I've been in Korea now for about 7 months, and I think that I'm finally able to write about the dynamic of working in a place with a convergence of cultures.
Working here has been a real eye opener. From a Korean perspective, it's got to be a huge pain in the ass. Think about it - you're surrounded by your own culture. You know what is expected, how to get by, what is acceptable and what is not. Then you hire English speakers from all over the world - America, Britain, Australia, and South Africa to name few - and they all come with their own cultures/ways of speaking English that are VASTLY different. What really surprised me is how few of these people, who are MOVING TO A NEW COUNTRY, never took the time to research the new culture they would find themselves in. It's like some of us moved here expecting it would be the exact same as back home. Why travel if you think you need all the conveniences of home?!
I'm not sure if it's a youth thing (because most of my co-workers are younger than I am) or what, but it makes me a little crazy. Reminds me of being back home when people will move from one state to another and then try their hardest to make their new state have the same laws as as their old one. Well, some people do the same thing here, just on a larger scale. The thing is, it's not difficult to eat like you're in the US. One thing we're really good at is making sure most places have American fast food (there's a BK and a Subway really close to work, and a Dominoes and Pizza Hut close to home). I will say that more taco places would be nice, but frankly South Korea is not a 3rd world country. It can be a little harder to find certain things - leatherworking tools was one person's complaint, fabric dye also turned out to be slightly more difficult. The thing is, generally you can find stuff if you find the right shop and have a translation app on your phone. If you don't mind a little inconvenience, South Korea is about as western a place as you can get in Asia, and it's a great place to live.
Personally, I'd like to spend more time with my Korean co-workers. There are a few that seem really sweet and they're always professional at work. I've gotten a sense of their frustration because last semester one of them was telling me about some after-classes coaching she had scheduled me for, and I told her thanks. Another Korean teacher was there and asked, "You really don't mind when they schedule coachings for you, do you?" And I responded, "Well, it's a part of my job, so no. I don't mind at all." She then replied, "Thank you for saying that." Which got me thinking - how many times must they have heard the native English speaking teachers complain about having to do their JOBS?!? Yeah, sometimes work can pile up, but I've never been unable to finish and to my knowledge, neither has anyone else. We have quite a lot of down time once the teaching hours are over, so what's to complain about?! Then I thought of some of the stuff I'd heard people complain about and that's when I decided to look at this experience as an interesting social experiment. Trust me, MTV's Real World has NOTHING on working at a Hagwon.
Culturally speaking, Koreans are really hard workers. Most of what I can tell you about Korean culture has already been written about (I got a book about it before I came here so that I could keep embarrassing faux pas to a minimum). Basically what I've found is that the people we work with want us to come in, do our jobs in a professional manner, and go home. That's it. Frankly, that's what every job I've ever had back home also wanted. How we interact with each other outside of work should stay OUTSIDE of work. Yes, we can be friends, but we don't need to force it and EVERYBODY doesn't need to be EVERYBODY's friend. We aren't a bunch of camp counselors in a Disney movie. Frankly, we're something more like the staff at Downton Abbey. LOL.
Most of the difficulties in communicating actually do come from the native English speakers. The BBC has a great article on why English speakers are the worst communicators. There are too many nuances. People who speak English as a second language all speak it the same way, so they are less confused by idioms, slang, and such. Hanging out with J and M(from Canada, so we're going to call him MC) is a real eye-opener. I'm so glad I've been so addicted to British TV shows... it's helpful when I say 'vest' then can translate to 'waistcoat' when J is super confused why I find men attractive in them.
Anyway, the point of this rambling post is to say that I like Korean culture, people are strange, seeing something as a social experiment is proving to be a good coping mechanism for me, English speakers can't communicate well with each other, and life is still good. I think I've about 95% made up my mind to stay when my initial contract ends... I'm having fun and am not at all ready to go back to the states yet. Much love to all, MUAH! :*
No comments:
Post a Comment