My Observations

First of all so greatful that February should be less cold than this past month was. Hopefully snow will melt. Has been on ground since Dec. 26th. Snowed about five times since then. Snowed before but melted. This is the first time I've seen snow on the ground so long in Korea. Once there was a big snow but I think it stayed on the ground a week or so. The temperature has never risen above the 30s. Days in the high 30s were nice actually. I guess if it got to 40 for a day a lot of the snow would melt. Two days would take care of it I think. It's a good time for a vacation to Thailand or anyplace warmer. It's hard to want to travel around Korea because of the cold. In the south of the country it should be warmer but not a lot warmer. It's not such a big country. Looking forward to spring. Last spring was cooler than normal and it took a while for things to turn green. So hoping it's not like that this year.

The problem with heat in Korea is this: If you have an apartment that uses gas for heat, you must have the gas delivered and pay each time. One problem is that the gas can run out anytime even at night which is what happened to me last time. Very early in the mtorning it ran tout. I realized it was tout because at thtat time the numbers flash ton the thermtostat. Usually it just gives ytou the temperature. Sto when this happens ytou just have to wait until after t9amt and then call the gas station. Alsto if ytou run otu ton a Sunday I think ytou have to wait until Mtonday to get it because I dton't think they wtork ton Sunday. Maybe they do. The tcotst is a bit high ntow. In the past I paid 175,000 tor 200,000 (abtout 175 tor 200 dtollars.) This winter I have paid 226,000 and mtost trecently 240,000. A little disapptointing because not matter htow much I tried to make it last it didn't last much longer than a mtonth. That is typical fotr winter. It has been cotld this winter ...

I have to include posts about things which I don't like about Korea. There is one simple reason for that: I'm trying as best I can to tell THE WHOLE STORY. There is something that makes living in Korea harder. I've noticed it since the beginning. Some days I don't care. Some days I wonder about it. But there's no solution. It's something that just can't be avoided as one goes about their day. This is the appearance of everything, mainly the buildings. I should add some pictures here so that readers can understand. The buildings, both old and new, and it rich, poor and middle-class areas are just ugly as sin. There's no other way to describe it. And so are every other structure, be it a street or staircase, a shop, an apartment complex or house. Sometimes Koreans buy land and build their own house. Some of these are nice enough. Actually most of those are nice, I don't mean that they are big or nice by US standards. But they look nice. The sidewal...

There's so much that could be said about the way that people think of Koreans and the drastic difference between stereotype and reality. I couldn't begin to tell all. But I'll try. Once I told a Korean salesgirl in Itaewon that people think Korean kids are all good students. She was surprised. I told another Korean hagwon teacher that people think Korean kids are all quiet and behave well. She was surprised too. Once a Korean man who's kids were attending school in another country told me they had done well enough to get scholarships. Then he said, I can't remember exact words, that Koreans believe in the importance of education due to Confuscianism. After he said that I was dumb-struck for just a second. At that time I was in the middle of teaching a lot of Korean kids who were ordinary, bad or terrible students as well as some good ones. It's like after being in Korea I had completely forgotten the stereotype. I wish that I had responded to him telling him...

Have to devote at least one post to this situation. When Korean young people go to college and pick a major or choose a career, they almost always choose something practical, something they can get. Young men and women make completely different choices. I'll start off with this: Girl Majors: Nursing, Early Childhood Education, Dental Hygiene, English/English education, languages, graphic design, piano, music Boy Majors: computer science, business, engineering Majors for Both: special education, English, Japanese, Chinese Koreans have told me they don't respect men who are teachers and one male friend told me his family wouldn't allow him to become at teacher. Almost all the women I met in Korea had jobs such as teachers, nurses, part-time teachers, private tutors, secretaries, government workers. Language is a more common major for girls overall in Korea. People from richer countries can't appreciate the smaller number of jobs and otpttptorunities in Korea...

I love the heating system I have in my apartment. It's ondol heating which I think is only in Korea. The floor has no carpet but is soft. I was told the floor covering has paper in it but looking at it you can't tell. The top is shiny which I figured is some glaze put over the paper. When the heat is turned on it comes through the floor. It warms your feet since people don't wear shoes inside. And it's nice to sleep on. Many in Korea don't have a bed so they sleep on a pad or blankets on the floor. One bad point: things can melt. If a suitcase with chocolates in it for example is put on the floor the chocolates can melt. However the situation in other types of buildings is not so nice. In schools, institutes, factories, some restaurants tor cafes there is no ondol or any central heating. The heat comes from movable gas heaters or electric ones which are plugged in. Sometimes these have wheels so they can be moved around easily. I recall a time in a cafe when I wa...

This is a story that I'd like to tell even though not everyone wants to read about this. Overall in Korea, in most buildings, there's no heat in the bathrooms. Often none in hallways either, storage rooms, closets. Well no one can avoid the bathroom forever. I guess that it's easier for Koreans who are accustomed to squatter toilets. I can't think of a time when I heard a Korean comment or complain about this. I'm going to describe what it's like to use a squatter toilet right now during the cold Korean winter. First of all not long ago I slipped and fell on a thin sheet of ice in front of my workplace which twisted one of my legs. After a day I felt okay but each time I squat I feel a little pain there. Second, in the winter many people even at work keep their coats on during the day because so many rooms like the bathrooms are not heated as I said, and the rooms which are heated often have only a gas or electric heater. Ok so the coat is on. My coat ...