11 Months of...Culture Shock!

Even though it’s been nearly eleven months since I stepped off the plane at Incheon International Airport, South Korea still has ways of leaving me very bewildered. Strangely, the bigger things I have just come to accept, from last second schedule changes, to the lack of helpful health and safety signage. Those annoying “no-win, no fee” companies would have a field day in Korea. “This week I ended on my arse in the lobby of Seoul Hagwon after my crutches did the splits on the wet floor. There was no warning sign in sight. Save your Kimchi managed to get me 1000won (50p) in compensation. I bought gimbap.” No, it’s the smaller things that still puzzle me. From serving Tabasco sauce and pickles at every slightly “western style” restaurant, to suggesting I go to the hospital every time I have a cold. I asked one of my adult students about the latter and she explained that one time her mother “endured a cold and it turned into pneumonia.” By “endure” it’s possible she meant her mother never rested and continued to both work 12 hour days and be the sole carer for the family. She also said that the Korean health system is very cheap. I countered that it’s free in the UK and if you went to the doctors with a cold (Korea doesn’t have an equivalent to your local GP/doctor) you would be laughed out by the receptionist and possibly fined for wasting valuable daytime TV watching hours.

More importantly, what is the doctor going to give you for a cold that you can’t buy in a pharmacy? A stern and condescending look? A prescription of kimchi and soju three times daily? Or is Korea harbouring a secret cure for the common cold that it’s refusing to tell the rest of the world about? Judging by the amount of colds I have seen “endured” in this country it’s unlikely. Perhaps if the country wasn’t so anal about sick days and the fact they require a doctors note/all your limbs being severed/death, it would be less of a problem because you could take a couple of days to rest and recuperate. The same would be true if covering your mouth with your hand when you sneeze or cough became a common part of etiquette.

Last week was a first for my time here in Korea. I had a schedule change with an explanation. Thankfully because of my leg I was already sitting down. Ok, I said I had come to accept them, but I meant in a "admit they are going to happen kind of way!" Not that "I have to like them!" Apparently my lessons were too short and the parents had complained, strangely though it was just my lessons that were too short, so the change in schedule only saw my lessons being made longer. I noticed on Thursday that with the first class of the day the kids can’t get from their school/piano hagwon/maths academy in time so they are around 10-15 minutes late for their first class, which is with Yu (the manager). However, instead of moving the start time later, the time has just been added on to my class. I am sure that there is some very flawed logic there. Though why the parents just can't be told that the English monkey is unable to perform to the best of her ability at the moment, and quite frankly doesn't care that you want an extra ten minutes without your children, is beyond me. I am home in just over a month, so my reservoir of enthusiasm and energy has run dry. There's only so much a girl can do with her leg propped up on a chair, only able to use 10 percent of the board, and without books or resources before she gets very frustrated with it all!