. |
Wow, we same to have had similar experiences, though when I was here in '03 I was a few years shy of 26 |
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Xylox
Joined: 09 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:05 am Post subject: |
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| Woah, are you telling me that different people have different experiences? Dude that is seriously the craziest shit I've ever heard. Korea is pretty homogenous and no matter who you are/where you are from/where you are, your experience will be exactly the same to everyone elses in every way. |
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Man on Street
Joined: 28 Aug 2010
Location: In the Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:54 am Post subject: |
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| Xylox wrote: |
| Woah, are you telling me that different people have different experiences? Dude that is seriously the craziest shit I've ever heard. Korea is pretty homogenous and no matter who you are/where you are from/where you are, your experience will be exactly the same to everyone elses in every way. |
No, things have changed a bit since '03 |
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supernick
Joined: 24 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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| My first encounters (with Koreans) told me that all Korean girls were virgins until they got married, however all Korean men said that they have had sex. Lesson learned, never trust what people say. |
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toonchoon
Joined: 06 Feb 2009
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:51 am Post subject: |
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| supernick wrote: |
| My first encounters (with Koreans) told me that all Korean girls were virgins until they got married, however all Korean men said that they have had sex. Lesson learned, never trust what people say. |
well, actually there are a bunch of them that ARE still virgins until they get married. and there are a bunch of them that shag regularly, just like the girls in the USA.
Korean men lose their virginity in the military, when they, as a group, go shag prostitutes. This is a known fact. |
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Forest
Joined: 09 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 5:22 am Post subject: Re: I remember... my first months.. |
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| toonchoon wrote: |
Fellow teachers advised me Korean toothpaste contained sugar. They told me never to trust Koreans, and gave me plenty of examples to support their viewpoint. People talked about how the food was dirty, especially the kimchi. Told me to stay away from the girls, as they wanted to get pregnant for the sole reason to marry a foreigner and get out of this country. Paranoid fricking people, they were!
I remember listening to all that was said to me. Yes, I was alone in this huge city of 12 million, trying to impress, trying not to disappoint, and most of all, trying to make new friends. I listened.
Listened... but that's about it. I sure am glad I took all that advice with a grain of salt. It was ALL BS. Sugar in toothpaste? Uh-oh. Kimchi is tasty! Koreans are NICE! And the girls, well, they sure weren't lining up in front of my officetel door (though I was ready with boxes and boxes of condoms, hopeful). After all, I had an awesome first year in Korea, and continue to into my 3rd year, while most of "them" complained the whole year, and ended up heading back to the USA/Canada bitter.
My point is... you'll meet people like this. Feel free to listen, but not too much. Your ears will start to hurt after a while. Instead, get out and experience it all for yourself. |
i know exactly what you mean !! when i first got here a few years ago the foreign H.R manger from my chain was telling me how terrible korean women were. she would say things like ' you know they don't shave their legs and their armpits, it's really disgusting !' and 'they are so skinny they have no shape' Well considering she must have weighed over 300 lbs she had a point.
she would then say really rude stuff like ' you did a C.E.L.T.A right? Oh i thought they were supposed to be difficult! ' i mean who the hell says that to someone who has just arrived and who they are supposed to be mentoring ! im glad i didn't have to meet her often.
someone else mentioned it but when you meet people like this you really just have to let it go in one ear and out the other. if they are so unhappy here then i wish they would just naff off !!!  |
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