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thetravelling
Joined: 03 Sep 2007
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 Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:28 am Post subject: counting down the days |
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I often see people on this forum complianing about Korea and Koreans and saying that they are counting down the days until their departure. In some cases, these people still have over six months left in Korea.
Why do they stay? Why don't they just hand in their notice, work the notice time stipulated in the contract (usually 1 month), and then get out of here? |
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cibomatto
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Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Location: NY
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:31 am Post subject: Re: counting down the days |
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| thetravelling wrote: |
I often see people on this forum complianing about Korea and Koreans and saying that they are counting down the days until their departure. In some cases, these people still have over six months left in Korea.
Why do they stay? Why don't they just hand in their notice, work the notice time stipulated in the contract (usually 1 month), and then get out of here? |
Sometimes complaining in this forum or really anywhere is just a form of venting. 9 times out of 10 I am sure once someone blasts out their frustrations they feel much better and tough their time through.
Its not a big deal. Just growing pains I suppose. |
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Dev
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:16 am Post subject: |
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Because Korea's not an easy place to live in for many foreigners. Here's why:
- Foreigners get stared at by Koreans. Staring at people is rude behavior in most countries including Korea. This also makes foreigners "feel like" outcasts even though Koreans may not have that intention in mind.
- The language gap. Learning Korean to a conversational level takes years so there's the frustration of not being able to talk with Koreans or even get the most simple errands done. Very few Koreans speak English so they can't help us. Emergency hotlines like 119 (the fire department) and 112 (the police) don't even have English speaking operators, so if your a foreigner in an emergency, you're out of luck.
- Lonliness. It's very hard to make genuine friends - even harder to make Korean ones. So, if there aren't any cool foreigners living in your area, you may find yourself with no one to hang out with.
- It's a different culture. A lot of things are different in Korea (like no kidding!), but Korean ways are so often very different from western ways that westerners can't make sense out of why Koreans do things this way instead of that way. It takes an open mind and a willingness to adapt to Korean ways on a daily basis. Many foreigners express a lot of frustration with this.
There are many reason why foreigners stick it out until the end of their contract. For some, it is financial. For some others (especially public school teachers), it is integrity. They want to finish the term that they agreed to in the first place.
I'd also agree with the previous poster who said that many posters on Dave's are just venting. They like Korea, but get frustrated with some of the problems with living here (like the ones mentioned above). |
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oneofthesarahs
Joined: 05 Nov 2006
Location: Sacheon City
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:20 am Post subject: |
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| Dev, I just want to say bravo for eloquently voicing real concerns of foreigners teaching in Korea without bashing Korea. See folks, it can be done. |
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Dev
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:26 am Post subject: |
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Come to think of it, in Canada, complaining about living in Canada is a national pastime, yet very few Canadians would ever consider settling down permanently in another country.
The same is true of most foreign teachers living in Korea. |
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Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:37 am Post subject: Re: counting down the days |
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| thetravelling wrote: |
I often see people on this forum complianing about Korea and Koreans and saying that they are counting down the days until their departure. In some cases, these people still have over six months left in Korea.
Why do they stay? Why don't they just hand in their notice, work the notice time stipulated in the contract (usually 1 month), and then get out of here? |
Dude...for my severance and bonus I'd stick around. Sometimes the most obvious answers are the answers....
I have 4 months...I'm counting down till I get my money and get the *beep* out of here but for the most part, I don't necessarily complain high low and all around like others do....but I can understand why they do... |
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in_seoul_2003
Joined: 24 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:44 am Post subject: Re: counting down the days |
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| thetravelling wrote: |
Why do they stay? Why don't they just... |
Because most people understand that you don't just pack up and leave because things get a little not to your liking. What would your life look like if you abandoned everything you found not perfectly satisfying. Well, you better not unpack because you'll be in for some constant displacement.
I realy don't see the problem with counting down days WHILE fulfilling your contract. I myself count down days because it makes the transition that much sweeter. In other words, it's a way to not only cope with doing Korea but also a means of coping with any possible anxiety I may feel in the transition from Korea back to home.
I can honsetly say that of all the people I have met here, the ones who complain about people counting down days, or the people who ask people if they are truly happy in a slightly contentious way, or the people who say, "just leave" everytime a foreigner has a criticism are the people who most hate their situations most. |
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in_seoul_2003
Joined: 24 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:30 am Post subject: |
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| Additionally, can anyone on this board really say that they would have even graduated from university had they just left instead of counting down days to the end of academics? |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| in_seoul_2003 wrote: |
| Additionally, can anyone on this board really say that they would have even graduated from university had they just left instead of counting down days to the end of academics? |
I hated many things about university and moaned about it constantly for the entire final year but no one ever suggested just quitting, no matter how much whining they had to hear. The consequences of quitting university are much greater than quitting a job.
