Lessons 70-72

Part One of the November - December recap

(11/2) Lesson 70: The heater is in my floor.
From what I've been told, we've been incredibly lucky so far (temperature-wise). Even though today the weather dropped from the relatively comfortable mid-50s to 30 degrees. When I got back to my apartment, it was freezing cold and I couldn't figure out how to turn on the heat. Does this make sense to you?

Of course not, because you don't read Korean and neither do I. I asked Holly how to turn on the heat/where the heater is (there are no radiators sitting in the corner somewhere) and she told me to just press the red button and adjust the heat with the knob in the middle. She said that when my feet start to get toasty, that's how I'll know the heat is working. And come to think of it, I haven't seen a single radiator in Korea thus far. They're tucked away in the floor or in the ceiling - why haven't I seen this before in the States? It's a great idea and saves a ton of space.


(11/4) Lesson 71: Don't question your boss or accuse them of lying.

Kristen, one of the teachers at my school, has swine flu. She almost definitely got it from one of the kids in her class who had swine flu and was not taken out of school quickly enough. She was feeling under the weather and went to the doctor, who told her that she definitely has swine flu. She tells our bosses.

And what do our bosses do? They tell her she needs to stay home for a whole week (there go all of her sick days for the rest of her contract), and then they send a letter home with the students telling the parents that Kristen has a stomach flu and will be out of school for a week. One of the TPs translates the letter for Holly and Holly brings this blatant lie to our attention. We have a meeting with Julia and tell her how upset we are that they are lying to parents about something so serious. Her response: "Swine flu is a very sensitive subject." Translation: "We'd rather lie to the parents than close the school and lose money."

Despite our protests, nothing changed. You don't question your bosses and tell them they are wrong in Korea.

(11/6) Lesson 72: Now Bar is a great place to meet fellow Westerners.
If you ever find yourself in Suwon wanting to hang out with a bunch of Westerners, just go to Now Bar. It's only about three blocks from the Home Plus in Yeongtong - the area where Maple Bear Suwon is located - so if I have a particularly frustrating day at work I could always just walk over there and drink. (This has yet to happen, surprisingly.)

Now Bar is a foreigner hotspot and you're guaranteed to make a few friends while you're hanging out there playing pool, darts, playing photo hunt and eating popcorn, or just drinking away your stressful work week. On this particular night, the girls and I ran into the secretary from Maple Bear and her British husband and had a few drinks with them. Then we encountered a bunch of Irish folks and talked politics for a good half hour. Later on in the night, I gave a mini lecture about pirates to two other English teachers who were captivated with my random knowledge about and enthusiasm for the subject. We will most likely run into all of these people again - it's just how it goes at Now Bar.

The only downside is that when you leave Now Bar, you smell as though you just bathed in a tub of cigarette butts and cheap beer. I really miss the "No smoking" law in Jersey.