The Countdown

The countdown has begun! About 38 more hours till I get to see my Dad, a week and a half till I get to see my family, and 9 more months till my contract ends. I'm mostly excited about the first two, although with all the drama going on at work it's hard not to be excited about the prospect of this job being over.

I had a co-worker trying to leave our job because she found one with better hours with about the same amount of pay. After she gave them her 30 day notice, for about three weeks our school was very elusive about letting her leave. They finally told her they wouldn't give her a letter of release to work for another school. They had no trouble letting another teacher go, but because my friend does her job very well they can't let her leave easily. After a long battle, they told her no matter what she does, they will not give her a release letter, so now her only option is to go back home to find a new job. She even decided to stay and travel for a bit, but because she needs to get a visa to go to Thailand from our Embassy she would need to take a day off work. My school wouldn't even let her do that. She's leaving two days early now. All of this could have been resolved peacefully if they just gave her a letter of release and treated her with some respect. Alas working at a hagwon is like working at a factory. We're machines designed to produce English speaking robots of children.  We're a business, not a school.

There are somethings about this country and the people here that I love. There are things I recognize here as being in my own blood. Things like, the tenaciousness of the people. You will rarely see beggars here because people will do anything to make ends meet. Old women will sit on the streets and sell vegetables and hand stitched purses for such a low price just so they can survive. This country is made of survivors, and so is my family. Even if you see a beggar, they will cover their faces because it's a shameful thing. People here can be extremely prideful, generous, and stubborn. Life here moves lightning quick, everything is done quickly and efficiently (not unlike a few family members I know). I love those things about myself, about my family, and about this country. However, when you work in a place like I do, it's easy to see the negatives about where I am.

My school treats us kind of like horses. They ride us really hard, they give us a place to sleep, they pay us so we can eat our hay, but in the end we're animals. We're not respected for the hard work we do, and when we're tired they give us more work. We're expected to be good workers. We can be the best worker, but when we ask for some freedom, or wonder why they operate a certain way we're punished. I work at a factory, not a school.

That's not to say I don't love my students. They're the best part of my job, if I wasn't working with them, I have no idea how I would get through my day. I love that I get to be in a new place, and experience this new culture. I just didn't realize it would be so hard. I know my mom warned me about the hagwon life, and I probably should have listened a little more carefully. Even still, I feel like I'm supposed to be here. A lot of these students are worked to the bone. I try to give them a break by playing games with them, showing them that I care about them, and letting them know that it's okay to rest. Yeah, I let my students nap in class (sometimes I nap, too). My employers don't know about that one, so hopefully I won't get in trouble for that. The Korean life is hard.