A Quiet Night

Today was more like any other Sunday than the 4th of July.  We met Ben and Amy for a run in the park, it was completely packed today and some of the kids were a bit obnoxious.  After we went home and showered we met later for dinner in (at their place) and a movie.  We watched Greenburg which was alright, but I think the film was trying very hard to be something specific instead of just letting the writing and acting speak for themselves.

It's always great to hand out with the Nanneys and tonight was no exception.

But, I'm not feeling all that great (I think it's too much dairy from the two slices of pizza I had for dinner), so I will keep this short.

Good night!

Happy 4th of July!

Ian and I aren't doing much today.  Last night we went over to Arienne and Tristan's apartment for a Canada Day (July 1) and 4th of July party.  We met some new people, drank some sangria and generally had a great time.  Their apartment is amazing.  It's still small by American standards, but it's one that I wouldn't mind living in stateside. The layout (it's much more open than most Korean apartments) is very desirable.

I don't really mind a low key 4th.  I do miss my family, as this holiday is one of the quintessential summer days spent at my grandmother's house on Mason Lake.  But, I'm not a fan of fireworks.  They make me anxious and I'm always worrying about animals on the 4th.

Speaking of animals, Mipa from Alien's Day Out linked a petition to help Moon Bears in Korea.  They are facing extinction, as only 19 bears live in the wild.  The real problem is that there are 1400 Moon Bears in captivity, kept and tortured for their digestive bile and other body parts in the name of Oriental Medicine.  Go to moonbears.org for more information and, if you're moved to, sign the petition.

I hope you all have a wonderful, fun, and safe holiday weekend.  Be sure to wish our native land happy birthday for us.

Going through the Pantry

Ian and I are trying to get through the dry goods in our pantry.  Mostly, we have a lot of noodles and lentils to get through.  So for dinner tonight we made jjajangmyun, or stir fried veggies with black bean sauce over noodles.  It supposed to be wheat noodles, but we used the cellophane ones we already had.

Looks like a big mess, but it's yummy!

Fun with Korean Snacks

We found a few new products of interest at Lotte Mart.

Dick Stick!  They come in three flavors: fried chicken, bulgogi and (these) sesame seed.

We bought a three pack of gum because it was on sale.  We opened it while we were waiting for a taxi in the dark.  Because it was dark, we couldn't see the packages very well.  Figuring we'd save the peppermint looking one for last, we tried the Acacia first, it tasted like a cross between liquid dish detergent and perfumed lotion geared toward the elderly.  Then we tried the Sunkist Mangosteen; it tasted a bit like flat Fanta, but it wasn't terrible.  Last was the silver package.  It is the most terrible thing I've ever tasted, very akin to laundry detergent.  It wasn't until we got home that I realized it had a "no smoking" symbol on it.  I'm guessing that means it's nicotine gum.  Gross.

Good night!

Death and Taxes

The former is what we wish for Yoon's, the latter being the latest matter of interest in our downward spiral with them.

Before we left work tonight, we quickly asked Montana what he had found out about our pension.  To remind you, we get reimbursed for the Korean pension we pay here because the US and Korean governments have an agreement.  So, we just wanted to make sure that Yoon's had been paying their half and that there wasn't anything else that we needed to know before filing for our reimbursement.  But, when we asked Montana if he had any information for us he said that he had talked to Julia and she said that there was nothing we could do, that because we're leaving Korea we will not be able to get our money back.

We told Montana very firmly that this is not true.  Then we clarified that Yoon's had been paying their part and Montana insisted they had.  So, we're going to the file the paperwork as soon as possible.  We won't be able to get any money back until our last paycheck is issued (because that's when our last payment will go to the National Pension Scheme), but we want to make sure everything is good to go before we leave.  Click here for Korea4Expats' explanation of the pension scheme.

Replacements

Thursday is very rough and I am exhausted.  It's my longest day, as the first class starts at 2 and the last ends at 8:40.  I have a couple of breaks, which I used to work on our guide for our summer trip.  It's going to be a big packet and when all is said and done I'll have probably put over 20 hours into it.  I'm excited, though.  I found some vegetarian restaurants in Ho Chi Minh, including a vegan pho restaurant.

Danny and Montana were at the Haso campus with Ian today.  Danny was sitting in on Ian's classes, but Montana didn't really have a purpose there.  Maybe he is required to go wherever Danny goes.  They do live together, after all.  It seems that Danny will be taking over the Haso campus once we're gone.

I'm no expert in Korean law, but as far as I know only native speakers of English (only those holding documents from countries like the USA, UK, Australia, etc) are supposed to be teaching conversational classes.  For a hagwon to be operating legally, there must be an hour of classroom time with a foreigner for every hour of classroom time with a Korean English teacher.  Yoon's system is already a little different than most of the others (with the tapes and everything), so I'm not sure if they are within the lines of the law there or not.  I also know that many places hire Filipino teachers and that seems to be legal.

Danny was born in Korea and his parents relocated to the states when he was very young.  He is a Korean citizen; and though he speaks very little Korean, Yoon's currently has him teaching the grammar classes that are designed for Korean teachers.  I'm not sure whether his citizenship makes him an illegal conversation teacher or not, but I will be looking into it.  I've nothing against Danny, but I'm after anything I can find against Yoon's.

It seems that my replacement might be lined up as well.  I haven't met or seen her, but Yoon's hired a Korean-Canadian named Maria recently.  I think the company has had its fill of white people, since the foreigners they are bringing in are Korean by heritage.

I couldn't be happier to be leaving rigid homogeneity behind.

Good night!

Coworkers

This will be brief, as I am absolutely exhausted.  

Chun wha invited us out with the teachers from Haso tonight.  We briefly walked around Uirimji and then headed to a hof (tavern/ bar) for dinner and a couple of beers.  It was amazing to relax and hang out with coworkers.  I will sincerely miss them when we leave.  We even talked a little about our firing and found that most of the other teachers feel the same way we do.  David (the teacher who replaced Eun wha at Haso) told us that he worked one day at Goam and quit because it was too stressful and he didn't like the students or the boss.  I think Yoon's may find it even more difficult to hire and keep employees on its next round.

Chun wha and Chang su have invited us to the East Sea (or a trip somewhere else if they decide another place is better) on the 17th.  I'm excited.

Good night!