Life in Korea - Page 3
Blogs > Subversion |
moopie
12605 Posts
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Rekrul
Korea (South)17174 Posts
On July 06 2010 14:26 Subversion wrote: But here's one weird thing. At bars, and such, girls dont like being hit on. When they go out to a bar with other girlfriends, they're not interested in guys. They would prefer if you hit on them at the gym, or at the supermarket or something, weird. uh, no? lol (standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them) | ||
Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 16:02 moopie wrote: Do/did you make your own lesson plans (or did you use pre-existing ones from previous teachers)? Had you had any experience teaching a class before? How receptive were your students to the material/activities? I know that some teachers teach from a textbook. This isn't the case for me, I have to make my own lessons. But there are tons, and I do mean tons, of resources on the internet, lesson planning doesn't take very long. You have enough free time at school to do it all there, so you never really have to take anything home with you. And nope, never taught before coming here! Your students' receptiveness really depends on the school, and the students! I have some students who are just really not interested, and I have some who come to me for extra help. It just depends on their ambition really. Although Korean students are really not always well-behaved, they can be naughty terrorists lol. You need to remember a lot of these kids are at school from 8am to 10pm, their whole life is school. They eat at school, sleep at school, brush their teeth at school, socialise at school. So that can mean discipline can be a problem. You just have to be firm from the beginning though, and you'll be fine I've had to be a little hard on them sometimes, but its been worth it. Some days you have classes that are such a joy, and sometimes you have a class and its just a nightmare. You just get a feel for whats interesting for them, and where their level is at. They misbehave when they are either bored or don't understand. The first thing you can't always help, but the second you can. | ||
Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 16:32 Rekrul wrote: uh, no? lol (standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them) Sure, its not the same for all girls. And I know plenty of guys who have hit on girls at bars with some success. But in general, when koreans go out, they often do so in a somewhat segregated manner. girls often don't like being disturbed at bars. I'm not trying to generalise to the whole population, but i have to talk in general here, its a post "about korea". This is just what i've been told by a number of people, and i've spoken to plenty of korean girls about it who have agreed. But hey, obviously this wouldn't apply to EVERYONE. Just thought it was an interesting part of the culture. Also, not speaking from personal experience, I'm engaged so I don't hit on Korean women lol. Like I said, just what other foreigners and Koreans have told me. But guys, do take it with a pinch of salt. I'm not saying Korean women are unapproachable in bars! | ||
Rekrul
Korea (South)17174 Posts
by a lot | ||
Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 16:44 Rekrul wrote: korean people are more approachable than americans in bars by a lot Would definitely agree with that. They don't seem to mind if you strike up a random conversation, especially if you're a foreigner. K guys, its 5pm here I'm going home for the day! Will check on this later tonight! | ||
101TFP
420 Posts
like german, french, spanish etc? | ||
VorcePA
United States1102 Posts
Are you familiar with the TALK program? I believe there's a second program like it as well where you can go to Korea before you get your bachelors, temporarily, at less pay. Are you familiar with them? Any info you can give me on them? | ||
GTR
51270 Posts
On July 06 2010 16:32 Rekrul wrote: uh, no? lol (standard dumb white boy move to take a few experiences and make broad generalizations out of them) are you hating because he's a...... + Show Spoiler + english teacher? | ||
Waxangel
United States32927 Posts
On July 06 2010 15:46 Rekrul wrote: u have to be a complete retard to not know what ur buying lol Psh, do you think you could tell bleach, drain cleaner, mildew remover, and laundry detergent apart ? | ||
SONE
Canada839 Posts
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Ciryandor
United States3735 Posts
On July 06 2010 14:46 Subversion wrote: Hey thanks man, glad you're finding it interesting! :D The application process is a little bit of a bitch, but it shouldn't take longer than a couple of months really. Just takes time to get things like a police clearance (showing you have no record) and character letters from 2 people (to show you're a cool guy ). Once you got all the documents sent and sorted, you'll have a short telephone interview (shouldn't be a problem, i think they just want to hear your pure, english voice lol) and then you'll be approved an on your way in no time! The big intake of people is in February and August, but you can get slotted in throughout the year. Would definitely recommend it for a different and interesting experience! Also, almost everywhere you go there is a great community of foreign teachers in your area, they'll take you under their wing and teach you what you need to know I've made fantastic friends here.. people will see you and be like "hey, you're white! wanna hang out?" lol :D What about if you're Asian looking? I've been mistaken for a Japanese guy when I was in Japan and I still can pass for one I think, so, is there still some hostility to the Japanese, and would other foreigners think that me looking like a Korean be a bad thing? Note: I live in the Philippines where there are A LOT of Koreans studying English AND whatnot in some of our biggest Universities. | ||
