Partner teacher stress

My worst student who I will refer to as 'Child Y' (which stands for, "Child, WHY do you keep doing this?") is giving one of my partner teacher's a lot of stress. Ever since we moved into the new building and his class changed into a smaller one he has become a real pain. Disrespectful, rude, arrogant, a bit of a bully and in general very poorly behaved. But only in my class, not my Korean partners.

I have discussed the matter several times with my partner and yesterday things seemingly reached a tipping point. In my class he upset another student. I dealt with the issue but the boy seemed to take no notice of me, however the upset child showed no signs of distress at all so I thought no more of it. I am told now that the boy went home and cried.

Of course my partner got a call from the mother today and she complained understandably. Then, my partner contacted the mother of 'Child Y' to tell the story and to basically complain about her boys behaviour, again. The mother of 'Child Y' then proceeded to moan, shout and complain about all this and ultimately seemed to blame me but in the process giving my partner a lot of stress. Thankfully my partner wasn't taking this lightly and argued our corner.

They talked for twenty minutes and seemingly got nowhere. The problem is that in the Korean teachers class he behaves but in the foreign teachers class - not just mine but the others that have taught him - he behaves terribly. We talked it over for a quite a long time but it was clear my partner teacher was really angry and stressed out. The simple fact is that now if he steps out of line in the he will be punished in the form of detention, called jaeshi at my academy. In fact if he continues I will just refuse to teach him, things are close to reaching that point. Students like this really stick in your throat because 95% of the rest behave fantastically. I wonder who he gets his behaviour from.

Night out with co-workers

Wednesday was a works night out and the first we've had in months. There was no special occasion apart from the fact that we've not been out on one for a while. I think most of us had a very good time and we all think we should do it more often.




There's been a lot of stress at work this year especially for the Korean teachers and we all let off some steam. We went to a new restaurant and had a selection of meat dishes washed down with booze. There are a few newish teachers at my branch and it was good to get to know them even if I felt a bit worse for wear the next day.

Christmas wrap-up

Back to work after a good Christmas in Korea - my 6th in a row. You know it's never going to be the same as back home but my wife and I had a lot of fun. We now look forward to next year and all the excitement and challenges it will bring.

So no days off for me. Unluckily Christmas fell on a weekend this year so we were given no time off at work. I'm OK with that. They pay me very well and if I have to work when others don't so be it. There'll be plenty of time to relax when I'm done here. Having said that, I am knackered and could do with a small break. Luckily there's a five day weekend coming up at the beginning of February.



I had a very good Christmas eve at home with my wife. I often enjoy this day more than the 25th. I drank a little too much though and watched a film afterwards so only had about four hours sleep. I was a bit hungover all through Christmas Day. My mother in-law came round for most of the day. I made Christmas dinner as best I could and it tasted not too bad. Turkey will taste wonderful next time though. My mother in-law ate all the food on her plate and said she liked it which made me feel very happy.

At 4pm I made my way with Ivan to my work Christmas party at the Interburgo hotel in Daegu. I wasn't going to go but was persuaded by my now ex-manager on Thursday. After some brief introductions everyone tucked into the buffet dinner. It was better than I expected and both Ivan and I went back for seconds. Afterwards I was stuffed and the party went on.



The room where we were was very big, and had around two hundred people there, mainly Koreans because it was pretty much compulsory. Most of the Korean staff at my workplace made it and it was good to see them in a different environment. Then came the talent show. It consisted of around fifteen or so acts of varying quality broken down into two categories which often merged, musical performers or comic performances.

The good ones were very good especially a very pertinent work themed version of the Twelve Days of Christmas and one comic skit that envolved chewing gum which I won't forget in a while. We had a brief break from these acts which was filled by a professional musician playing I think the clarinet. He was fantastic and well worth however much he was paid. I wish I had videoed this.



The 'talent' acts went on a bit too long and many people were glad when it ended. The owner of my academy chain then gave out a LOT of prizes, namely money. Through a translator it was claimed that he was spending 600million won (over £300,000 ) of his own money on this day, of course not just prize money. Everyone who entered the talent contest was given money, and then came prizes for employees given for various reasons.

I think maybe 10-20% of people in attendance won something. We were told that if you weren't there you wouldn't get your money. Harsh but those were the rules and you can't argue with that as the owner was very generous on the day. A few people from my branch won money including the receptionists and I think I did too (they got my name slightly wrong when they read it out).



Last Thursday I left my ipod at work and went back to collect it and my manager told me I should go to the party because I would maybe get something. I couldn't read her properly but decided to go just in case. Good job I did as every foreign teacher who has worked there for three years or more was given a prize. A nice Christmas Day gift for me and my wife, but I'll believe it when I see it this Thursday come pay day. I'm not counting it till I've got it


The party ended late but I had fun regardless of what I think I had won. I got a taxi home and told my wife the news and we watched some TV and relaxed after a long day. The holiday wasn't over though as on Boxing Day we met our good friends in Busan, Ian and his wife Nari. They came over from England to spend a few weeks here with family and friends and we caught up with them on a frosty Sunday. We didn't have a lot of time together so had a quick bite to eat before heading for the warmth of a bar.