Normally I'd recommend quitting a job if you absolutely hate it, but it's a finite contract with a hefty reward at the end so I'd recommend that everyone suck it up and keep going. Which they are mostly doing. So good job, day counters. |
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pest2
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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| in_seoul_2003 wrote: |
| Additionally, can anyone on this board really say that they would have even graduated from university had they just left instead of counting down days to the end of academics? |
If I had a choice, I'd still be studying in university now instead of working. likes and dislikes are subjective. Some like uni, others dont. Some like Korea, others dont... What isn't subjective is the outcome that occurs when you quit work or school. And that outcome is almost always bad. So, yes, people stick it out. |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| pest2 wrote: |
| in_seoul_2003 wrote: |
| Additionally, can anyone on this board really say that they would have even graduated from university had they just left instead of counting down days to the end of academics? |
If I had a choice, I'd still be studying in university now instead of working. likes and dislikes are subjective. Some like uni, others dont. |
If all I had had to do was study, I would have LOVED university. I had to work my way through and it sucked. |
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Oreovictim
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Dev wrote: |
Because Korea's not an easy place to live in for many foreigners. Here's why:
- Foreigners get stared at by Koreans. Staring at people is rude behavior in most countries including Korea. This also makes foreigners "feel like" outcasts even though Koreans may not have that intention in mind.
- The language gap. Learning Korean to a conversational level takes years so there's the frustration of not being able to talk with Koreans or even get the most simple errands done. Very few Koreans speak English so they can't help us. Emergency hotlines like 119 (the fire department) and 112 (the police) don't even have English speaking operators, so if your a foreigner in an emergency, you're out of luck.
- Lonliness. It's very hard to make genuine friends - even harder to make Korean ones. So, if there aren't any cool foreigners living in your area, you may find yourself with no one to hang out with.
- It's a different culture. A lot of things are different in Korea (like no kidding!), but Korean ways are so often very different from western ways that westerners can't make sense out of why Koreans do things this way instead of that way. It takes an open mind and a willingness to adapt to Korean ways on a daily basis. Many foreigners express a lot of frustration with this.
There are many reason why foreigners stick it out until the end of their contract. For some, it is financial. For some others (especially public school teachers), it is integrity. They want to finish the term that they agreed to in the first place.
I'd also agree with the previous poster who said that many posters on Dave's are just venting. They like Korea, but get frustrated with some of the problems with living here (like the ones mentioned above). |
I'd have to agree with this person. Don't get me wrong; I like my job. It's easy and the money is really good. But living in Korea can be lonely. I haven't been counting down at all . . . until now. My contract was going to end Oct. 19th, but I extended for a month so I can use that money for my trip to Thailand. But lately, I've been thinking, "Hum, if I didn't extend, I'd be out of here a lot sooner." |
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silentpartner2
Joined: 15 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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This is the most pleasant thread I've read in a while - almost like a real conversation!
I do count down the days; I've been doing it for a while now. It's just a motivation thing - my public school job can be quite boring so sometimes I just sit there staring at my calendar. I can tell you when I got down to 10 and a half weeks something just clicked ("I'm going home soon!") and I was happy for the rest of the day. Now I'm down to 6 weeks (yay!)
With this kind of job, I wouldn't want anyone telling me to go home just because I don't like my coteacher: I put my apartment in storage, begged my dad to take care of my pets, and packed up and moved to another continent. I'm not going home yet!
As for complaining - I would rather post my little irritants on a board than go on endlessly to my friends and family about them - how boring would that be for them? At least here, if someone doesn't like what you're saying, you'd hope they'd have the good sense to just skip over it.
I also enjoy reading about the troubles other people have - it makes me appreciate my own situation; life could be worse (much worse in some cases). There's a lot of little things to relate also - other people are having sinus problems? So it's not just me.
If I could change one thing about the board it would be to add an ignore function for the "Don't like it? Just leave!" comments! |
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bellum99
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: don't need to know
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Sometimes it is a way to express how you are feeling. Things build up and if you have no way to let it go ...it can be a problem. Just talking can help people continue a little longer. |
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Newbie
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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| 389 DAYS TO GO! |
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