krndandaman
Mozambique16569 Posts
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Rekrul
Korea (South)17174 Posts
On July 06 2010 20:22 Waxangel wrote: Psh, do you think you could tell bleach, drain cleaner, mildew remover, and laundry detergent apart ? yeah just buy everything then smell it at home lol | ||
boarderline26
6 Posts
On July 06 2010 15:46 Rekrul wrote: Show nested quote + On July 06 2010 15:45 Schnake wrote: Can you elaborate a bit more on general life and the little obstacles you have to overcome? Like, going grocery shopping and not knowing what it is exactly you are buying or household related stuff. How are you coping with people not speaking English so well or have you not had that many problems with communication, e.g. asking for directions etc.? Very interesting blog btw. u have to be a complete retard to not know what ur buying lol Psh, do you think you could tell bleach, drain cleaner, mildew remover, and laundry detergent apart ? It reminds me of two co-workers who for the last 3 months were buying fabric softener and thought it was detergent, haha, they wondered why there clothes always felt dirty in Korea. I am poking my head around a few posts but I figure Subv. if your in Korea as well you might have found the answer. How are you planning to get an English copy of SC2 on July 27th? Download, shop in Seoul, wait for gift package? (I don't care how Koreans get their copy...I WANT MINE :-) | ||
Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
Firstly, not familiar with the TALK program, all the teaching programs I know of require a degree, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! Sorry can't be of more help there. My advice is to wait till you get your degree though. SONE, sorry if I'm being daft but I'm not sure I understand your question But I'm pretty sure the degree has to be at least 3 years. Ciryandor, that shouldn't really be any problem at all, as long as you have a passport from one of the countries I mentioned earlier. You won't get any hostility from the foreigners at all! Only thing I could say on it that is a negative is that the Koreans will most likely think you're Korean, and try talk Korean to you, which may be a little annoying I have an Asian friend who doesn't speak the language and she gets that a lot But other than that no problems at all! krndandaman, it doesn't matter at all what your background is, all that matters is that you have a passport from a native-english country, So if an asian-american has a US passport, he'd be entitled to the same stuff a caucasian american would. As for the weekends and time off... there's an awesome group of foreigners here, all places here have a group of foreigners that you will get included into quickly, thats how it works here, especially in the smaller places So every weekend we generally make a plan together! Most of the time its going out for drinks, movies, restaurants, going to the beach (i live on the coast) pretty similar to what you'd do at home! We often make missions up to Seoul though, get shitfaced and sleep in love motels Weekdays we often go out for a few drinks, or out to dinner. You have an enormous amount of disposable income here due to the good pay and very, very little expenses. So there's plenty of cash to party with My friends aren't gamers unfortunately, else we'd go to PC bangs a lot more! :D Do most of my gaming at home, the internet here is incredible. Boarderline, I'm gonna go for the digital download. I'm pretty sure all copies to be found here are going to be Korean, so I'm just gonna download it from the US blizzard store! Think its the best option, don't you? Quick, easy, don't have to leave the house | ||
Subversion
South Africa3627 Posts
On July 06 2010 19:03 101TFP wrote: How big is the demand for foreign teachers that are not native english speakers? like german, french, spanish etc? Sorry 101, forgot about you! The Korean english programs here are pretty rigid about this unfortunately. They won't accept anyone who is not from one of the countries I listed earlier. As far as I know they are really, really strict about this I know a couple of people from Zimbabwe, white, English speaking, and they weren't allowed because they didn't have a South African passport. Sorry if this is bad news | ||
boarderline26
6 Posts
Ahh, so just a bachelor's you can attain in either a college or university? Or is it specific to one or the other? Only a 4 year degree is considered, not a Canadian college (my Canadian friend tried explaining the difference between the two) Anyway her answer was only University counts. Sorry for jumping in again, just an answer I finally know ;-) And THANK YOU! (seriously) for letting me know its download-able. Koreans (especially the kids) can NEVER give me a straight answer to that question of how to get an English version. | ||
SONE
Canada839 Posts
Thanks also to boarderline, that's what I meant with my question. | ||
Chill
Calgary25951 Posts
On July 06 2010 16:44 Rekrul wrote: korean people are more approachable than americans in bars by a lot I don't think that's true. But in my limited experience it's easy to approach both. | ||
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