Time went quicker than we wanted but again we had a great time with our friends. We got back to Daegu to be met with the aftermath of snow. Daegu's drivers could not handle the partially icy roads and there were no taxis to be seen at the train station. When we got home we enjoyed the warmth of our apartment to end our Christmas 2010.

Work changes

"As you know, I'm leaving. You do know I'm leaving don't you?" said our manager today at work (I am paraphrasing). Of course most of us didn't. Again, back of the line when it comes to news at work. She is leaving in three or four weeks time to take on another branch. I'll be on manager number five when the new guy arrives next month.

This is probably a change for the better. I just hope the new manager leaves the teachers alone to teach and doesn't spend his free time patrolling the corridors watching for mistakes. I am hoping for better communication and less of an 'us and them' situation.

A more significant change at work too. We're moving location in December. To the building next door which is currently being finalised. It will look a lot newer and fresher than the current one which has graffiti on a lot of the classroom walls. Maybe this will entice new students into our academy. We shall see.

Office picture of the day

Didn't get the chance to ask him if he knew what his top meant. Bravo if he did though.

Out of the loop: Working in Korea

I'm just back from dinner with all of my co-workers. It was mentioned last week but until today nobody knew where we were headed or indeed what the occasion was. We all ate and had a decent time but as we (the foreigners) were going I found out it was a leaving party for one of the Koreans. That's how things are at my place. The is a definite divide. I found tonight symptomatic of the way it works at my academy, again, disappointing that we are left out of the loop. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter at all but we are always the last ones to know. It does remind you that you're a guest here and not a regular member of society.

Name recognition

Never mind my students, some of my co-workers can't even get my name right these days.

Picking up Korean habits: Part 1

I'm slowly turning into a Korean. Well not really, but the longer I stay here the more habits, good and bad, I am inevitably picking up. This particular habit is a good one. Yesterday I took a toothbrush to work. No big deal but I've always perplexed when co-workers past and present would go and brush their teeth and then have a cup of tea or coffee. Whenever I saw that I thought it seemed a bit silly but not now I guess.

The Koreans I've been working with at my academy brush their teeth a lot, and why not. After giving it some thought I realised that I often drank a cup of coffee in the classroom and tucked into some hot food during my breaks. So after one of those brushing my teeth would be a good idea. I should have started doing this years ago. However, if I find myself wearing slippers at work I will shoot myself.

The same but different

Change at work. The atmosphere is different. The two men who I sat next to in the teachers room are not there now. One, my partner teacher for nearly one and a half years has moved onto a similar position in his home town, the other has been given a temporary (I think) promotion to assistant manager so he won't be teaching.

My new partner teacher seems to be nice. No complaints but we're in a getting to know you situation. Regardless, it won't make much difference to my work life, apart from being a little bit quieter. There won't be much banter any more. She bought a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake today and everybody loved it, a nice touch. The other new face next to me seems to be a little shy. That's OK too. Hopefully she will open up a bit more as the weeks roll on.

One day down, four to go before my holiday. Today was a normal day but my mind is just not thinking about work. I keep falling asleep at around 4am because I am genuinely happy about going home. It's been over one year since I was back in England. At times I miss it and at others I am fine about being away. Right now I am really enjoying the process of getting ready for my trip, packing, deciding what to take, getting information ready. It won't be long.

One thing that clarifies the mind is the heat. We are in the core of Summer. This particular heat lasts around four weeks or so. Todays forecast wasn't for very hot temperatures but the five minute walk to work was, I have to say, tough. I got to my second class, the room I have dubbed the Greenhouse and I noticed a new face. For some reason there was a fan. for a minute my heart sank and I thought the air conditioner was broken but no, I had air con AND a fan. Now that was fun.

My new best friend

No, you cannot turn the air con off

At best it is warm for large parts of the day, at its worst it is very hot here right now in Korea. Most buildings you go into all have their air conditioners on or at the very least have some fans. My workplace has good air conditioners. There are three large ones for the third floor for reception, the computer study room and the teachers room.

In the classrooms their are two vents where the air is filtered in and keep the room nice and cool. You only really notice the heat when you are on the stairs or if some sneaky teacher turns the air con in the teachers room when they have a break.

It is very important that the air con is a) on, and b) works well. Otherwise it would be unreasonable to expect classes to go well. You can't teach or study without it really. Before the full breakout of Summer the classrooms were getting toasty. In May the kids were screaming for the air con to go on. And on it went, probably will be till late September. But then the kids started complaining. "It's too cold", they screamed. Again and again. And now, one third of the way through July I am getting requests for the air conditioning to be turned off. No, it's not going to happen, not in my classroom.

Having dated and subsequently married a Korean and also having worked with people here for over four and a half years I believe that Koreans often struggle with temperature changes. I don't know why. It gets hot here every Summer and it gets cold ever Winter but I cannot begin to say how many times I've heard "It's hot" or "It's cold" in the office when it has been anything but. The air con stays on, unless a Korean co-worker decides they don't want it on in the teachers room it would seem.